Airbnb Ratings can only go down.

[Jillian115]

 I just realized that with every 4-star overall rating, I need 100, 5-star ratings to overcome it. Honestly, it's becoming harder to make an effort.

We have had 109 reviews to date, 106 overall 5-star reviews, and three 4-star reviews.

The three 4-star guests were all extremely inconsiderate. The first two both arrived early and made special requests. The third was super messy, had horrible communication, and threw rocks at our dog. Two of them gave me 5 stars on everything but 4 overall.  I am now at 4.97 

I question if it's worth it. I'm marked down for location the most, maybe ten times out of 109. Our listing states this is a rural community with no streetlights and is set to exact location. Then I get marked down for it being dark, away from it all, or in a rural community.

I'm set to only allow guests who have been recommended by hosts. So now I know if they can't autobook, they lack recommendations. I have a request pending at the moment, and I can't decide. She has a 4.0 average rating with 3 reviews.

I'm worried. If I accept her, she may be the one to drop me to a 4.96, and with every 4-star review, I need another 100 five star reviews to overcome it. It just makes me tired.

[Sarah977]

A 4.97 rating after 109 reviews is great- I don't quite understand why you're stressing. I realize it's disconcerting when you've maintained a 5* rating for a long time and some fusspot guest ruins that, but ratings are totally subjective and their purpose is to stress you out.  Don't get caught up in that game. Guests aren't not going to book just because you don't have a perfect 5* rating in every category. 

You are hosting presumably because you enjoy it and it provides income. That's what matters, not your star ratings.

As far as I'm concerned, they should be eliminated entirely, only written reviews allowed.

I've never used IB, and non-IB hosts can't see guests' star ratings, so I've never used those as a criteria for accepting guests. I decide whether to accept a guest based on the way they communicate with me, reading any written reviews they may have, and cross-referencing to see the kind of reviews they have written for their past hosts. Some guests haven't have any reviews at all on their profiles. And I've been lucky- never had a bad guest.

@Jillian115

[Jillian115]

Thanks, @Sarah977 I do get caught up in the ratings. I work really hard to make sure they are good so it's a huge disappointment when they are bad. I totally stress when I open them. I don't know what you mean by IB and non-IB. What's that?

[Sarah977]

IB- Instant Book. 

If you are doing a good job as a host, which you obviously are, there really isn't any reason to get upset about the ratings. Just imagine that there weren't any ratings, only written reviews- would you start slacking off on being a good host? I doubt it. 

If what you mean when you say you work really hard for the good ratings, it's that you try to make things okay for demanding, complaining, difficult guests, don't. Those types of guests don't appreciate the effort and it does nothing to change their review.

All I can tell you is that I've never concerned myself with ratings, (written reviews, sure, it's great to read that guests were pleased) never knocked myself out with the thought of earning 5*s, I just host in a way that comes naturally to me and how I'd want to be treated if I were a guest (I'm not a fusspot princess so I'd be pretty adaptable). And I get 5* reviews. But that doesn't mean that I couldn't get 4*s sometime down the line.

Do you realize that Airbnb tells guests that 4*s means Good? Most guests have no idea that hosts get upset about 4* ratings. I'm a home share host, so I have lots of interaction with guests. When we've gotten to talking about Airbnb, their past experiences, reviews, etc. and I tell them how harshly Airbnb treats hosts over less than 5* reviews, they are shocked. They thought they were leaving a good rating for past hosts when they left a 4* rating. That's why it's not worth stressing about. 

@Jillian115

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115 Sarah is spot on with everything she said. Don't let the star ratings and superhost bull cause you to lose perspective.

Star ratings and all that hoohah aside though, you can still save yourself from troublesome guests. Initial communication is really telling about a guest. Use it to inform you as to whether you want to decline or not. A guest who starts right off with demands and requests is not going to be a good guest. You have evidence of that already "The three 4-star guests were all extremely inconsiderate. The first two both arrived early and made special requests." It's almost always never a good idea to accept a guest like that. As soon as you start acquiescing (because rarely do you WANT to allow the requests, such as a discount or early check in), you are on the wrong foot. They will walk all over you and end up being trouble in some way or another. They are rarely worth the booking. 

[Debra300]

@Jillian115

A few months ago @Ann72 led an informal test to determine if star rating impacted placement in search results.  Hosts from all over performed searches, and shared the results.  Many of us found that spaces with 3.X* ratings often appeared in the top 10 search results.  We also provided our own personal experiences, and most stated that even after receiving the odd low rating or negative review that our bookings were not impacted, because most guests could suss out a troublesome guest or bogus review by looking at the host's response to the review and reading other reviews left for the host.

[Ute42]

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@Jillian115 

This is the @Ann72  's thread that @Debra300   mentioned.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Let-s-talk-about-search/m-p/1346232#M14385

[Ann72 · Accepted solution]

@Jillian115  I don't know if you've accepted the recent request or not, but I just come out and ask the guest to tell me about the poor ratings.  It doesn't matter what the answer is - it's how they answer the question.  Some people become better Airbnb guests as they go along and learn what's acceptable and what's not.  Or they started when they were young and careless and have matured a bit.  Anyway, never hesitate to ask - being up front about it also puts the guest on notice that you're going to be paying attention and encourages them to be on their best behavior.

And I agree with all the other smart hosts @Debra300 @Colleen253 @Sarah977 here about the star ratings.  Yours is excellent.  I'm almost at the point where I find someone with 5 stars a little suspicious 🙂  It's rare to have that many reviews and maintain a perfect 5.

As for location - ugh, I get those 4s as well, with a similar set-up - two houses on a dozen acres, in the woods, dark, and not as close to the national park as some would like.  I've gotten interested in the Dark Sky movement and try to make a virtue out of how dark it is.  "Let us know if you'll be arriving late so we can leave lights on for you - it's dark enough on the hill to see the Milky Way."  "Turn outdoor lights off when you turn in to help preserve our treasured Dark Sky."  Etc.  Then guests mention these things as positives in their reviews.  

[Jillian115]

Thanks, @Ann72 I'm going to try not to let it get to me. I've never had a bad written review I should be thankful for that. Two of the four stars were new to Airbnb and didn't make an effort to understand it. The third was very young and careless. All three were very inconsiderate with horrible communication.

The location does really bothers me because they are marking me down based on information that was provided to them prior to their booking. A gravel road (pictured), rural community (in the listing and pictured), outside of town (stated in the listing), dark ("a stargazers paradise, no street lights"), and I'm set to exact location.    

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115  That location category is a real thorn for many hosts. I think we all have at least one guest who has basically said that we could improve by moving the listing. 'K, gimme a sec, I'll get right on that' 🙄

Another seemingly useless but actually valuable category is value. When I was a new host and got my first 4 (and even one 3)  in that category I was offended and hurt. I know what I offer is fabulous value. But then I learned that having consistent 5's in that category is a signal I need to raise my rates. So I'm now good with some 4's in 'value'!

[Jillian115]

@Colleen253 That's interesting. I have had all 5s in value but 2 out of 109. The first I believe was a mistake because she marked me down for deceptive pictures. She was doing an Airbnb tour across the country and I'm pretty sure she confused my listing with another. I wonder if I should look at raising my rate. Airbnb says I'm overpriced for the area already. 

[Debra300]

@Jillian115,

Never listen to Airbnb's suggestions about price.  You need to do your own market research to find the true comps in your area, and then review their pricing.  

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115 Never trust what Airbnb tells you, especially when it comes to pricing. Their focus is on encouraging bookings. That’s why they are always pushing hosts to lower prices, give discounts, yada yada. 

[Debra300]

@Colleen253,

As we used to say when I was a kid, "jinx".

[Ann72]

@Jillian115  You are definitely not overpriced and could easily raise your rate.  

Don't forget that pricing algorithms don't take acreage into account.  Your guests are getting a lot more for their money than someone on a half-acre lot.