They can be. We have a regular guest who comes to visit family in the area. They cannot stay with family because they have a cat. I recently had another guest confirm that we absolutely did not have any pets due to a severe allergy. For some it’s a minor reaction. For others, it can be a more severe reaction.
That’s a shame you get guests like that. We haven’t had that problem, maybe 2 or 3 out of about 250 reservations. For us, I find serving breakfast really helps. Feed people and they overlook the little things! (I realize many cannot do that.)
@RiverRock as others have stated, the reviews are for future hosts so they are important to do even if the guest does not. With the AirReview extension, I check out future guests and will sometimes come across a guest who consistently does not leave a review. There’s not much you can do about except accept it as a part of doing business. I never ask guests to review me. AirBnB already reminds them enough. What is your review percentage? As long as it’s over 50% you’ll be fine.
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I know I would be ready to overlook many things for some good food, Mike!
Well most of my guests are fine, but even among those who are nice there are some things that kind of surprise me in the review. Especially outside of the peak season, when the prices are lower. Those guests are always extra petty and I start my renting out season with some weird reviews and ratings. Later it gets better. It’s incredible, there’s a clear pattern in the review leaving every year. Hype when the prices are the highest and lower ratings when they are lower. It also depends on the weather a lot.
For example, my last guests were nice, communicated nicely, asked for a few favors (earlier check-in, later check-out, borrowing some items) but always reacted politely when refused and grateful when they were provided with an extra. Left the place in a good condition. They wrote me in the message prior to leaving a review a minor thing that they didn’t realize was already in the description. I thanked them for giving me this feedback directly.
The review comes, 5 for all categories but location, which is 3 stars. Plus they wrote in their written comments that it seems to be hard to get around without a car. They were there with a car. I have a whole section written on the issue of public transport in my description, and how I generally advise people to rent a car. I have a few reviews stating that they were made aware by me that it’s easier to get around by a car, but found it totally ok to use public transport. So why point out something that wasn’t even part of your personal experience in your review and dinge me on location based on that?
It’s not a big deal but I was genuinely surprised.
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Yes but it’s not the guest who has an allergy, it’s their teacher during the days of their workshop. The cat does not go in the guest accommodation, only the kitchen. (The guest could even have breakfast at a cafe if they want zero contact) If the allergy really were that severe the teacher would be in serious problems, in the UK half the population have cats.
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Getting dinged on location is always a tough one. How can we improve on that? Move our house? The overall rating is the most important thing, so it’s good you got 5 stars on that.
Sometimes the low price attracts a different type of guest. Many have commented here how the cheap price guests are the ones who complain the most.
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Unfortunately the prices are generally lower in the low season and there’s not much I can do about it besides not renting in that period. I keep telling to myself that I should just think about the profit and not get annoyed by occasional stupid comment or rating, but it annoys me every single time. Cannot help it.
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66% so far so I guess that is above average.
RR
That does seem a bit low. We’re currently at 84% and we don’t ask people to review us.
That extension doesn’t always work since the major Airbnb revamp of the website. I had a fellow who I thought never left a review but later I saw the reviews he left everyone. So check to see if she has reviews the old fashioned way before reaching a conclusion.
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Thanks Helsi. Not long winded at all, and really helpful. I think I will leave for it for a few more days, then contact them again to respond or I’ll need to cancel.
Luckily I’ve been paid for the recent last minute cancellations, but it’s still disheartening after spending time preparing; perhaps maddening would be a better word but but I am consoled by a) no turn over b) the pub next door.
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She herself has (good) reviews showing on the extension, followed by the comment from Air that she did not leave one for the host. But what’s the old fashioned way to check please???
Click on her profile and find a recent host she stayed with then click on that host’s profile and look for her review. It helps if it’s recent and you have a month. If it’s a long time ago it’s a big pain to find.
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I have very similar issues with transport and location, and detailed info on my listing but that stinks; it’s really petty and self opinionated of them. I hope you left a response along the lines of “For the record, these guests were travelling by car and therefore did not experience local public transport, even how bad it might be…” I rarely leave a negative response but when someone makes such an inaccurate comment, I try to put the record straight, for both hosts and guests.
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Blimey! That was an eye opener. She’s left zilch reviews, but two hosts mention, without rancour, that she pitched up with her dogs! Thankfully I have already mentioned the cats, thus no pets, (I had someone try to suddenly bring their own cat for three days recently, with a full payout for her past the check-in time cancellation…) I’m left wondering if she’s got the hump with my being so firm about an IB.
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Does the overall rating from the guest carry more weight than the other categories such as cleanliness?
I agree it stinks. But I decided not to leave a response as they wrote their review in Dutch and only a handful of people will be able to understand it anyways. I think that with responding, I might only attract attention to the review. There are at least two or three reviews stating that although they were warned that it woud be easier to stay with a car, they used public transport and found it satisfactory. I have a lenghty section on it in my description with a conclusion that guests must know for themselves whether less than 10 buses a day (with no night bus whatsoever) is an option for them.
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I don’t review anyone unless they review me first;
unless they were suer nice or really horrible.
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Inna, that’s luxury! We have three buses per day, with last one returning at 2.15 pm. No night buses, no buses on Sunday or holidays.
An Australian group left a review after Easter, saying how well they had managed by bus and walking back or taxis. I now have many more guests coming to walk the white Cliffs than last year, so I ended up preparing an itinery that’s akin to a ten mile pub crawl.
But I think that’s a review you could usefully, for other hosts, attract attention to and at no loss to yourself. Plus, you can translate reviews (if they’re good/are stupid) as you’re response.
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Once, I had a miscarriage after checking out of a really great AirBNB with a new host. It was pretty traumatic and I didn’t re-surface in time to leave a review for her.
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What a shame. Reviews are the backbone of how Airbnb works.
Some hosts will only accept guests with a review. So as a host I will always leave a review as it helps guests stay with hosts who would otherwise not accept them.
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