Dinged Again on Location

That’s a great option for people who like to give guidance on reviews. Thanks.

2 Likes

I got dinged on location by my first guests ever. Considering they were there to attend an event that is a 75 minutes’ drive and had all their lodging booked out, it is a 4 star location for that trip.

I took it with a grain of salt. Screen shot it, put it on social media with a lighthearted declaration that if you don’t consider us a 5 star location, you simply aren’t looking for accommodations in Heaven and cannot be helped. :upside_down_face:

1 Like

That’s not how I interpret Airbnb’s description. They are looking for feedback on how the guest feels about the neighborhood (regardless of how the host describes it).

Most guests interpret it to be how close or far it is from other places the guest wants to visit.

1 Like

I didn’t invent that - Airbnb does say the reviews are about accuracy

1 Like

I put it in my description because this happens with new guest. I got ding 4 stars stating “With traffic it was a bit farther from Los Angeles than we expected” Huh, I think it is the guest responsibility to know where they are staying by looking at a map, there should be no rating on location, and if they didn’t like it then they should give themselves 3 stars for being stupid. I reply back with something like this: "Hi, guest sorry that you thought it was far from LA in traffic. As stated in my listing it clearly says if you are considering visiting my city, please make sure it is a perfect fit for your travels before booking. Then I list how far places are to my house in the listing: LAX Airport: 58 min (27.5 miles Disneyland: 1 h 43 min ) etc. Another time I got ding 4 stars for everything for being “Difficult to find” We are on to major cross streets, three houses down, not in the mountains. Doesn’t make any sense when most people are using gps.

Can you provide a link to where Airbnb says location ratings are about accuracy? I would love to see more info about what they think it means, but haven’t found anything more.

they sent an email to people complaining about the rating system - which is referred to here.

1 Like

It’s a bit long - I’m reposting below the relevant part.
Location, location, location
You have revealed to us that a location rating can be a great source of frustration because some of you have happened to have the guests unexpectedly assigned a very low grade for that category although they seemed to be extremely satisfied with the stay. That category is tricky. It gives valuable information to future travelers, and we don’t want to lose that. At the same time, it is clear to us that you are concerned that you are getting a rating for something that you have no influence over, which is a personal opinion of the guest about your location. This opinion is inherently subjective because what one person will be “a rustic oasis” to another person will be “too far from public transport”. Therefore, in the process of drawing up the reviews, we have clarified to evaluate the accuracy of your location description rather than the location itself.

If the guest now grants less than 3 stars in the accommodation location category, the question will appear on the screen: “Isn’t the location of the accommodation accurately described in the ad?” Since the introduction of this change, the average rating for the site has risen by 0.8%.

2 Likes

[quote=“Lyndylan, post:29, topic:27186”]
location description rather than the location itself.
[/quote] When did that go into affect? But I do agree, that the location should be accurately described in the listing, I know I put a lot of info describing the location to all local stores in my guide book to the distance to all the attractions. But most people do not read or even scroll down to the neighborhood section on the bottom, they just look at some photos and read some reviews and assume that there should be a store or a movie theater on the corner. I think with google maps and today’s technology it should be the traveler’s responsibility after reading an accurate description before booking a place. I get ding “Hard To Find” from a kid on location when they have my address and a gps and I’m on a major cross street, I just don’t think we should be ding for there stupidity. I now write at the top in the summary because people do not read. “Please read more about the space below before booking to make sure the location is a good fit for your stay”

That means they only tell guests that it’s about accuracy if the guest gives 1 or 2 stars. They don’t care to remind the guest when they give 3 or 4 stars, and they don’t put this anywhere in the help before the guest makes the rating? WTF?

Edited even more concisely:

“If the guest now grants less than 3 stars in the accommodation location category, the question will appear on the screen: “Isn’t the location of the accommodation accurately described in the ad?” Since the introduction of this change, the average rating for the site has risen by 0.8%.”

I think the phrasing of the question is AWFUL. It should be posed as “IS the accommodation located where the listing (not “ad”, FFS) says it is?” if Airbnb is truly serious about wanting the location to be rated on accuracy.

1 Like

I know, they get your address, they can see where it is before their stay and have plenty of time to cancel. My location is my location, nothing is going to change, it is not like I can move my house a little closer to the beach. We have access to maps now and it should be a no brainier with a little research. Since location is so individualize to their own assumption the category should not count against you in any way or should be removed all together. Now on the other side, for people that don’t like to read that visit from out of town or another country is why your description on location should be accurate, which is all in the “about neighborhood” section. I find people just don’t understand how big LA is and I point that out. If you say the place is a safe and great neighborhood for kids to play, take a walk, etc but when you get there it looks like gang infested drug people all over, then you should be dinged for not describing correctly.