When its says "pending review" in my app does that mean the guest gave his review?

[Kiki9]

Hi,

I had a real bad experience with a guest who didn't check out on time as he felt it was his right to stay longer. We had a discussion over whatsapp as new guest were coming and my cleaner was already in the apartment to clean for the next guest.

In this discussion we agreed to not give rating to each other as it would just be bad rating for the both of us. Now i see on my air bnb app that it says "pending review".

Does that mean he actually left a review?

[Linda108 · Accepted solution]

Kiki, I am sorry that you have decided to "stike a deal" with a non-compliant guest regarding the review process.  As a member of the host community, I feel an obligation to provide honest reviews for other hosts to use in making an informed decision about allowing this guest to book.

To your question, when the guest posts a review, you will receive an email advising you of it.  Pending review means you are within the review period.

[John1574]

* * * *

I notice, as a new host too, that there is a 14 day period to leave a review.  And it seems one party cannot see the other party's review until they leave one. 

If Kiki does not leave a review will her guest's review "go live" after 14 days  even if Kiki does not leave a review?

Linda, iyo, is it ever appropriate to not leave a review for a guest that you were not pleased with.  Is not the lack of a review by a host a type of tacit disapproval?

[Kathie21]

The lack of a review is no help at all, since a potential host 1) would not know it's missing and 2) some hosts sometimes miss doing a review, for whatever reason (illness, busyness, forgetfulness, laziness), so it's not necessarily a red flag.  A host not leaving a well deserved bad review is just a shirking of responsibility, (unless they have a well-founded fear of physical retribution).

[Ruth71]

Kathie, I agree with you.  Hosts should leave honest feedback.  I recently had a strange experience with a couple.  He smoked his cigars outside the front door without closing the door, she was surly and he came down to breakfast in a dressing gown.  The atmosphere was not relaxed and I couldn't work out what I was doing wrong!    I was in a quandry about my review because I wouldn't want them back.  So I contacted three hosts who had given them bland reviews (by making dummy bookings and explaining why I was doing that) and all three said that they had really not like having them to stay...they were rude and ungracious, left the apartment smelling of smoke, ate all the marmalade and complained about the quality etc.  One host said "She was poisonous"!!  And these hosts said that they knew they should have been more honest, but...So I left a fairly honest review.   And they gave me an absolute stinker and lowered my rating from 5*!!!!!  They had very strange expectations!

[Linda108]

Hi John, I find this whole review culture of everything from dining and purchases to accommodations and medical care an interesting sign of the times and I do usually find the reviews helpful, positive or negative.  Reviews in this shared economy experience are the backbone to the safety of the host and the value for the guest.  In my opinion, not being happy with a guest ranges from annoying to horrible.  Annoying can be a mismatch of the guest with the host, but horrible many mean major property damage or even threat to the host. 

Vague or general reviews are not helpful to either.  I ask myself if I would want to host a guest again and if not then my review spells out what was problematic.  Now sometimes what is problematic for me with a private room in my home would not be problematic in an entire house listing.  Important to realize that.   Sometimes the issue is ignorance on the part of the guest or host and a private message would be helpful.  I also understand that hosts are afraid of "retaliatory" reviews which are in part mitigated by the simultaneous publishing of the host and guest reviews.   If there is a negative review a professional response about the situation is more important than the review itself.  Not a perfect system, but I would not be able to participate in this business without it.

[Zolly0]

Hi Ruth and Linda, I always read reviews. Before "instant book", they helped me to decide whether to accept or refuse an enquiry. And it didn't matter if the review was bad. It depended on how the reply was handled so that I could see if that particular complaint was something that I would be OK with. As you say Linda, it could be annoying or horrible. Ruth, I lthink it's a great idea to contact previous hosts to see if yours was just a one off experiece with these particular guests. It gives more confidence when deciding how to review.