Can abnb see the private feedback that you leave for guests? I know they say only the host and guest can view it but can they also? Thank you.
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I’m sure they can. It’s their platform. I doubt they monitor it so unless the guest reports your comment as in appropriate Airbnb probably won’t see it.
The fact you are concerned suggests you are considering giving the guest direct booking information or borderline inappropriate or awkward.
You can text the guest direct booking information.
If it feels inappropriate, it probably is. Airbnb has been known to cancel host accounts over guest complaints.
Sometimes mentioning how they could be better guests is awkward for the host to do. If it may affect the next guest/host relationship, it’s important to share. For example my last guest was given check in instructions 3x (1x sent a week early at her request) and the morning of check-in I asked if any questions about instructions. She arrived, “we’re here. How do we get in?” Yes, there will be feedback about reading what the host sends. She may not book with me again but ok.
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If you’re leaving them feedback, I suggest sugar coating it. It’s not my cup of tea but I do it because I don’t want guest complaining to Airbnb. For example, “It was nice to host you and we hope to see you again. Just for future reference, hosts truly appreciate it when guests wash pots and pans used during their stay. Cleaning team will charge host extra cleaning fees. Thanks again for choosing our home to spend quality time with friends and family.” When I really wanted to say “What a disgusting mess you left!”
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Yes.
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JF
Okay, I’m going to get hosts disagreeing with me about this but I rarely leave private feedback.
Firstly, they can see how I’ve reviewed them if they really want to know what I’ve said. Secondly my job is to provide hospitality and not to educate them about how to behave like civilised human beings. Lastly, I just don’t have the time to worry about it.
I’m one of the first people to go on about how hosts and guests should always leave honest public reviews but the private stuff seems a bit pointless to me,
I assume, like @Annet3176 , that yes Airbnb can read it if they want to but I don’t imagine it’s regularly monitored. They might take a look if there’s some sort of issue but who knows?
But I’m wondering what a host would want to say to a guest that they don’t want Airbnb to see?
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Of course Airbnb can see private feedback.
If you doubt it, put something in private feedback that either violates Airbnb’s policies or implies that you did and see what happens. [Yes, this is sarcasm.]
The private stuff has a point if you feel the guest should be educated about something but you want to give them the benefit of the doubt and not put it in the public review.
Say you had a really sweet young guest, who was a good communicator, always remembered to take his shoes off at the door, stopped by the bakery when he was out and brought home goodies for both of you to share, always asked you if you’d like some tea when he was making himself one, etc. He was a charming and polite young person.
But you happened to be out at a dentist appt when he checked out and you came home to find a sweet thank you note from him, but he had left his room a big mess and stained the towels. Would you really want to leave him a review that would make other hosts not accept him because he left a mess? Or would you feel maybe that he was just too young to know how to clean up or thought that was the host’s job? And if you told him that wasn’t okay, he would make sure to clean up at the next place he stayed?
Or say a woman got her period and left a lot of blood on the sheets- I wouldn’t mention that in a public review, but I might be inclined to private message to say the right thing to do in that case is to either let the host know so it can be washed before it dries and stains, or just to put them to soak in cold water.
A guest left me a good review but sent private feedback saying there was a lot of cat hair on the outdoor cushions. She was a seasoned Airbnber, and knew if she put it in the public review, that would be bad for me. I private messaged her back, apologizing and thanking her for letting me know, that I hadn’t even noticed the cat hair, as I don’t normally sit on those outside chairs and it wasn’t my cat- it was a stray thay had been making itself at home very recently. I also thanked her for only mentioning it privately.
That is a perfect example of a good use of private feedback. I get them all the time… a nice little note saying “Thanks” usually. Once I got a private suggestion about an occupancy sensor light - which would have been a waste of relevancy and space in the public review in my opinion.
And, I always leave a private message because it feels personal, and kind because I can address my guest directly: “Mary, I really enjoyed hosting you and I hope you’ll visit again!” vs the public: “Mary was an excellent guest. She…”. I like to connect with my guests who do a good job so they will come back someday, hopefully, or tell a friend. I’ve never left anything negative in personal feedback. If it’s trivial I don’t bother. If it’s important enough to bring up (but not Resolution Center worthy), I will do it in the Air messaging app so it’s in the convo thread for future reference and easy access if Air needs to read it for whatever reason (although I also assume they can read the private messages, but who wants to dig for that info)
Yes, an honest review always helps hosts. Assuming this was a one off, or assuming this was just because he didn’t know how to do it is not good logic; an honest and frank review would mean, for example, the next host, should they choose to accept this guest, would be warned and that the discussion on cleanliness could happen. Your opinion about his activities, or your personal thoughts on the whys and hows should not enter in a review.
My favorite private feedback was “That was one of the best Airbnb stays I’ve had. You wouldn’t believe the crap some people list and actually expect money for.”
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Nor did I suggest those things should enter into the review. But if I had a guest who I felt just needed some gentle guidance to become a guest any host would be happy to have, and had spent enough time with that person to know they would be totally open to learning and changing that behavior on their next stay, I would be kind and give them that opportunity. Just as I appreciate a guest giving private feedback about something they feel I could improve.
If you don’t have a lot of interaction with guests, you may not realize that home share hosts who do, can get a pretty accurate read on whether a guest will be open to doing things differently if they only were made aware that it was expected.
I wouldn’t fail to mention that a guest left a mess just because they were nice and personable, that’s not what I was suggesting at all. For instance, a 40 year old who left a mess should know better, and likely won’t change their ways- an 18 year old out on his own for the first time, whose mom always cleaned up everything, might just need a little educating as to how to leave an Airbnb room.
Had that guest who sent me private feedback about the cat hair mentioned it in the public review, potential guests reading that might have gotten the idea that I’m a crazy cat lady whose place is covered in cat hair. When in fact, I don’t even like cats and had been trying to chase that one off. If guests can extend me the courtesy of mentioning some things privately, I may extend that courtesy to some guests, depending on the circumstances, as well.
Thank you all for your input. This was a question for any “just in case” situations that may arise. I’m a new host, this year, and still have many questions. Thank you all for your invaluable knowledge.
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I never write anything on the platform that I don’t want Airbnb to see. I think their “no one sees it” phrase refers to other guests or hosts. I give private feedback because I appreciate it myself. I am a little more apt to give it to new Airbnb members who might, just might, become better guests for future hosts.
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I have told that or something similar to guests on the platform when they were shocked to get called out about the mess they left.
They are always shocked to get called out, but why did you say that on the public review instead of private feedback? Because I would not host you again and I wanted to warn other hosts…
I never ask for money, never let on I am mad but I always review honestly.
RR
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Agree. There are few reasons to give private feedback at all.
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We only recall using it once. We were in France during a summer heatwave. Our host should have had at least a fan or two, despite the thick stone construction. We suffered but a different guest would have ding’d her stars.
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I once had a guest cook meat in the oven without a pan. He used the oven as a grill and the oven was left a mess. When I asked why he didn’t use the outdoor grill, he simply stated that it was too cold to grill outside.
Took an entire can of Easy Off and lots of elbow grease to clean it. Then about a week later he requested another stay which I denied. He was truly surprised that I wouldn’t host him again.
Some folks live in La La land and are truly clueless.
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And these types of stories are one of the reasons I do not allow guests to cook in my kitchen. Combined with my OCD I just couldn’t handle watching something like this happen.
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You don’t have to live like that. Use baking soda and it’s no different than wiping off a table.
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