Post by High Priestess on Dec 30, 2015 17:55:58 GMT
Christina shared Dec 30 2015
Easy Grading & Millenials
After my most recent review, I see that I need improvement. After initial panic, I see that I have a good review but received a lower score, 4s, for value and location. I don't think 4 is a low score or needs improvement. Do you think the Airbnb founders are so young that it is just their generation and the American grading system that everyone has to get an A or they are no good (and it is usually grade inflation anyway and not deserving of As). These numeric reviews are so subjective. My most recent guest was a local and gave me all 5s except for value and location. Why I don't know. Airbnb suggests i create a guidebook and let people know my location, both of which i already do. This guest was a local young woman who booked to have a Christmas party in my space. I allowed her to cook and party in my space for $69. She even mentioned my sleep masks which she said most hosts don't provide. How am i not 5 for value every time? I don't know. And as far as location, she lives in the neighborhood so why the 4? Maybe she wanted to be closer to the subway? Again I don't know. I just think i give a good experience at a great price and 99% of my guests are happy but i hover at 78-79% for superhost, although for just my private room, i would already be a superhost. Sorry for the long rant but does anyone else think 4 as low is ridiculous?
6 comments•4 likes
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Abdoulaye
Shannon
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Tyler
Tyler4 hours ago
Based on what you provided, I think you should have gotten all 5's. You could message her to ask her what you could do better, and slip in there that you ask because she didn't rate you all 5's. Let her tell you why, she's the one who rated you that way.
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Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
You will never know what makes some people tick. It is weird. Some people think 4 stars is gREAT. who would not wish to stay at a 4 star hotel? I know I would. So people will NEVER give out a 5 star. It is not your fault. However, you should learn that being to accommodating is not effective. It somehow falls in the no good deed goes unpunished category. Did you review her yet? Did you give her 5 Stars? I hope not..
Carrie
Carrie4 hours ago
I agree that that all 5 standard is ridiculous. Frankly, I'm glad that I have less than 5 stars for location & cleanliness - otherwise, guest would feel cheated every time they see a speck of dust or cat hair, or they'd be upset that it's a 30 minute walk instead of a five minute walk to the Liberty Bell.
I've had quite a few guests tell me that they stayed at previous Airbnb's with 5 star reviews, but that the accommodations were less than great: overbearing hosts, dirty neighborhoods, uncomfortable beds, etc. Until we get rid of the "anything less than 5 stars is bad" standard, reviews will be almost meaningless.
Reply Like 3 replies•2 likes
Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
I agree, where did the Fifth star come from anyway?
Zacharias
Zacharias2 hours ago
Agreed. Id prefer to be a 3 star host and surprise them that its actually a 4-5 star place.
helga
helga7 minutes ago
In France there is a different VAT applicable for 3 and 4 star hotels. So you might find a classy one star hotel, priced 2 stars and worth a 3 star. They stay down with the stars , otherwise they would have to raise prices considerably.
Rick
Rick3 hours ago
I agree that the star system is a mess....it's like the same system on e bay....if a seller doesn't get all "5's"...they are upset because it (may) indicate some problem...I say nothing is perfect & a 4 or 5 should be termed "excellent"...
We can't do anything about our locations...I come up against this all the time...The only way to combat it is to explain (over & over) in your listing about the quirks of your neighborhood...my neighborhood is mixed & gentrifying...for those americans who are used to white suburban settings & gated communities, I try to tell them up front that they may not like it here!! I say something along the lines of "this is NOT a chic suburb"!! There are students, gays, African americans, & artists all crowded together, sometime in adjoining structures!...If you don't like the urban mix, please look elsewhere!
As for your particular situation, I lived in NYC for 20 years...many of them in Queens...& Flushing is far, far, far, from what most people come to NYC to see & do...(that being said, I used to love going out there because of the unique nature of the neighborhood)...Perhaps you need to tell perspective guests that it takes at least 30 min on a good day to get into midtown (email hidden)ey should be aware of the commuter nature of your location & the fact that the trains will be crowded during some parts of the day.. As far as value...I might add a sentence or 2 regarding the prices of Manhattan listings that are similar to yours..."A similar listing in the heart of Manhattan would run you over $150/night".....At least they will be getting a subconscious hint about NYC pricing! The fact that you are getting under 5 stars for cleanliness is another matter (unless you have pets!)...
Reply Like 2 replies
Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
Students, Gays, and African Americans, OH MY!!! LMAO
Christina
Christina30 minutes ago
Rick, my guests are well aware of my location. It is in the description with mileage and kilometers to Manhattan and how long it takes you to get there and that i do it every day. I also repeat this to every prospective guest who inquires. The location as part of the rating is ridiculous. If you are coming specifically to Flushing for the US Open, Chinese -run bus tours, medical residency interviews, etc. The location is 5 star. If it is Manhattan, which are a bulk of my guests, then 4 is appropriate. I fully disclose my location to my guests and give them a free Metrocard and lower price, which is why value should always be 5 in my mind. This particular guest LIVED in the neighborhood so why a 4? I don't generally give 5s myself because i think 4 is a good rating and 5 is super spectacular, unexpected. The cleanliness rating is the fact that i have a 110 year old house that will never look sparkling clean like a white suburban development.
helga
helga3 hours ago
Christina, don't take it to heart. I have an unusual lodging and people either adore it or they cope with it because it's cheap but may still rate it down to 4 because it's unusual. There are lots of people will give 5 stars for everything but in the end four for global experience. How does that add up? A mystery. The big problem is, the founders are young and American with probably no insight in other cultures and no experience of hardship. If you establish a rating system with but two values, good enough and not good enough, why split the not-good-enough part into 4 variations when the good enough has only one, 5 stars? That is so illogical, had I not experienced it as a host, I could never expect that using a rating system. Besides the text explication of the values is totally exaggerated: I don't know any Austrian of my generation who could ever find something fantastic or great. "Very good" is the best I could ever say in words, saying more seems foolish, like coming from an exalted teenager. Having become more French over the years, I could say "excellent " in France but not on home visits and not in German language. But someone talking about a Fantastic experience would still have me check if there are no guys in white blouses already looking for him.
Reply Like 3 replies
Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
5 STARS for Helga. Time for me to shower and get off arse. Time to clean again and again and again. How many loads of wash do you do a day? I do minimum 2, Max 6 arge.
Carrie
Carrie2 hours ago
Totally agree with Helga about the "good enough" "not good enough." When I think of a five star system, I think something along these lines: five stars: Excellent! Four stars: Good Three stars: fine/average Two stars: pretty poor One star: awful. Give that, I actually can see how a host could get 5 stars for each category, but only 4 stars for overall experience. Maybe the room was very clean, in a great location, terrific communication from the host, etc., but there was something, or several somthings outside the categories that the guests didn't love (maybe they liked it fine, but didn't think it "excellent!" For example, maybe they found the residents/host annoying or not very friendly. Maybe the dog barked & woke them up at 5am every morning, maybe they thought the house was tastelessly decorated. Anything that would make them think their stay was "good", but not "excellent" even though the categories themselves were great.
Christina
Christina26 minutes ago
Totally agree with Helga. A 5 for me is ovet the top. 4 is still good so havinh read her review before looking at the dashboard, i thought i got low marks like 1-2, which was not the case at all. I am way above my peers in every category except location. I'm happy and my guests are happy. I just think it is absurd that a 4 in 2 categories will chastise me as "needs improvement."
Terri
Terri 2 hours ago
I had a similar situation. I got 4 on communication and location. Can't for life of me figure it out. Thankfully it has not affected my score as everyone else gives 5. As you receive the 5's the 4 gets buried. I know he gave 4 for location as it was 10 mi from his daughters college. He knew it going in as I told him in the inquiry. So, not sure what goes through people's minds sometimes.
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Carrie
Carriean hour ago
one thing to bear in mind is that reviews are SUPPOSED to be subjective. Every guest has specific desires, needs and preferences. Just because they rated some particular category a 4 doesn't mean your place isn't great. But if you've got over 100 reviews, and your cleanliness rating is less than 5 stars (like mine) it might mean that your home isn't spotless all the time. I'm fine with that. If your overall rating is less than 5 stars (mine barely makes it) it doesn't mean your place isn't awesome, but it probably means that some 25% of your guests thought it wasn't excellent (but may have thought it was very good.)
Reply Like 2 replies
Christina
Christina25 minutes ago
Im not complaining that it's less than 5. My complaint is why is 4 considered low?
helga
helga12 minutes ago
Yes Carrie, that's what people would think, that with 25% probability it was not excellent. What I wanted to say is, that for 25 % of people the rating "excellent" does not exist. Before airbnb, I would not have rated a thing 5 stars, or maybe one out of 5 categories but the others 4 star for good and 3 for not bad. 5 was the impossible goal. Like when I go to a concert and it is good, I feel elated, it's 4/5 but once in a lifetime I happen to hear a new voice or player who will be a name known for a century. That moment of complete surprise, to hear a voice transporting you elsewhere, the limit of humanly possible would be 5/5. It does not make sense to me to give the upper limit of values to a very good performance which does not reach the limit of humanely possible. Since airbnb I adapted my scale for good notes, still did not find a reason to go down to the limit of 1 star with guests. I mostly wanted to say, a system based on different values makes no sense, if you do not translate the values into the other cultures. And translating the words is not enough, if the translation means completely nonsense in the other language.
Easy Grading & Millenials
After my most recent review, I see that I need improvement. After initial panic, I see that I have a good review but received a lower score, 4s, for value and location. I don't think 4 is a low score or needs improvement. Do you think the Airbnb founders are so young that it is just their generation and the American grading system that everyone has to get an A or they are no good (and it is usually grade inflation anyway and not deserving of As). These numeric reviews are so subjective. My most recent guest was a local and gave me all 5s except for value and location. Why I don't know. Airbnb suggests i create a guidebook and let people know my location, both of which i already do. This guest was a local young woman who booked to have a Christmas party in my space. I allowed her to cook and party in my space for $69. She even mentioned my sleep masks which she said most hosts don't provide. How am i not 5 for value every time? I don't know. And as far as location, she lives in the neighborhood so why the 4? Maybe she wanted to be closer to the subway? Again I don't know. I just think i give a good experience at a great price and 99% of my guests are happy but i hover at 78-79% for superhost, although for just my private room, i would already be a superhost. Sorry for the long rant but does anyone else think 4 as low is ridiculous?
6 comments•4 likes
Follow
Like
Abdoulaye
Shannon
Apartments Ulcinj
Maria And Larry
Tyler
Tyler4 hours ago
Based on what you provided, I think you should have gotten all 5's. You could message her to ask her what you could do better, and slip in there that you ask because she didn't rate you all 5's. Let her tell you why, she's the one who rated you that way.
Reply Like 1 reply
Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
You will never know what makes some people tick. It is weird. Some people think 4 stars is gREAT. who would not wish to stay at a 4 star hotel? I know I would. So people will NEVER give out a 5 star. It is not your fault. However, you should learn that being to accommodating is not effective. It somehow falls in the no good deed goes unpunished category. Did you review her yet? Did you give her 5 Stars? I hope not..
Carrie
Carrie4 hours ago
I agree that that all 5 standard is ridiculous. Frankly, I'm glad that I have less than 5 stars for location & cleanliness - otherwise, guest would feel cheated every time they see a speck of dust or cat hair, or they'd be upset that it's a 30 minute walk instead of a five minute walk to the Liberty Bell.
I've had quite a few guests tell me that they stayed at previous Airbnb's with 5 star reviews, but that the accommodations were less than great: overbearing hosts, dirty neighborhoods, uncomfortable beds, etc. Until we get rid of the "anything less than 5 stars is bad" standard, reviews will be almost meaningless.
Reply Like 3 replies•2 likes
Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
I agree, where did the Fifth star come from anyway?
Zacharias
Zacharias2 hours ago
Agreed. Id prefer to be a 3 star host and surprise them that its actually a 4-5 star place.
helga
helga7 minutes ago
In France there is a different VAT applicable for 3 and 4 star hotels. So you might find a classy one star hotel, priced 2 stars and worth a 3 star. They stay down with the stars , otherwise they would have to raise prices considerably.
Rick
Rick3 hours ago
I agree that the star system is a mess....it's like the same system on e bay....if a seller doesn't get all "5's"...they are upset because it (may) indicate some problem...I say nothing is perfect & a 4 or 5 should be termed "excellent"...
We can't do anything about our locations...I come up against this all the time...The only way to combat it is to explain (over & over) in your listing about the quirks of your neighborhood...my neighborhood is mixed & gentrifying...for those americans who are used to white suburban settings & gated communities, I try to tell them up front that they may not like it here!! I say something along the lines of "this is NOT a chic suburb"!! There are students, gays, African americans, & artists all crowded together, sometime in adjoining structures!...If you don't like the urban mix, please look elsewhere!
As for your particular situation, I lived in NYC for 20 years...many of them in Queens...& Flushing is far, far, far, from what most people come to NYC to see & do...(that being said, I used to love going out there because of the unique nature of the neighborhood)...Perhaps you need to tell perspective guests that it takes at least 30 min on a good day to get into midtown (email hidden)ey should be aware of the commuter nature of your location & the fact that the trains will be crowded during some parts of the day.. As far as value...I might add a sentence or 2 regarding the prices of Manhattan listings that are similar to yours..."A similar listing in the heart of Manhattan would run you over $150/night".....At least they will be getting a subconscious hint about NYC pricing! The fact that you are getting under 5 stars for cleanliness is another matter (unless you have pets!)...
Reply Like 2 replies
Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
Students, Gays, and African Americans, OH MY!!! LMAO
Christina
Christina30 minutes ago
Rick, my guests are well aware of my location. It is in the description with mileage and kilometers to Manhattan and how long it takes you to get there and that i do it every day. I also repeat this to every prospective guest who inquires. The location as part of the rating is ridiculous. If you are coming specifically to Flushing for the US Open, Chinese -run bus tours, medical residency interviews, etc. The location is 5 star. If it is Manhattan, which are a bulk of my guests, then 4 is appropriate. I fully disclose my location to my guests and give them a free Metrocard and lower price, which is why value should always be 5 in my mind. This particular guest LIVED in the neighborhood so why a 4? I don't generally give 5s myself because i think 4 is a good rating and 5 is super spectacular, unexpected. The cleanliness rating is the fact that i have a 110 year old house that will never look sparkling clean like a white suburban development.
helga
helga3 hours ago
Christina, don't take it to heart. I have an unusual lodging and people either adore it or they cope with it because it's cheap but may still rate it down to 4 because it's unusual. There are lots of people will give 5 stars for everything but in the end four for global experience. How does that add up? A mystery. The big problem is, the founders are young and American with probably no insight in other cultures and no experience of hardship. If you establish a rating system with but two values, good enough and not good enough, why split the not-good-enough part into 4 variations when the good enough has only one, 5 stars? That is so illogical, had I not experienced it as a host, I could never expect that using a rating system. Besides the text explication of the values is totally exaggerated: I don't know any Austrian of my generation who could ever find something fantastic or great. "Very good" is the best I could ever say in words, saying more seems foolish, like coming from an exalted teenager. Having become more French over the years, I could say "excellent " in France but not on home visits and not in German language. But someone talking about a Fantastic experience would still have me check if there are no guys in white blouses already looking for him.
Reply Like 3 replies
Shannon
Shannon2 hours ago
5 STARS for Helga. Time for me to shower and get off arse. Time to clean again and again and again. How many loads of wash do you do a day? I do minimum 2, Max 6 arge.
Carrie
Carrie2 hours ago
Totally agree with Helga about the "good enough" "not good enough." When I think of a five star system, I think something along these lines: five stars: Excellent! Four stars: Good Three stars: fine/average Two stars: pretty poor One star: awful. Give that, I actually can see how a host could get 5 stars for each category, but only 4 stars for overall experience. Maybe the room was very clean, in a great location, terrific communication from the host, etc., but there was something, or several somthings outside the categories that the guests didn't love (maybe they liked it fine, but didn't think it "excellent!" For example, maybe they found the residents/host annoying or not very friendly. Maybe the dog barked & woke them up at 5am every morning, maybe they thought the house was tastelessly decorated. Anything that would make them think their stay was "good", but not "excellent" even though the categories themselves were great.
Christina
Christina26 minutes ago
Totally agree with Helga. A 5 for me is ovet the top. 4 is still good so havinh read her review before looking at the dashboard, i thought i got low marks like 1-2, which was not the case at all. I am way above my peers in every category except location. I'm happy and my guests are happy. I just think it is absurd that a 4 in 2 categories will chastise me as "needs improvement."
Terri
Terri 2 hours ago
I had a similar situation. I got 4 on communication and location. Can't for life of me figure it out. Thankfully it has not affected my score as everyone else gives 5. As you receive the 5's the 4 gets buried. I know he gave 4 for location as it was 10 mi from his daughters college. He knew it going in as I told him in the inquiry. So, not sure what goes through people's minds sometimes.
Reply Like
Carrie
Carriean hour ago
one thing to bear in mind is that reviews are SUPPOSED to be subjective. Every guest has specific desires, needs and preferences. Just because they rated some particular category a 4 doesn't mean your place isn't great. But if you've got over 100 reviews, and your cleanliness rating is less than 5 stars (like mine) it might mean that your home isn't spotless all the time. I'm fine with that. If your overall rating is less than 5 stars (mine barely makes it) it doesn't mean your place isn't awesome, but it probably means that some 25% of your guests thought it wasn't excellent (but may have thought it was very good.)
Reply Like 2 replies
Christina
Christina25 minutes ago
Im not complaining that it's less than 5. My complaint is why is 4 considered low?
helga
helga12 minutes ago
Yes Carrie, that's what people would think, that with 25% probability it was not excellent. What I wanted to say is, that for 25 % of people the rating "excellent" does not exist. Before airbnb, I would not have rated a thing 5 stars, or maybe one out of 5 categories but the others 4 star for good and 3 for not bad. 5 was the impossible goal. Like when I go to a concert and it is good, I feel elated, it's 4/5 but once in a lifetime I happen to hear a new voice or player who will be a name known for a century. That moment of complete surprise, to hear a voice transporting you elsewhere, the limit of humanly possible would be 5/5. It does not make sense to me to give the upper limit of values to a very good performance which does not reach the limit of humanely possible. Since airbnb I adapted my scale for good notes, still did not find a reason to go down to the limit of 1 star with guests. I mostly wanted to say, a system based on different values makes no sense, if you do not translate the values into the other cultures. And translating the words is not enough, if the translation means completely nonsense in the other language.