Keeping up your ratings

[Kath9]

Hi fellow hosts!

Well, after seeing my overall star ratings start to slip recently due to the ridiculous changes to the review system, my ratings have just gone back up from near to the point of losing Superhost status (4.8* overall) to 4.9*! I think my strategy may be working and just want to share it with you (I have done so before on other posts but that was the 'trial' stage - I am now seeing results!). Thanks to those other hosts who have shared similar ideas to this.

Firstly, I have put the following blurb on the first page of my guest manual - it is just underneath the house guidelines and Wifi password and I ask all my guests to spend a moment reading this page when they arrive (I'm hoping that the Wifi password prompts them to actually do so!)

Secondly, I now send the following message to all my guests once I have reviewed them:

Dear xxx, thank you so much for booking with me - you were wonderful guests and I hope you enjoyed your stay as much as I enjoyed hosting you. I have left you a 5-star review and hope you can find the time to write a review for me so I can continue to offer my home as a budget-friendly, safe and comfortable place for other guests. Thanks again - it was really lovely meeting you both! Best wishes, Kath 🙂

This message hopefully prompts them to leave a review (in order to keep up the minimum 50% review rate) as well as letting them know I have given them 5 stars in the hope they reciprocate. (Of course, this is only for guests who I have actually left a 5-star review for - I won't be sending this message to guests who have received less than 5 stars). While it does feel a bit like emotional blackmail, I think we do need to educate our guests as most of them don't realise that the overall star rating is based on the 'expectations' question and many guests will just say 'as expected', which only gives you 3 stars overall (even if they have given you 5 stars for everything else). 

Please feel free to do something similar with your guests in order to keep up your ratings. Happy hosting 2019!

[Cor3]

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[Irene334]

That's so funny. How did you keep a straight face?

[Kath9]

@Barry-and-Lera0, yeah, it's a bit like getting a lower rating because the weather was bad...

[Susan1028]

the location portion needs to go.

our location is clearly stated in the listing.

they know where it is when they book it.  we can’t move it to s place they’d rather be.

i even provide supplementary directions with landmarks so there’s no question, yet 70% don’t read any of the above and don’t follow the directions, then state it’s hard to find...

adding more layers to a population that barely reads a single paragraph isn’t going to provide reliable data upon which to evaluate nuances of experience to improve service.

[Sarah977]

@Kath9  Thanks for sharing this and glad to hear it's working well. Because I host a private room in my home and have a 3 day minimum stay, I generally have quite a bit of interaction with my guests, so I mention this to them in person at some point, while we're having a coffee or a glass of wine. 

At first I was reticent about it, but not anymore. If Airbnb isn't going to let guests know how the star ratings affect hosts, or change the way they rate us, I'm not willing to let a guest tank my rating simply because they're unaware of all this. I'm always careful to say that if they think that it wasn't clean, or that I didn't communicate well, or my listing info was inaccurate, that of course I'd not expect to get 5*s in those categories. In other words, I don't tell them to leave me a 5* review.

The majority of guests have expressed appreciation for letting them know how hosts are rated. Some may even be considering hosting themselves, so it can be valuable info for them, as well.

[Kath9]

Hi @Sarah977, yes, I remember you mentioning this before. I don't always have the same level of interaction with my guests as I have a 1-night minimum and many people arrive late in the day, are out for dinner and then check out early the next morning. I do find it is working quite well to encourage them to read the first page of the guest manual for 'house info and wifi password' and then hopefully they will read my blurb on the reviews.

[Giedre-and-Andre0]

@Kath9 Even as of now, I got 77x 5* and 1x 4* overall,

my "biggest" challenge is the LOCATION rating.

It is almost impossible in Brooklyn to maintain 5* 

and we are swinging constantly between 4.5* and 5*...

I think first of all this rating system is ridiculous and

shows absolutely no respect to hosts from Airbnb.

I ask myself what happens If we would rate our

guests to the same standards and our

"clean guests with great communication who

follow all our house rules" are getting 3 stars because they did not

left a present at check out, did not mow our lawn,

and did not washed my car, and sofor did not

achieved to be "MUCH BETTER THAN EXPECTED" ??? 

BUT... for me it has 2 sides:

By pointing this issue out to guests, I would give a "crazy one"

even more power...

@Sarah977 @Emilia42 @Barry-and-Lera0 @Cor3

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Giedre-and-Andre0: I have to agree with you. I guess I should knock off a guest star everytime they don't send us a text or message after they check-out. Its clearly written in the house rules that you need to send us a message after you have left. -1 star for COMMUNICATION. Thats how off the rating system is.

[Emilia42]

@Barry-and-Lera0, Why not mark them down for house rules? They clearly didn't follow your rule. If they broke the no smoking rule they would surely get marked down for that. 

[Susan1028]

I’ve left less than prefect stars for communication when deserved, lowest being 2 because there wasn’t a peep out of them after booking was confirmed and I have at least 3 more communications after that to ensure best experience and service.

i’ve checked thier profiles and it made no difference to the guests rating, so ABB isn’t weighting guest and host reviews equally.

think about it...they make all thier money from the small fee for each booking and there’s a lot more competition than there used to be.

iABB only get paid that booking fee, so unilaterally supporting guests on all fronts is thier best insurance for maintaining profits.

[Kath9]

@Giedre-and-Andre0, I know right! Imagine if guests were rated on how they compared to our expectations??? What a silly question. Good point though on the 'crazy ones' although there's probably not much we can do about them anyway.

[Olena15]

From a helpful idea to save on travel and earn by helping to save, Airbnb devolved into a business machine. Guests pay, they buy service and Airbnb sells, nope, oversells the product that does not even belong to them. They misrepresent guests' rights and hosts get the beating for unmet expectations. Guests have more choices in choosing hosts than vice versa. And hosts want money. There is a way to advertise on multiple platforms to attract more guests, like hotels. Then, it has to be run like a hotel. Drop other jobs.

[TracieandJason0]

@Kath9 We spoke about this before, so I am glad to see it is working well for the both of us! I also include in my thank you check-out message that I will leave them 5 stars and thanking them for staying. This has been very well recieved. Another thing that has been helping me, especially with my older guests is to also send a text message to direct them to anything  I had just sent on Airbnb messenger. I know this is sometimes advised against with Airbnb should you have any problems with your guest and need the conversation recorded on the Airbnb platform.

For example, I send a guest self-check-in instructions, which I had already told them at the time of booking, that I would send them the day of checking in. Then I scratch my brain when the guest contacts me not knowing how to get into my house and if I am there to walk them in. Now I send the instructions and also text them right away that I did so and a nice welcoming message. If I have any problems or complaints with the guest I just ask them to repeat the conversation through Airbnb so we can better have a Airbnb rep assist us if needed. 

[Claire475]

Great idea! It would be preferable for Airbnb to send something along these lines to guests or at very least send something to hosts to print and leave in the room, explaining the review system. Just recently I had a great review which said: Everything was perfect, that I was kind and helpful. The room was perfectly clean, bed and pillows very comfortable and the decor adorable.  And you guessed it 4*. They rated me a 4* on value after asking for a discount, which I gave although not large, then stated it was still too expensive so would not book with me, and then 24hours later booked with me, because I know they would definitely not have found anything better. Sometimes it just breaks you. 

I will consider something along your line.

Thank you for the post. 

[Leo192]

HI @Kath9 Thanks for this insightful post.   I like your review rating  diagram you share with your guests.  I think it's quite useful and a nice way to better educate your guests on how best to rate Host and they're experience in your spaces.  Thanks for sharing.

Also, your space is  wonderful!