To think that if Air BnB think a 4 out of 5 rating is so bad that they should tell guests?

[hooliodancer]

I have just started doing Air BnB on my house. It was going very well, I had all 4 and 5 star reviews and I was very happy. Every written review has been very complimentary.

I had a warning email from Air BnB saying my listing was in danger of being removed because the standard of my house was unacceptable.

I have just learnt that if your average goes below 4.3 they remove your listing.

I really think that if this is the case the guests should be told that if they give a 4 they are saying that the property is unacceptable.

Personally, I would think 4 stars was a good review to give.

So shouldn't Air BnB tell people the implications of their ratings?

Yes that seems completely mad! Makes me really distrustful of the system too!

Sounds like OFSTED type ratings to me!

That is odd (assuming it's out of 5?). I'd save five stars for somewhere completely perfect that couldn't have been improved in any way, so would give somewhere I really liked and would happily return to a 4.

That does sound mad. I would leave a four star review to indicate a place was good but not perfect luxury. They're basically saying it's 5 (acceptable) or less (unacceptable). That also means if you are just getting started one egregious review would instantly take you off.

Yes, that seems mad. Its common though. At the phone shop where I got my phone, they told me I'd get a survey emailed to me, and "anything except 5/5 would mean we fail". Whats the point of that survey then? They could have been lying but it was similar when I worked in customer service. If the secret customer scored you anything but 100%, big trouble. And for uber drivers, they look at kicking you off if your rating is under 4.6/5.

What a mad system!

I often give 4 out of five ratings, it means very good but not perfect. I'm not very likely to give 100% rating for anything as they are usually some improvements that can be made.

This is madness. I think 4/5 is good, and I reserve a 5/5 for a perfect place. I have no idea about this. They really should give guidance saying a 4 star means not recommended.

That's crazy, thanks for the warning though. I'm staying in an airbnb now and will make sure I leave a 5 rating.

I would say 3 satisfactory, 4 good and 5 perfect.

3- had all the basics and was clean
4- as above with extra touches such as hair dryer, iron, spare towels, toiletries etc
5- all the above, with premium luxuries- toiletries, very nice bedding and towels (plus extra), branded washing power etc, welcome wine etc.

I’m beginning to think I may have under marked ones I’ve stayed in.......

It is a totally ridiculous system. 4/5 is very good. It's my standard "this was very good" rating on most things. 5/5 is for when something is good plus also they saved your dog from drowning and donated a kidney. 3/5 is "yeah, quite good, but I have notes".

I did know that AirBnB do this, though. Most hosts just tell their guests up front that AirBnB regard 4 stars as poor and only 5 stars as acceptable (because AirBnB don't tell them). So AirBnB I give 5 stars for good and they'll never get to appreciate their dog-saving, kidney-donating landlords properly.

WOw that’s bonkers! I’d look at anything 3 and above as being good, and anything under don’t touch with a barge pole.

I completely agree. I stayed at an AirBnB, the host was really lovely. On one of the ratings I gave 4/5 because to me 5/5 is absolutely perfect nothing at all to complain about even minor things.

I then read online horrified that basically AirBnB treat anything less than 5 as unsatisfactory. I felt awful for that poor woman who was such a great host and utterly humiliated by the comments I'd made about the perfectly normal slight amounts of dust around her house (which is after all her home she graciously let us stay in for a fee...) I sort of never want to use an AirBnB again because of it.

That's absurd. I give 3 for just about meeting expectations (which vary according to price), 4 for meeting expectations with that little bit extra, and 5 for utterly brilliant, couldn't be bettered in any way. If AirBNB want a simple binary satisfactory/unsatisfactory then they should make it clear, not use a 5-point scale where everything at 4 and below is unsatisfactory. And I'm now worried about the ratings I've given to some perfectly acceptable places to stay.

My DH writes all the reviews for the AirBnB properties that we stay at and he said that he was aware of this but he's not sure how he knew.

He says that AirBnB work on the basis that the property should be priced correctly to reflect the facilities and the description should match up to the property appropriately so that when you are choosing where to stay, you choose what suits you accurately (based on price/location and facilities) so that it matches your expectations. If you then grade below a 5 it may mean that the price and or description need amending for the future so as to meet expectations. He thinks he may have reviewed one property as a 4 and had an email from AirBnB to query his reason for the rating - as yes, they expect a 5 every time.

Bonkers!

Like some PPs, I very rarely give 5 star/'top' reviews. Only if somewhere/something really was perfect.

Sounds like the eBay star rating system, and Amazon. As a seller if I don't get 5/5 then apparently I'm failing and risk suspension, which would cost me my livelihood. Etsy is similar and I've had a fair few four star reviews where the buyer has admitted I couldn't have done anything better, they just never leave five stars for anything

I agree, to me 5 out of 5 is utter perfection. They should just say satisfactory or unsatisfactory, or at least make clear the implications of a 4 star review

But if a host got all 4 star reviews they would be seen as not meeting the expected standard and potentially removed.

It has made me worry a lot, when I had been feeling good about it. One person have me a 5 in every category apart from Location, then gave a 4 overall (which is the only score that counts) So I assume his overall score was based on his view of the location, which I simply cannot change!

3/5 is "yeah, quite good, but I have notes"

Its the way eBay went! Problem is, according to the info guests get 3 is acceptable, 4 is good and 5 is exceptional and can't be improved upon. Meanwhile airbnb tells hosts that if they need 5 and only the odd 4* is acceptable cos if you fall below 4.7 average you're in danger of being pulled off the platform. It's madness.

With eBay, they moved towards the pile em high sell em cheap model for the chinese sellers, I think airbnb are moving towards the premium homes/experiences model. Either way, the humble home host's days are numbered.

bigbluebus, I wonder how many other people know that though? One of the 4 givers got the house very cheap because we had got our pricing wrong. His written review said 'highly recommended' so I don't think he knew!

4 would be above average decent carry on what you are doing grade to me.

Oh dear - I've left a couple of 4 stars for places I really liked, just because there were a couple of relatively minor issues (my written reviews were pretty enthusiastic though)

And there was one I was a bit disappointed with that I didn't review at all - I should have left 4 there!

Agree that 4 stars should mean 'good'. Mean of airbnb to treat it as if it doesn't. An average below 4 would be a fairer measure.

I've just this morning checked out of an airbnb in Pimlico. What star rating do I give for pubes in the bed (not mine, though I probably left some for the next guest ) and a sticky kitchen floor? The hostess was really nice and the location excellent. I liked it better than the last place which was immaculate but took two hours to get into, as the dropbox was hidden in a flowerbed (yes really!) and our panicked calls and texts went unanswered. I have no idea what star rating to give that lady either or what comments would be appropriate!

@hooliodancer Can you choose which reviews appear, & in what order, or is that done by airbnb?