Problem with 90% Response Rate for Superhosts: Airbnb needs to change this! Please support;)

[Christa110]

Dear Hosts and in particular Superhosts

I am facing the cancellation of my superhost status as Airbnb pretends that I did not correspond with the 90% response rate requirement. However, this is not correct, I did answer more than 90% of the requests within 24 hours, which is also established through my answer rates of 90% and 92% for my two listings. But for reasons Airbnb cannot explain my overall responses rate is at 89% and Airbnb is now threatening to cancel my superhost status (whereas all other requirements are totally fulfilled). 

This is not only unfair but also technically wrong, the way Airbnb calculates the answer rate is nonsense and they need to change it (see arguments below). 

If you had similar issues, please share your stories and support this request by voting thumbs up for it, thank you!

Christa 

The current response rate approach of Airbnb is heavily flawed and unfair for the following reasons: 

1. NO EXPLANATION / NO SUPPORT / NO DATA AVAILABLE
   
   I discussed for several hours with Airbnb Support how our response rate of 89% is calculated (how many responses in total, which ones did count / which ones not, how many do we need to improve from 89% to 90% to keep the Superhost status) but Airbnb was not able to provide such information.
    
2. THE SYSTEM CALCULATES THE PERCENTAGE WRONG
   
   I have two listings on Airbnb, one shows an answer rate of 92% and the other of 90% for the last 365 days. It seems very clear that the overall answer rate cannot be under 90% but no, not with Airbnb: My overall response rate is at 89%. Again, I discussed this for hours with Airbnb support, but nobody could explain why these figures deviate, and how (90%+92%)/2 can result in an overall answer rate of 89%. The only explanation here is that Airbnb's system is faulty and has a bug. Which would be ok if support helps, but support does nothing to clarify or change this faulty calculation. Their answer simply was: We see, this is strange, but it is your problem, there is nothing we can do here for you.
   
   
3. THE CALCULATION IS STUPID AS IT ONLY TAKES INTO ACCOUNT ACCEPTED RESERVATIONS
   
   As probably most other users as well I was of the opinion that the response rate counts the answers to all messages and mails I am sending to my guests. And those are a lot, I try to answer all requests and questions as quickly as possible, and would easily have an 24 hours response rate of more than 90%. However, this is not what is counted here. The response rate totally ignores messages and answers to your guests, it counts only acceptances (or if you decline) of reservation requests. But this is stupid for several reasons: First, it totall ignores whether you are overall responsive to questions and requests of your guets (and isn't this what ultimately should matter, that you are always there for your guests, write back, and not whether you simply click a confirm/cancel button?). Second, it ignores that it is Airbnb's policy to push its hosts to accept automated reservations (which I have for my listings). However, if you have activated automated reservations, you do not receive any requests that you may answer within 24 hours and that do count towards your overal response rate. Only in few exceptional circumstances one receives such requests, e.g. if a guest does not correspond to the minimum requirements. As a consequence, and this is what happened in my case, if you miss out only one or two such requests, this might already be enough to jeopardize your superhost status.
   
   
4. EVEN IF YOU ANSWER WITHIN 24 HOURS AIRBNB PUNISHES YOU AND COUNTS THIS AS A NON-ANSWER
   
   I was faced twice with the situation that guests who already have booked a stay with me submitted a new request through a different account. I did not confirm / cancel such request within 24 hours as I assumed that the guests made a mistake and wanted to avoid that they incur any issues. I answered within 24 hours, on both accounts, the original and the one through which they submitted the request, but with a messag only, without klicking the confirm / cancel button (not knowing at the time that clicking this button is the only thing that counts for the response rate). It is obvious that I did respond within 24 hours, but Airbnb does not care, the support agreed with my arguments and apologized but informed me that they cannot cancel past requests or correct this in the system. I am now penalized and face the cancellation of my superhost status, simply becaues I have chosen to first answer by message only instead of klicking the confirm/cancel button.  

[Gion0]

I had similar issues, Airbnb has to change this. I support!

[Gian-Reto0]

Thanks for this post Christa, I fully support your request!

[Susie111]

@Christa110 

Oh please 🙄,if it was only that who needs to be changed.

l just recently got a guest who publicly rated me “Excellent”! 

And rated me overall 4* except for value 5* and communication 5* and his private feed back 

Was “very good!

So this guy obviously thinks like the majority of the population that 4* is pretty good except Airbnb.

And that’s got me into a situation that l would not be surprised if l loose my super host badge as well soon.

Whatever! as long as a l get paying guests l should be good ;-D

[Hilde8]

This subject is discussed time and time again on various Facebook groups. It’s probably the most idiotic customer experience rating system invented. 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Christa110 ,

Lovely to meet you and welcome to the Community Center. I am sorry to hear your confusion around the response rating. A few months ago we shared this topic with more information around how it works.

Also, I wonder have you contacted our Support Team about this at all? They might be able to see on your account why your rating may have unexpectedly dropped. 

Hope to speak with you soon.

Thanks,
Lizzie

[Alon1]

@Lizzie 

It's most unlikely Customer Support will be able to help, because they seem utterly helpless in the face of the robotic system that determines the ratings.

I had a very unhappy experience last year when one of my listings was automatically paused for 5 days because robotics stated my overall average for a certain period had dropped. The robotic figure contradicted what I could see on my screen in 'Progress' as it was called at the time, and if that figure was upheld the listing would not have been paused!

I need further mention the catalyst for this problem was a Review/Rating by a 3rd Party booking that I was deceived into taking, i.e. undisclosed at the time of booking. It further transpired  that I did not want the 3rd party in my home due to clinical-psychological issues that was very disturbing and difficult to deal with. I asked the 3rd party to leave early, the first and only time I've asked a Guest to leave early in six years). It took some time for me to get the 3rd party to leave, and the booker took his revenge by giving me an awful review and very low ratings. 

I initially attempted to deal with the issue by calling CS asking them to review the roboting ratings as well as delete the 3rd Party Review/Rating. After several fruitless attempts with CS, I took the quite drastic action of going in person to London HQ. One of the employees kindly came down and spent 45 minutes with me. I showed her a print out of the discrepancies in ratings as well as the 3rd Party booking messages and reviews/ratings.--She acknowledged the probelm and fully agreed with my concerns. She put me in contact with her colleague in Dublin, who then spent half an hour on the phone with me. She in turn forwarded my case to a Manager called  Gessielli, (I think based in the USA) 

Gessielli, finally delt with the issue by removing the 3rd party Review/Ratings. Not only this one, but two others in the past year that had violated T&Cs. 

This whole process took the best part of a month. The 5 day Pause came and went, but nothing could be done at the time. 

Two of the negative review/ratings deleted had been for the listing that was paused. 

Gessielli also promised to investigate the robotics that led to the pause. However, he never got back to me regarding this matter; and I no longer had the time and energy to pursue the matter further.

[Steve812]

The way Airbnb handles the the superhost ratings is all around corrupt.  I have a been a superhost and have 4 apartments that are rented through airbnb.  I have had guest stay from 3 - 10 months at a time with all 5 star ratings across the board.  I can have a guest stay 2 nights and the ratings vary 3-5 star ratings.  The one that got me the most was a guest that was supposed to be at the apartment for 10 weeks and after the 2nd week she was a problem.  I continued to communicate through the airbnb messenger so all communications can be seen by support.  after 5 weeks I had contacted support to help intervine since i had been trying to accomodate all her issues and still she continued being a problem.  I also told support that I didnt want her to negativly effect my rating.  They agree that I was doing what i could to satisfy her without avail.  I then asked airbnb to offer to move her since i was not able to make her happy.  It worked out and she left.  Then her review obviously was negative and i lost my superhost.  When i contacted Superhost the say that I could give her a negative review also and my superhost will be evaluated in a year.  

So Airbnb proves to be on the guest side and dont take in account that not all guest are able to be pleased and that there is no give or take on difficult guest.

The superhost criteria definetly needs to be looked at and evaluated in a different manner

[John1850]

  We have had similar loss of superhost status, yet respond within 24hr. Usually it is someone wanting the place for free ( and they offer to write review)  or it is a "  mistake " where they book for 1 person and expect  us to provide  bed and breakfast for 13. our capacity as a Visit Wales externally graded guesthouse. We contact air who say that so long as a conversation has started it is OK.  Plan B is  I now phone air and  decline imediatly. This destroys my success rate?

   Not good

[Ben551]

It seems to me that hosts who are not using Instant Book are stuck between a rock and a hard place when they receive a reservation request they are disinclined to accept. It appears like blackmail in 2 directions: If they decline, acceptance rate goes down. If they don’t accept or decline, response rate goes down.

The system appears rigged to eventually remove the superhost status for any host not using Instant Book.

[Alon1]

@Ben551 

Your view requires a nuanced response.

Firstly, I would shy away from making generalizations, because each system has it's potential problems and individual hosts have preferences best suited to them. 

You've now been privy to a number of responses in different posts highlighting the problems with IB, not even withstanding the 3 hit cancellation policy and you're out scenario.. You've also read that it can be far more tricky in individual cases. I kindly remind you of one example from Jayesh / Lisa's prompt to the following link:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/SuperHost-for-3-years-straight-InstantBook-ability-for-m...

  So far you've not had to confront a clearly  irrational situation, but you're almost certainly going to stumble on one, as few if any seem to avoid them.

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Secondly, I would avoid generalization because  all Hosts have their preferences, and simply stated IB isn't conducive to everyone.

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Lastly, you maybe projecting your own personal difficulty, 'painful' as you stated  in dealing with to-and-fro with guests in the messaging system... much rather let Airbnb deal with it, and so far each case taking very little time, 'no longer than boiling a kettle'.

Conversely, as previously mentioned, I would much rather deal with Guests tete-a-tete than involve Airbnb 3rd Party.  One of the benefits is that it serves to hone communication skills! It's especially useful when wishing to decline a Reservation Request.

Here is the trick or method:

  If you wish to decline an RR kindly send a message explaining why you can't accept, and ask the booker to CANCEL the RR and transfer their funds to another listing & host. In my experience the vast majority do so without a problem. A few are obstinate, or don't respond leaving the clock to run down. One reminder a few hours later sometimes suffices, sometimes not. In the latter case, yes, one has to Decline, but better decline than let the RR expire.  

- Cancellations by Guests don't affect Host Ratings because it's Guests who have changed their minds and chosen to look for alternatives! 

This method has worked very well for me over 6 years. I have been left to decline very-very few RRs, to the point that I don't think it affects my ratings in the slightest.

My current %s speak for themselves. The past year's record: 200 + inquiries for 5 listings

All have 100% Response Rate, (currently 'Within An Hour', and never more than 'A Few Hours').

3 of the 5 have 100% Acceptance Rate, and the other two 88% which is exactly on the green line. 

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Lastly, it's worth mentioning that I don't think IB makes much difference in search facilities for a place like London. I hardly get Inquiries or RRs from random searchers, though it's hardly surprising given over 70,000 listings in the capital. -- Virtually all my inquiries come from those making specific search in the vicinity of NW3, Swiss Cottage, Camden, Belsize Park, Hampstead. And most of my Guests inform me that they used the map to narrow down their search with their primary aim to find a place they like rather than the presumed ease of IB. 

Consequently, when Airbnb float their stats on my screen how IB listings get so many more viewings and bookings, I don't find them particular relevant to my circumstances. I'm not looking for Instant bookers, rather those that are compatible to my home.

ps. I don't know if you saw my response along similar lines to your 'No brainer....' in our exchanges on 'The Magic is Gone'  [currently p. 18 of the post]

[Denice0]

I just had a "new experience" when I tried to decline an inquiry: I couldn't decline!  I have instant book but this guest was asking to bring a 3rd guest and my listing states 2 guests are my limit.  When I tried to decline I was given a choice to write the guest a message, which I did, but there was no way to then decline!  I figure I will be hit for not responding within 24 hours, though I did, and I could not decline because the dashboard would not let me!!  Superhosts beware - only the guest is valued now!

[Sarah977]

@Denice0 You won't be dinged for response rate on an Inquiry for neither pre-approving or declining. Messaging the guest back stops the clock as far as penalties, altho you might get reminders to pre-approve or decline (these will disappear if you clear your cache). I pre-approve most inquiries, as most of my inquirers are guests I'd want, but the few inquiries I've gotten that were inappropriate for my listing, I've simply ansered, letting them know why my place won't work for their needs. Then I never hear from them again. My response rate is still at 100%.

Of course, Airbnb could start dinging us for not pre-approving or declining at any time and not notify us of the change, and we wouldn't know until we saw our stats had dropped. 

[Helen3]

Try them on twitter with a one liner.

[Jocelyn82]

I'm not on Twitter. I want to know more about the potential guest because their profile is lacking and the profile photo is missing. I had my superhost status taken away after being a superhost for 5 years after ONE guest gave me a one-star review and said lousy things about my listing -- this guest showed up a day early and i could not accommodate her request to check in a day early and I would not accommodate her request to paid for 50% of her hotel room because she got her dates mixed up when traveling from China. Some people want something for nothing and Airbnb doesn't care for the hosts, just the guest's $$$$.