Why you should ALWAYS review guests 5-stars (Because the system is flawed)

[Wesley58]

Here's the dilemma, 

You run an AirBnB in a city that is either small or might see some of the same travelers. A guest arrives at your property, leaves the room a mess or steals a towel and you rate them 3 stars, while the guest rates you 5-stars. Later on the guest returns, but this time knowing that you gave him 3 stars in the past, decides to slam you with a 1 star review. What's worse is that in almost all circumstances you won't be able to get Airbnb to overturn that review (because they never do).

When I sit down and think of the reasons to give guests anything less than 5-stars, the only thing that I come up with is: "It's good for the community"

But here's what I think might happen if I do that:

-Retaliatory action
-Harassment
-Claims/Calls from AirBnB from the Guest

-Having them book with me in the future only to slam me with a negative review (this has happened)

I personally feel as though the system for reviews only works ideally in a world where we will never see each other again, but many of my guests come from the same city that I host in! 

Here's a real-world example: I have a guest who is staying with me over-and-over again over a one month period. They book several one-night stays (5-10 of them). During one of their stays they got drunk and starting harassing my other guests, as well as left their room a mess on check-out. I rated them 3 stars for the poor behavior. This guest, having seen the 3 star review, suddenly changes their tone and begins rating me low for every single future stay that they have with me. I couldn't cancel the reservations at risk of a "host cancellation" and immediate revocation of Superhost status. In this case, I'm stuck with this guests retaliation, simply because I wanted to help the community.

Sometimes this makes me feel pretty powerless to help the community. It's as though I have the incentive to never give less than 5-star reviews. Thoughts?

___________
I Co-Host in New York and New Jersey (and trying to grow to other states)
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[Sarah977]

@Cormac0  How about a matching of guests to hosts based on consistent star ratings? Since we know that a guest pretty much has to be an axe murderer to get delisted, guests who get consistent 3* and less ratings for cleanliness, for instance, would only be shown and allowed to book listings which have consistent 3* and less cleanliness ratings. I suggested this a long time ago- The Rejected Collection.

Am being somewhat tongue in cheek here, but it makes about as much sense as anything else about the rating system.

[MaryAnne40]

That makes excellent sense.  Not everyone has the same standards, clearly. In fact, your proposal fits with non-discrimination.  Why should 5* ratings be given preferred status, as in a club when everyone deserves a club?  I know people who DO NOT like neatness, for e.g. They think that they can't go on airbnb or host bc of that.  Whereas, I suggested a way to communicate that.  Like attracts like. Like likes like.  I had a guest who did not appreciate my standard of cleanliness. (True). Your idea is brilliant!  People who get 2* for communication could also be matched with other 2*s, and they might understand each other and be very satisifed. I'm glad you are posting here. 

[Giedre-and-Andre0]

@Wesley58 

As of my knowledge a guest is not able to see any "STAR-RATINGS" given from hosts.

They only see written reviews. I just finished my 1st Airbnb trip as a guest.

I contacted my sister in law, who made many business trips booking Airbnb"s... She also confirmed to me that she never saw or even know that a host is giving "Star-Ratings" in 3 categories. So NO need to be gentle with throwing stars after bad guests! 

[Kimberly54]

Hi @Suzanne302 @Wesley58 @Giedre-and-Andre0 @Zappa0 and all, if you are interested in another forum that will NOT be using the star system at all, but focusing on positive cultural exchange and handling conflicts privately (I don't know all of the details yet), it should be live next week for beta testers (I think @Suzanne302 might already be signed up...I certainly am).  If you do have interest in this, please email me privately and I will steer you in the right direction.

*private information hidden*

Best,

PS: if this address gets censored, I'll re-send it in "code."  *)

[Susan17]

@Kimberly54 

Is this just for US hosts, Kim? 

[Kimberly54]

@Susan17, no.  It's for hosts AND guests (for interaction).  It's a new forum--quite a lot like Airbnb was a few years ago.  I'm really excited about it.  The site should be up sometime next week... there is a private/closed FB page right now with a few people on it, but it's not really active at all, and I'm certain that the FB page will go away.  

I didn't really feel right about gleeping people from the CC, but at least for the beta testers (there will not be many), I did put it out...because this thing is so very broken.  If you are interested, you will know everyone there.  As time goes on, it should build its own momentum.  They're limiting it to 20 testers for now, looking for input and seeing how smoothly things can run. (Except for me, these are all SuperHosts, so everyone is experienced.)

Best,

[Susan17]

@Kimberly54 

Thanks for the info Kim!

[Sarah977]

@Kimberly54  You can just ask anyone who's interested to PM you here. You can give other users your email address in a private message, it doesn't get censored. They just don't want private email addresses given out here on the public forum, which I think is an acceptable policy.

[Kimberly54]

Hi @Sarah977 , sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.  

[Ana1136]

@Wesley58 what did I just read? I have been seeing this thread and never opened it because the title was so absurd I thought you were being sarcastic but you feel this way for real. First of all, as many other hosts said, guests can't see their star rating so no need to worry there, also they cant book if you rate them 3*. Don't you feel that you owe your fellow hosts honest reviews? Wouldn't you want to be warned if a guest is about to turn your place upside down? And why even host locals is a whole other question for which the cons are discussed many many times here. 

[Sarah977]

@Ana1136   That's exactly what my first thought was when I saw this post back when it appeared- that it was going to be some kind of sarcastic post. I was shocked when I saw he was serious. It takes a certain kind of obliviousness to come to the CC for the first time, without having the interest to read through a few pages of posts on the topic at hand, and act as if you have the magic bullet when you don't even really understand how many of the policies work.

[Susan17]

Pfffft! Wesley is probably far too busy with his 27 listings in several states, to have time to educate himself on boring trivialities like how policies work @Sarah977! 

Besides, he's probably just taking a leaf out of a lot of the really big players' book, whose automated systems are set to give every guest a 5 star rating and generic "Great guest!" review, as standard, immediately on receipt of Airbnb's first reminder - regardless of whether or not they actually were great guests. 

[Sarah977]

@Susan17  I always totally disregard any review which says "Nice guests!" and nothing more. Anyone who actually interacts with their guests a little, even if it's only through a few exchanged messages, and cares about their listings and their guests, rather than only about their bottom line, generally has a little more to say.

[Chill-and-Relax0]

"During one of their stays they got drunk and starting harassing my other guests, as well as left their room a mess on check-out. I rated them 3 stars for the poor behavior."

Just out of curiosity; what behavior deserves a one-star rating in your book? Rape and attempted murder?

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

Unfortunately the system flawed, that’s a reality

Maintain superhost is impossible at 4.8, mostly because retaliation, unfair bad reviews etc.

another issue that airbnb ignores is the co-host, the owner usually decorates the apartment and make it pretty, but co-host does the rest:

communication

cleaning

make it neat to add value

prepare the apartment for the guests to the detail 

all these are not related to the host/owner

it is related to the co-host aptitude, customer service, etc

Co-host should be rate in order to incentive them to do better!!!