Airbnb Review System – How the world SHOULD work!

Richard531
Level 10
California, United States

Airbnb Review System – How the world SHOULD work!

Can I just say, the world would be a MUCH better place if all merchants could review their customers (like we do on the Airbnb platform). 

 

Could you imagine?  If customers at a restaurant knew that they would be reviewed and then treated differently at other restaurants if they were jerks?  You know those horrible customers that walk into retail places and act like a-holes?  They wouldn’t even be let in if their terrible reputation proceeded them.  What a world that would be!

 

OK enough fantasy. . . 

 

I’m just here to say: I love the way we review our guests.  I appreciate that the hosts before me that are honest and call out these bad guests (it’s probably saved us a dozen headaches and even more money).  The whole concept increases the likelihood that guests will be kind, respectful, and good people – even if they’ve never stayed in an Airbnb before.  LIKE EVERYONE SHOULD IN THE FIRST PLACE!  But with this process, it probably quadruples the frequency in which guests act how they should.

33 Replies 33
Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Richard531 

 

It's a great system in theory, but in reality, many hosts do not leave honest reviews and, even if they leave honest ratings, Airbnb rounds up the guests' star ratings significantly in a way they don't for hosts (it is not a level playing field at all). Why is the guest I rated down in every category still showing 5.0*, when she only has one other review and so mine is supposed to count for 50% of her score? Why is that even possible? And then there are a lot of hosts who don't leave a review at all, because they are too scared to...

 

I am grateful though to all hosts that do have the guts to leave honest reviews for bad guests. I have dodged a couple of bullets that way. It's just a shame that people leave generic good reviews for guests that are clearly problematic.

 

I will give you one example. My least favourite guests of all time (possibly the rudest people I have met, let alone hosted) had 25 positive reviews and a 5* rating. They were a nightmare in more ways than I can describe and I don't want to write an essay. I left them a less than glowing review and, lo and behold, suddenly their next host did the same. It was like she needed someone else to do it first so that hers would not stand out.

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Richard531 
@Huma0 

you are both right. I suspect guests are not quite so used to the double-review thing (who else does it? eBay, Vrbo, Airbnb), and forget their reputation is on the line. I get SO many newbies asking for early check-in plus late checkout ("oh like 11am" they say, "we want to really maximise our time at your place"). Such ignorant and greedy behavior always surprises me with newbies, don't they realise I'm able to review them? 

I was reading a local restaurant's reviews the other day and whilst most seemed accurate, you could spot the idiotic types and I think Richard's idea of reviewing diners might very well solve the problem of unfair reviews you see in restaurants.  

 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

I honestly don't know how many companies use a two-way review system. As for Ebay, I don't think that counts anymore as years ago, in the UK anyway, they stopped sellers from being able to leave anything but a positive review for buyers, while buyers could still leave positive, neutral or negative. This was obviously a bad deal for sellers. In my personal experience, it opened things up wide to scamming buyers. I used to sell a lot of stuff on Ebay, but very rarely list anything since they made this change.

 

A more compatible company might be Uber. I wonder though how often the customers look at their rating. A couple of months back, I just happened to mention the Uber rating system to a guest and she looked at her app. She was really shocked that she didn't have a 5* rating, but she hand't thought to look before...

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Huma0  oh had no idea about that ebay change. I too used to sell on ebay, but honestly haven't used it much as a buyer for a long time, and as most of the sellers now are no longer independents I rarely bother to leave a review. It was fun in the old days.... 

Uber is the perfect example.  You made me check my uber rating and I have a 4.9!! wtf. ha, I've never thought to check it either. Apparently there are things that irritate Uber drivers a lot, like slamming doors (easy to do I imagine when you aren't familiar with the car) or not being ready on time. I've only used uber a dozen times, never drunk lol, so I'm positive I've been stone-cold boring sober for every trip, on time and not eating/drinking in the car. My husband has also used my Uber a few times.... god help me. 😅 that man has no filter. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

I have no idea what my Uber rating is. I have also never thought to check, but I rarely use it anymore. I used to use it for work but it was so unreliable and some of the additional charges a bit suspect.

 

I doubt I have a 5* rating because, even though like you I have always been on time (I never order one until I am there ready to go), never eat/drink in the car, never used one while drunk, I have encountered a couple of very grumpy drivers (even though most have been very nice). I think also if they can see the customer is not happy, because they are late or whatever, they're unlikely to leave 5*, but who knows?

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

The last time I tried to sell something on Ebay, it was a major hassle. People would send the most stupid questions rather than just reading the listing (sound familiar?) and I had two or three people buy the item and then change their minds. I could have stuck to my guns and made them pay, but the point for me was not making money but actually getting rid of a large item that needed to be picked up.

 

Eventually, I sold it on FB marketplace, not that that was straightforward either... Also a lot of time wasters.

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Huma0  yes i'm kind of at the end of my joy with FB marketplace. As a seller... I love it as a buyer! but I'm the kind of person who just says "yes, when pay your price, when is convenient for me to fetch it". As a seller i can full understand when I see people write "will not respond to "Is it available" messaging. why hasn't FB fixed this annoying system? you can apparently somehow leave a rating for a seller but I've never seen how/where, and I buy stuff all the time on marketplace. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

I didn't even realise you could leave a rating for the seller on FB marketplace.

 

You can mark an item as sold/no longer available, but before that, you get bombarded with messages just asking "Is it still available?", even from the moment you list it. So, I guess that's either buyers just being annoying, or sellers being slack and not marking things as sold and just leaving them active. 

 

The thing that put me off more, which is something you don't generally get on Ebay or Airbnb, is the weird, creepy messages and cyber stalkers.

Richard531
Level 10
California, United States

@Huma0 Spot on with Uber!

 

I had never looked at my rating until about 6 months ago (after riding for years).  Imagine my horror when it wasn't good!  I think I'm like a 4.8 or something!  Ugh!  

 

And I probably deserved it.  Bringing drinks into the car, overpacking the car, talking loud. . . Those days are OVER!  

 

I'm a full-blown angel now.  

 

DOUBLE REVIEWING WORKS.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Richard531 

 

But I wonder if, as Airbnb hosts, we have a different view of these ratings? I mean, in most places a 4.8 would be fantastic, so should we care if we don't have a perfect 5* as a customer? Do other customers care?

 

Sure, double reviewing does work but you and I and others mentioned didn't even know what their Uber rating was until we touched upon the subject. It only works when people are paying attention to it.

Richard531
Level 10
California, United States

@Huma0  Do guests care?  Mostly not.  There just aren't enough savvy/experienced guests on the platform (yet).  They look at the pretty pictures, make sure the place has 1-2 amenities they think work for them, MAKE SURE THE PRICE IS RIGHT, and then book. 

 

On the other hand, I know that for me, as a guests (I've stayed in over 100 Airbnb properties on 6 continents) that if the property is below 4.95, it's probable that it won't be an elite level property.  Period.  But do I care?  Not really!  I just know from my experience, you creep below 4.95 and the listing won't be super duper nice.  Or the host won't be super duper responsive.  

 

Does the algorithm care?  It's my position that the answer to that question is a resounding, overwhelming, in all bold letters, YES.

 

And the algorithm (which means more views, which means more CTR, which means more bookings) is all we care about.

 

We run every listing 100% occupancy.  Not 99%, but 100%. 

 

One of the reasons I feel this happens is because of our ~4.99 collective review profile.  

 

Back to Uber: with my 4.8 profile, do some drivers pass on taking my fare?  Maybe!  If there's a 4.99 waiting for an Uber and they are standing next to me?  Yep!  They'll get the Uber before I would (as they should).  

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Richard531 

 

Sorry, I wasn't very clear in my last post. What I meant was, as an average customer (i.e. guest, passenger), would we think that having a 4.8* rating from a service (host, driver) is a bad thing, or a good thing, if we notice that rating at all?

 

You don't want to have a 4.8* as an Uber passenger, but is that because you are also an Airbnb host, and therefore used to working within a system where any rating below 4* is considered a fail?

 

I think the average person might think that having a 4.8* rating makes them an excellent customer!

Richard531
Level 10
California, United States

@Huma0 I asked my wife.  She was a 4.99.  I asked my Dad.  He was a 5.0.  


I also began to be cognizant of driver's review profiles.  Most I seemed to pull up were 4.95+  

 

Sooooo. . . 


4.8 isn't very good on Uber!  

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Richard531 

 

No, I don't think 4.8 is good. From what I've been told, Uber is one of the few places that are similar to Airbnb in terms of ratings, in that anything less than a 5* review is considered bad.

 

However, there is a very distinct difference in the systems as far as I can tell. On Airbnb, as a customer/guest, your 4.8 rating would automatically be rounded up to 5.0. Even if you had a 4.55 rating, it would display as 5.0 and potential hosts would be none the wiser...