REview word limits

[John6913]

The new AirB policy of limiting reviews of Stays has a very dampening affect of the community needs for guests.  I suggest that reviews be allowed which are at least 5 times longer than currently so that patrons can post helpful information.

[Pat271 · Accepted solution]

@John6913  

What is the current word limit? I would think something like 100 words would be adequate.

Although covering major points is helpful, I can’t imagine needing to write a long essay to describe a short-term accommodation. I know that as hosts, we are encouraged to keep things brief in our reviews and in our responses to reviews. It makes it more consumable for both hosts and guests.

What sorts of praise and/or shortcomings do you feel needs to express more verbosely?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@John6913 I am not sure that wasting words in a review complaining the word count is limiting you is overly helpful. I am sure there are enough words to let your fellow guests understand what a property is like.

[Fred13]

'Thank you for your kind review and we wish you the best of journeys' (65 letters/14 words).

All I need, granted I am not a fan of 'War & Peace' long novellas complaining about nonsense or lengthy travelogues starting with the fact they stopped at the local taco stand before coming to my place.

[Declan52]

I agree entirely that 1000 characters is not nearly enough and means useful material has to be omitted. It should not be necessary to be a clever wordsmith or editor to be able to convey interesting characteristics of hosts, accommodation or area to prospective users. 

BTW that comment is more than 25% of the allowed character count. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Declan52 And that 25% is about the length of review that I would like to read if searching for a stay. Double that and I might still read it - Any more and I may just pass to the next review.

[Declan52]

On my last stay we had spectacular help on several fronts from the hosts - I wanted to explain that. We found much more in  the appartment than we expected from the listing. Again, description deserved and useful to a prospective renter. The easy and secure parking was worthy of comment - especially in a locale not noted for such. Lastly, noting a friendly but intrusive dog would also be relevant to some. I had to spend an inordinate amount of time to edit commentary to embrace that lot within the limit. 

No-one is forced to read what I write and if you pass up the opportunity to learn that is your right. But where is the imperative to restrict what I want to describe or force me to be more concise than comes naturally ? Not server space surely !!

[Mark4445]

I used to pride myself on comprehensive, fair reviews that gave others an honest idea of the home they were thinking of renting. And any criticism was always gentle and given with careful consideration. Given the new 1000 character limit, I can not longer do that. So I will no longer be writing reviews. There's simply no point in trying to craft a meaningful review given the newly-imposed constraints. And trust me, it's the owners' loss.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mark4445 how weird - You can only leave 1000 characters so you throw your teddy out of the pram and leave no characters.Interesting decision/logic.....

[Mark4445]

I'm not going to jump through hoops to just end up with a review that's pointless. I just went to post a carefully written review of a stunning property that I had stayed at for 5 weeks. By the time I was done winnowing my review down to meet the 1000 character limit, it was meaningless and conveyed nothing substantive about the property. Why bother?