New Review Flow for Guests

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

New Review Flow for Guests

New Review Flow

 

Hello everyone,

 

I know many of you have already noticed that Airbnb launched a new review flow, simplifying the process for guests to send more detailed feedback to hosts. There are already a few threads talking about this here in the CC and so I am really pleased to provide an overview of this product change for you.

 

We believe that detailed guest feedback is invaluable—whether it’s a rave review that encourages you to keep providing standout hospitality or a gentle reminder on how you can improve next time.

 

If a guest gives you less than five stars in any one category (cleanliness, accuracy and amenities, check-in, or communication), they can now choose from different focus areas in each category to help you know exactly why, and what to improve for the next time around.

 

To see what this process looks like, take a look at this Airbnb Blog article.


I hope this information will give you more insights around the new review flow. What do you think? Have any of your used the new review flow yet? Also, feel free to share any questions you might have on this.

 

Thanks,

 

Lizzie


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Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

183 Replies 183

@Lizzie

I just read the New Review Flow blog.... and I have to say I LIKE IT.  (couldn't open it on iphone - is that an issue with others?)

 

Now before everyone boos and sends me hate mail...... I do still have an issue with the still present 5 STAR problem and the common human-nature response of resisting awarding 5 stars because they equate that with 'excellent' and 'Michelin quality Ritz Hotel' standards -  but awarding 4 stars to a nice clean comfortable room in someone's home is great in their minds..... but not in AIrbnb hosting standards and the penalties that come with receiving too many 4 star ratings. That is still to be worked on - and I think that educating Airbnb to explain that 5 stars means 'great - as expected - fully satisfied - no issues' would help educate the public on what Airbnb 5 stars means.

 

But I really like the new review system and think it goes a long way in trying to tackle that issue - as well as helping hosts with specific details, and helping Airbnb to raise standards and get specific with feedback so it actually means something.

 

Asking 'What were the main issues?' in these categories,  can only be helpful in my opinion! 

Cleanliness

Accuracy of Listing

Communication

Check-in

SO ONLY IF THE GUEST WANTS TO LEAVE LESS THAN 5 STARS in these categories - will the list of sub headings come up (like bugs, dust, towels & linen, kitchen, shower, odors, floor & carpet).                           

And I like the fact that 'main issue'  comments to these sub headings ARE PRIVATE AND NOT SHOWN ON LISTING. Only sent to host for private use (and Airbnb's of course!). Genuine constructive criticism should always be welcomed.

So nothing much changes on the main review seen by the public - still star ratings and a comment - but much more detail and reasons in reviews that are less than 5 stars - Which hosts have been asking for for a long time.

 

And yes, the dreaded Location is still in there - but with a star rating only and no comments encouraged - so still monitoring the usefulness of that one.

 

So let's 'suck it and see'. On the up-side - it might even put off the few guests who previously may have been stingy with their 5 stars - and encourage more 5 stars because it is far less work in writing the review and keeps it all short and simple! Who knows!

Terri38
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

I just had a review from a guest who was happily recommending me in the public review. Looked good - until I realised he had given me 3 stars in all categories. I had a 5 star rating from the guests just before him (but I don't think I did anything different regarding cleaning etc). Having only had one other 3 star review, like you, I am left wondering if the new specific ratings had left some people with the impression that 1 (rightly so) is reserved for 'roach motels', crude, drunken hosts etc and 5 is super-fanatically-OTT awesome, thus leaving a 3 star rating for "About what I would have expected: nothing more, nothing less". The new star categories should hopefully prove helpful in the long run though. Assuming the guest actually gives useful feedback that is! If they do mention something I can change, I will change it.

Lizzie
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Thank you @Robin4@Robert-And-Nancy0@Branka-and-Silvia0 and @Rachael26, for sharing your feelings towards the review flow. It is really interesting to hear more on this from you, as I know you have been active in the other threads on this.

 

 


--------------------


Thank you for the last 7 years, find out more in my Personal Update.


Looking to contact our Support Team, for details...take a look at the Community Help Guides.

@LizzieWe've receive a few "feedback" stars from guests under the new system, and it is completely useless from the hosts' perspective.

 

Guests feel that a one-word description is sufficient, and then leave no detail. There is no easy was to reply or ask for clarification (sure you can go back and start a new conversation with the guest, but then you leave the screen where the 1 word feedback is left!! Not useable!). It will only be useful if AirBNB REQUIRES guests to add to the description field if they select the keyword. Don't let guests leave 1 word without an explanation.

 

Example: we have a guest who said "inaccurate" on "amenities."  What does that mean? We have SO MANY AMENITIES we can't guess whether this means that a prior guest stole a small kitchen appliance and we missed it, or whether it means they couldn't find the roll out bed. We stay in our own properties at least once a month, so generally notice quickly when an "amenity" is missing. So there is absolutely no way to tell whether its a miscommunication or a true issue that needs to be remedied.

 

Even better: when leaving that feedback, REQUIRE the guest to answer the question: "What action should the host take to bring this issue up to the 5-star level?" That will sift out the "I can't be pleased" type of guest from the constructive criticism and real issues that hosts want and need to know. The guest should be required to write an explanation, or to check a box "I don't think this is fixable." 

@John-and-Heather0 this is a really good point and not to be missed

"What action should the host take to bring this issue up to the 5-star level?"

This would really help a host to know if this is an actionable idea or somebody just being grumpy.

I think it is fair to say ' the listing was not clear about ...." But ridiculous to say "I would rate it higher if the bed were a king instead of a full" or "I didn't pay attention to the fact that this was too far away from town" or "I sure wish it would have been cheaper"

And as we've all stated, we can't move our houses. 

 

And, as others have said: educating guests, 5* good, everything else means not good, would help too

 

 

Rhonda34
Level 4
Western Australia, Australia

I am getting good reviews, not been here long enough really understand how it all works.

 

However I got a review that was a little less for communication.  It was not communication with me, but how the guest did not understand how it worked when making a booking. He put in expression of interest, I wrote and explained that he needs to book as three others wanted it at sime time.

He thought he had 24 hours to make up his mind. I had to explain that was not the case and I do not close of my calender when people just put in expressions of interest.  He also had thought he was supposed to leave a day later than his actual check out time.  

 

So the missunderstanding was the guest not me, but I got a lower rate on communication.  Same for another who could not see the lock box that has very specific instructions,  plus I always reply with tons of details exactly how to get in where the box is etc. The guest walked past it over and over again, then said they had trouble getting in.  I was home at the time, and let them in and showed them the box.

 

So perhaps the guest needs to put exactly what the issues are in private to airbnb so then airbnb can determine who actually has the problem, host or guest.

Pluse who in their right mind is going to put in a bad review for a guest? Why  would you , they know where you live and all about your house.  Never kick the hornets nest. No review is the better option.  So far  all my guests have been great, and I am really enjoying my Airbnb experience.

Yeah @Rhonda34

 

I agree with you. Just recently had this guest, who rated both communication and the check-in with 4 stars. Why? Well, basically he didn't bother to read the whole message from AirBNB, where in the 'house manual' there was a code to our main gate. So the guest couldn't get in for 5 minutes (!), then he called me so I walked outside and let him in. All the communication prior and during his stay was fluent, I responded immediately, asked if things were ok, etc. The guest was very happy with the apartment, even drawn for me a little 'thank-you-picture' and left a bottle of wine as a gift. All other ratings were 5 stars, and his written review was really great. But - just because he didn't look properly on the info, rated me lower on two categories, which isn't fair and we should have some option to resolve such situations

What is level 2 or 10 ?

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Sarah593

 

Haha, that's just an indication of how much talking somebody does here. A number of us have been on the forum a long time and the levels rack up... I should probably go get more of a life ;D

 

Though it is nice to be able to help other hosts.

😂😂

Ann3
Level 10
Savannah, GA

As hosts, we are all aware that there are some guests who are simply not capable of giving 5 stars.  It's just not my style to bring up reviews ahead of time, so I was a little worried when one guest with lots of Airbnb stays behind him told me on check-in "5 stars would be perfection, and there is no such thing as perfection..."    He ended up giving me 5 stars and a great review, but I worried during the entire stay, knowing he would be prompted to find things wrongs.  

 

I was recently a guest myself, so I played with the feature at review time.  I thought it was a bit bulky and time-consuming, honestly.  I gave my hosts 5 stars because they were warranted, but it was interesting to see from the other side how the new system works.

 

AND I really wish Airbnb had been more proactive about letting hosts know about the rollout of the new system!  One of my guests in October was an early guinea pig for this feature back, and I was completely unprepared for her scathing review in the new format, complete with notes on bugs, etc.  The bugs?  A couple of moths that somehow gotten in, attracted to the light in the shower stall she left on all night.  Grrrr.  She left very detailed notes in her review, followed by a narrative that tracked along the lines of the star rating prompts.  I was so taken aback that I responded to her, mistakenly thinking I had sent her a private response.  Ha!  A stupid mistake that will follow forever.  We're human.

 

When guests select 4 stars in a category, the new prompts put words in their mouths.  

I noticed a few more detailed private feedbacks, but nothing hurtful. A higher percentage of people believes to be talking to airbnb about me, not getting it, that the remarks are sent to me. 

I can't be sure, as I don't know which of the guests had the new system, but it seems I get less oc those nagging 4 stars on something ridiculous like cleanliness after an especially thorough cleaning or location from someone who boojed to walk over to his destination. 

It seems it did not effect Global, but the rest yes. 

@Anne0, when hou played around: could you change your mind about the stars after seeing the implications. Like Cleanliness, when the selectors pop up for dust or towels etc and nothing of that was dirty, can you check the 5 stars afterwards instead?

@Helga0, yes, I made sure it wouldn't "stick" before I played with it.  You have to hit a SUBMIT button.  I was really glad for the experience; it's always good to be a guest sometimes, try out how the platform works from the other side and get away from being a host once in a while! 

 

It DID make me think as I was doing the ratings, "hm...how were the towels/sheets/amenities, etc." with more specificity than I think I would have normally.  But I tend to consider the whole experience, and know that teeny details shouldn't affect the ratings.

 

@Ann3, but they only pop up, if you already have chosen 4 stars (not yet submitted). 

I had one guest complaining over a long review form, where he or she gave up mid-way. The same guest reviewed me however, with 5 stars throughout, maybe that was shorter. 

Usually most guests review me, but now I'm missing 2 this year, which are already past delay and one a week out. As they were the type where 5 stars would be surprising, maybe it discourages the nitpicking lazy ones?

or else I did not have any guests under the new system yet and will be hit over the head with complaints from tomorrow on 😉

@Robin4, sorry to hear that this system backfires for you and incites people to find flaws with old places. Maybe you need to pepper the description with words like Character, Authentic, Antique, Charming etc. And tell stories about the cracks and flaws: that concrete was poured in the great draught of 48 (or whenever), there was not enough water, so it got those characteristic micro -fractures. But this bigger crack, later polished and repaired, apeared when uncle Kevin saw an opossum and tried to hit it with a shovel. 😉

My stars are better, when I tell stories over breakfast, show a picture of the place when we arrived (no garden at all) and tell storiesabout the renovations over the years. If I get around to find all the pictures and order them, I'll do a folder / scrapbook of the transformation. You could do that, Robin. When people understand how much work it was and that you deliberately leave some things looking "old", they value the place higher. 

Sometimes, you get surprise reactions though. Guest: did yourenivate yourself? Did you installa that?" Looking at stsirs, loft, blue rafters supporting a glass roof/table. 

Me, proudly "We did most of it." 

Guest, nearly barking: "but you need a carpenter for that!"

me: "my husband hadrenovated a wooden building before...."

guest, interrupting me: " you need to know carpentry to install such things. Otherwise it may all fall down!"

Me, mildly: "don't worry, you will sleep on the loft installed in the 60es. It will stay up another night." 

Still waiting for that review. 

And I did not mention that I chnge a step from time to time, without being a carpenter, and may be obliged to do so again soon, as Auguste chews the wood 😉

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Helga0....I wish that was the case Helga...."When people understand how much work it was and that you deliberately leave some things looking "old", they value the place higher."

It would have been so much easier for me to put in a new concrete floor, or a red hardwood timber floor over the top of the existing.

 

Helga, I met the man who built this house five years ago. I was coming home and as I turned into the street this woman was in the middle of the road taking pictures of the house! I pulled into the driveway and as I got out of the car she came along the drive and said to me....."My name is ............... and my father Ron and my mother June built this house in 1939. I spent my first twelve years in this house, it has wonderful memories for me and each time I come back to Mt Barker I come here to look at the old house. Lately I have noticed how it is changing and I wanted to take a few pictures to show Dad"!

My reaction was....'My god is he still alive'!! She said he was, but in poor health, so I invited her inside to see what we were doing to the house ( inside the house has been totally rebuilt)!.

She said..."I would love to bring Dad up here to see what you are doing" and I gave her a standing invite.

Months went by, nothing happened and I thought the old guy must have died when all of a sudden one Sunday morning (Fathers day it was ironically) the whole family turned up in a couple of vehicles. He was frail, my god he was frail Helga, but his mind was as sharp as a tack....unlike June's! She had dementia and the only thing she recognised was an old Metters wood stove which I had relocated to possum territory! As soon as she saw it she started to cry and she said..."That is my stove"!

I learned all about the history of this house, how they lived in the cottage while they built the house....How they spent 18 months on the grass out the front of the place hand chipping the stone with a combing hammer to build the walls of the house....

IMG20170318230635.jpg

 

I spent a couple of lovely hours with Ron and there is no way that I would ever want to tear down his dream....I want to build on it and make it our dream as well. 

Six weeks after that visit Ron died and I went to his funeral! As he was buried I threw a small part of the old electricity meter box that he had hand crafted into that hole in the ground, I guess to help him as he made his way across that rainbow bridge!

Everything I do here Helga I have Ron in mind and if some guest thinks that is not worth five stars.....then I am dam*ed if I know what is!

Cheers.....Rob