This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
So I’m new here. Been stalking since I started hosting in August. At the moment I have a 5 star rating because…well Im new.
A few days ago I welcomed what I thought were the perfect guest friendly kept to themselves slept in mornings out from afternoon to night. On the 3rd day after breakfast I noticed that they had helped myself to my yoghurt and two extra crumpets.
I sent them a message, as they were out, to not help themselves to my food they admitted yoghurt (as if it was a mistake even though I’d already sent them an message of the things they could take from the fridge.) They then said they didn’t “think” they taken the extra crumpets from my cupboard which I know is a lie because I checked… the bins .
Long story short I feel like theyll leave me a bad review and i should mention I suffer from anxiety, i know its inevitable to have disagreements and bad reviews on this journey but would love to here others experiences and how you let go of this perfect rating.
I figure once you get a review that’s not 5 stars, then you no longer have 5 stars and you can never really get back to 5 stars (except by rounding error), so you automatically stop worrying about it.
Also, ask yourself: Why did I get into this business? Was it to maintain a 5-star rating? I hope not. The only thing that matters is whether you are meeting your own goals for price and occupancy rate. A high star rating typically means that you are doing the right things to ensure your guests are happy and that will help you meet your price and occupancy goals, but, you can consider your star rating irrelevant unless it drops low enough to affect one of those two things.
Hello, @Nya, welcome. You are going to get a lot of advice, here. Some of it might ruffle your feathers, don’t let it. This is the best place to get advice, these folks have seen it all and they will give you their opinions whether you like it or not. In fact, the best way to “get over” worrying about the five star thing is to read, read, read this forum!
The second best way, and what I have done, is to do my best and have a clear conscience. I have outfitted my place with everything the way I like it: I’ve included all the things that I want in a place (cozy blankets, extra large towels, easy to find trash bins, free snacks, and YES, sometimes the horrid discount!) and avoided all the things that I hate (stingy with anything, high prices, fussy frou frou, hard to find phone chargers or electrical outlets, uncomfortable furniture). I figure that if I have done what I believe to be the right thing and done my best then what more can I do? I do have a reputation for “nice little touches” that, in my mind, are not above and beyond but just common courtesies: tissue boxes within reach, lots of cooking condiments, just things that I have found myself wishing to find when I visited a place, myself. Do what you would like to have done for you. Put yourself in your guests place and see how things fit and feel.
Thanks all, its true that this forum has helped even if its just for a laugh nice to see what others have said.
I also like little touches they have sweets in there room which they devour. But at the same time my listing is very cheap they paid ten pounds a night per person to be 15 mins by train away from central london. My listing is budget and I know it so I do have to have boundaries when it comes to my stuff and sanity .
I like thinking of that tbh I got into this business for money and im good at customer service not to bend myself into knots.
Raise your prices. If you’re offering sweets and food availability, then you need to cost more than 10 pounds per night. I’m sure you’d still be full up at 20 a night that close to London.
I have never worried about it since my very first guest gave us a 4 star. Every subsequent one has been 5 stars, and to be perfectly honest I am glad I am not in your position. Went on and took my lumps right out of the box.
Ten pounds a night??? That’s mad! Look at the other Air listings within 10K of your place. I’ll bet all of them are double that – maybe more. Your rate should be an average of those other listings.
Three ways to stop the anxiety:
Therapy.
Adopt a child, dog or cat. Your life will never be the same again, and nothing will matter!
Get A less than perfect review. You can’t stuff the genie back in the bottle, or un-spill the milk.
What’s the saying? Keep Calm And Carry On. Have another cuppa and relax. Five stars is not worth a moment of worry.
I’ve posted the following here before so apologies to regular readers…
Think about your very favourite book in the whole world - the book you’ve read over and over again, the one that you’d take to a desert island if you could only rescue one book from your sinking yacht.
Find the book on Amazon. Think about what a wonderful book it is and why you love it. When you get to the page see how many reviews it has - note that other people love the book too (1422 on the case on my personal favourite for example)
Then notice that they’re not all 5 star. Note that you can filter so you see only the bad reviews. Read a few.
Now you know that it’s a GREAT book. And you know that the people who have only given it one star are complete and utter MORONS, right? (145 in the case of my favourite book). They are obviously totally, completely, unquestionably wrong.
But that book, your very favourite book in all the world, gets bad reviews too.
Hey, I have since, when I first started I just went a bit higher then airbnbs price and checked the general area and went a bit lower I still thinks its very cheap for London but I dont get guest if i raise it too high
Well 20 a night, now 30 since someone gave me 4 stars for value…I thought nope and raised it. I’m on smart pricing so it can go higher than that rarely does . And when I raise it no bookings but i have a lot of competition.
Great advice, I have all those things apart from tea I think the new version of a cupa tea is a bottle of wine, that I have. But your right not the end of the world hopefully they just dont leave a review maybe I can bribe them with the yoghurt they love so much
Nya, don’t sweat the small stuff. Pick your battles. Let go of the small issues like someone taking the yogurt. I know it’s upsetting that guests are eating your food but it’s a minor issue. Try to relax, do yoga, meditate, go out for a bike ride or walk, go to an animal shelter and pet the kitty cats that are up for adoption. While you’re there, bring them a bag of pet food to donate. Try different things to relax, until you find what works best for you and stop worrying about keeping the five stars.
I disagree as long as you set your minimum for what you wreathes want and the don’t limit your maximum. And…be sure to check
It regularly that it has not been put below your minimum. When I first started it often went below my Minimum so I turned it off for mahout a year and a half. I now have it and it works well, but I still check it.
Good idea, I changed the rules to ask that you dont go through my things (thought that was a given) or eat my food. I dont mind seeming high strung or like joey tribianni I’m very agreeable just dont eat my food
Thanks for the advice, sometimes it is a little easier said then done but I know its coming from a kind place.
I have a lovely kitten and do all the breathing, body scanning, muscle relaxation, nature walks, gym but sometimes people really set me off.
Its not so much the food its very cheeky but i just didnt give the crumpets they had eaten for breakfast but its the lies it makes me feel like im crazy and as a mentally ill person its very imbalancing. I should also say these people also partly broke my shelf then left me a note saying it happened by it self and I should be careful
Hey @Nya, you sound like me when I first started out. Too cheap and trying too hard… !
There are some really good threads on here about the mistakes we all made at the beginning, here’s one of them:
Just search for “doormat” ! It’s kind of embarrassing how many of my own posts contain that word but it’s a truth - people don’t respect someone who tries too hard and acts like a doormat. And if you’re too cheap, they won’t respect your place. I’m a budget listing too and I love my budget guests but there is a sweet spot - if you’re TOO cheap, people somehow think it’s not worthy. Weird but that’s psychology for you. Pay more and, as long as it’s decent and you haven’t clearly been ripped off, you will value it more.
I guarantee that if you stop trying to please guests and just focus on making sure everything is clean, comfortable and exactly as you describe in the listing, you will be a lot happier!
Also, I suggest that you dedicate a shelf or an area of the kitchen that is for guest use. And make it clear during the house tour that everything else is off limits. You do it nicely “Everything here is for you! This is where you can keep your food so that we don’t get mixed up over whose it is” Etc. YOU need to set the boundaries, otherwise how are they supposed to know what’s ok or what isn’t?
.
. And when I raise it no bookings but i have a lot of competition.