I’m teasing you. …
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There are many different reasons why a host may get lower than a 5 star. I had 2 4-stars in 19:when I would not extend 2 weeks’ credit. And a 1:star from a disgusting man. My fault was for pricing too low (and attracting lowlives) but it had nothing to do with hosting.
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All these are fair points.
The second guests to stay in my Villa screwed me royally on the review. 4 in Overall, Cleaniness and Accuracy then a 3 in Location and Value. I knew I was gonna take a hit from her in advance. She was a first time AirBnB guest last August. She must not have seen my review of her until early December when she went to rent again because she was demanding that I remove it. Guess no one wants to book to someone with a 1* across the board and not recommended to any hosts. She was my second worse group ever.
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I get tremendous satisfaction from reading this.
Honest reviews work.
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Air Review just makes it easy to see it all in one place, the reviews the host left, the ones the guest left and the responses, if any. But even before I knew about Air Review and downloaded it, I still cross-refernced reviews to see what kind of reviews a guest left, so it wasn’t any extra level of scrutiny for me.
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Yeap I did the same. Also check their FB and other social media if possible.
I did too occasionally but it was so much work at times, I didn’t most of the time. With over 100 bookings a year and sometimes I had to scroll down pages of reviews to find the one from the guest who booked me. AirReview is golden.
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Hey KKC - this is another area that Tom should know about - and an easy config to Discourse. It is a common Forum feature to have is a PINNED POST (aka Announcement) - containing great basics:
Sweet! Too bad for her and that is exactly how it’s supposed to work. Would LOVE to read the review you left for her (pul-lease). 
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Yes. Whenever hosts post about getting a nitpicky review and then mention that the guest had left other hosts nitpicky reviews too, my first thought is, “why did you book that guest?”. The reviews that guests leave hosts are at least, if not more, telling about the guest than the ones they receive from hosts. There is a ton of evidence that hosts don’t always leave honest reviews.
However, most of the time, reading the reviews that guests have left other hosts just lets me prepare the best for them. For example, if someone mentions the AC in every review, I make sure it is super-chilly upon their arrival. Every guest is a little bit of a research project and the reviews they have left just adds to the information. My checkin note for the guest will often include things like “mentions the AC - get it cold”, “sensitive to noise, especially birds (???) - leave earplugs and white noise machine on bedside table”, “appreciates fresh flowers - put extra in bathroom”…these kinds of things.
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I have a listing that has a 4.33 with 40 Reviews.
It is booked Back to back for 4 months this winter and a lot of returning guest for next winter already.
The 4.33 does bother me al. The listing needs some major updates, but that would cost me at least €150.000 (new blumbing, New bathrooms, new Floors, new Windows, new roof etc etc)
And even then I cannot compete with the modern newly build luxury ski-in-ski-out listings.
Guest are oke with it as it is, because the next similar listing in the area costs €5.000 a week. Mine is less than half. They already happy they are able to afford a listing that can fit 17 people.
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At 4.33 with 40 reviews I can tell you that I would not be happy as a host. Such a low rating has a long-term impact that you can only really gage a year or even two years later, when other, better rated listings enter the market. Now is the time to gather 5* reviews, not 4* reviews.
If I was in your position, I would actively lower guest expectations by going back into the description. Use words like “rustic” or “homely” or “vintage” to indicate that the place is not perfect and has its flaws. Instead of hiding these flaws I would try to accentuate them. For instance, you CAN make a 1980s designed bathroom look cool by introducing artworks, flowers, amenities etc.
Lastly, I would seek to (over)compensate for these flaws by giving guests chocolates, mulled wine and the type of stuff you associate with apres ski, chalets etc. If you get E2500 for a week, what is E100 spent on some nice gifts, soaps, prosecco etc.
Bon chance.
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The difference is that you are an Amateur, sensitive to AirBnB marketing and bending over backward for reviews.
I am a pro, have done this for years.
The listing is what it is, the guest read the reviews, see the pictures and know what to expect. I do not hide anything.
They know they get a 4.33 star listing and still book.
Why should I throw money at my guest to compensate? They are already getting a very good deal.
Long term there will be no impact, the demand huge and listings like this one are few.
50% of the bookings are repeat bookings from AirBnB guest that left a 4* review… I think that says enough.
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Ouch.
I’m curious, with an admittedly substandard listing and such low pricing, do you get many problem guests? It seems like this would attract the very worst guests Airbnb has to offer.
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I couldn’t agree more.
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The fact that a place could do with some upgrading doesn’t translate to “substandard”.
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No. But this does translate to “substandard”:
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That seems awfully low for a place with 40 reviews. That’s not just one or two unhappy guests who tanked a listing just getting started. And how many people didn’t leave a review because they weren’t that happy but like others here, don’t want to hurt the nice owner’s business, etc? If I were considering a place like this I’d be looking at individual category ratings closely. If things like check in and cleanliness are 5’s (which the owner has control over) and the location/value are low that would be a consideration.
What newer members here might not realize is that Chris doesn’t run an airbnb in the style of many of us. He runs a central European hotel of a style that’s been common in that part of Europe a long time. He was doing this when Airbnb came along and gave him a lot more competition. I think he used the term ruined to describe Airbnb’s impact in his area.
He has posted here a long time and seems to be perfectly happy with the way he runs his business. He’s not looking for our tips to improve, he doesn’t care about ratings and if Airbnb dropped him it wouldn’t matter much as he gets most his bookings from other platforms.
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House near the beach - I have had people knock down a full star just because:
- I had a “no cooking crab in the house” rule; or
- The grill (that I don’t even list as an amenity) wasn’t cleaned out; or
- Someone didn’t like the outdated tile in one bathroom; or
- I didn’t have the golf channel (also never claimed); or
- They were the one person in 3.5 years who mistakenly thought it was right on the beach.
Experienced AirBnB guests know that a four star is a knock. But hotel people come in with different expectations and don’t get that. So, sometimes it really depends on who is booking.
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