Actually, no and I really should have. I will though. I know they will do nothing about that review but maybe they will consider rewording. Worth a shot.
Just to be cynical for a moment - the guest ratings are mostly used by people who donāt use Instant Book and Airbnb would much prefer all hosts to use IBā¦
I hear that. Iām on IB with no issues, mostly b/c Iām here in home with my guests. However, Iām enjoying using the āAirReviewā extension on Chrome. I can read guest (and host) reviews, and trouble-shoot ahead of time guest likes/dislikes/quirks. Also I can see whether or not they leave reviews so I know to encourage them to do so when I think it was a good stay.
If someone gets a thumbs down, it would be nice to know, regardless of the fact that they IBād. Iād know to keep my guard up. I give thumbs up/down ratings, I thought, so other hosts can see them. Iād like the same consideration. Just sayinā.
I use IB too and feel the same way - if Iām aware of guestsā not-so-great reviews before they arrive then I can head them off at the pass.But mostly Iām like you and donāt have any trouble with IB guests - and it is easier for guests if they can book immediately.
I wonder if that would be why I have 24 reviews but only a portion show up under the 9 said sparkling clean or 12 said self check in part. Every review/star has been 5* on cleanliness but only 9,14,etc show in the highlight section. Your idea makes sense!
I hope ABB thinks about these things as muchh as hosts do ā¦ If they did, how brilliant they would be!
I keep a yoga mat in my space and mention it in my ad. A guest left me 3 starts for accuracy, citing the fact that she didnāt find the yoga mat. Never contacted me during her stay. Another guest gave me 2 stars for cleanliness because she said the towels were dirty. Sorry, not the case! Another one low starred me for arrival because she didnāt read the instructions for the pin pad and got upset when a long term tenant appeared on the scene and showed her how. Embarrassing for her I gathered from my tenant. One guest gave me 3 stars because she was loud enough that my long term tenants knocked on the wall late at night - something they never do, they are pretty easy going). There are more, but I will stop here.
I got 82% 5 star reviews over the last 3 years on this one space I still host. What is noteworthy is that virtually every complaint (above are examples) is a one off, ie. experiences that none of my other reviewers made mention of. Some are actually due to embarrassment that a guest brought on themselves and need to place on someone else. In fact only two complaints in 3 years were consistent (internet was spotty for two consecutive stays until provider corrected). The takeaway is that the vast majority of complaints are particular to a single individualās unusual whim. Sure, you can try to improve things but if you can pretty well predict that you will never get the complaint again is it worth taking bad reviews seriously?
Another thing I find interesting is that when I do get less than 5 star reviews it is often in clusters (completely different complaints but consecutive).
Only once was there a stand alone 4 star review. l chalk this up to monkey-see-monkey-do syndrome.
Not sure what other hosts think of the value of reviews, but too me it is mostly a lesson in human behavior. The one thing that gives me peace is that we are all in the same boat. Every host is exposed to a certain number of guests with fanciful ideals, incompetence, embarrassment, etc, so our reviews more or less equally reflect this segment. I suppose some spaces attract more of these personalities than others but not even sure how that would work. Is there a way to create a space that doesnāt attract bookings from these types?
So this really happens? I guess there is some solace in the fact that it can happen to our advantage as well?
Yes Iām sure it does. People generally like to fit in with the āgroupā rather than being the lone voice. That is one of the things Trump is counting on when he says āPeople are sayingā, " They say", " Itās what everyone is talking about", etc.
When you stay with a superhost, you are already being geared to give a 5 star review without realizing it. Of course there are exceptions. Some people actually delight in going against the grain, but odds are they donāt.
Ha, who knew he had such great insight into the human psyche.
Sounds like maybe you do
I have 98% 5 Star reviews. I donāt get batches of one kind of review or another but I will get 4 in a row that mention the bed or the shower so I do think there is something to your hypothesis that there is some sort of herd mentality at play.
The only thing Iāve come up with in my years of thinking about it is that I attract travelers, not tourists. And over the last year, increasing numbers of business travellers, people visiting family, etc., but still not tourists. So my conclusion based on my small sample of anecdotal evidence is that the worst guests are tourists and vacationers.
Nah, I tune him out for the XYZ that he is, and anxiously await the next election.
I recently came across with 3-star and 4-star reviews from hosts who themselves got 2-star and 1-star reviews from their guests. Those hosts had really āno so greatā properties. I donāt know about their cases but in my case feedback from those hosts were clear āvengeanceā reviews. Basically, they were settling scores with their former guests at the expense of my property and air reputation.
There is nothing the host can do against those type of guests/hosts who are either jealous or look to settle scores with former guests at the expense of other hosts.
For this reason, I no longer accept hostsā¦
Like any kind of stereotyping, a bad idea but you do you.
For this reason I only book with instant book hosts with 5 star overall average.
Fyuuuu ā¦ Iām safe then. My score is 4.8 at the moment
I only do free exchanges with other hosts now. Itās a low season so the property is empty anyways.
Happy hosting to all!
Yes, youāre safe. LOLLOLOL.