What are guests asked to leave in the public part of the review?

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For those of you who have used Airbnb as a guest, how exactly are you asked to review the host?

Are you asked to review your experience or just the host himself?

It really irritates me when I receive a review that is brief and then in the part about - “What so and so loved about your listing” - it says “the cabin was sooo amazing! I loved this and this and blah and blah. The bed was incredible!”

Of course this is the kind of stuff I WANT to be in the public review. My last two public reviews were short and sweet but the private feedback was so much better. I am not going to ask the guest to move it to the public part. But just wondering if they are only asked to talk about how communicative/friendly the host was?

And on the review I received today, I see there are four parts to the private feedback now.

  1. What did the guest love

  2. What could I improve

  3. Location feedback

  4. Value feedback

Oh brother…please spare me feedback about the location and value. The person said he really didn’t know how to answer the location question. He said he liked the fact that the property was private and secluded, yet it wasn’t convenient to get to. Now that is crazy. My property is a mile and half from the ONLY large grocery store in the area. It has a Red box, gas station, pharmacy, etc. There are several restaurants within a few miles. The area is small town country. I have no idea where this person would think would be convenient. There is no public transportation. We don’t even have one stop light…lol. We were 6.5 miles from the event he was attending. The drive was 15 minutes due to the curvy roads - we’re in the mountains so all the roads are curvy!

Anyway, and the value feedback was that he didn’t like the extra fees like the cleaning fee - and taxes that should have been more prominently noted in the listing. Actually at the time he booked I did have the taxes in big bold letter with astericks. He just didn’t read it. So I had to explain that it is Airbnb’s decision to not include taxes like any other listing site does, and unlike a hotel that charges all fees upfront. Then I had to explain that an entire house has to be cleaned for each new reservation. And we are forced to enter in a single nightly rate. I explained that I could NEVER charge the same nightly rate for 5 one night stays, vs. one 5 day stay. It takes 7 man hours to clean my property with a cleaning fee of $105. Could you imagine just eating that kind of money every day? And why should a 5 night stay be charged that rate every single night? They would never book if I added $105 to their nightly rate.

Anyway, just venting away. I really don’t need feedback on my value or location. I can’t change the location and everyone knows the rates when they book. They don’t HAVE to book my property.

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I sometimes wonder if they are confused and think the private part is still the public part. I think that sometimes they intended for those compliments to be public but did not put it in the correct section.

I also get guests who are literally shocked when they arrive at how far out I am. I’m also on a mountain slope, off the Hawaii Belt Road…via the two-lane road that circles the island. But I am right off the highway, on a 2WD road, in a normal subdivision that is out in the middle of nowhere. I sometimes think also they are soooooo relieved to find it because the road takes them through some isolated countryside, LOL. That being said I am TWELVE miles from the nearest market, gas, PO and restaurants! Because they don’t read (!!) they sometimes get here and ask me, where is there to eat. And I have to say, you just passed it! And they have to go back! But had they READ, they would have known to stop!

As for taxes, I’ve said many times that I get them in person. When I accept their booking or answer their inquiry, I mention the taxes. When I send the info doc., I again mention the taxes, and tell them they owe X amount. When they arrive I have their tax envelope taped to the door. There is no way they could miss it!

That kind of idiot, Cabin, is similar to the flipkey guest I had this summer stand on my lanai saying my place was meh and not what he expected for his hard earned money and he is a CONSUMER, so certain things should be perfect! This is not really my idea of Hawaii, he says. I mean, it’s OK but…this is “you know, meh” ( downturned face, reminded me of my ex who would complain to get something refunded or free) and you are running a business, like a hotel So I am disappointed… (The faucet leaks, a little, nothing major. Yeah. I need to fix it.) “It would be nice to have cable TV, that is a minimal thing.”

Not for me. 1% of guests care. Not worth hooking up and paying for cable for 1%.

Everything he could and did complain about was CLEARLY disclosed. At $89, buddy, you ain’t getting travertine, cable TV, AC or stainless appliances. Or perfection. But you will get a cheap, very private, self-catering place right by one of the best places to snorkel on this entire island… plus all the beach gear you could want. Oh, and your own private room, BBQ and patio. New patio furniture. Even a friendly lazy cat that most guests love! (I Have determined he is good for business!) But this MAINLANDER still wasn’t happy and walked off the property with 10 days on his reservation! Knew I wouldn’t refund. That paid my July mortgage. Thank you and goodbye.

This type of doofus should stay at the Hilton where he can ride a silly gondola around and sit by a sunscreen soaked swimming pool drinking $19 mai tais along with thousands of other fat, pink, red tourists. That is his idea of Hawaii. Go for it.

So I am unique… It’s a great location… in a beachy subdivision with our own uncrowded little bay… perfect for snorkeling and swimming. Easy access to the water.

Yet, over the years, I have been marked down for value and location!!! Some people get it, and others don’t. The ones who don’t can pound sand!! Luckily they are close to the sand here!!!

Idiots.

As I said, this guy would find something wrong at the Four Seasons. Some guests are like that. And by the way, since you had to explain the simple things about booking such as cleaning and taxes, that just confirms he is an unsavvy traveler and doesn’t understand the system.

I am glad, Cabin, that he did not leave his grousing in the public section. Goodbye, good riddance and don’t come again! :slight_smile:

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My personal pet peeve! Location review. Absolutely useless! It’s not like we can change it.

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airbnb has changed it recently, and I believe the more pertinent question ‘what did you like about the listing’ gets people raving more. Some of my new guests have done the same thing, left amazing raving private feedback that no one sees, and a really brief public one. Disappointing. Air needs to get its crap together!

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Wow Cabinhost! What a whinger!

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I just noticed that when they added the Location and Value feedback to the reviews that my location scores have dropped from 5/5 to 4/5. It says that they remind guests to “rate the accuracy of the location description” but I feel they are rating whether they thought my location was convenient enough according to their definition, not what I put in the listing.

I’m bummed to watch ratings fall, when the only thing that has changed is asking how to rate.

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I agree Jessica, ratings are tougher now. We have to try harder and harder.