So I’m trying to figure out why I’m 4.9. My last guest last year loved everything, gave us a glowing full recommendation, 5 star on every sub category but… 4 star overall ! How is that possible ?
Sorry - you got the 4 stars because you are not the 5 star Ritz Hotel rating. Also, have you ever seen the way Airbnb presents the ratings? 3 star is Good, 4 Star is Meets expectations and 5 star is beyond Expectations. So the guest never realises that anything less than 5 stars is a fail.
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That’s terrible. I don’t think guests realize that a four for hosts is a slap on the face, especially when they write a glowing review.
I once got 5 stars in every category, a long, glowing review, a return trip booking from the same guest and 1 star overall. 4 years and 300 reviews later I’m still stuck at 4.98 overall. It was just a mistake but it sucks the same.
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I now have two 4 star reviews out of 85
Badges of honor.
IDGAD
RR
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Well, a least it’s nice to see a return to topics that aren’t virus-related.
It’s impossible to say what was going through the mind of your guest. Some people put a high value on things that don’t fit into the individual categories. Some people have different standards to compare with. There are many posts exactly like this, so you’re not alone. Here’s an example:
If you had a 5-star overall beforehand, I can see how this would be particularly irritating, but at least it’s over now… like the first scratch on a brand new car, your image is no longer perfect, even though it’s pretty close. There’s an extremely good chance that you are an excellent host. I wish you luck as you get back to hosting and earning a living in the most difficult time ever for Airbnb hosts.
[Edit: I challenge you to ask your guest (extremely politely) what you could do to make their stay a 5-star experience. If they reply, it may be enlightening in multiple ways. Whatever they say, just thank them, and do your best to accommodate your future guests.]
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But it says last guest last year. So if we are desperate I could dig into last years guests as well.
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The guest evidently values something that Airbnb does not measure.
Our very first guests made me wonder if I should even host, they gave us 3 because we were too far from town (2 miles) and because we were out in the woods! We are in the middle of 30 acres and our guests have their own kitchen, living room and master bedroom.
Guests about six months later gave us a 4 because they lacked privacy. It was one family with two brothers in their 50s and their teenage son. They said that because one night when they were in the spa I walked over and asked if the water temperature was ok or would they like it warmer.
Everyone else gave us 5, so now I do not take any guest too seriously.
Definitely the best way. 
When guests are in residence, they are the most important people on the planet. Once they’ve checked out, they’ve gone. End of story. I don’t worry about their reviews, or the star rating they leave, I just concentrate on making sure that the next guests have a great time.
I know it’s super-corny but what’s already happened doesn’t matter. Done. Gone.
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This has happened to us a couple of times, and i have always taken the time to respond to their review and point out that the all 5 stars in individual categories didn’t add up to a 5 star overall rating with an apology that we fell short of their expectations with their overall experience. My hope is this will avoid this ridiculousness for future hosts reviews.
Got to be honest, if we get a review that is less than 5*, or 10 on BDC, I either bitch and curse for five minutes about entitled guests if it was undeserved, or breath a sigh of relief if its not as bad as it could have been when we’ve had a nutter staying.
Then that’s it, as @jaquo said, move on to the next one. No point in overthinking it. If you’re confident with your product then just put stuff like this down to the vagaries of guests.
JF
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We won’t take guests back who give us three stars. One lady rented a nice place but she didn’t find the sofa comfortable and told us (but the owner was not about to go out and buy a new sofa immediately). We did speak to her about it and said we would consider replacing it soon. Before they left I helped them book a different rental in the same complex directly for peak season next year at a great price with no fees. Then after checking out they gave us 3 stars on the rental they were just in just because of the sofa. I contacted her back and explained I was canceling her reservation for the other rental next year. No reason to rent to someone who could be a liability, especially when we book solid in peak season (and after I went out of my way to help them).
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We composed and framed these signs in all of our rentals in 5"x7" photo frames and also include it in our checkout email when we thank them and return their deposit. We had to leave it in the rental too because some guests review us before they check out (before they get our email with deposit refund):
…our checkout checklist reads:
IMPORTANT: A full rating of all 5 stars means you were generally satisfied overall with no major complaints. Each star docked indicates something wrong that negatively impacted your stay; for instance 4 stars indicates almost (but not completely) satisfied. Travel sites regularly demote property listings with too many ratings of 4 stars or less. Please refer to the “Vacation Rental Rating” guide posted near the entrance.
@SWLinPHX Asking for a friend, How many more times are you going to post your rating system?
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Good notion but far too wordy. Guests don’t read a mere 3-4 paragraph listing. Would be better as 1 line bullets - people might actually read it.
The same concept was done - and funny - with someone with 1 star being something like “host should go to jail”.
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Yes, that was a good one.
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I don’t see paragraphs at all. I see an intro explaining the chart and the need for it, then a guide or “key” to follow for each rating. I find being less “tongue-in-cheek” to be more credible and to be taken more seriously. That’s why we reworded it. Wasn’t aware everyone already knew about this chart on here as I am relatively new to this forum.
A “friend”? LOL, okay. But to answer your question I think it is very helpful and necessary due to AirBnB’s evaluation and interpretation of ratings differing from their instructions and not explaining that to guests, then penalizing hosts who get glowing reviews but with 4 vs. 5 stars. Few of them think 4 stars is bad. I never thought so until AirBnB came around and others followed suit.
To answer your question, we posted it three times in the three most pertinent discussion topics we could find so people could find it and use it if they wanted. We figured three was a good number to ensure visibility without flooding the site.
Any other questions HH_AZ? I’d be happy to answer.
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I lost that bet! I guessed you’d be shooting for a 5 
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I have no experience other than AirBNB, so I’m unfamiliar with how ratings work for its competitors. Does the rating system correlate to other STR company rating systems.
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I’d just about given up, but since you asked I’ll redirect to a question I asked you earlier this month. And in order to keep on topic, if you’re able to provide insight, I’d suggest your reponse be on that topic. Thanks!
https://airhostsforum.com/t/should-there-be-a-dedicated-airbnb-style-platform-for-long-term-medium-term-rentals-keep-the-easybooking-but-add-more-security-credit-checks-id-digitally-signed-tenancy-agreements-option-to-video-meet-potential-tenants-etc/41786/46?u=hh_az
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