Home Highlights - check your listings

[Steve416]

Hi everyone,

when checking my listing today I noticed that there is new feature at the front of a listing called ‘home highlights’.

I urge everyone to check this.

My home highlights erroneously states that 95% of guests rated my location 5, when all my 18 reviews have rated location 5 - so it should be 100%. As I have a waterfront property, anything less than a consistent 5 stars for location is detrimental. 

I have reported this to Airbnb, but it raises concerns as to:

1. Why is data being reported in error

2. Why are these things being promoted - guests can read ratings and reviews for themselves 

3. Guest reviews are not often fair and reasonable and percentages do not tell the whole story.

I had a guest last year rate me a 3 for cleanliness out of retaliation,  and I’m still trying to make up for that in the ratings. So I’m just waiting for the highlight to say that my property is not 100% clean.....

cheers

Steve

[Sarah977]

@Steve416  What do you mean by "at the front of a listing"? I looked at mine and I don't see anything called "home highlights". Where exactly do you see it?

[Steve416]

Hi @Sarah977 if you just search your listing as if you are a guest, there is a new section called ‘Home Highlights’ I saw this today using an iPad, but may not come up on a mobile phone ?

[Sheila129]

I too have this on my listing. It is misleading and not at all helpful!

[Robin4]

@Steve416

Hey Steve, thanks for bringing this up, by God you are right! This is first time I have seen it.

It is not just that they may have incorrect stats, they seem to be going out of their way to find some aspect of what we do that is not up to par

bloody cheeky buggers

How is the bloody cheek of this lot! The only thing they put in there is the category that guests have recently rated me down in!

What about my 100% for Value, what about my 100% for communication, what about my 100% for Accuracy!

Why is it that this platform are continually trying to find fault with what their bread and butter do for them!

Yeah Steve I can see a few hosts being a bit upset by this totally unrequired piece of promotional 'doss'!

Cheers.....Rob

[Sarah977]

@Steve416@Robin4    My listing doesn't have that. Maybe you just lucked out and they're trying one of their famous experiments over there on your side of the planet. Or mine will appear tomorrow, who knows.

Are these airbnb idea people just incredibly bored? If they want to add new features, why do they not send out questionnaires to hosts for input as to what we might think are good ideas? 

@Robin4 Doesn't it defy logic to put in your one stat that was down? How does that encourage bookings?  (not that I think anyone would be put off by 90% location, but still) How does that put $ in airbnb's bank account?  It's seeming more and more like they're either stupid or just mean. Becoming just like bad guests.

[Zappa0]

Don't have it here yet either. I'm sure we will soon and these changes are becoming tiring and annoying to keep up with all the time

[Ange2]

I see it on yours  @Sarah0  (btw: I can't tag you!)

Maybe it only shows in certain countries or for certain languages or their 'franken-alogrithm' is acting up - again!

[Sarah977]

@Ange2  Oh yes, it appeared a long time back, I'm aware of that, but thanks for looking. 

[Ange2]

@Sarah977   Ha!   Yes.  I realized after I posted that the date of your post was wayback, that's the problem with Airbnb's  'recent'  post choice, it's often months or years old!

[Rory49]

Hi Sarah, in Ireland it comes up for the host in all searches, except through the Airbnb app. It is absolutely ridiculous and very misleading as well as inaccurate. 

I had 45 5 star cleanliness and it kept showing 16 or 17 of recent guests gave sparkling clean. I am positive this new brain wave was introduced by somebody who has never hosted a day in their lives.

[Steve416]

Thanks @Robin4 I can only see this creating more issues. My ‘home highlights’ promoted I have a lock box! Seriously! Don’t mention that I personally greet guests and have a 5 star check-in. I emailed ABB saying I did not want to promote my lockbox - this is provided only as a backup and my focus is in personally greeting people so I can confirm rules etc. just let the burglars know I have a lockbox!

Also as we all know, for hosts with longer tenure the 100% 5 star ratings are near impossible - and anyway who are these ‘recent’ guests they refer to - the past month, year, who knows.

cheers

steve

[Sheila129]

You were maybe lucky. On my listing it appears that I am not good at check in. I greet every guest and out of 141 guest reviews 138 are 5*. The other three were 4* and actually they were because the guest was late or could not work the very simple lock box. I try really hard for every guest and I don't think the algorithm knows this!

[Ria16]

We have it too in NZ. I thought it cute as it states something positive about each listing. Not,if,it’s a bit buggy however.

 I wasn’t sure if it was just superhosts. 

[Steve416]

Thanks @Ria16 I have seen it on non super host listings as well. Maybe the antipodes are guinea pigs for this rollout? Or maybe on a timing as we are a day ahead of US?