refine what guests are reviewing, ask different questions, a suggestion for airbnb

[S12]

I now realise why I do not get rave reviews yet in person guests are so very happy to stay in our home. They often think it is MORE beautiful than on the Airbnb website. So they say it is inaccurate. I think Airbnb should ask guests "why" for much of the review.  One, because it helps teh host and two it helps teh guest think about why so high or low and rethink if that is really teh review they want to leave. And perhaps cut down on any emotional reviews.

I personally have put more online photographs of the place, I thought positive suprises were good. They were happy but wished we would promote our place much more.

We also clearly state where it is located but it seems that Airbnb doesn't remind or send or they cannot access it, on if it is in a city or down a lane. I feel if it says it is on a mountain top, the guest is not fair to be upset that it really is and large shopping centers are lacking and convenience stores are absent, don't you?

So how do we stop this type of reaction besides being truthful?

I ask the community and Airbnb if they are reading this, how can Airbnb improve this and how can I avoid this?

[Joalexer0]

Hi, S you need to get professionally done photography. Airbnb offers this as a free option here https://www.airbnb.com/info/photography  

I don't know it's available in Luxembourg if not get a really good photographer to better represent the beauty of your place

[Barbara249]

When I travel I don't want surprises, positive or negative, I want to know exactly what to expect.

Don't assume people have read your writeup carefully,  be sure to stress the important things, both positive and negative. For example, I live on a hilltop but just saying that was not enough, I found that I have to stress that people will need a car if they stay with me because public transportation is 2 miles away down a long hill. 

[Danny9]

@Barbara249

I very much agree with you when you say that the guests usually do not read the write up. They do not have to. By not reading it, and often by even NOT looking at the pictures (verified by Airbnb) the guests are really doing themselves a disservice which clearly shows in their reviews and in the host's replies. 

One of my listing is a Duplex (split level) studio. I mention this in the very title, AND in the write up. I have also posted 6 pictures showing the staircase connecting the two levels of the Palm Suite. Actually, this split level feature is my second most important sales argument. Split levels are less common than all-on-one-level apartments. Quite a few people find this to be very attractive. Several guests did complain that they did not know, that they do not like stairs, etc.

No one is as deaf as someone who does not want to hear. 

Frankly, I have yet to come across any promotional material which lists the negatives. Sure, the downtown hotels/motels/airbnb listings in most cities are more likely to get more noise and general disturbance than the quiet suburban locations. Yet, no one I have ever come across tells their guests ahead of their booking that there is noise out there in the downtown area. An adult knows that this comes with the territory. 

Equally so, if you choose a very quiet, somewhat remote tophill location, you cannot expect major shopping malls and entertainment right at your doorstep. And frankly, you cannot really expect the hosts to start listing their relative negatives either. 

Danny

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[Sandra126]

Actually there are a lot of listings which mention the negatives. Often done in an amusing way, but clear enough. Such as ''my neighbour is really mad but harmless, she will shout abuse at you but just smile and nod and she'll put the knife away''. That listing only has great reviews. Or the one about the really LOUD train, or Mike and his crowing roosters. The bad neighbourhoods showing badass gangstas hanging in the playgound in the pictures. Those are GOOD listings because they do not hide what guests need to know.

I now mention that I am on a steep hill as clearly as poss, as guests who didn't like the hill told me they would have preferred being notified prior to booking. It is just a hill, ok! But it is there, in black and white. Hill. Steep.