The old 'location' starring system

Yes, I suppose in a sense he was right. He just took the meaning very literally. I hope you’re able to work something out - keep us posted! This forum needs a good news story.

He is German. They can not help it.

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I have one. There was an electronic music festival event in my town this past weekend. A couple booked the room about 3 weeks in advance and then cancelled a week before the event. Ok, whatever. I decided to add another few dollars to the price and hope for the best. On Friday I got a booking for Saturday and on Saturday I got a booking for Sunday. Two different young couples (I’m guessing between 21-25 years old). Perfectly good guests, no evidence of drug or alcohol consumption, no sleeping in past check out time, no complaints. One couple left a very nice review already. I made a few extra dollars since I raised my price for the weekend.

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That is good news!! Karma was on your side :clap::atm::champagne:

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Follow up. AirBNB called. It was clear from our correspondence that my guest was answering the question truthfully, but not the way it was intended. They claim they are sending him an email and with his approval, they will change that 3 to a 5. This person was a bit more together than some I have dealt with. She promised me that he would not be asked to do anything but say yes. I requested that this be easy for him.

Update in the AM.

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Here is the follow up email, with the guest’s name redacted:

This is Ashley with Airbnb-- thank you so much for taking my call today!

Regarding this situation, I have contacted your guest to see if he is alright with me changing his star rating to reflect a more accurate representation of his experience at your listing. Now, all to do is just await his response!

I did want to thank you so much for being such an amazing host and having such a fantastic listing that your guest thinks the photos don’t do it justice; that honestly has to be the sweetest misunderstanding I’ve seen on Airbnb thus far. Thank you so much for that.

Regarding our rating system, I definitely cannot disagree with you-- it can be a little difficult for some people to understand. I have gotten many calls that the “location” aspect of our review system needs to be either removed or expanded on, so rest assured that I will be submitting those suggestions to our developers.

In any case, once I do get a response from your guest XXXXXXX, I will certainly send you an email so we can get this resolved as quickly as we can.

If you have any more questions, concerns, comments, or anything else, please do not hesitate to let me know! I hope you have a lovely night.

Kindest Regards,

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i live in a remote area (impossible to drive here) and besides describing it on my listing, after a booking confirmation I re-explain in details how to get to my place and where it is located so if they booked my “mistake” they can cancel

Oh, believe me, IFYP! :cry: I am very careful to state in my listing that we’re not on public transport, that we strongly recommend hiring a car, that where we live is reckoned one of the most beautiful and tranquil areas but is NOT central, blah blah blah … most guests are fine with this and take it into account, and I wouldn’t mind if I got the odd 4 star, but I’ll never forgive the guest who gave me ONE star for Location. The worst of it is that I hadn’t at that point worked out the star ratings so I didn’t know who had left it - so frustrating not to be able to put a face on the virtual voodoo doll!

Are you in Spain? I notice that you refer to your “urbanisation” which I think is only used here. You can see from my name where I’m based!

I feel your pain, but have to say I vagued out while reading your disclaimer! sorry, about half way through it I started thinking about what to cook for dinner tomorrow and then realised that my eyes had moved down the page but I’d taken nothing in!
Don’t mean to be a smart arse, just thought I should give you my honest feedback.
I’ve had heaps of people who don’t even know that they get to review (lots of first timers), so I think to add this to your listing, that they are not reading very well in the first place, is not going to help.[quote=“KKC, post:3, topic:7859”]
just have a conversation with those who inquire and discuss location with them then?
[/quote]

Good idea.

Anyway, I think it’s leftovers for dinner, or as I like to say “buffett night” where I empty the contents of the fridge onto the bench, tell everyone to get a plate and head for the microwave. First in best dressed!
:ramen::stew::spaghetti::pizza::wine_glass:

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Did you get your “yes”??

Sadly, no. But no update either.

I got the same email a week ago because of location. I know the guest don’t read so what I did in screens hot Google maps for the tourist locations they might want to visit and caption the drive times without traffic. I make it very clear that Miami is a big city and we already have a traffic problem with litter public transport ion.

Wow. I just received this email from Ashley, my friendly airBNB case manager:

This is Ashley with Airbnb! You and I spoke on the phone a few days ago regarding XXXXX’ rating for your listing and his stay. I wanted to let you know that I was able to get in touch with Matthias, and he gave me permission to change his 3 star rating to a 5 star rating! As of now, you’re completely good to go. :slight_smile:

The dreaded THREE is gone!

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I agree Tina a location is set in place and does not change.

Smtucker. We had a similar experience with a lower accuracy rating in a review. Only got 4 stars as the guest thought the accommodation was better than the listing described. The bedroom was much bigger than the photo showed. We thought this was a great problem to have. We even use this example to current guests to help explain the rating system. Ie, we tell them we average 4.9 stars due to that particular guest. Helps break the ice as well when discussing the review system. Particularly with first time guests with AirbnB.

With regards to location. Always a tricky one. We are 8km from town which is clearly described in the description and on the map. Yet some still say what a shame we are not in town? However, also gives us a chance to turn a perceived negative into a positive.