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@SWLinPHX Agree with @GutHend. Please reconsider the format and verbosity. Like us, you clearly need something. IMO, your current guide is not efficient to your intended purpose. Hopefully, you will look on this in the friendly light it is intended.
Remember, guests do not read. We see this over and over. Not only the listing. Half of all guests ignore a tiny welcome msg with only 2 short questions. So, we need to make it very easy for them to see the notice, and react to our benefit.
We look to stress very few points:
Thank you for choosing us!
If anything needs our attention please let us know and we will immediately resolve
Air’s review system is not like hotels (4 stars is negative).
New host asked me for advice - this is what I sent them
It is HARD WORK!
Can be incredibly stressful.
This short term let is your business, Airbnb is a booking agent.
They do not have your back and cannot help if you have guest issues. They are faceless and on the other end of a phone.
They are guest centric and can change their rules at will.
The site is very glitchy, check your settings regularly.
The review system is incredibly unfair. They tell guests that a 4 star rating is good, they tell you that anything under 5 star is a fail and you may be delisted.
Read everything you can about running a STR.
Make sure you have arranged your own insurance.
GUESTS DON’T READ,!
Don’t have anything in your rental that will distress you if broken or taken.
Get professional photos done.
Be prepared to be available 24 hours a day.
( I got a question at 12.42 am last night and I am expected to answer WITHIN THE HOUR!)
You are now in the hospitality business!
If I were queen, there wouldn’t be any star ratings at all. Star ratings, anywhere, not just Airbnb, are far too subjective. They simply don’t give real information. One guest might rate your location as 5 stars, because they loved being in a remote place, where it was quiet and peaceful, and enjoyed the 20 minute walk to the nearest grocery store, they like the exercise. Another guest might rate it 1* because it was they had some romantic notion of what staying in a remote place would be like, then were terrified that there were actually animal sounds at night, that they saw some ants, and the fact that there wasn’t a grocery store on the next block was “inconvenient”.
But someone looking at those ratings would have no idea why they were given.
Then there’s the occasions where a guest who was really friendly and lovely and said how much they enjoyed the stay accidentally hits 1* on their phone (fat finger syndrome) without even realizing it until they get a message from the host asking why. And Airbnb won’t even let the guest change the rating when they explain what happened.
So if I had my way, this entire star rating madness would not exist- written reviews, which give real information, only.
Exactly what I have been saying and how I feel, muddy! Unfortunately it seems some here just don’t seem to get that and instead want to shift blame to the host and assume there must be something wrong that we’re doing when we get glowing reviews with 4 stars. Like the guest really didn’t meant to give a glowing review (as if that was the real “mistake”) but the 4 stars (meaning not quite good enough according to AirBnB) was really what they meant?? Don’t know how to explain this any more but I can’t stop those here who want to both assume the worst about a host or place they know nothing about and/or else take the opportunity to brag that they supposedly get nothing but 5 stars and speak for everyone else.
I do appreciate your input, muddy, because you’re the only one here who seems to get what I’m saying and to respond as such. The poster both you and I responded to did leave a lengthy response that you were responding to here but apparently deleted it as it was in my inbox but not posted here anymore.
Seriously though? You don’t see a difference? Talk about a strawman argument and a completely false equivalency. Apparently you are offended because we chose to alter your guide (which Lord knows now I wish I’d never posted, thinking I was helping and not knowing you were on the site and would be summoned to weigh in on what must be an attempt to get away with plagiarism – my bad) and maybe this is your way of venting in a pseudo friendly passive-aggressive way, I dunno. But let’s review: When people questioned why we couldn’t put “throw these people in jail” as a business with several rentals (when several hosts here may not be registered or running as official businesses and may just have one rental they rent as a private citizen) I simply explained why it won’t work for us. And somehow from that you take that as my calling you a “hillbilly” or saying anything derogatory about anyone else? LOL, I didn’t realize relaying our situation truthfully when asked a question means I am making a statement about someone else or promoting myself. Way to overreach there, GutHend.
On the other hand, the user I was replying to did indeed (in no uncertain terms) pretty much say (not even imply) that it’s probably due to something I’m doing wrong and that I am not being honest, when she said she doubts what I say can be true because she supposedly gets nothing but 5 stars and then proceeded to say no one else has this problem (when this whole thread – and others – is about this problem as many have expressed, but apparently she missed all that) and then went on to explain she feels 5 stars means only outstanding but if you get 4 stars there are issues, as if there is nothing in between and it is black and white (in other words, she sees it as AirBnB does, which most here do not). Yes, that was quite presumptuous and I stand by my somewhat restrained response 100% (trust me, I was being diplomatic compared to how I wanted to respond). Again, if you don’t see the difference I can’t help you there.
With all due respect, you don’t think when composing permanent signage we don’t “consider” what we’re writing and the finished result, especially after editing and revising it several times? Sorry, but I simply disagree it is too long. You think someone staying days or weeks or months doesn’t have time to read or at least scan over a posting that takes less time to read than a single post (much less many) on this forum? I disagree. I know I would certainly read it – out of curiosity if nothing else. In fact I would be more likely to read this than the full page size community rules we must display (longer and boring). And I think it is better than us telling them personally which to me would feel awkward and pandering.
They now have the info and they they can proceed as they wish, and I can rest assured their ratings will at least now truly reflect what they meant in AirBnB’s view. I said this so many times: that is our goal in doing this and what we care about. Guests who may have had an issue or were not completely satisfied will say so in their text and I don’t expect the signage to change any opinions or for them to leave a better review than they intended. It is when the verbal feedback and written review doesn’t match the implications that 4 stars has on AirBnB where I take issue and it causes problems. You don’t think we know the difference between which reviews we have received over all these years indicated not completely satisfied vs. which were happy as per the review text but were rated 4 stars thinking that was good? All we care is that the ones that were completely satisfied (which is about 85%) understand that 4 stars is not looked highly upon which is what we explain in the sign. I honestly don’t see how you guys think a small 5x7-inch sign with a brief introductory paragraph explaining why we have it posted followed by a brief description of each star rating’s implication as inferred on sites like AirBnB is so daunting or overwhelming. How can people who spend so much time on forums think guests can’t or won’t read a couple lines of description for each rating (which we deliberatly expanded upon to make it easier for a guest to discern which best describes their experience) when they are in the same place with the same sign for days/weeks/months? I guess they are going to cover their ways and look away each time they pass it in the foyer? LOL, I just don’t get that I guess.
Of course, you can’t be in this business so long without knowing how to bend and adapt, so if there are issues with it we will address them and make changes if necessary (which is what we are doing by posting the sign in the first place). As of now we’re quite happy with how it reads and feel it will accomplish our goal: Helping each guest understand that the star-system for AirBnB and many vacation rental sites is interpreted completely differently than many of them (and I myself) have grown accustomed to as a lifelong consumer. I was really surprised when I got in this business that 4 stars was bad. I was happy with them and think a mix of 4 and 5 stars is good, so I can certainly see how guests might see it that way too.
Agreed! It is so arbitrary to begin with, then not explained to the guest when a guide or key could be so easily posted on their review page, and then weighed heavily against us in a way that seems against what is logical and universally understood for all other consumer ratings.
IN CONCLUSION:
I think everyone has made themselves clear and I’m sorry I even offered it up on this forum at this point as the backlash was quite daunting and unexpected. Personally, I’m not looking for any further feedback as I’ve both said and heard enough. Of course anyone can continue to hash this out but I kindly ask that people not continue to address or respond to me personally again implying I don’t know what I’m doing, am new to renting, asked for approval or advice (as some do when posting) or am going to suddenly change my mind without trying it out, because none of that is the case. I simply offered our current solution for any that might be interested. My goal was never to convince anyone or change their minds or to follow my lead. I would love to move on. I think I would bury this thread if I could, LOL.
