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I had a guest who was non-communicative and used all of the toilet paper/paper towels, including those in storage. (I can’t see how anyone can use that much toilet paper unless there was group explosive diarrhea). In addition, the cleaning person said that they made a mess, and there were some other issues.
The guest gave me a 5-star review (phew!). I gave her a 5-star review, but mentioned that “the cleaning person was unhappy with her afterwards” (pretty d*mn mild, if you ask me!) She messaged me to complain that I gave a less-than-perfect review when she gave me 5 stars.
She called Airbnb and got them to remove the less-than-perfect review that I gave her and the 5-star that she gave me. Airbnb customer disservice complied.
The reason? All of them as far as I can tell. The message that I got from Airbnb was a mess. Its as if the customer service person had a page where they could select the reason for their decision and clicked all of the buttons before hitting “send”.
On the larger front, it seems like Airbnb’s customer service for hosts is getting worse. Most of my initial contacts with customer service result in a semi-irrelevant canned message, as though my request is being read by someone who understands a lot of English words but cannot put them into context and comprehend them as a sentence.
@bluecoat Most customer service reps don’t know what they’re doing. I called about an issue I was having, talked to three different people, and got three different answers. Airbnb exists to service guests, not hosts. They don’t care about us. They’ll bend over backwards for guests because THEY are where Airbnb makes their . We’re a dime a dozen.
I don’t understand. Could you post the message that Airbnb sent you?
I agree that this is Airbnb’s approach it seems. Burn and churn as they have a greater supply than demand.
Someone on the forum pointed out that other than ebay they can’t think of a business where the guest/customer/client is reviewed. They speculated that Airbnb will do away with guest reviews and I can completely see that happening. Just think of how much money they will save on customer service complaints. I know some hosts would leave if there were no guest reviews but I don’t think it would cripple Airbnb. People have become too dependent on the income to pull the needle out.
Possibly the reason why they removed your review is the fact that you referred to another person (cleaning person), thus your review not being your personal experience with the guest. That’s all I can think of.
I respect your opinion, and your comment is well thought out, I am sure. That would mean doing away with SH, but also one whack of computer storage and customer interface = cheaper to run.
Somewhere out there are reviews from guests on the Marriott, but the Marriott THEMSELVES don’t review stay by guest.
Thanks but I can’t take credit. I think it was the very much smarter than I @Allison_H who reminded me that we don’t evaluate customers the normal business world.
Good to know. Still, the businesses that have the business rate the paying guest/customer/client are a very small percentage. I don’t see any upside for Airbnb to continue allowing it therefore I expect them to discontinue it.
Thinking about why it’s taking Airbnb so long to roll out Superguest? Maybe they are considering doing away with reviews of guests. Maybe they have decided that making a superguest designation would just double their trouble. Superguests, like Superhosts, would be calling in all the time with complaints, requests for special treatment and wondering why they lost SG badges. LOL.
I’m just preparing for all pro-guest contingencies.
Just for the sake of a fun discussion I’d argue that there isn’t any difference in our homes if used for business and our business buildings used for business. If I use my personal car for business, how is it different from buying a car to use for my business. And how is a ride in a ride share different from other uses of cars like a real estate agent taking you around to look at homes or other long established uses of personal cars for business.
But even if I said I agree that it’s different, it doesn’t really matter. Airbnb is going to do what is best for them. They might do away with guest reviews (or they might not, ebay didn’t get rid of buyer reviews.) And if they were to get rid of them there would be a great deal of wailing and gnashing of teeth. I don’t think it would be the end of Airbnb’s business. They are too far down the “be like a hotel” road and there are too many of us for whom guest reviews aren’t a deal breaker. They had to have photos and reviews and request to book to get people to start with them. They don’t need them anymore. Maybe. Again, I don’t know I’m just reading tea leaves and I’m trying to suggest to people that they start adapting to what’s coming.
Vrbo/HA allows owners to rate the guest, but it’s just a star rating and you cannot enter any words. Without comments, most owners think it’s useless. I review the guests just to prompt them to review us.
Apparently my Costa Rica host didn’t rate me because I couldn’t find a rating.
Maybe I’m wrong and we’ll go the other direction and guest behavior rating will spread, along with other social rating measures like what the Chinese are doing with their social credit system.
. We’re a dime a dozen.