Should I leave a review for a guest that cancelled?

[Michelle-And-Michael0]

Hi all 

This booking was cancelled by the guest on the day they were to arrive. She was very apologetic about the cancellation and in her messages to us, took responsibility for the cancellation. She insisted that it was her fault and that she didn't expect any type of refund. (Although we have offered her a free night in the future)

I was surprised to get a prompt from Airbnb to review her.... We hadn't met her, or hosted her, so I'm not sure how it is possible to review her!!

Apparently she has left a review for us! I'm not sure how she can possibly review us either.... she didn't stay with us, wasn't hosted by us and never even met us, or laid eyes on our accommodation.

I don't understand how the star ratings could possibly be applicable in this scenario and, even though she implied how kind and generous we were, I'm concerned about how she may have chosen to use the star ratings to rate us!!

We are looking for suggestions.... should we ignore the review prompt and wait to see what her review is about us?

Do we review her? How can the reviews be useful to other hosts/guests when the hosting hasn't even happened?

[Steve143]

Hello @Michelle-And-Michael0,

Airbnb changed the review process recently. Guests who cancel on the day of checkin or during the stay can now leave a review.

See this help article Can I leave a review for a canceled reservation?

This newspaper article gives background as to why that change may have been made worldwide

airbnb-agrees-reviews-loophole-intervention-cma-regulator

I don't know how it squares with the previous policy that reviews couldn't be left if a guest didn't stay. Perhaps the list of ratings is shorter for guests who don't stay and cancel before checkin time or noon local time or something like that.

If a guest cancels on the day of checkin but doesn't check in it could still be valid for them to rate the host on, for example, communication. The same could apply for the host reviewing the guest. I'd hope that the guest isn't offered the opportunity to rate the host on accuracy, cleanliness, etc. and that the host isn't allowed to rate the guest on, say, observance of house rules.

Just this week I noticed that the reviews section in "Stats" on the website now shows the stars that guests gave in each category.

If that's the case on the Austarlian site it would be worth checking her review to see what categories she was allowed to rate you under.

If you don't review her her review will appear on your profile and llisting page 14 days after the original checkout date.

Maybe you could post an update here if you find out what categories she was able to rate you under.

Steve.

[Linda108]

I have to admit that I have mixed feelings about this change in Air BNB review policy, @Michelle-And-Michael0.  If all the guests were honest in their reviews and not rewarded for dishonesty, then transparency would strengthen the community,  However, there are guests who scam hosts and Air BNB enables some of these scams.

Thank you, @Steve143, for the link to the article.  I had no idea about why Air BNB changed the policy.  Also, I haven't looked at my stats for a long time and didn't know about the rating breakdown.

I have seen many postings from hosts who are frustrated by inconsiderate guests that cancel and get full refunds enabled by Air BNB. Since the policy allows the host to review the guest behavior around the cancellation perhaps that will help the host community be warned.

I also believe that there are sub par listings on Air BNB.  I have experienced that myself.  Cancellation upon arrival is not always an option given circumstances.  However, if it is, then the guest has a right to leave and seek alternative housing.  There needs to be a way for this experience to be captured in the review system.

[Michelle-And-Michael0]

Hello @Steve143 and @Linda108

Thank you both so much for your replys. Sorry I've taken so long to respond, I've been having computer issues today as well as minding Grandchildren.

The article was very helpful, thanks for sharing it Steve!

I decided to leave a review for the guest that cancelled and tried to be as honest as possible under the circumstances. The comment part of the review was fine. But I was surprised that I had to give star ratings! Communication.... I could do that no problem. Cleanliness and Observation of House rules.... that was another matter. There really wasn't any way of rating these correctly!    As it turned out, the guest left us a lovely comment and all 5 stars. So I'm guessing she had to give me a star rating on all the usual categories too!   I'm inclined to think, the review comment is a great idea, but the star rating might be, not only misleading, but possibly a risk of having a negative impact to both the host and guest.     

Cheers,

Michelle 

[Laurel25]

I agree - this is the second time I've been in the situation where a guest cancelled hours before they were due to arrive and I was still asked by airbnb to rate them.  It is awkward and seems to devalue the entire system to rate something that you've never been able to experience...I will probably give them 5* simply because they communicated prior to their arrival - and since they did not use the place...I guess they left it tidy;)

Laurel

[Lawrene0]

@Laurel25, this new policy - to review a cancelled booking - is in place for those who arrive, find the place unacceptable, and leave. There used to be no mechanism in place for them to warn future guests of a horribly inaccurate or dirty listing. But it is not for people who cancel before showing up. (I had to check it out via phone call to Airbnb recently.) If someone does not set foot on your property, they can review you, but you can have it removed since it does not reflect their experience. You can review them, but they can have it removed, etc. You don't always want to remove it, in the case above, for instance, since everyone was nice to everyone else, but if it is someone trying and failing to get a refund for a last-minute cancellation, it is good to know that they cannot revenge-review the place. 

The implementation of the policy is not fully thought out, since the system prompts whether the guest showed up or not and does not explain (except vaguely in Help) that the guest has to have arrived. 

I have let guests who cancel know that they will be prompted to review, but that since the review does not reflect our experience, they (and I) can just ignore that. You can do that if you want. 

[Heather284]

How do you get the review removed since they cancelled.  We as hosts have not cancelled.  So how do you get the review removed especially since we have never even seen these guests and they haven't seen our place?  This has happened twice to us.  We are concerned it will negatively affect our superhost status.  Does Airbnb guarentee it can be removed.  How?  

[Marilyn80]

Call AirBnB directly. The agent can block the review for you.

[Max377]

I have the same problem. Someone never came and left a very bad review. They got refund + a new spot to sleep. Win Win for them and Airbnb

[Marilyn80]

I just called AirBnB about the same issue with a guest who cancelled before checkin.  I was connected with an agent within 60 seconds. 855-424-7262 He said he could block any reviews for that visit.

[Debbie217]

Did you wait until your read their review before you called AirBnB to have it removed/blocked? I as a host had this happen to me and the guest (who cancelled an hour before check -in ) left me a review. I do not wish to review him so I am not going to. I was just wondering if it would be worth it to see if his reveiew is positive before I decide to have it removed...or if I should call them now before his reveiw is posted in a couple weeks.

[Linda108]

@Debbie217  It is important for you to understand how the review system works on Air BNB.  Both host and guest can leave reviews.  Neither can see the review until both are published.  You will not see the guest review until you write a review.  Once the reviews are published, either when both parties post or 14 days after check out which ever comes first, either party can respond to the review.  

In your case, if you wrote a short review stating that the guest cancelled an hour before check in, that would be helpful for other hosts to know.

[Debbie217]

I understand how and when the reviews get posted but I didn't want to review him because I wouldn't really know how to rate him in the variouse catergories.  If I could just write a short comment I would, but from what I have read on here, I would have to fully rate him. He got half his money refunded (it was a week stay) but am worried that he has given a bad review since he didn't get all money back? Not sure what to do

[Linda108]

Understandable, @Debbie217.  You are correct that sometimes the guest rates the host based on their disappointment with how the Air BNB system works rather than how the host performs.  All you can do is sympathize with the guest about their disappointment and wish them well.  If you respond keeping in mind the audience for your response are potential guests and not the guest who cancels, then that helps.

[Donna184]

Mine was one-night booking. Guest asked for an early check-in so arranged my day to suit their request. While waiting for the early check-in the guest sent me a cancellation. Holiday weekend awaiting not nice. I do not want to rate as it would be negative. I gave them half back mainly not to have a negative rating. So I paid for a favourable rating which is not fair when I have a strict no cancellation policy in place.

If I don't respond in 14 days their rating posts. All the same questions were asked for me to answer regarding their stay. How would I know how to answer left the room clean, followed house rules etc.

There should be a way for it to post "Incomplete stay" or "not applicable".