Guests who don't believe in giving 5 stars.

[Jillian115]

I just had a guest who ranked me low on accuracy, cleanliness, location, and value. He and his wife were celebrating 46 years of marriage and had never stayed at an Airbnb. I shouldn't have approved them.

I asked for feedback and let him know, "you can't change your review, but could you share some feedback? For accuracy, I have twenty-two pictures on the listing and with a very detailed description. Location is a surprise because I have the exact location listed and also gave you a heads up on the distance to Yosemite as soon as you booked. But what I am most concerned about is cleanliness because we do not cut any corners there. Anyway, if you could share your thoughts, I would appreciate it. Thanks"

His response was:
'We enjoyed our stay at your place. Your place was very nice, and we would stay again if in the area. Sorry but I never give 5 Stars.'

Haha- stay again...I think not. Guest who don't believe in 5 stars even when it's deserved should not be using airbnb. 

[Robin4]

@Anonymous 

A bit off topic but personally I love that Don Draper one liner as a work colleague wants to bury the rivalry hatchet and Don comes out with steely sigh....."Lets take it a little slower, I don't want to wind up pregnant!" 

Cheers........Rob

[Fred13]

I love my guests; because 99.99% fall between the ages  of 35-55 years old, hip enough with the Airbnb scene and not too old to not know what's going on. If I sense any inquirer is out of that age bracket, I become 'Mr. Discourager' vs. 'Mr. Natural Salesman' - big difference.

[Laura2592]

I hate to generalize but my older guests tend to be this way. Nothing meets their idea of "5 stars." And lets be honest-- in the vernacular of a 5 star hotel, my cottage would definitely fall short. But its not INTENDED to be a 5 star hotel.  Yet that is the yardstick by which these guests measure. 

Your choice is to try and educate guests on the star system as it concerns the ABB interpretation (sounds like  you tried, OP) or  just let it go. It definitely stings when you have someone like this. I have a friend who hosts in a large city. She got a lot of retiree guests who used to leave her low ratings without any feedback. She now says something on her listing like "our typical guests are working professionals looking for a great jumping off point to explore the city and ultrafast WiFI, honeymooners who want to live like a local, or small families with young kids who enjoy our curated collection of toys and games." That actually helped to target her place more towards those groups who tend to understand the platform better. 

[Robin4]

@Laura2592 

@Anonymous  and others have said repeatedly, forget about the importance of the review system and I am starting to find that true.....the less I think about reviews the more good ones I am getting!

Cheers.......Rob

[Fred13]

I well remember David who had the railroad car in Colorado a few years back; but doesn't host any more. He always took great pride in never even reading reviews in all the years he did it. That helped me put things in perspective.

[Sarah977]

@Fred13  David was a victim of Airbnb's "You've done something bad and we won't tell you what that might be, but we're delisting you".

[Fred13]

Sad to hear that, David was a cool guy.

[Rodney11 · Accepted solution]

That's a bummer, when you run into the "I don't believe in 5-star reviews" guest. Any long-term host on this platform has run in to at least one of those. You just need to forget about it and move on, easier said than done I know. Though it is OK to run through the secret pensées d'escalier you have of the clever replies you should have left this guest's review.

When anyone asks me about tips for being an AirBnB host, here are the 4 that I offer:

1. Offer quality space with personality. If you just want to offer clean, safe and warm you may as well be a motel. Put a bit of yourself into your space, guests will appreciate the personal touch. I love cycling so my home and guest rooms feature vintage framed cycling posters and jerseys. I have a skewed, Monty Python sense of humour, so there are things like Buddy Jesus and a rubber ducky display scattered throughout the spaces. I have a friendly German shepherd who likes to greet guests by barking loudly at them, I feature her prominently in my listing photos and brag about her enthusiastic welcome to guests. If you don't like dogs, stay somewhere else.

2. Charge for your quality. Do not strive to be the lowest price offering in your market. You know how much work you put into creating and maintaining your space, make sure you get rewarded for that work.

3. Only use a Strict cancellation policy. Don't let anyone tie up your calendar for months only to cancel at the last minute and get a full refund. Any cancellation policy other than Strict only serves AirBnB's interest, not the hosts.

4. Ask guests for what you need as a host. That includes sending a message at checkout requesting they specifically leave you a 5-star review. 

Based on your listing and reviews, it looks like you've already done a good job of figuring out how to be a great host. Keep up the good work, then good reviews, Superhost status and all that jazz will simply be the outcome of your process.

[Robin4]

@Rodney11 

Well said Rodney, If a host runs their business by your four tips, they won't go far wrong.

The only thing I would add to those tips of yours....

5/....Run your business your way, be responsible for what you do and don't expect Airbnb to be your knight in shining armour when things go wrong. If you don't have high support expectations you won't be disappointed when you don't get it!

Cheers........Rob

[Sarah977]

@Rodney11 Good tips, I especially like the one about putting your personality and interests into the space. I see a lot of listings that just look like a bland, suburban home. Some guests might be fine with that, but I wouldn't book a place like that myself.

The only tip I would disagree with you on is the Strict policy. It really depends on the nature of your listing. I've always had a moderate policy, and because most of my guests are flying internationally, they have plane tickets booked, time booked off work, etc, and don't cancel. They also tend to book 3 weeks to a month ahead of time, so it's not like they tie up my calendar for 6 months.

I've only had 3 guests cancel- one 3 days before (death in the family), so I got paid 50%. Another cancelled 2 days after she booked and a week and a half before the dates- said she got a terrible case of flu and figured she wouldn't be up to travelling. I was able to rebook the dates. 3rd case booked 2 months ahead, cancelled a month ahead and I was also able to rebook.

So moderate works fine for me, and also because it isn't my main source of income- I care about getting great guests, not having a full calendar and wouldn't want to deal with guests hassling me for full refunds, like they seem to do with a lot of hosts who have Strict policies.

. 

[Anonymous]

@Rodney11  I was nodding in agreement with your tips right up until I got to (4), at which point I threw my coffee at the screen and banged my head on the desk.

Well, not literally. But my god that is a terrible suggestion. If I were your guest and thought everything was totally fine, then at checkout got a message "requesting" a 5 star review, I'd think poorly of everything that came before it. Grade grubbing is an ugly look, and it degrades your actual merit. If it's causing you no problems as an experienced host, more power to ya, but I could not disagree with this more as advice.

[Elaine701]

@Anonymous 

Y, that made me wonder as well. I would never, ever ask a guest for a rating.

The closest I've ever come to that, is when they check out, and *if* they rave about the wonderful time they had and how great the house is, then I'll thank them, and say, "well, put it in your review 🙂 ".

But otherwise, it's like begging. And if you need to beg for reviews, then you probably should take a good long look in the mirror. 

[Rodney11]

@anonymous & @Elaine701. Most guests have no idea AirBnB only sees 5-star reviews as good. Many guests think a 4 star review is good. I am simply informing them of how AirBnB works. 

If you feel this is begging for a rating, that is your prerogative. You do you, I'll do me.

[J-Renato0]

@Jillian115 

If if feel that some guests are somewhat complicated, or difficult to deal with, I never ask for a review. I leave it at the guest discretion.

[Christopher375]

The entire star system is flawed.  Three should be average.  Four should be above average. Five should be for a stay that greatly exceeded expectations and went above and beyond.  It makes NO sense that a 4 star is considered bad and hosts superhost status bar is set so high.