If you had a guest who had a decent stay and voiced their intention to book again in the future, but tells you that they never give 5-star reviews, would you allow them to book again in the future? When asked about how they were let down in the various categories, they said they simply never leave a 5-star review anywhere for any reason because it made them feel like no one would read their review. Thoughts?
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I would say, I noticed last time we only earned a four star review. I am committed to providing an excellent experience, what can I do to improve your stay? If my reply received was, I never give five stars, Iād probably then decline due to the guest being high maintenance.
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I would not let them step foot in my door again.
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Iād explain why getting 5 star reviews is so important to us as hosts, but if they continued saying they never give 5 stars I wouldnāt let them stay again.
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Iāve only had two guests leave four-star reviews, and both said they loved the place and plan to stay here again. One even said, āI left you a good review!ā If either request to rebook, I am going to explain as well, and decline if they seem like they still donāt get it.
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The star system is a mess and not clear. Honestly I get 5 stars and in my mind donāt really deserve it. The ākitchenā is in a half-finished part of my basement with a concrete floor. The bathroom has been under constructions for-ever. (donāt get me startedā¦) The room is top-notch, my breakfast good, and my family is friendly and helpful - but across the board, 5 stars? I think itās the expectation of 5 stars that is a problem, and the idea that anything less than 5 means we are sub-par.
THAT being all said - I agree with everyone else. If you can, explain the issue to the guest - that anything less than 5 stars makes it appear to others that your place isnāt attractive. They are standing on a principal that may be valid somewhere, but NOT in the current airbnb culture.
I know when Iām shopping for a listing, and i see less than 5 stars, I scan the reviews to see what the problem is. Iām always surprised to see totally positive reviews with no mention of why the host was dinged on stars.
So I had a four star review on another platform. First one ever. This lady had been going on and on about how much she loved our apartment blah blah. When she left the review, I asked her what we could have done to improve and she said āyou were too pricey - of course, I knew that when I booked itā. We are a luxury apartment and our prices reflect this. In my own private bookings diary, where I leave detailed notes about guests, I just wrote āblacklistedā. I need five star reviews and itās just not worth my time or effort renting out to guests who are stingy with reviews.
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I agree with both Kristy_Jane and Xena. The star system is rigged, and a pain to maintain. But there are so many guests who are happy and leave 5-star rating without prompting, that someone who always leaves 4-stars will really bring down your averages and is not worth the worry and aggravation, even if they are perfect guests because if you are trying to maintain Super Host this is a real pain 
Happy Hosting Everyone ā Lia
I never ever peek at what stars guests left. I just would rather not know. Looking at it would only feed my obsession with what guests think and bum me out if someone I thought was great didnāt leave stars in all the right places.
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