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Why should I leave a review?
Cheesy marketing slogans aside, we’re all part of this community. Your reviews ensure great hosts stay here and help not-so-great hosts improve (or, ultimately, weeds them out). -
What should I include as public feedback and what should I include as private feedback? (Also explain your reasoning.)
Include things you most enjoyed. What did the host or listing provide that made your trip easy?
Did anything fall short of your expectations (that wasn’t covered in the listing!) - I sort those into two buckets: public feedback for things the host didn’t address to my satisfaction, or where I felt mislead (e.g. The bed was described as a queen, but it was two futons pushed together. They didn’t mention it was located over a dance club and we couldn’t sleep until 2:30am).
Private feedback for “shit happens” or suggestions for improvement where I think the host would take it under advisement. (e.g. The fussy lock took 10 minutes to lock and the key exchange was a PITA…The drain in the shower is slow) -
What should a comprehensive review cover?
It should compare the listing as described to as experienced. A $40/night bare bones bed in a shared house can be just as 5* as a decked out listing at $1k/night villa if both hosts delivered on what the listing promised. -
What other review-related question do you wish our first-timer asked? (Also include the answer to that question.)
I wish they asked how star ratings affect a host. Here’s how I think about them:
5 this host delivered on what I expected.
4 they dropped the ball in some way that affected my stay
3 I was really dissatisfied with this part of my stay
2 They’re doing an absolutely terrible job at this
1 They shouldn’t be hosting at all
Anything less than 5 is failure, so give me text feedback if you think I made a reasonable effort. For example, one guest marked me down on cleanliness, stating “bugs”. Well, the place was immaculate when she arrived but they left the door open for over 5 minutes (at night, with the lights on). Does she really think those bugs were my fault?
This is why the location and value ratings are so frustrating for hosts. YOU chose the location! Don’t mark me down because you couldn’t afford city center.
Value: If you’re in a high COL area, don’t be surprised you’re paying through the nose to stay here. What was the value vs. your other options? Don’t just mark a host down because you don’t like that “everything here is overpriced”