The coded language of a review

[Laura2592]

I struggle with reviews. I try to be as honest as possible without being unkind. I have noticed that there are a lot of 5 stars out there for guests I would not have given 5 stars to. Digging deeper, there seems to be some common themes and coded language to warn other hosts that there might be issues belying the 5 stars. No one wants to come right out and say that this person was painful to deal with.

For example a recent guest emailed me 20 times or more per day of his stay with questions about very pedantic things. The sink made a gurgling noise. A light bulb in a decorative lamp went out. One remote only has one battery. He counted the light switches and can't figure out what one does. We addressed all of these concerns but it didn't stop until my husband took over communication. He responded immediately to that and the masses of emails halted. On his reviews this guest is described as "extremely communicative." When I write mine, I  would like to add that he "responded well to my husband" and that he may do better with an onsite host (we aren't.) 

Another guest had expectations for kitchenware we could not meet. He let us know our brand new Amazon delivered set was no match for what he expected. His reviews when I looked (too late, he was an early guest and I was still learning) said things like "this guest has a very high standard" and "this guest described himself as a chef and enjoys a restaurant style kitchen." Likewise one guest was very upset we didn't provide a lemon zester in our normal kitchenware (we had to go get one, she was having a literal melt down.)  Nothing in her reviews addressed that specifically but did say "XX has some quirks about what she needs during her stay. Best to communicate with her beforehand."

Another couple booked our place and brought in other overnight guests without paying. She sent us pics of the families standing on our porch. Her ratings from other hosts (all in our area) said things like "this guest likes to visit with family in the area." Or "so and so visited our place to be closer to her family in the area." I would have appreciated a "so and so had her family stay with her." It was obvious when we sent her the charges afterwards for the number of guests that she had done this before.

What have you said about guests in reviews that you meant as a warning to other hosts? Have you come right out with it or somewhat coded your responses?

[Helen350]

LOL @Emilia42 

[Susan1028]

😆💖

[Stephanie365]

It can definitely be a game to decipher the review. 

For me, the thing I look for most is, "The guest is welcome back anytime".   If I don't see something like that, I will dig a little deeper. 

In one case I had someone who wanted to book, but they sent me a request even though they had previous bookings at AirBNBs. That was my first flag because I have IB for guests with recommendations from others. I read the reviews for this person and it was clear that their first review was at a rental property as the review was rather generic. Their second review said, "I'm glad the guest enjoyed themselves during their stay."  Then I read the other reviews this person had left for others and all the others said, "Come back again." But not this one. Hmmmm....

So, I messaged that host and asked if the guest had been a problem.  And she told me what the issues were.  Travelling crafters for a craft show. They literally unloaded their entire inventory out of their box truck into this woman's house, bumping into walls and leaving scuff marks everywhere. 

I chose not to host these people either. Their truck wouldn't fit up my driveway without damaging my trees and street parking isn't an option here.  Or at least that's what I told them.

[Laura2592]

@Stephanie365  I always wonder about contacting other hosts. I have thought about it on a few occasions but didnt know if that was "overstepping." Wondering if others have opinions on this...

[Huma0]

@Laura2592 

I tried doing this a couple of times when I started hosting, but never got a response from the host.

If a guest has some good reviews but one bad one, I usually ask the guest about it, but I also check the reviews the host has left for others. I have sometimes identified that it was the host, rather than the guest, who had a problem.

There was one young couple who had a really bad review for cleanliness. When asked about it, they said that it had confused them. The host was actually away for months and it was only her roommate at the listing. Their room hadn't been particularly clean when they arrived, but they left it cleaner than they found it. Several guests were booked in to stay there after them and before the host got back. Anyway, I took their booking and had zero problems with them on cleanliness or anything else.

[Emily487]

@Laura2592 

I don't think it is overstepping at all. It's just tricky to message them because you have to send them an inquiry.

I have contacted past hosts twice and was glad I did. I decided to book one and not the other. I shouldn't have booked either. Live and learn?

I have also contacted local hosts myself looking for a place with a wheelchair accessible shower for a guest. 

[Stephanie365]

@Laura2592  The way I figure it is, we are all a community of hosts. We are all in this together. Several of us communicate here on this forum, so why can't we reach out to an individual?  The worst that can happen is they ignore the message or tell me they'd rather not discuss it. 

[Suzanne302]

@Stephanie365  This is what I like to see as well. In my reviews of great guests, I always make sure to include "Guest is welcome back anytime and I 100% recommend to other hosts." Airbnb used to show you how many hosts recommended each guest, but they don't anymore so those phrases in the review are helpful.

Emilia (I can't tag you) I HATE those "corporate" reviews. They are useless.

[Mark116]

If I can't say anything positive but they weren't horrible, just perhaps very messy and people I wouldn't want to rehost, I say something like "We enjoyed meeting XX". 

Unless I say that they left the house in good or great shape, it means they didn't.  But, I now pretty much only review guests who have reviewed us first, so a lot of the people who would have gotten a neutralish review, get no review at all. 

[Sean433]

@Laura2592 

I am curious what your husband said or the manner in which he spoke to your guest to make them stop being difficult and asking so many questions?

[Laura2592]

@Sean433 Nothing special. He just took over the conversation. On the third time the guest emailed about how the remote wasn't working the way he thought it should (and we have very detailed instructions on this that my husband wrote) I asked him to get involved and explain as I was obviously not getting through. My husband reiterated exactly what I had said and suddenly the guest understood. We didn't hear anything else until it was time to check out. 

If I am honest I get this sometimes from "men of a certain age" who stay. Retired, have a habit of speaking a certain way to younger women. The funny thing is that my husband is younger than me and looks even younger still. So if he meets them in person, the illusion of "man to man" is often shattered.

[Susan1028]

Are we allowed to say “misogynist” in our reviews lol?

[Mike-And-Helen0]

Some men literally only hear words spoken in a man's voice.

I was on a school trip and the bus driver was lost. A kid found the route on google maps and advised the driver.

Zero response.

I repeated the information, thinking the driver hadn't heard.

Zero response.

I said to the male teacher next to me that the driver needed to hear it in a man's voice. Teacher looked at me incredulously but repeated the info anyway.

"Right you are guv'nor"!!!!!

[Geraldine219]

That is so true!

[Geraldine219]

I'm sure many men automatically tune out when a woman speaks, especially when they've just asked for advice/info. Why listen to the response when they can just ask again when they're in receiving mode? I had a male colleague over when my last male guest checked in, guest clearly thought it was his house despite me doing the talking.