Goobyes and feedbacks

For those of you meeting your guests at the check-in and check-out, do you ask them for feedback and suggestion at the check-out? Do you feel this will make them feel heard and understood immediately and likely to give a better feedback online, or do you feel that by asking for a feedback in person you could be overstimulating criticism?

I know people lie to your face (for the sake of politeness or just to avoid confrontation)…

I had made comment cards, but now I can’t find my file on my computer to screenshot to show you an example.

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On farewell I say - " i hope you have enjoyed your stay, as i am still fairly new new at this was there anything I could have done or supplied to make your experience better" - they have a chance to tell you of any issues and leave on a positive note.

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Yeah, I’ve found if people have the chance to tell you in person or on a comment card they’re less likely to crab on a review. My 5 star reviews rates are always highest when I have the comment cards out.

No, I don’t. I know that many on this board believe that asking for feedback during or at the end of the stay serves to get complaints off the guests’ chest. I think it focuses them on what they think could be improved. Also, I’ve received outrageous suggestions: I should buy and store a queen size bed and give guests the choice of two twin beds or one queen, I should buy sanitizing wipes so guests can wipe down the toilet seat. I’m pretty sure they would get flushed and result in a huge plumbing bill., I should get an air purifier because “those Asian guests are bringing strange diseases.”, I should use exclusively Seventh Generation cleansers, and the list goes on. I don’t want to encourage this.

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I am just me at check out. I wish them a safe journey. I might wish them good luck on getting that new job, or their application to Harvard, or suggest that they stop at Santarpios for pizza on the way to airport, but I never, ever, talk about how they liked their stay. I stand on the porch with them while they wait for their taxi or Über. By the time they leave, I know how they felt.

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I’m a new host and I don’t. I definitely ask them to tell me if they need anything that the house may be lacking, as I’m happy to have it sent sent over (mostly because homes need a million little things, and I don’t pretend to have gotten all of the stuff). One guest suggested an intl power adapter and I thought that was a fantastic idea. Same with a variety of chargers.

But otherwise, if I ask for feedback my concern is they’ll feel the need to come up with SOMETHING. And then I’m concerned it’ll be nitpicking which I hate. I also don’t want to have them actively think of the things that should have been better because my concern is that will lead to lower ratings when they’re in that frame of mind. But, if they can think of something that would improve their stay while actually there instead of after the fact, then I’m happy to accommodate.

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With the last breakfast we present them with this feedback form, and kindly ask them to fill it in. (I also have a Spanish version for Spanish speaking guests.)
I very recently adapted the interpretation of the stars, hoping that it will influence our star rating on AirBnB. But I don’t know if it works. :smile:

Feel free to comment on the form ! I consider it a work in progress, and I am always thinking if it’s too short, too long, if it has the right questions, etc. …

I think your stars are great and would encourage 5 star reviews as by your rating everything else is crap BUT it might be a big discouragement to the guest then doing this online.

Is there a way you could just give them a thankyou card and a small chocolate and let them know the rating system in your card & encourage them to go online?

We only asked two guests so far. The first one was “our” guest for one night only (we have just bought the place and he was a carry-over guest) but it was not his first stay at the place. He was a constructor so he gave us GREAT advice, mentioned that there were too few glasses in the cupboard, that the walls should be painted in white, etc. The glassware was an easy fix and we were already thinking of painting the walls white (after reading this forum it was obvious). He made a suggestion about adding a storage room which would be cool but would mean to move the whole kitchen, so that’s too much for us.

Second set of guests were elderly and suggested an anti-slip pad in the bathtub - also okay but only for older guests, as mold would be an issue. They had a hard time in opening the building door… this is something we can bring up with the building manager, but we cannot change it as we please. We’d love to have a RFID lock, though!

Now we have a young digital worker and we are curious to hear his feedback.

We try to personally check-out our guests. We ask them about their stay and if anything can be improved.

Sometimes they’re honest and sometimes they leave the feedback for AirBNB. I don’t think it guarantees better stars unfortunately.

My impression is that asking for oral feedback at check-out is either too late or too early.

It is too early to really matter in the review game, as they will probably review a few days later, and it is too late to improve the guests’ stay.

The only reason why I would ask for “feedback” is when I know they have enjoyed their stay and have been a great match: asking the question, and having zero suggestions, sets in stone the fact that there is nothing to improve in their mind, so everything was perfect. Then I trust my acting abilities ;)!

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Here’s my old comment card. I haven’t kept one out in a few months as we’ve done most of the upgrades and I want to reword some of the questions to be a little more positive.

In fact at the bottom of our Feedback Form it says:
If you liked your stay… Please leave us a comment on the website through which you booked. Give us a thumbs up on Facebook. Delight us with a mention to your friends, family and fellow travelers. Thank you !
It wasn’t in the print screen :wink:. And since my hubby likes to give chocolates anyway, it’s a really good idea to give the chocolates together with the Feedback Form.

But you’re right it might still prevent people from reviewing online. I am going to have a long think about what would be better :relaxed:. Thanks!

We anticipate the too late feedback, with a personal welcome in our information “newspaper”, which encourages the guests to speak up about things that may bother them.

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On the day of check-out our guest receives an email. Thanking them for their stay and explaining how important a five star review is for our ratings.
If there’s anything they want to mention this gives them an opportunity for feedback rather than leaving it in our public review.
It think it has helped so far, but as others have said their requests can be ridiculous and I mostly ignore them. Some memorable requests: larger TV, taller shower, larger bed, better location :joy:

This whole thread made me think about some feedback I’ve been receiving lately. I don’t feel like I do anything super extra. My place is clean, I communicate quickly and clearly with guests, a day or two before arrival I send directions to our house and details on identifying our driveway. I provide a guestbook with the basic house rules, local attractions, requests to contact me right away with any issues, and have my number posted in several places. I also try to make my place as simple and easy to understand as possible.

And it seems like most of the hosts here do things similarly. And the last 4-5 guests or so have gushed about my hosting style “best host ever”, “best air experience”, etc. I’ve had some amazing reviews over the past few weeks! :slight_smile: And lots of hand written notes. I don’t feel like I’m doing anything extraordinary other than caring about their perception and making sure they know how to find my house and will have my ear if they need anything. It just makes me feel like there must be some absolutely horrible hosts out there. Which also makes me wonder why I get the random 4 star or my stupid 3 star… must have been a bad day for those people or something.

So make sure you show you care and be available as needed and make sure it’s clear they can contact you if anything goes wrong and you’ll be responsive and it should take care of itself.

And while I do keep a sheet I made regarding “how does the AirBnB review system work” in the back of my guestbook, that’s all I do regarding asking for reviews. I don’t want to seem like I’m begging, but I do want to have it available if someone decides to read the book.

Our guest who told us that he slipped in the shower was in his early twenties. We got anti-slip strips, but they didn’t stay stuck to the tub so we replaced them with an anti-slip pad.

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Yeah @PennyM I used to have an anti-slip mat in the shower and got complaints. I ordered some non-slip stickers on amazon and they’ve worked great. Anyone can slip in the shower, but those mat things can be perceived as dirty even if you clean them every time like we did. I do keep a mat clean and folded in the linen closet that someone can use if needed, but those cute while flower grip stickers work well if you follow the directions so they adhere well. And they’re cheap to replace if needed.

Oh I found it, this is tucked in the back of my guestbook:

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