“I cannot recommend this any higher.” Then guests pings me on value!

I have two units side by side, about 15 metres apart and they are rated differently on location. Also one is much larger than the other. The smaller one no one comments on the size, the larger one occasionally gets people writing that it’s small. It’s a 2 bedroom unit renovated into a one bedroom, how much room do two people need? It shows how subjective the ratings are.

I also get rated down on value sometimes, I think if you thought it was expensive why did you book it? It is expensive.

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I used to list two rooms in my house on air. The double room consistently got lower ratings, including for location. It’s the same house but apparently the location is worse for that room!
My twin room (ie. two single beds) has always got great reviews.
The only sense I can make is that couples are pickier. Possibly one half chose the room, the other half didn’t like it so much. With friends that split the cost and are just backpacking through Europe, they don’t mind so much. I like them so much better! So glad I don’t host couples any more!

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That’s only natural though, right? I mean, if we all give 5* for bloody everything then the whole system is completely meaningless.
THAT is the real problem with the airbnb rating system. 4* should be perfectly fine. Even 3* should be ok. It’s only airbnb that insists we all have 5* like some kind of maniacal communist-capitalist monster spawned by the self-breeding Social Media. Or maybe the inevitable result of a generation brought up to believe you get a gold star just for turning up to school.

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I gave 5* all round to a place I stayed at recently. It didn’t deserve it at all. But I couldn’t do otherwise as a fellow host, could I? It wasn’t terrible and it was perfectly adequate for our needs and the host was very responsive and nice. But was it 5*? No way. It was clearly stated that no towels or toiletries were provided and that’s fair enough, we brought our own. But there wasn’t even a little handwash in the bathroom. Seriously? I thought that was a bit crap. There were a couple of cleanliness issues as well, nothing major but enough to warrant a 3 or 4* for any non-airbnb rational human being.

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Some guests have you holding your breath waiting to see what inappropriate comment they will make. One of my snowbirds started complaining about the size of their rental. She didn’t realize they would be staying in a space the size of her dining room at home. My pictures are accurate and I had messaged them the condo was 650 sq ft before their trip.

Then complained she had brought a piece of exercise equipment with her, the only space for it was on the porch and in February it was too cold out there. My response, “Too cold? It’s 70degrees today!”

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I’m a little bemused - is there a definitive list of items a listing should have so as not to get marked down? Are the larger property owners who can gain economies of scale and provide loads of extras setting the bar too high for the smaller operation?

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Well, I don’t consider coffee, tea and a decent supply of toilet paper (as mentioned by @Ritz3 as extras or luxuries and I would certainly mark down a host who didn’t provide them!

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@Malagachica, Toilet paper is probably universal, but Coffee and tea are subjective. I wouldn’t even notice if a place didn’t have coffee, whereas my wife would really appreciate coffee, but wouldn’t mark a host for not providing it. On the other end of the spectrum, there’s my father-in-law who would feel wronged if he didn’t have a coffee before he left the house in the morning. Not having something a guest expects will affect the guests perception of “value” especially for guests that have stayed and similar properties in the same area with similar prices that did have what they expected. It doesn’t matter whatsoever if the host didn’t claim it was included or not. The perception is there, and it’s perfectly valid. Hosts need to embrace it instead of fight it.

@Flettie , Airbnb does list “essentials” and it’s a short list (soap, toilet paper, clean linens and towels). Coffee and tea are separate check boxes under amenities. Lot’s of places have made lists and there’s not likely one that’s definitive, but given the business we’re in, I don’t think it’s a stretch for hosts to consider the a minimum list to be what an budget-to-average hotel room provides.

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I might be able to help you there, Flettie.

I started providing robes when some of my male guests started making there to-froms in their undies. The slippers came up, well, because it was the right thing to do.

These things are bulky and people don’t always remember. So I started hanging out at the local Salvation Army, which really is quite good. My partner had cancer and needed robes, and he found he quite likes the large size robes in the women’s section. So I started buying them en masse for my guests, and there has never been q complaint!

Slippers are easy. The ugly crocs are the most popular and believe me when I say they last FOREVER. Dollar Store, of course.

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Providing a robe to a guest who might use it a week or two months without laundering is one thing. Providing them for one nighters is another entirely. I thought of doing it back when my guests had to come out of their room and cross the hall to the bathroom but with an ensuite bathroom like Flettie and I have, they are on their own. It’s not the cost of the robe (IKEA puts theirs on sale for $20) its the cost and time of laundering.

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To each his own, KKC.

One nighters are expensive one way or another.

For this host, a robe and slippers adds a bespoke touch (despite humble origins) that facilitates those little sojourns into the backyard to take some air. It’s one more way of saying “we care”.

Our electricity bills are exceptionally low, despite being the second highest cost by province in Canada. We save considerably in other areas, most notably the guests themselves. So low, in fact, that I leave the bill open so they can see the results of their conscientiousness,

My story, and I am sticking to it! ;0

My value rating is my lowest, 4.7 with 122 reviews. I often have guests rave about their stay and rate me down in this category alone. I’ll have one reviewer state publicly what a great bargain I offer, and the next guest will leave 4/5 value. This happens in winter when I charge $50 a night and summer when I charge $150, though I do get ranked down in value
slightly more often in summer.

This is a common discussion we have here almost weekly. One lesson may be not to worry about the subcategories. They don’t really matter as long as your overall average stays above 4.7. It’s still frustrating to see your value (or location) displayed as 4.5 on your listing because YOU know what you offer is a great value and a great location. But there isn’t much that can be done. You could drop your prices, but there is no material gain from having 5/5 stars for value or 4.5/5 stars.

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I recently got robes after the discussion a few weeks ago about how to raise the value score, and I’ve already decided not to offer them to one-nighters unless I raise my cleaning fee. The two robes fill pretty much the whole laundry. But, surely someone will mention the robes in the public review and I’ll feel like I need to offer them to everyone. That’s how I ended up offering wine and coffee to one-night stays, but I raised my cleaning fee then as well.

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No need to be defensive. I’m not saying it’s wrong for you, I’m saying it’s wrong for me.

@GentleHart We just had an amazingly :nauseated_face: similar experience…

“This was by far the best Airbnb experience I had. I had some great conversations and got amazing tips for local foods and things to do from the family. (MIL’s Name) is overly accommodating and lots of fun to talk to. Her breakfast is amazing and she really goes above and beyond to make you feel at home. Great people, great food, fantastic location literally a 2 min walk to (park name) and the happening areas and a warm Airbnb experience. Thank you for it all!”

They gave us 5 stars overall and for each category, except 4 for value. :tired_face::tired_face::tired_face:

And this while in fact they had made a reservation for one room with two single beds and I had given them two rooms for US$ 2 extra per night, so they could both enjoy a queen bed. I had put two of our rooms together in a new listing and was giving a big discount to the first 3 guests to launch the new listing. Well, it got launched :relaxed::relaxed::relaxed: with 4 :face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth::face_with_symbols_over_mouth: stars for value.


I felt (feel) VERY frustrated with this guest, but composed myself and send him the following message:

"Hi (name),

Thank you for your wonderful review. I noticed that you gave us 4 stars for value. Since we always strive for full 5 star reviews, could you please tell me what we could have done (price and/or quality wise) to also score 5 stars on value? What would be a more acceptable price in your opinion?

I just crunched the numbers and we received (price) per night for your reservation, which should mean you paid more or less (price +20% AirBnB fee) per night to AirBnB. This equals (price in his own currency).

Thank you so much for any feedback, as we really value any way to improve our service.

Happy travels,
(name)"

I’m VERY curious to know if he has the balls to reply and what his answer will be. He’s now traveling in another part of the country, and just the breakfasts in other places should make him realize that we actually offer 7 star value.

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He might have just made a mistake? Particularly if he was using a phone. I believe I have “liked” several random posts on here just by scrolling with my left hand. That’s my rationale whenever I get some odd low score, anyhow. Makes life much easier :slight_smile:

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Actually, KKC, I was not being, as you say, “defensive:”. Your situation is different from mine, therefore, “to each is own.” And you are quite welcome, btw!

I can understand TP but coffee and tea? Maybe for a high priced listing but not a budget one that does not indicate they offer it.

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What exactly to you mean? I am intrigued as an energy conscious consumer who also has energy monitors installed.

Guests play an active role in energy conservation. The bill, in effect, is the monitor.