Ridiculous reviews

No, we had limited internet, so contact wasn't that easy.....and we were out most of the time. I just boiled a saucepan of water & used that. On another note, when we went to the USA, years ago now, they didn't have fridges in the rooms. Just an ice-bucket & a large ice machine on the premises for guests to use.

 

Yep, when in Rome.........

 

What? An airbnb with limited wifi? Unacceptable....

 

baking paper, foil and cling wrap are a good idea. and oil. I supply all in mine

 

We just got another 5 stars in every category, 4 stars overall- so we wrote to the guest kindly asking them for any feedback- their response...

"I would only recommend another mirror somewhere in the apartment. So you can still do your make-up while someone else uses the bathroom. "

Baffled

 

@jodes Is this a new guest with no prior experience with Airbnb?
I got a 4 star for cleanness and overall 4 star the other day, the guest commented "There is a bit dust under the bed. " which is fair enough, I forwarded the feedback to my cleaning lady, she insisted there is no dust when she cleaned. Which is also fair enough, I don't expect her to say sorry.

 

Who stays somewhere and checks under a bed for dust? I hope they don't stay in my Airbnb pad.

 

I've had a guest kick up a big fuss about cleanliness. They said that that the top of the fridge was dusty. Reeeeaaally?

 

@Ouchmyknees They don't have any other reviews so maybe they are not across the rating system. It just seems so odd that they would give 5 stars in every category but 4 overall because there wasn't a second mirror!

@Gockie We had one guest complain about cleanliness and said the carpets were dusty... our entire apartment is floorboards and tiles so not sure where they got that from?

 

The hard thing is, to get superhost you need 5 stars at least 80% of the time. Plus satisfy a few other criteria like not cancel on a guest during the year, hence the real need for the 5 star reviews... Every review that is 4 star or lower kills your stats.

 

Exactly this. I think the reason I do get so annoyed with 4 stars is we really do try and go above and beyond in every aspect of our airbnb's- we ensure we respond immediately, allow early and late check in and check out when requested (if applicable), we have decorated beautifully with those extra touches, provide lots of extras such as breakfast, toiletries, etc- we really put our heart and soul into it.., so it's always a bit of a slap in the face when we do get the 4 stars!

 

Seems a crazy review system. A while back we stayed at an Airbnb on south coast nsw. It was a nice detached unit in someone's back garden on a reasonably modest housing estate. For the same price we could have stayed in a motel in town 5 min walk to the water. I booked this one because it said it was pet friendly and they agreed in advance we could bring our dog. When we arrived their idea of pet friendly is our dog can't set foot in the unit and sleeps in our car which is parked in front of their house (so we cant even see if she's okay from the unit). Despite this it was a beautifully done out unit and very nice people. I gave them a great written review and just one 4 star rating as I did feel miffed for the same price we could have stayed in town if it wasn't for the pet issue. We could have done that and just let her sleep in the car as she ended up doing anyway. Anyway, learned my lesson about the review system there there with a barrage of abusive emails from the owner. I thought he must be some kind of psycho, but obviously just one four star rating threatened his whole set up. Very unpleasant and unecessary.

 

Me too but they were such a nice family..until the review when he got very nasty. I gave all but one 5s and one 4. It was quite upsetting. I didn't even tell my husband as there was no point both of us being upset.

 

Haven't stayed in airbnb so probably should not comment.

We did look at Airbnb for a recent stay in Vancouver but were put off by a few apartment hosts stating we would have to pretend to be friends and not to mention Airbnb. This made me think the activity there was actually illegal and didn't want to risk a last minute cancellation if they were found out.

But I find the emphasis on 5 star rating baffling. To me, 5 stars would mean absolutely perfect, nothing at all can be done to improve. Perfection in everyone's eyes is difficult for anyone to achieve.

We have checked out Airbnb places when travelling but as there is only the two of us I have found them often equally or more expensive than hotels and lacking benefits like arriving whenever it suits us, leaving luggage before check in and after check out etc, facilities we often use as airline schedules rarely fit in with customary times to check in or out.

My son, who travels with his wife and three children, loves Airbnb and finds it cheaper and far more suitable for them.
Marg

 

Agree. 100% Wow.
@ellejay... that host is such a bad reflection. Communication should never be rude and abusive from the host. Sorry to hear that he did that to you and your dog!

From my point of view, it gives the vast majority of good hosts a bad name. You can report a host.

Bad hosts should be disbarred from the system. Being abusive is not acceptable.

 

Sheesh! I would have given less than 4 stars. Pet friendly, to me, means that your pet can come & stay IN the unit with you.