Unexplainable 4 star review?

[Jess4223]

I'm baffled.  I recently had a guest stay in my house, who has just left me a review.  I'm a bit upset, if I'm honest.  I try not to take things to heart, but I've been an Airbnb host and guest multiple times and always go the extra mile to either make guests feel welcome, or to leave their house spotless.  As a result, I've only ever received 5 star reviews. 

Anyway, this guest just wrote a review with no sign of there being any problems - he said the house was lovely, in a great location.  Yet he marked me 4 star for ALL aspects of the stay, with no explanation on any of them. 

During his stay, there were no issues, check in was simple as possible via my key box, he said everything was great and he had a great stay.  During his stay, my communication was exemplary - I responded to his messages very quickly, I messaged him a few times to check everything was ok / wishing him a lovely stay etc., I specifically told him not to hesitate to contact if he needed anything.  So I'm baffled why my communication was 4 star?  What more could I have done?! 

What I'm most upset about is the 4 star for check-in.   

The guest asked for a very early check-in - from 9am instead of 3pm.  Me being nice, I rearranged my cleaner's day to accommodate the guest.  My cleaner kindly agreed to come in the day before instead of the day of, so that the guest could check in 6 hours early.  In the end he didn't even check in till the evening, but still - I went the extra mile to ensure he had the option.  Check in itself is beyond simple - there's a key box for which he had the code, and therefore the freedom to arrive whenever.

I also got 4 stars for cleanliness, location and value... Equally baffling.  I have a brilliant and lovely cleaner, who had just been through the whole house (maybe she missed something, but the guest did not mention).   And re. vale - for 4/5 guests I think it's about right; it's a very unusual, big and quirky house that's probably near-on half the price of opting for 2 hotel rooms.

I put out numerous treats for my guests - wine, fancy teas in a cute tin for them to keep, free Espresso coffee capsules, nice bathroom products, write little notes, I even give them use of my local family attractions discount membership.  Most people appreciate all the extra touches.  I guess this time not so much - although I just wish I knew why. 

[Anonymous]

@Jess4223   You know what you get for bending over backwards for people? A broken back.

This guest threw up a big red flag when he asked for an exceptionally early check-in time without paying for the previous night, even though he effectively prevented you from booking it out. You'll find that the kind of people who make unreasonable requests like this don't understand the value of anything, and therefore aren't capable of appreciating what you do to accommodate them.

Now in a sane world, 4 out of 5 stars is still a very good rating, even though Airbnb presents it otherwise to hosts. Had the guest offered any constructive feedback, it would have been worth giving some thought to, but in absence of that, it's best just to accept that this guest wasn't a perfect fit for your particular home and hospitality style. There are always going to be some of those, so a "perfect" 5 star rating is never going to be realistically sustainable. Perfection is a reasonable goal if you're landing an airplane, but it just isn't a thing in hospitality. 

[Samuel793]

It's ok My dear some people don't understand value, and 4 star is not bad . I understand the used to 5 star thing but some people won't do it, they dont appreciate genuine hospitality. It's a red flag asking to check in early anyway, while we as host we intend to be flexible, some guest don't deserve it. Sometimes I tell them I have a guest who is yet to check out(most times its true), just to see how patient they are. They either keep the booking or cancel, don't worry someone else will book it and value your hospitality. 

[Solveig0]

I agree! 4 stars is normally good! Its just in Airbnb 4 stars is bad! And if you read the description of the Airbnb ratings that guests see, there's absolutely nothing wrong with 4 stars. The problem is that Airbnb seems to think 4 stars is bad. I wouldn't be upset about it. Be upset about Airbnb's wacky rating system. 

[Jess4223]

Thank you @Anonymous and @Samuel793 for your responses!  It's reassuring to hear your views and I feel better for venting and reading your messages. 

So, I ended up messaging the guest, thanking them for their review, and asking whether there was anything sub-standard about their stay, given the 4 star ratings for all elements of it.  I said that it would be helpful to know so that I could take their feedback onboard. 

The guest replied and said they were very happy with the stay, but that he never rates anything 5 stars.  Had I known that a guest is only ever going to give a max 4 star review - no matter what I do - I wouldn't have accepted them as guests, as just a couple of guests like that can really damage my reputation as a fairly new listing, and jeopardise me being able to reach superhost status. 

He also said that if he could pick one negative it would be that there were personal belongings in the cupboards.  This is explicitly stated in my listing, and always baffles me about guests that book Airbnbs.  They do know that Airbnbs are traditionally people's homes, right?!  All of my guests tend to be short stays (2-4 nights), so I always clear out a few cupboards for them to use during their few nights at my house - including several large drawers, a full length wardrobe and a whole cloakroom (not sure how many they expect for a stay of 4 nights?).  Also, the feedback doesn't explain the 4/5 for communication & check-in, where I went above and beyond for this guest! 

Ah well, can't win them all I guess!  Just a shame it's put me on a knife-edge for Superhost status now... 

[Jess4223]

What's even more annoying is that I gave this guest 5 stars in my review.  I was being kind, seen as when I returned, the beds were left unmade (not a big deal, but still - other guests always make the beds and leave the house exactly as they found it out of respect), and in the kid's room upstairs, my step-daughter's teddies and my cushions were just left all over the floor.  Also, didn't respond to my message that I'd arranged an early check-in for him until I chased.  The other major flaw about Airbnb in this instance is that I wouldn't recommend this guest to other hosts, as they will only ever get a 4 star max review out of him - I'd want to know that about someone I'm letting into my home. 

[Amanda660]

As always @Anonymous  is spot on with his comments.  The more you give the less you get. 

Last week a guest gave me 5s across the board for everything yet a 4 overall.  For the first time in 6 years I wasn’t bothered - I felt quite liberated not to be fussed by a sub 5*. 

[Jess4223]

Ah you're totally right not to be fussed.  I know I'm getting far too wound up over mine, but it's the first time it's happened and my lovely house is still relatively new on this site.  Plus, if I hadn't gone out of my way to make sure his stay was wonderful, I'd care a lot less 😄 

[Anonymous]

@Jess4223   When hosts put their past guests on the spot about why they left 4 stars instead of 5, the most common response by far is "I never give 5 stars." Sometimes it's probably true - guests from certain countries that I won't name have a notorious reputation for this - but I suspect that often the guest is trying to save face while being put in an uncomfortable situation. The thing is, the review process is pretty time-consuming, and there's no shortage of opportunities for the guest to say whatever they felt inclined to say. I'd really hoped that you could have restrained yourself from following up like that, as it truly undermines your hospitality after what was actually a successful stay.

The feedback about personal belongings in your cupboards is probably not worth taking any action on (you do disclose it in your listing description), but if cushions and toys were left on the floor, that's probably a signal that the guests felt other things were a bit in their way. Now that so many AIrbnbs are generic holiday apartments that nobody has ever lived in, more effort might be required to drive home the fact that your property is your primary residence before accepting a request.

I think it's reasonable enough that you can't review guests based on the rating they gave you - that would make the whole exercise pretty pointless. But the fact that the guest asked for an unreasonably early check-in, failed to communicate the change in plans, and arrived late after you organized it would have been the most relevant thing to mention in your review. This guy was acting entitled and inconsiderate from day 1, and you'll quickly come to recognize this attitude as the biggest signal that the guest won't be leaving you the coveted 5 stars. 

[Jess4223]

I get your point about not reaching out to guests re reviews, but I'm glad I did, as I got some feedback that I otherwise wouldn't have got - and I found out that there were no problems with my accommodation that I need to be aware of.  

Re. the personal belongings - not much more space I can clear, no.  But I will perhaps check with guests that they are aware it's my main home (and therefore has some personal belongings) before or when they book.  Perhaps I'll bring it closer to the top of the property description too.

[Solveig0]

Danish people never give 5 stars. Its part of the culture!

[Anonymous]

@Solveig0  Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

[Huma0]

@Jess4223 

From my experience, most guests who request early check ins don't really appreciate that you are doing them a favour when you say yes and that it's quite possible you have gone out of your way, changing your schedule around, rushing to clean or rearranging your cleaners etc. And then some of those guests arrive hours later anyway. Even if they appreciate it, they've usually forgotten all about it by the time they write the review. I've had guests who marked me down on cleanliness because I let them drop their bags hours before check in and they tend DEMANDED access to the bedroom and bathroom even though I explained that I was still in the middle of cleaning. 

In contrast, guests who do not get what they want in terms of early check ins, late check outs, luggage drops or whatever, will often remember this and hold a grudge. 

I once hosted two girls who agreed to check in at 3pm. At 1pm, they messaged me to say they wanted to come right now. I happened to be at a hospital appointment and my phone was switched off, so I didn't see their message until I left the hospital. I apologised for the slightly delayed response and explained I was at a hospital appointment and now on my way home. They then proceeded to message me every half hour for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening, delaying their arrival each time. I responded immediately to all of these messages, saying, "OK, no problem." They marked me down on communication because I did not respond immediately to that one message where they wanted to suddenly change their check in time (outside of my check in window) with no notice. They even wrote in their review, "We know she was in hospital... but..." and also complained about not being able to check in earlier, when in fact they of their own choice did not come until after 6pm.

Today I found out a guest who told me she was arriving at 4pm will actually not get here until 10.30pm . She'd not for a minute thought this would be an issue - actually, apart from it being outside of my check in window, I was supposed to be at a work event - to the extent that she hadn't even bothered to tell me. I only found out because I double checked.

I could give you so many more examples. Unfortunately, many guests will only consider their own convenience. It never occurs to them that you have a life. 

[Anonymous]

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@Huma0 wrote:

In contrast, guests who do not get what they want in terms of early check ins, late check outs, luggage drops or whatever, will often remember this and hold a grudge.

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I've seen this happen in some other hosts' reviews, with guests complaining about their special requests and demands being declined. This hasn't happened to me, but partly because I tend to sniff out the pushy people in their initial requests and decline their bookings outright. Anytime I need to refuse an early arrival, I shift the discussion over to advice about left-luggage facilities and relaxing places guests might spend their first hours in town, and so far none have held a grudge. But I have been marked down on Cleanliness because early guests arrived before I could finish cleaning. You're right - they really don't appreciate it one bit.

@Jess4223  One thing that works for me is referring to the beginning of the stay as an "arrival appointment." I completely stopped using the term "check-in" because that reinforces the delusion that it's all just like a hotel experience. You want guests to understand that their arrival is a special occasion that you must prepare and schedule for, even if you're using self-check-in (though not using it has its advantages if you want to make sure the arrival goes smoothly).

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

I am still honing this skill. For sure, things have gotten easier since I started becoming much fussier about the guests I accept but also because I make a big point RE the check in being a fixed time that I need to know in advance. Most of the examples I can give of things not going well in regards to this were in my earlier days of hosting, so the interaction with the guest today threw me a bit. I'm not used to it anymore, even though it used to happen all the time. I should maybe stop using the term 'check in' at all. 

However, these days I find that the guests who ask for these things usually do so AFTER I've accepted the booking, i.e. they either tell me one time and then later it turns out to be a totally different time (like this new guest) or when they book the room, they haven't booked their flight yet because it's still a long way off. 

For sure, I am trying to get better at refusing the pushy people. Problem is, some guests appear delightful before you accept the reservation and then only get pushy later.