Uhhh… no. The way to succeed in the hospitality business is to provide a comfortable, clean, and restful place for your guest to relax and get a good night’s sleep. It’s not tacky shills and promotions, especially for hosts that want to concentrate on building a reputation for the long term because they aren’t arbitraging to make short term money.
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I text them to their phone, gasp!
RR
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Not blatantly. There’s a bit of a blurry line between incentivizing and extorting. But suggesting, even if it isn’t said in so many words, that there be an exchange of something for reviews, be it a guest threatening to leave a bad review if they don’t get refunded, or a host saying in some fashion, “I’m giving you a 5* review” before the guest has submitted their review, let’s say it’s a form of coercion.
It’s a weirdly-worded patronizing message and frankly if I was the guest it would have the opposite reaction that you are hoping for. Especially the part about taking care of them. After the guest leaves I send a note to thank them for their stay and for taking such good care of my home. And then I hope for the best.
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Thank you for the your response, Cozy2018. I have heard feedback from others that is almost identical to your response in one particular way which I find curious… What would be the response I could get from you (and many others) that “would have the opposite reaction I am hoping for”?
I am having a hard time understanding what reaction that would be. Thanks in advance for specifying exactly how this could (or would) change your review.
Really? You can’t imagine how it could cause the opposite reaction to what you were hoping for?
People can easily feel they are being manipulated into giving a good review by being told you are going to give them one. And most people don’t have a positive response to a perception of manipulation.
And in fact, that is exactly what you would be trying to do with your idea.
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Thank you for sharing your confusion as to what I was asking Cozy2018. I wanted a likely example of what his actual, specific review/response would be, like a quoted, word-for-word response in this situation. I was asking for what a guest would imagine to be his/her response. I would not respond differently so my imagination is no help.
Let’s say a guest responds with a review that states “Hi. This review is the opposite reaction manipulative host was hoping for. Thank you!” In that case it is true that the guest’s review was, apparently, the opposite reaction the manipulative host was hoping for. In that case the review is also an unhelpful non sequitur.
I just have difficulty understanding this type of rationale:
Guest had delightful time, host was thoughtful and accommodating, listing was squeaky-clean, just as described…
Guest becomes infuriated after reading message where host reveals that not only did he enjoy hosting guest but also wrote as much in his review.
Guest realizes this changes everything. He’ll get a review, alright…but the opposite reaction he’s hoping for!
How?.. Like 1 out of 5 stars for cleanliness because of my dirty mouth?
How? Like checking ‘Would not host’ and seeking protective order?
How? Like suggesting to me in the ‘Private Note’ part that perhaps I am more suited to be a host in a hotel? Rude! Like, wHat doEs thAt evEn meAn?
Is that the ‘opposite reaction I was hoping for’? Seems excessive, but I dunno.
Yikes! That last sentence reminded me of the line at every episode’s end on “Scooby Doo”, the dramatic exclamation made by those meddling teenagers when they remove the villain’s mask!
No one “gets hosting right” from day 1. There is always a learning curve and continuing room for improvement.
.
So don’t sweat it. At least here you can toss around ideas, get feedback and decide what is best for your business.
Correct.
Over the years we’ve stayed in a few places that blatantly suggest (either in person or by message) we leave a good review. My OH’s response is often to simply not review, unless of course there was something about the stay that future guests should be aware of.
On the other hand, if I booked the stay, I then tend to leave an honest review, in fact brutally honest at times. The things that I’d normally have just let slide get factored in and it is rarely a good outcome for the host.
There’s been one occasion where a guest (Airbnb) suggested that they were five star guests, and again, stuff I’d probably have just let slide came into play. It was already in my mind to only give them a four overall and mark down on cleanliness and something else I can’t remember (it was a few year ago!) and I was swithering about clicking the “won’t host again” button.
Needless to say, after reading my short, but precise and honest review they went ballistic. Tried to get Airbnb to remove it (which they didn’t) and then wrote a long rambling response which without any para’s or line breaks just became word soup.
Reading back over this topic there appears, to me, to be a lot of overthinking going on.
Concentrate on your product and good reviews will follow. It is really that simple. Rather than spending your time coming up with tacky scenes to manipulate guest reviews, spend your time working out how you can improve your guest experience.
BTW, there is nothing wrong with asking/reminding a guest to review their stay, when it’s done in a professional manner without attempt to influence the outcome.
JF
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In general there are three feeling I have at the end of the stay. 1) next time in the area I’d like to come back. 2) next time in this area I’d pick somewhere else because this place was fine, but not my cup of tea. 3) I’m never staying here again.
In case 1 I’ll give a five star review. In case 3 I’ll give an honest review of all the problems and warnings and much less than a 5 star review.
In case 2 It depends. If pushed by the host to review here’s where they may not appreciate my review. It won’t be 5 stars.
Cleanlines: 5 stars, Communication: 2 stars, Check-in: 5 stars, Accuracy: 4 stars, Location: 5 stars, Value: 3 stars
“It’s a cute place and was very clean. We enjoyed our stay and the host was very accommodating. However, we were already home and unpacking when we received a very lengthy message from the host that seemed heavy-handed about wanting a 5-star review and that just felt sort of tacky to us.”
There’s one. And I based it on a type of review that a host in my neighborhood gets sometimes. He has a few of them that are similar, some worse and some more subtle. Personally, if I had really enjoyed your place, but got that message you suggested, I would probably just not leave you a review at all.
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@rmorell I see, you wanted specific examples. Well, a guest who felt manipulated would likely lower the communication and overall rating. As a host myself, I likely would give a host who did this private feedback, rather than write about it in the public review.
But if I were only a guest, I might write something like, “We were quite comfortable here, the place was clean and nicely outfitted. Host was friendly and helpful. I’m not sure, though, why he couldn’t just trust that we would leave a good review, as he is providing a good accommodation, with good service, but felt it necessary to send us a message after check-out, trying to cajole us into leaving a 5* review.”
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True. And in my example, I also lowered Accuracy (because Airbnb has a review process and the listing, by being on Airbnb, implies that it would also follow Airbnb’s review process, but didn’t so it wasn’t accurately an Airbnb listing) as well as Value because any price would be too high to get that kind of manipulation afterward so I would’ve obviously paid more than I should have.
You asked what we think but seemed to not like the answers you got. This has turned into a long post so maybe I missed something along the way. And your edits at the beginning of the thread added after lots of feedback would be really confusing to someone just coming across this thread now.
Interestingly you said this in your OP:
then say you are unclear on appropriateness or ethics, etc.
When do guilt and a paying guest go together? When the guest has erred. You knew the answer when you posted and given your edits it seems you were just trolling all along?
Since I haven’t seen your listing much less stayed in it I don’t know how I’d review but in response to your request that I copy your pre-written review I’d probably just messsage you back. I was a high school teacher for 27 years and this strikes me as being the same mindset of students who have so little respect for the lessons designed to help them learn that they just look to copy someone else’s work. If I respected you as host as a result of my stay and then got that message I’d try not to let it reflect in my public review. But biases might assert themselves. So worst case if the unit was acceptable would probably look like this:
“Steve’s unit was clean and quiet with plenty of amenities. It was well located for my visit to see a concert at the Ryman as it’s only a short ride share or a manageable walk. I didn’t meet Steve but his post -stay communications were too earnest. His suggested draft of a review was well-intentioned but misguided. 4 stars.”
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I was seeking clarification because I was interested in (‘liked?’) the answers. Unsure if you deem that a like or dislike, or why that really matters.
Why is it ‘interesting’ that my goal might be a longer, higher-rated review? I was uncertain if priming guests is really guilting guests, and what does the forum think about it, etc.
I have added edits to posts I have created in the hope of adding clarity, but I won’t if it is only creating confusion to new readers (see below). As a moderator you should know, but when I read previous posts with long threads it takes me a while to untangle discrepancies and often it is because the comments were in response to a post that is now substantially different than what was in the OP. Or perhaps I don’t know how previous posts are archived, but my edits after posting were meant not to obfuscate.
My exasperation when asking for more specifics was because it is not helpful to me to read forum comments like “the opposite reaction you’re hoping for”. But the examples others have since offered, I find these quite instructive because each has acknowledged in the narrative that the ‘pushiness’ of the review was not well-received.
But I suspect that ‘real-world’ guests who would find the OP message distasteful will not be so transparent and explain that they left a lower review because of ‘X’. They will likely just leave a dinged review and I will have to wonder why until I connect the dots. That is why I was gunning for a specific, actual example because I can’t shake the feeling that if my message in OP was a misfire I would probably have to read between the lines to trace it back to the pushiness of my review request.
That is awful if, indeed, guests would agree with that, I was not aiming for that interpretation.
If that is a real question and not a conclusion… The answer is I was aghast at the responses I received and embarrassed. I don’t know if posts can be deleted after the fact, but I wished I could have made it disappear. As mentioned above, the edits were to clarify but they ended up sounding stupid because I was trying to be funny like ‘ha ha of course i wouldn’t REALLY ask such a moronic question!’ But I did ask something that is, in no uncertain terms, is “stupid question” although I was too stupid to know that. I was trying to make humor out of what became an embarrasing post and it wasn’t funny to you apparently. No I am not trolling, thank you, so yeah you definitely missed something along the way.
That was helpful and insightful. I can only agree with that interpretation. Thanks for clarifying.
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Yes indeed! I appreciate you assessment and response, it helped me!
Thank you I can better understand that type of thinking from a guest.
An interesting feature of the Discourse software is that that threads cannot be deleted except by moderators. Posts in a thread can be edited or deleted.
It was funny in some ways but someone who has already read the thread and commented is unlikely to go back and read the whole thing. So editing at the beginning has some drawbacks.
I initially didn’t comment as several had already said what I would say. But as it kept going and going and certain members got testy about it all I took another look. We get our fair share of pot-stirrers so I thought I’d just cut to the chase and ask about your intentions.
I’ve read here almost daily for over 6 years but have acquired no magic powers for discerning how someone reads or interprets the forum posts. I’m also an unpaid and often reviled volunteer. Hope that helps.
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Yes that helps. What I meant by ‘as a moderator you should know’ is that for me reading past posts is often confusing (because of edits, missing comments, who-knows-what, etc.) or maybe I need to get more familiar with the interface and functionality. I spend a bit of time going over posts and sometimes I wish that changes after-the-fact were easier for me to discern and integrate into the meaning of the post.
I appreciate your work as a moderator, I can only imagine how brutal and thankless it can be.