- how many hosts actually bother to do this?
- I’ve noticed abb has made this much harder to do with the recent upgrade.
2 Likes
I haven’t tried to since the “upgrade”. I have only done it once or twice, as almost all the guests I get have great reviews and communicate nicely, so I’ve never felt the need to check whether they found fault with every place they’ve stayed. If I saw a review where the host indicated that not all was okay, I’d probably check to see how the guest reviewed the host. There’s almost always 2 sides to a story and I wouldn’t necessarily believe the host straight away, either- it would depend on whether I saw that that host nitpicked other guests in the reviews.
Mostly I have checked to see how guests on the CC who make all kinds of entitled-sounding complaints about some supposedly scammer host have reviewed their past hosts, just for fun. They have often written complaining reviews about other places they’ve stayed.
I just tried clicking on my past guests’ profiles (I don’t have any current or upcoming guests) and it works the same as it always did- I can easily navigate to the hosts’ profiles of other places my guests have stayed. How have they made it much harder? (using my computer, not app, and didn’t sign up for the beta early opt-in)
We had a similar experience recently. They were super high maintenance, asked to check in early, asked for extra towels after first night, etc. I could tell right away they didn’t read our instructions on our listing because they asked if we provide parking. On our profile we give detailed instructions for checking in, including where to park on our property. Despite all that we let them check in early, gave them extra towels, instructed them where to park. They ended up giving us a bad review saying our listing was not accurate and that the area was super bad, etc. They also gave us bad marks on all the Airbnb review scores. We have hosted on this platform for 9 years and have over 400 reviews that honestly make me tear up how great they are. Not to brag but my wife and I are both in the hospitality business and we have done great in going the extra mile to provide amazing hospitality to all our guests. For whatever reason, these guests decided to bring our rating down, despite accommodating their special needs. I was initially upset and called Airbnb to see if they could do anything about this situation. They won’t change reviews. In the end we decided to not address the bad review at all. Zero. It was soon buried by more great reviews. I feel like we made they correct decision. Responding gives it legitimacy, and it honestly wasn’t legit imho.
1 Like
I’m sorry that this happened.
I know you’ve decided to let the go, which feels wise to me.
But if you reconsider, just copy and paste the review here and maybe someone here will see an opportunity to challenge it on some basis that Airbnb might accept, if it violates content guidelines.
1 Like
I don’t often read any reviews anymore but if I do, I look for the reviews they left for other hosts. I have found those to be far more revealing than any review they’ve received from a host.
1 Like
I think you played this exactly right by replying to his review with the tone you did. Take the high road. You end up looking respectable and he ends up looking like a jerk. I think most folks recognize that they are out there and it’s how you respond that leaves more of an impression for potential guests. If I see a response to a less than great review that is extremely defensive and throws accusations back at the guest, I take a pass on booking - because of that response, not because of a review from someone who I can see is one of “those” types - a negative review that is clearly an anomaly.
1 Like
Influencers live to generate clicks and get attention. So they are not likely to review “Property and host were great.” Period. Respond accordingly.
2 Likes
Attempting to get a review removed is not favorable for hosts. We recently had a guest lie, easily proven, and airbnb basically told me “we value the guest comment” meaning they value that comment more than they value honesty. The easily provable untruth was that I was slow to communicate. The message history showed that I replied within minutes, repeatedly, except for the message that he sent at 1:30 in the morning. Airbnb will not remove his review. Airbnb valuing “the guest comment” over an easily provable lie was an eye opener for me. I let airbnb know when they sent me a survey to see “how did we do,” that in my opinion, they did not do well at all.
3 Likes
It seems that Airbnb will remove something that violates their guidelines, which do not include whether the review was accurate or truthful.
1 Like
It does not bode well for us as a community that Airbnb considers easily proven lies to be outside their guidelines.
1 Like
How many hours went by until you responded to their message?
1 Like
I replied within 5 hours of the message that came to me in the middle of the night. We are not, or should not, be required to remain awake all night long to reply to messages to “stay within guidelines.”
3 Likes
I still think it’s worth a try. Your customer service rep didn’t accept it but maybe another one would. [?]
Well, your responding within five hours is stellar in my book!
1 Like
What did he message you about at 1:30 in the morning? Was it an emergency?
1 Like
He simply wanted to let me know that he had booked. Up to that point we had just been chatting about the number of days he might be interested in.
He simply wanted to let me know that he had booked so there were no issues for me to be alerted about. Up to that point we had just been chatting about the number of days he might be interested in.
Thanks! I am a responsive host albeit a tad disillusioned at this point.
2 Likes
The lesson is to be aware that guests are not aware of or interested in a host’s life and times, and that not acknowledging the final result of your conversation was considered bad communication.
join the club!!
I’ve not got any loyalty left for them.
1 Like