The "new" host review form for guests to rate hosts

[Timothy19]

I just saw this on a FB hosting group and was shocked at how tedious this process has gotten for guests. I have several comments and questions.

1. Is this standard for ALL guests of ALL properties, or is this just aimed at select guests of select listings in order to verify the listing amenities, etc? This is literally 10 pages of questions (on mobile at least). 10 pages!

2. If this is standard practice now, well, wow. Does ABB expect guests to go through this whole thing every stay? ABB is pushing owners to get reviews get reviews get reviews....and then makes the get review process this cumbersome? I wouldn't be surprised if guests stop leaving reviews.

3. The entire "compares to your expectations" part seems like it will actually make the rating system WORSE than it was before. Guests already had trouble with ABB's interpretation of what 5 stars meant. We had owners pushing for 5* because ABB treated 4* like a bad rating. Now this new system looks even MORE geared to getting low ratings. Imagine you have a listing that just looks stunning....all the amenities in the world....picture perfect. The guest stays there with HIGH expectations and the owner delivers. "About the same as expected". That looks like a 3* rating equivalent. Even "better than expected" would only get this incredible listing a 4* equivalent rating.

----------- I think AirBnB just made their rating system WORSE!

[Letti0]

@Rebecca181  My theory is they have way too may SuperHosts and need to weed out a huge chunck of them,  

[Rebecca181]

I agree - The fact that guests now serve as spies for Airbnb ("Was there a this? Was there a that?") seems to confirm our suspicions.

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Rebecca181 Guests are indeed the best spies Airbnb can use!They got agents from all over the world who i believe can even tell them what was the perfume you were wearing during the checkin.Airbnb is a very productive corporation who is actually earning money from it's own agents.

[Rebecca181]

Yes, @Oomesh-Kumarsingh0, under the guise of ensuring quality, we are subject to these persistent Orwellian tactics. Why not just let guests decide if it was a good experience or not and review accordingly? One man's hell is another man's heaven. The review process on VRBO and Trip Advisor is a breeze - easy and efficient and painless - for both host and guest. There are no ulterior motives or covert operations going on, from what I can see. Unlike here at Airbnb... 

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Rebecca181 This may sound weird but i believe one of the reasons why Airbnb is more successful and way larger than both VRBO and Trip Advisor put together is exactly because of the way the review system works and the great impact it has on both hosts and guests.We cannot deny it we love it and value it even more when we earn a nice 5 star review on Airbnb! If we were on one of the platforms that you mentioned we probably would not even be discussing about it right now.

[Rebecca181]

@Oomesh-Kumarsingh0 You make a rather mind-bending but intriguing point. There is some twisted psychology at work here that's rather easy to see through, once you understand the general M.O. of Airbnb when it comes to it's shared home / non-commercial hosts which can be summarized in two words: Highly Manipulative.

[Oomesh-Kumarsingh0]

@Rebecca181 I second you on this.Airbnb use manipulation and also apply psychological pressure on non-commercial hosts.They are well aware that a casual homeowner is less likely to take legal actions against them.

[Eric-and-Peter0]

I agree, it was to easy to get the "SuperHost status). Also AirBnB will be going public, they are trying to make a perfect image for the share holders.

Follow the $$$$$$$

[Rebecca181]

@Letti0, Yep, I mentioned this in my post this past January or February ('The Review System Needs To Be Revised' - And this is not at all what I meant!)

[Cor3]

Hi @Letti0,

As Fred already once concluded: Leaving a guest book, where guests can leave handwritten reviews (although a very nice touch of course). This will actually discourage the guests to some extent. To leave you another review on Airbnb.

They've already invested the time to leave you a nice thank you note in writing. Why should they invest even more time. To do more or less the same thing again on Airbnb?

That's actually one of the reasons, why we don't have such a guest book at our property. For guests to leave us a thank you note.

As we want guests to put their efforts in a review on Airbnb.

The handwritten reviews will only be seen, by people actually staying or being present at the property. And by nobody else.

Obviously when you are using multiple platforms, this makes more sense.

We had a guest once, that scribbled a thank you note on a piece of paper. And left it in the apartment upon departure. So our local contact made a photo from the note and messaged us. Afterwards I really almost had to beg this guest, to leave us a review on Airbnb as well.

[Rebecca181]

@Cor3 I also have a guest book. For whatever reason, I have had no issues procuring reviews from guests, even when they have written in my guest book (and most do). @Letti0 also has shared that she always has gotten reviewed after guest stays. Until this new 10 page review system was launched. So, although I understand what you are saying, I don't think it applies in at least our two cases.

[Dee32]

Hmmm right so what system is Tomaz using that 45 out of 5o guests have left a review because of his comments to them that they can't see! Ha strange really strange. Or they are leaving reviews on their own or they do it different in

Slovenian? You choose:) 

[Karen243]

What I would like added to the ratings is for BREAKFASTS.....this is after all an Air B&B (which stands for BED and BREAKFAST)....and yet 98% of my guests who have stayed at other Air B&B's have not recieved any Breakfast, and the other 2% have had a measly cup of coffee and a croisant if they were lucky!!   I go above and beyond to supply my guests with a substantial start to the day, and I think all Air B&B hosts should be the same, hence, bring on a rating for the Breakfasts!! 

[Letti0]

@Karen243  I rent out an entire house. I do leave the fixings eggs, bread, jams, waffle mix, etc. for their first days breakfast in case they didn't get to a store on time before arriving at night. I also leave cheese and meat trays, and a bunch of other things for the night of arrival. But it is impossible for the owners of entire homes to provide a breakfast everyday. 

[Lyndsey2]

In most places, cooking for a paying guest is illegal without all kinds of extra licenses, inspections, and special equipment. It's not expected by guests, especially in "whole house" or "whole apartment" rentals. But it's nice that you live in a place and have insurance coverage that makes it possible for you and your guests. I'm sure it's appreciated!