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Hi all,
I’m from Sydney and I just want to see if anyone in Sydney/Australia has created a “guest blacklist” of some sort? I’m asking because I don’t believe the review system is adequate and believe we need something like a google spreadsheet for all hosts in Sydney/Australia to put in guests. i.e. those guests who lies to your face when you ask them if there is any issues or things to address to make their stay a more enjoyable one and they tell you that everything is great. They then give you either a bad review or bad ratings OR BOTH! To me these guests are the worse as you couldn’t improve their experience because they kept it to themselves and risk getting you delisted by giving you bad ratings and losing money because of something you had no control with or something you weren’t aware off.
I’m a good host who focuses on communication and hope my guest does the same so it’s annoying to work your butt off for the guest and expect a good review at the end and being disappointed.
There are also those cases where you can’t really be too truthful in your responses in case you come off too defensive so this is a good way to prevent other hosts from getting a similar guest. I’m happy to start one if none is in existence if people would like me to share the file via Google
LIGHTEN UP Andrew! Geez! A Blacklist sounds like 1930s Communist talk. I will never stay with someone who might put me on a list – good or bad. Who died and made you the Airbnb host guardian??? My partner and I were planning a trip to OZ next year, and you listing is one I will never book!
Guests aren’t necessarily “lying to your face” if they say everything is great. At that moment in space/time, things may be super. But upon reflection, maybe you could have done this, or that better…
Do you actually look at what your guests say is nor right? Or do you just fly off the handle because they didn’t give you a perfect review and/or 5 stars. If you’re getting that many negative reviews or low Star numbers, maybe it’s YOUR fault, not a bunch of picky guests. Maybe there are things you need to do to make your guest’s experiences better!
You talk about being good at communications – then communicate. Educate your guests about Airbnb and the review and Star system.
Reviews aren’t so much for the guest as they are your fellow hosts. In the Public Review be CONCISE, FACTUAL, UNEMOTIONAL and TRUTHFUL (no conjecture): “Cannot recommend Guest because they ignored my House Rules, Fact 1, Fact 2…” is perfectly acceptable and tells the rest of us what to expect. In the Private part of the review tell them what they did that did not meet your House Rules.
There are millions of Airbnb users and Sydney gets guests from all over the world. The chance of you looking up a guest and finding them on the list is miniscule. In addition that wouldn’t work with instant book guests. One thing you can do that might be helpful is to use the Chrome extension called AirReview. It shows you the reviews the guest has left for previous hosts. That way you have a heads up about picky guests and maybe you can stop problems before they start.
I understand the fantasy of a list, but it’s unrealistic that it will ever happen.
As a host, you work with the general public. Occasionally there are going to be people that don’t communicate well or are dishonest. Or annoying. Or want to check in early, stay late. Or cook smelly food. It just comes with the territory.
The bright side is that most people we host are great, friendly people who have good experiences and write good reviews.
The airbnb thumbs down system of reviews was created for that purpose. I know many hosts including myself don’t like to leave negative reviews, but if the guest is really awful, I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger.
I agree that the thumbs down thing AND the review system are there to ensure that bad guests are named ansd shamed.
There would be no need for any other system or blacklist if every host left honest reviews. Sadly, many new hosts write reviews for their guests to read and NOT for other hosts.
I’ve seen multiple guests with multiple bad reviews and fewer recommendations than reviews (indicating thumbs down or staying with the same host more than once). It doesn’t keep them from getting someone to host them. I still advocated giving honest reviews but I’m no longer under any illusions about their efficacy.
True, but if a host is willing to take on the bad guest, its really up to them to bear the risk. Plus, collecting and distributing personally identifiable data may land one in serious trouble against the personal data protection act. If someone gets hold of that list, you may find yourself defending against a few lawsuits. Afterall, we are all in a litigious society.
I’m not arguing for a list. I’ve hosted 100s of people who, truth be told, I have no idea who they are. I don’t need a list and I have no restrictions on my IB. I’ve canceled once out of 100s I didn’t know and once on someone who’d stayed here 4 times previously. That’s it.
