Our Air bnb is rated 4.64 out of 5 and yet..

[PurpleBaskets]

…it is dirty, it’s noisy, it smells. There are hardly any kitchen utensils, no baking trays etc. The windows don’t shut properly. I have had to put pieces of cardboard in the huge gap in the front door because it was rattling. It’s so cold. The house creaks and rattles, the road outside sounds like it is in the living room and bedrooms. Everywhere is sticky and dirty.
Yet it is rated so highly! Over 100 reviews. It wasn’t cheap either. This keeps happening to us, maybe I’m just expecting too much?

I have recently been looking at lot of properties on Airbnb and reading through the reviews. A rating of 4.64 would have rung warning bells for me because my experience is that with that rating you will find that some of the reviews raise some fairly major negatives. Based on looking at ratings and reviews, I would personally look for something with 4.89 or above. People's past reviews are available to read. I think this makes people wary of leaving very negative reviews in case it causes other hosts to reject them in future.

I’ve never used an Air B&B yet but can people give fake reviews?

I’ve noticed more and more that most reviews on products are fake which is really frustrating.

I would definitely leave an honest review and say how surprised you are as you went by the reviews.

[quote godmum56]@saraclara
"It doesn't work that way. Neither party can see the others' review until they're both posted simultaneously by Airbnb. A strategy employed exactly to avoid tit for tat reviews."

that makes it less likely but won't stop it[/quote]
It makes it impossible. If the host can't see the guest's review before he posts his own, how can he 'revenge' review?

@WonderfulYou

I’ve never used an Air B&B yet but can people give fake reviews?

I’ve noticed more and more that most reviews on products are fake which is really frustrating.

I would definitely leave an honest review and say how surprised you are as you went by the reviews.

You only get the chance to review after you've stayed in the place. Airbnb emails you with the link. You can't review if you haven't stayed there.

We always go Air BnB and stay with superhosts. Never had a bad one yet, and some fabulous ones.

We have an Air bnb next door and it is very nice. I always make a point though of reading the worst reviews and read all the comments if possible. I once saw some place that was rated as wonderful by almost everybody - I read the negative review that pointed out to get to the secluded paradise you had to carry your suitcases along the beach for a fair walk and if the tide was in you'd be trudging through shallow seawater. My enthusiasm waned remarkably at the prospect and why did the other 49 people not mention what I thought was fairly crucial information.

I'm guilty of five-starring places which have had some flaws (although I've never stayed in a less than ok-to-nice place) and I think it's a combination of

1. having to give a reason on the Airbnb feedback page as to why it doesn't merit 5 stars (when you click less than 5 you can't carry on without explaining yourself) - sometimes when I've started to give details it just seems petty and I can't be arsed to start explaining that this particular place could actually have done with a spatula/recycling information/other random thing that we managed fine without, and
2. your review is directly attributable to you as the person who has just stayed, you've been in 1:1 contact with the host by message if not in person, and as PPs have said, it seems personal.

I reckon that's why a lot of Airbnb hosts end up with better feedback than they deserve.

@JimmyDurham

Why use Air bnb when there are perfectly good hotels?

…because there are many Air BnBs which are very much more unique and in cracking locations than many hotels.

We have stayed in dozens of Air BnBs over the years, always used a Superhost and never had a bad experience.

They have ranged from a very well-appointed static caravan on an eventing yard to a 16thC one up/down wibbly wobbly cottage. Not an experience you get in the average hotel.

Not directly relevant, but still...

We've just stayed in a wonderful house. It was more than £200 cheaper booking directly for a week than booking through AirBnB. I don't understand why using Airbnb is so popular when you can stay in the same property for so much less by booking elsewhere.

People often write things but don't mark it down on ratings. However we stayed at one and it was awful (not tonnes of reviews but they weren't bad). Honestly I was horrified to the point I felt I couldn't stay there. Luckily it was only 3 nights, as we had split the holiday in 2.

My advice would be if there's anything significantly wrong then take photos and complain to air b&b. (You could try asking the owner though first, for what you feel is missing).
The issues we had were that it was full of spiders and cobwebs (i hate them) and I was terrified to move. However I'm not sure you can really complain about that and wouldn't have. But when we had a shower (shower over freestanding bath) it flooded the bathroom, badly. There was a plumbing issue. Under the bath was black mould (I looked) and water was pouring everywhere. I videoed this. I did message the owner who ignored me (later claimed to have lost her phone in the sea 🤣 ) and when we saw her husband we told him but all he did was offer 2 extra towels (to mop up). By then it was nearly over (I'd have complained to air b&b before leaving otherwise) and we just showered very fast. After leaving i complained and I had to provide evidence. The owner actually tried to deny it all. But air b&b refunded me half the cost (minus fees) of the stay.

We've stayed in several others and had no issues with those. So I think we were unlucky. But definitely read reviews throughly!

Airbnb is much better value than hotels generally. I avoid chain Airbnbs (where an agent manages several), but we've stayed in some wonderful places for a fraction of the price of a hotel.

I've been there! Avoid them now.

I wouldn't stay in one on principle. They ruin communities

We had a disaster early on with a property that looked quirky and bohemian in the pictures but in reality was rundown, cluttered, dusty and really quite grim. Since then I've been more cautious and we've had some fantastic experiences:

1. Filter your search to Superhosts only

2. Read the reviews (not just the star rating), - and read in between the lines in the reviews (I want to see "clean", not "cosy" or "homely").

3. Look very closely at the pictures (is it quirky or just plain dirty?)

I’ve had mainly good experiences. One annoyed me though. We rented a cottage and en route I got a text saying they’d recently added a hot tub and would we like it to be ready for our arrival? We decided we would as the weather wasn’t looking good. We were then asked to pay £100 for 4 nights. After deliberating we bit the bullet only to find on arrival it wasn’t warm enough . It didn’t heat up until the next night but they wouldn’t give any money back.

I hate Airbnb. I hate staying in someone else's house with their stuff everywhere. I'd infinitely rather pay a bit more and go to a hotel with a private room with only hotel stuff in it. I don't care if it's sterile, in fact I kind of like that...makes me feel like I'm really properly away and someone else is dealing with the cleaning and laundry and bed making. Feels professional and reassuring. I've never had a "bad" Airbnb, but I just don't like it.

Air bnb is so hit and miss. We’ve had some good ones and some awful. One house we stayed in had been totally turned over to air bnb. The neighbour clearly objected. He lit a bonfire next to the house, started knocking down the adjoining fence and had a rooster which crowed from 3 am every morning. To make things even worse a construction was situated behind the house and demolition work started up every morning just as the rooster stopped crowing

@PurpleBaskets I can highly recommend away resorts! There sites are brilliant, super clean and fully equipped x

I stayed in one recently that had a 4.8* rating, glowing reviews.

It had loads of stuff missing (like bathmats, hand towels, a chair to sit in outside etc) and it was in the owner's house, you had to walk in through their front door to get there and there were internal windows so the owner was always looking into the apartment and waving! This was not mentioned on the listing - it said it was a separate apartment.

I kept asking for the missing items but in the end just went without as the owner was... chatty. Very, very chatty.

I think no one mentioned any of this because he was really nice, so felt too bad to critique his oppressive set up.

I think another good tip is to look for reviews from people who stayed at the property at the same time of year as when you plan to stay. If a guest's stay was during a baking hot week in July, they are unlikely to have found the property cold or noticed if the heating didn't work.

I've literally just come home from a trip where we left the Airbnb for exactly those reasons. We booked into a hotel, which was cheaper. Shocked that Airbnb wouldn't refund though as we left rather than negotiating with the owners to 'put it right'. Aside from the dirt, the noise and disrepair, the bedroom window on a ground floor flat wouldn't close or lock ! The lock on the sash window was sheared off, no way to secure it. Anyone could have climbed in! I'll be taking a complaint higher, but was really shocked at their attitude. And I run an Airbnb, have been a superhost for years. I'll never book through them again and am reconsidering my listing with them. They used to be great, but it's clearly falling apart now.

I realised last holiday that I was paying nearly a grand to have some landlord rate my housekeeping skills.

Sacked AirBNB, never again.

Have you complained to the owner or Airbnb OP?

@JimmyDurham

Why use Air bnb when there are perfectly good hotels?

Because not everyone wants a hotel?

We had 4 nights in Paris a while ago, booked a 3 bed apartment through Airbnb which was a family home, only let out when the family were away. It was BRILLIANT. A real home from home with everything you could possibly need. Kids had proper beds, not sofa beds in a hotel room, and it was cheaper too. But we did check it out carefully before booking.

We had this!! 5 star place and the sheets were damp from the mildew on the walls and stained with bugs.