Is anyone using scheduled check-out messages to explain rating/review system?

1

It seems to me that the guests we recently received are either truly disappointed with our place or simply don’t pay any attention when leaving a review.

In most cases, we meet the guests on check-out day to hear about the experience of their stay. Usually, we even meet the guests during their stay several times since we live on the same property and make sure that everything is in order and they are happy.

To sum it up - we didn’t encounter any guest complaints whether in person or written and all told us that they enjoyed their stay, with some planning to return next time they visit family close by.

However, when they leave a review (specifically on BDC) they rate us as overall “Good” (8 out of 10) but then leave detailed ratings for cleanliness etc. at 7.5 for all categories throughout. Our 10 out of 10 ratings outweigh all other ratings combined but in the last weeks and months a strange amount of guests seems to flick through the review process and just give a 'whatever" rating.

Now, for both BDC and Airbnb, I feel like that some guests do need some guidance about the importance and function of the respective review system.

Hence my question if any of you use scheduled messages (or any other way) to educate guests about the reviews and/or feedback directly to you in order to improve your hosting?

I’m well aware that we can’t sift out all guests who don’t fully understand how the reviews work and we can cope with the occasional blip (even with guests who stayed with us for years :rofl: ). We do everything ourselves and nothing has changed - we’re super focused on cleanliness which sucks particularly when guests rate us with a 7.5, since future guests will check out the reviews…

Another part is that some guests apparently feel that they rate us not perfectly because they miss an amenity that we do not even offer like a special type of furniture or that they missed a fifth chair as the four that we offer (for a 2 person accommodation) was not enough :man_shrugging: We provide plenty photos of all the amenities that we offer. I guess there is simply nothing that can be done about such guests?!?

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No. Airbnb explains the review system when they send it to the guests. Each thing you click on has guidelines. And I find “explaining” to the guests to be too close to asking to have my grade changed even though I didn’t do the work to earn the top grade. It’s not for me. But other people do it. Honestly, without asking I have a 4.98 average with over 700 reviews so I don’t see the need for it. If I had so few reviews that one bad one could really sink me I’d probably be more interested in this kind of strategy.

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I think hosts are generally far too concerned about their ratings. What matters is that you get bookings and decent guests. I don’t think most guests choose a place based on whether it has a 4.9 rating or a 4.79 rating.

The only drag with Airbnb is that they send you “needs to be addressed” warnings when a guest marks down in a category, as if a guest’s fickle rating proves without a doubt that the host needs to pull up their socks.

BTW, there have been many discussions on this forum about the rating system and various ways hosts use to educate guests about it. Some hosts are totally against it, some have found it improved the ratings guests gave. It’s a tricky thing to do in a way that doesn’t come across as shilling for a 5 star review, which can backfire.

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Naturally with your track record you could care less.

It probably also greatly varies with the type of guests you get according to the type of accommodation you offer. I guess no guest would complain about having only 2 chairs to sit on for each person who stays if the accommodation is located on a private island. I assume the priorities what guests look for a different there…

We’re just shy of 100 reviews so a few lower than perfect ratings can still leave a dent. We do however have an overwhelming majority of fully satisfied guests who also took their time to elaborate about what they really appreciated (cleanliness amongst others). So I hope the future guests can distinguish between properly evaluated feedback and a couple of mediocre clicks without a comment.

We don’t ask or encourage guests to leave a review. I was just trying to explore whether some hosts here have had positive experiences by doing so.

5

I hear you and I can see both sides you mentioned.

I have to admit though that through conversations with some of our guests, we came to find out that there is a certain guest profile out there that particularly wades through every single review to extract any possible shortcomings (or positive aspects) before making a reservation. Especially when guests have had a bad experience in terms of cleanliness and/or privacy.

And I fully agree on the cleanliness part since we’ve stayed in a handful of Airbnbs and every single one of them was not what I would consider ‘clean’. Just because someone wiped down the kitchen with a wet cloth, doesn’t mean that it is clean. Not to mention the refrigerators, drawers, cutlery, plates etc. which were definitely never, ever clean. We always had to wash almost every piece before we can utilise it - and those places had stellar ratings (wouldn’t have booked it otherwise). So much for guests leaving factual reviews.

This is also another reason why we’re totally anal about cleanliness and every time a guest leaves us less than a perfect score for cleanliness it’s particularly upsetting - also because we expressly ask our guest when we welcome them in person, doing the walk-thru, that they are most welcome to reach out to us if anything is not to their satisfaction so we can correct any shortcomings instantly. We live on site and it never takes more than 5 minutes for us to respond, whatever the issue is but some guests prefer to just not say anything and then leave such a rating which leaves us wondering what the issue was since no details were provided.

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A less than perfect rating doesn’t necessarily mean the guest was less than pleased with their stay, nor that there were any issues for you to wonder about. Plenty of hosts, when they asked guests who had rated less than 5 stars what they could do to improve, or what the issues were, were told “Oh, our stay was fine, no complaints, we just never rate 5 stars because perfection doesn’t exist.”

If we know we present a super clean accommodation to guests, wondering why they didn’t rate it perfect is a waste of brain cells.

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7

Maybe this thought concept should be presented to Airbnb…?

And this is the exact reason why I started this thread - when we have guests who are perfectly happy, to educate them about the fact that Airbnb’s 5 star rating means that it was ‘ok’ and has nothing to do with perfection.

In previous threads, I mentioned how I perceive this twisted system of Airbnb since hotel category ratings also go up to 5 stars and I suspect that quite a number of guests think that they could only rate an Airbnb accommodation that high if someone opens the doors for them and gives them massages.

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8

I leave a letter on the kitchen table welcoming the guests and explaining the Airbnb rating system. I use this as an opportunity to have the guests let me know if there’s a problem so that we can fix it and earn our 5 star review.

I also send a message when the guest checks in with the same message asking them to confirm all is good.

This is part of my welcome message. (I think I have sent this answer to you once before too.)

*** Please respond to this message and let us know if everything is OK or if there is an issue, please allow us to remedy the issue so that you have an enjoyable stay. ***

Please note that Airbnb’s review system is a bit different. Anything less than a 5 is considered unsatisfactory and can cause our listing to be given a warning. If you feel that we met your expectations, we would greatly appreciate a 5 star review. If something is not quite right when you check in, please let us know so that we can make it a 5 star stay. Thank you.

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9

Yes you have and I appreciate that you responded again to my question here. I was wondering if other hosts are doing something similar or how their experience is when it comes to addressing review questions with guests at any point of their stay.

I like your approach and as a guest I wouldn’t feel uneasy about the letter and the chat message BUT haven’t we had some host’s experience here on the forum or I may have read it in reviews about hosts that the guest felt overwhelmed or weird about any additional messages besides maybe the check-in/check-out instructions (from the host).

We do in-person check-ins and walk the guests through our small studios to explain everything and answer any questions they may have. Some guests who are in the area for the first time wouldn’t even think of asking about the public transport or activities close-by, so when we inquire if they are looking for any information they often take us up on that offer and ask whatever they need to know. It’s part of our hosting service to help our guests to find their way around town or ask for assistance whenever they need it.

Funny thing is though, that even offering all of that AND living on site quite a number recently chose not to reach out to us but leave a bad rating for cleanliness no matter how often we emphasize to them that they can reach out to us if anything is not according to their expectations (plus, cleanliness is our main focus so we make extra sure that everything is spic and span).

We’re trying to find a healthy balance of letting the guests know that it’s no problem to contact us if anything is not 5 stars and not to overwhelm them with messages and duties to respond to us when all they want is a quiet stay… I’ve sent so many messages before, in case I forgot to mention something during check-in or even when guests asked us for something which we provided only to not hear back from them again until they check-out, not knowing if any requests have been properly dealt with and if they are happy. I feel a bit awkward to keep poking the guests for a response.

Our guests are also from all over the world and some just don’t even say anything besides “Hello” or “Goodbye” while others cannot stop talking. No clue if it’s even possible to find such a “healthy balance” for all of the guests?

10

I stopped meeting my guest for check in. I put in programmable locks and so my welcome letter makes sense since they haven’t met me. (I have cameras that alert me when they arrive.)

I found that guests really don’t want to be bothered after traveling and are happier with self-check in.

In regards to complaints about cleaning, etc. If you are getting complaints then it’s you not the guests. Figure out what looks dirty and replace. I replace carpet that I shampoo nearly 2-3 a week because I got too many complaints. In a month, I enter my down season and I’ll be painting and spackling, etc. to refreshen up the suite. This is also the time where I get rid of worn out sheets, towels, etc.

I got complaints that it was too dark so I added more floor lamps. If I get one complaint I dont’ worry but if two guests complain then you need to evaluate.

Good luck.

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11

To put things in perspective, we’re rated 9.2 on BDC and 4.86 (in the top 1% of eligible listings based on ratings, reviews, and reliability) as well as a 5 (in the top 5% of eligible listings based on ratings, reviews, and reliability) both Superhost, Guest Favorite bla bla bla.

We’re offering both studios on our residential property, one inside our family home and one above the garage.

We’re absolutely not having guests using self-check-in. We want to know who we share our roof with and it’s mind boggling how many people both on Airbnb and BDC do not book for themselves.

This is explicitly written in our house rules and communicated in our booking confirmations and check-in messages. Many guest do not care. We could play hard ball and sent all those people back since they are violating Airbnb’s rules but then we’re not gonna be having substantial income anymore. I don’t know why it is so difficult for people to make an account for themselves.

In several cases bookers will inform us about their parents etc. staying instead of them, providing a rundown why they are staying etc. so we’re in the picture and those stays have all been fine.

We’re not offering luxury accommodations by any means. We have simple studios to stay for a peaceful sleep and any necessities like kitchen, bathroom, shower etc. so we get tourists, workers and family members staying at and enjoying our place.

The demographics are all over the place and range from guests that rate us down for a smoke detector blinking every 30 seconds all the way to being perfectly happy emphasising that we’re too cheap for the value we offer. :man_shrugging:

On our journey to improve our hosting services, we’re always listening to our guests and none of them ever had an issue with the cleanliness. Guests we spoke to who are very picky on cleanliness when they look for an STR did not mention any issues with cleanliness at our place but managed to rate us 7.5 out of 10 (and that for all categories…) with 8/10 overall.

We, (I), clean the studios ourselves. I would literally eat from the toilet bowl after I cleaned it and my goal is to have it cleaner than I would expect it to be when I’m a guest. I want to exceed the guest’s expectations. Everything is dusted, disinfected, washed, ALL furniture moved to clean underneath, vacuumed, mopped you name it after every single booking. We’re not using fragrances and use the ozone generator once every 2 months to maintain a completely odourless environment. I’m a non smoker and it would annoy the heck out of me if we had any smell in the studios which could be interpreted anything but cleanliness.

That’s why it’s disheartening when guests seem to just leave an ‘I don’t care’ rating and not providing any hint of shortcomings regarding the cleanliness to us or in the reviews.

Making guests understand how the review and rating system works would be the ultimate goal, hence my question how other hosts seemingly just get 5 star guests and none who rate the accommodation down for reasons that may even be outside of the host’s control (e.g. 30 second blinking smoke detector).

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I don’t know that you can really do anything to ensure that the odd guest doesn’t leave a less than 5 star ( and on BDC 10 star) review. I’m quite sure even 5 star hotels and restaurants get the odd 4 star review.

I have been hosting since 2016 and apart from one guest who left 4 stars for location (and she was one of those guests who ask a million questions, one of which was how far it was to where she was taking a course, which I answered accurately), I have never gotten less than 5 stars in any category.

Aside from the fact that I describe my place accurately, make sure it’s super clean, etc, etc, as I think most experienced hosts do, I would attribute the consistent 5s to the nature of my place and the type of guests it attracts.

For one thing, I only host one guest at a time in my private room listing. Solo travelers only have their own assessment to consider. A couple or a group may have varying expectations, and one person’s assessment may influence the others.

The solo travelers I host also tend to be seasoned travelers who are self-sufficient and appreciative. They aren’t fussy people who check all the corners for a speck of dust. If they have stayed in a grotty hotel room in Delhi, my private room/bathroom seems spotless and luxurious by comparison. They know that there are bugs in the tropics. They are realistic. Most are also long-time Airbnbers who do have an understanding of the rating system. And they have stayed in Airbnbs that are not particularly great.

And because they are sharing my home and kitchen, I have quite a bit of interaction with most of them. It’s harder to give a host a less than 5 star review, assuming everything was fine, when you’ve shared a bottle of wine and good conversation with them.

I also don’t have rules, other than standard stuff like no pets, no extra guests.

I know it sounds contradictory, but if you are going to educate guests on the review system (which I don’t see anything wrong with doing, especially with newbies), you have to stop caring about getting 5 star reviews.

If your goal in educating them is to get them to leave 5 star reviews, that will come across as shilling for a 5 star review and can be offensive. When I occasionally have the “review conversation” with guests, it is in the context of using Airbnb in general. Because I am not obsessed with getting 5 star reviews, what I convey is how flawed the review expectations are, and how Airbnb doesn’t let guests know how ratings affect hosts- that in the real world, there is nothing wrong with 4 stars “Good”, but that Airbnb sends hosts warnings when anything is rated less than 5 stars, and that we lose Superhost at less than a 4.8 average.
As most guests have no intention to damage a host’s business, when they are aware of this, you don’t have to tell them you want a 5 star review- if they had a good stay with no issues, they are almost always going to rate 5 stars.

And if you are going to convey rating info in written form, the examples which are humorous are better than those which come across as serious.
I remember a host who used similar wording to a sign that was posted on the back of the seat of an Uber they took.
1 star- I fail
2 stars- I fail
3 stars- I fail
4 stars- I fail
5 stars- I get to keep my job

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13

Good one :joy:

Since we try to establish a ‘light’ relationship with our guests (they do stay under our roof where we live) it also serves as an added value to be present in case of assistance required. A benefit that not many Airbnbs (at least in our area) can offer like that. We both work from home and usually someone is home 24/7.

We’re not forcing guests to become best buddies with us but we certainly don’t shy away from a chat whenever we cross our ways. It always offers an opportunity to inquire if everything is to their liking. We would definitely act on that if it wasn’t the case, which never really happened.

It’s just impossible if the guests don’t open their mouths…

I’m not too worried about an occassional 4 star rating for a guest’s stay - we can’t make 100% of them happy. I’m particularly concerned about the specific less than 5 star cleanliness or in this particular case 7.5 our of 10) when guests who expressly mentioned that they care about the clean state of an accommodation - even mentioning to return on their next trip to the family :man_shrugging:

This could all be hot air coming from them - trying to avoid any confrontational situation because they are guests no one can please, who knows. They seemed to be friendly and level-headed. Probably I misread them.

Anywho, despite wanting to know who is staying under our roof we also want to make their stay as simple as possible. I just wanted to hear if some hosts have a particularly ‘smooth’ way to help the guests understand the rating system.

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The thing you have to understand is that a 4 star rating doesn’t mean the guests weren’t happy.
Airbnb tells guests that 4 stars equates to “Good” and “met expectations”. Unless the guests are aware that Airbnb turns around and warns hosts to pull up their socks and that something “needs attention”, they have no way of knowing that a host doesn’t consider 4 stars to be a good review.

One of my guests was shocked when I told her how ratings work on the host end. She said she had rated the other 2 places she stayed, which she said were fine and where she would book again, 4 stars, and thought the hosts would be happy with that rating. She thanked me for the info and said she felt terrible if she had hurt those hosts by her rating.

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Yeah, we’ve discussed this a few times already, that 4 stars doesn’t mean that the guests had a bad stay and that most probably all of them were happy with the place they booked.

Communication is key but not all guests are fully aware of the concept of Airbnb (or BDC) and just assume that once they pay, it’s their place where they can do whatever they feel is right without or little consideration for the host and actually their place.