The reviews system is being updated

[Jenny]

Hosting connects you to strangers from around the world that you’d likely never cross paths with if you weren’t a Host on Airbnb. Reviews are an essential part and natural conclusion to each stay – whether a Host rates a guest or a guest rates the experience they had during their stay, reviews are displayed publicly for everyone to see. With that being said, sometimes reviews left by guests may feel unfair. You’ve told us that you’re frustrated with the current reviews system, so we’re updating the way reviews work as a result of your requests.

Feel more comfortable hosting guests without worrying about the possibility of receiving a retaliatory review or not having enough info about potential guests with the following upgrades:

• Learn how you can dispute retaliatory reviews under our updated reviews policy.
• Flag reviews from guests who commit a serious policy violation or violate your house rules.
• Read specific details left about guests by other Hosts—and leave these details when any guest stays with you. 

Early next year, we’re also introducing a chatbot to make it easier for you to initiate a review dispute—without having to contact Community Support.

The same process applies to the reviews guests leave for you. Guests will still choose one to five stars for their overall stay. They can now also add a star rating—and specify what went well or could have gone better—in several categories. Only your overall star rating is factored into Superhost criteria, so your star ratings and feedback in specific categories won’t impact your Superhost status. 

Read more about it on the Resource Center.

[Bhumika]

Hello @Mike-And-Jane0 ,

Thanks for appreciating the efforts. Hope these new changes can benefit both hosts as well as guests and make review disputes easier to solve.

Bhumika

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[Martha943]

In general I think this sounds like a big improvement. I really like the idea of being able  to read and leave feedback for other hosts only, not the guests. Sometimes a little heads up is worth its weight in gold, when a guest is generally very good but has a few foibles that are worth being forewarned about.

I'm happy to see addressing the specific problem of bad reviews from guests that broke rules, having seen this happen to someone I know. 

I think it's all a good step in the right direction. 

I would also like as a consideration for the future, the ability to dispute a bad review when the mistake is the guest's, and it can be clearly proved. 

Here's an example from my experience: 

Last year I had a ten day booking from a person who I thought would not enjoy herself at my house at that time of year. I told her in detail via the inbox the problems that I foresaw but she insisted that it was what she wanted. 

She stayed one night and then said she wanted to leave, saying she was not happy, for all the reasons I had carefully pointed out to her! 

I helped her find somewhere more suitable and proposed to charge her my minimum stay of three nights so I didn't lose out too much. 

Now in fact, the lady was extremely nice about it, and admitted quite happily that I had been right and the mistake had been hers. I was upfront that I was worried about a bad review. and she told me not to worry at all, and she kept to her word. 

However, I contacted Airbnb support about this while I waited for the review, because I was very worried. And I was told that, basically, I just had to suck it up if she left a bad review. 

Luckily she didn't! But that would not have been a situation of retaliation, or of rules broken. Nevertheless I felt it would have been a situation where I would have been justified in asking a bad review to be removed, and I felt very un-supported when I was told it was not, especially when I had gone out of my way to help, cancelling the major part of a very big reservation and finding her a suitable hotel in a different location. 

Something to consider for the future perhaps. 

[Huma0]

@Martha943 

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@Martha943 wrote:

I really like the idea of being able  to read and leave feedback for other hosts only, not the guests. 

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BUT, see @Gillian166 's post where she shares screenshots of the new review process. It told her that the comments would be shared with the guest, as well as other hosts.

As for your experience, personally, I think it is reasonable that reviews/sections of reviews should be removed if they are complaining about anything that is CLEARLY stated on the listing, and that includes things like when the guest complains that they weren't allowed an early check in. It's just common sense to me, but there is no way that Airbnb are going to remove those kinds of reviews.

I once had a guest who complained in her review (and marked me down) because she claimed she had not been told about something important. I messaged her and reminded her that, not only was it mentioned twice on the listing, which I asked her to confirm she had read, but she was reminded about it in THREE messages. She admitted that she had missed the information (clearly she had not read a thing), but couldn't care less as she was on holiday and didn't want to be bothered about it. So, I called CS, but they told me the same as you. "It doesn't violate our content policy" and  "It's the guest's experience".

I appreciate your optimism, but nothing Airbnb has said about the 'new' policy on retaliatory reviews will make any difference in situations like this or the one you describe. I'd be willing to bet my bottom dollar that those will not qualify as retaliatory, which is understandable. Those guests are not being retaliatory. They are just being clueless.

[Bhumika]

Hello@Martha943 ,

Glad that you found this new update helpful . Thanks for sharing your experience and suggestions here. 

Bhumika

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[Debra587]

At the very beginning of renting our cottage we had a person named

**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]

, write a review, "that the cottage was very remote and there wasn't any shopping to speak of."  Her review has caused a lower review number than I would like, and most reviews since then have been high, but it's hard to overcome one that was so low.  I understand that your new retaliatory review protections can dismiss a review that may be affecting our review numbers. Thank you.

**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]

, one and three stars given in the value, location, and accuracy categories.

Sep 21 - Sep 23, 2018

[Huma0]

@Debra587 

No, I am afraid you have misunderstood. The "possible" removal being referred to is for retaliatory reviews, i.e. when a guest leaves a bad review in retaliation for something, like being brought up on breaking house rules or being asked to pay for damages.

It has nothing to do with reviews where the guest gave you low ratings simply because they didn't like the place (regardless of whether it was exactly as per your listing) or any and every review that is affecting your rating. 

[Jenny]

Hi @Debra587 

I've moved your post over to our dedicated post about the update to the review system, just to keep things tidy!

You can request removal of any retaliatory review, regardless of how long ago it was posted. 

You can read more about how that works here - hope this helps!

Jenny