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I’ve also never been in the position of wanting to go somewhere where I didn’t have good choices, so easy for me to say what I’d do.
Some of them have to be good, right? There also must be those hosts who start out strong, get good reviews and then slack it. Then they’ll pick it up again if their average starts to slide. Just like 80% of my students over the years, lots of folks just do enough to get to whatever mediocre standard they set for themselves.
You know, I have had a 4.92 rating for years. I got a few bad ones in my first year of hosting and no matter how many 5 stars I get it never budges. I have 390 reviews.
3 are 3 star
30 are 4 star
357 are 5 star
I came up with something like that years ago, and suggested it jokingly on the Airbnb forum. It could be a featured category- something like “Airbnb Bottom, matching horrible, clueless guests with terrible, clueless hosts. Because Airbnb is a place where everyone belongs”.
This is why I really don’t put much stock at all in star ratings. You have no idea whether the host had a 5* rating that got tanked by a 1 or 2 star revenge review that Airbnb refused to remove. The only thing I judge a listing by are the written reviews.
YEAH, I got a 3 star review from a guest who made fun of my disability and disclosed it in the review. I’m still very upset that it was allowed to remain. Mostly I just let it go but it really irks me.
The other bad review was one that was set up on purpose by a neighbor that I had issues with. It was her friend who stayed. I didn’t learn of it until after she checked out but again Air wouldn’t do anything.
Someone suggested it here last week on the thread about Airbnb purposely offering a filter for people to choose houses they clean themselves. I joking refer to these kinds of suggestions as Airbnb Minus.
Don’t forget stained, threadbare towels and linens- there’s so many things a “Minus” host can work on to make sure they get top search placement in that category. 
We travel a lot and rent a lot of STRs (except, of course, during this pandemic). We were already renting STRs 10 years before Air 
We don’t go to poorly rated accommodations, but, in most places, we don’t care about how many reviews they have. We have even gone to 0-review places several times. In many cases, we have found truly lovely places for which we often were among the first guests.
We have occasionally found places with problems. One (a one-day stay) in Salt Lake was so bad that we did not even stay (it was very well reviewed btw). But we’ve never complained to Air—we simply provided the appropriate review.
In my view, as a guest (of course, we all have a very personal view of this):
I once stayed in a shared airbnb (separate suites with a shared common area) with the owner of the suite. She actually went out of town during my stay but then asked if I could clean my own suite for the next guest.
Booooooo……………………………… properly communicated & managed this can work. My guests send me pics of the condo after they’ve cleaned.
Love your list. Being a happy traveler very much involves adaptability and seldom if never are you going to encounter a place that is perfect on every count.
@Lynick4442 It’s a bummer than you had such a lousy experience. Even a bigger bummer that the host was terrible and didn’t try to make things better during your stay. Unlockable shared access doors, missing pillow cases, and general sand filth is certainly criminal. So unless he fixes issues like that within 4-6 hours, it’s all yours to make a big deal about it if you choose to. #notOK
Some good questions were asked about the review profile of the listing when you booked. You probably knew you were taking a tiny chance if the reviews weren’t where you thought they needed to be. So you’re 1% responsible?
The next step was that you filed a complaint to Airbnb after discussions broke down with the crappy host. That’s good. However, I’m not so sure about not answering the phone when Air calls. I know I always answer the phone when they call and we seem to always make some progress no matter what the situation might be. Obviously, summarizing each discussion/agreeing to it in the message thread afterwards is important too. But just not taking the call feels passive aggressive and extremely not nice to me. If the conversation isn’t proving fruitful, you can always end it after giving it a chance and then fall back on the message thread, right?
Sounds like you fought the good fight and were victorious. Way to go! But then you got more money than you even admit you deserved (or were even asking for). Like everything, it sadly comes down to money, then.
Obviously, there was a massive “expense” you put forth in your time/energy (30 emails, seriously?). So it’s great that you “got paid” for that effort. So now the question is who actually paid for it? Airbnb? Meaning, the shareholders? The host? My bet is on Airbnb/shareholders. It feels like you got it done based on a combination of your good tactics, tenacity, existing SH status, and perhaps belligerence/mistakes on the part of the host during the negotiation he had with Air. But Air is likely a little “poorer” as a result. Was that the right thing?
Do you feel better? What did you ultimately rate the listing when you left your review? What did you say in the narrative? Did the host review you as a guest? Probably not so great, if he did. . . If so, will his bad (honest, in his mind) review negatively affect your ability to book certain listings?
Was the whole fiasco worth it? Or did you simply elect to stay in a B+ listing and next time you’ll only stay in A listings and this will never happen again?
Wholeheartedly agree with KasualObseever, I’ve rented so many places, none offer the amenities of mine, however they are each an experience in their own right. I’ve rented several where I was the first to review and enjoyed them and privately shared what could be improved. When I travel I’m there to enjoy friends, family and location, I hope for nice amenities but my focus is on other things. Honestly I get surprised nearly every time when I read the forums of guest complaints, I’ve never had a bad experience.
The reviews were good (and still are good) but his rating went down from the time I booked.
You made a lot of assumptions that just weren’t true. This was not a B+ listing when I booked. It was a $300 a night 2 bedroom condo.
If I had know it was going to take 30 emails I’m not sure I would have embarked on this request. I simply contacted the host and he accused me of scamming him without offering to fix the issue. I never asked him for compensation when I first contacted him.
In regards to not taking phone calls, I have run a STR long enough to learn that what Reps say on the phone does not always match with what is in writing.
I will review on the last day possible and be honest without mentioning the resolution. He has not reviewed me yet either.
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If we may ask - what was the total booking and how much comp did they finally give you after all that?
I truly meant all of my notations as questions (hence the ? marks) 
You booked an A spot and they simply didn’t deliver. Got it.
Looking forward to hearing how the review exchange goes.
They refunded 50 percent of my 2 days stay. (Not counting the additional fees I had to pay for amenities I didn’t use.)
Not bad. I am surprised you didn’t fight the additional fees. If they aren’t in the listing or house rules, then it’s BS.
Even better if he would post the link to the listing!