I just discovered something about the Rating System

62

I have not, but I have used it to anticipate nitpicky guests. Typically they enjoy their stay and leave 5-stars, with the exception being the difficult guests I had over Christmas.

Before AirReview, I manually looked up the reviews a guest left, but the platform was newer so this was easier to do. I’m thankful for this plugin.

5 Likes
63

I have 133 x 5* reviews for one property, 116 x 4.99* for the second, and 42 x 4.98* for the third (the third has been marked down to 4.9 on location despite the fact that it is just one block north of the 5* property on the same street - LOL)

3 Likes
64

133 reviews at 5* for an overall 5.0 rating is an amazing feat. Wow, something to aspire to.

2 Likes
65

I considered it.

Last year I had a repeat guy InstantBook. The first time he stayed he gave 5* on everything except value (4*).

Because I’m a data nerd and value is the only rating I get dinged on, I did a price study from both a market/competition and a cost allocation perspective, finding that I was both competitively priced and not taking an unreasonable profit. :nerd_face:. I managed to restrain myself from giving him the white paper at check-in.

I decided to risk the second stay, but if he’d left a bad mark again I would have explained my pricing and then blocked him. (as it was, he left perfect marks the second time)

2 Likes
66

Yes, that sounds very reasonable. I find it soooo annoying when they ding you on value and then they book again!!! If you are meeh on value, then guests should book elsewhere.

So yes, after two dings on two bookings I would also be interested in blocking them.

1 Like
67

I agree that the rating system can be decidedly unfair. It is subjective, and a lower rating not based on cleanliness, maintenance or safety is not useful. I had a 3 for value from some very nice young women who would not explain to me, when politely asked, on the thread, what needed improvement. I can only guess that they were looking for a place to sleep overnight, and they are from an area where the cost of living is much lower. They did not take advantage of what our ranch offers, nor our concierge type services, either. I’m assuming that they were a mismatch on a budget. We do not run a budget operation. I’m over 6 years as a Superhost, and this one group knocked my average down significantly.

68

I think this is a big reason I get dinged on value. I do run a somewhat budget operation, but I’m in a city with a high cost of living. When I had my calendar open to both one-night and same-day stays, I would occasionally get overnight guests who were traveling along the I-5 corridor and I wondered why they didn’t drive another hour to rent a room in a cheaper city.

2 Likes
69

This is EXACTLY what happened to me toward the end of this past review period. It was nerve wrecking to say the least. I don’t have hundreds of reviews in a year like many other Hosts (partially due to listing being blocked for family members visiting). I had over 20 5-star reviews this past year, and at the end of November and early December, ONE guest leaves me a 1-star review, and another a 3-star review. It dropped my rating from a 4.9 to to a 4.5. These two, back-to-back guests either broke House Rules that were clearly disclosed on my listing prior to booking (smoking on the premises, leaving exterior doors unlocked) or complained about things that were beyond my control. I think it’s about time that Airbnb look at the overall reviews of a Host and realize that a Host isn’t going out of their way to make ONE guest miserable after being an exceptional Host to the majority of their Guests.

4 Likes
70

Xena

We have overnighters a lot but they are here for the Destination that we are. They come from the City several hours away, and stay Saturday night. They know why they are here, to unplug, and to stare at thousands of miles of wilderness and huge night sky. When we went to a 2 night minimum we stayed vacant, folks just can’t get out here on a Friday night. These young women were here to visit the hot springs which only takes overnight guests, and is booked months in advance. I am guessing that they did not plan ahead and get reservations there, stayed here trying to get in on the Sunday, which they did not, and had to go home a 10 hour drive without their desired soak. If we had hot springs on our ranch it would have made them happy! Alas, the trip was not what they had hoped for, and we got the penalty. They may also have missed some of the details of the listing in their enthusiasm for the anticipated hot springs visit. space is over $200 a night and our guests do feel that with our amenities, unique home and location and go all out hospitality, they get 5* value. Nevertheless, these young women were clean, polite, and got high rating from me.

1 Like
71

I’ve just arrived home after staying in an Airbnb myself for two nights - I gave my stay full 5 stars for everything - however I’ve just checked and it’s showing some of my 5 stars as 4.9 so I am annoyed ? Why would Airbnb do this ? It makes me wonder if this is why I get some 4.9 stars too ?

72

Can you post pics of this?

73

I need to apologise - I went back to check and it was the overall star rating for the establishment I had seen - so it wasn’t actually my personal rating I had given !! So I apologise Airbnb !
Senior citizen’s error 🥲

4 Likes