This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
The are 2 different things: 1. the review you write, 2. the starts you give.
The review should concise and factual. Hardly any guests reads the reviews made by hosts about other guests, but it helps other hosts.
Marking down should be done with the stars and thumb. Low stars make IB impossible, so hosts are able to read reviews before a guest books.
You should always be honest when doing a review.
Exactly. My downgrading bad guests is hopefully going to get them to improve or get off the platform. That’s why, unlike some posters here, I always give a review right away to help other hosts and to help good guests get bookings with good hosts.
Until you have the experience of getting smacked by someone just because your review prompted them to write one of you. Helping other hosts is fine, but let’s remember it is also every man (woman) for themselves! I would rather help myself first! 
But remember I have a different rental and clientele than you and most of the others posting here. Not only does my stats page say I get 5 star reviews 98% of the time but hosts near me get 5 stars 88% of the time. It’s either people with money or tourists who suck.
You seem to have hit on a winning formula,so I hope your good luck continues…
Here’s a link to something I recently wrote and posted on my website. I believe when guests understand expectations, they’re more likely to comply. Any suggestions/ideas/etc. are appreciate.
http://www.suiteretreatcolorado.com/assets/airbnb-rating-card_v1.pdf
Nice work, but have you used it yet? Trying to explain stuff to guests is certainly worth a try.
Hey we share a name! I. Love. This. Thank you very much for sharing it with us. I think you nailed it…5 stars 
.
I just finished writing and posting it to my website today… I’ve got a
young couple upstairs now that leave tomorrow morning. They’re not
’newbies’ (they have 2 reviews)… but they might be good test subjects
just for some feedback. I get a ton of people who’ve never airbnb’d
before… and with that comes a range of ratings that don’t always line up
with what they say in person… I’m sure you know what I mean!
I’ll let you know if I found out anything worth sharing. 
That’s awesome – Great minds think alike! Please, everyone, feel free to use it… we all can benefit from a more educated clientele!
Hi @cindiksherman,
I know what you mean. So, I expect, does everyone else here. 
Do you have a template that other people can use? What did you write this in?
I designed it in Adobe InDesign (my daytime job is art director/graphic designer)… but you should be able to download the PDF and copy/paste the wording into whichever program you prefer. Unless you have another idea as I don’t see a way to attach PDFs to this forum.
Really? That’s very kind of you @cindiksherman - thank you very much. I appreciate the work you put into this!
Hi @cindiksherman,
A sensible way of handling this would be to use a markup language like LaTeX. But I think it is unlikely that most people here use LaTeX. A more lightweight option would be Markdown But I don’t know how many people would use that either.
Also, you could just cut and paste the text wording into this thread. But it won’t preserve the formatting.
You can upload images. But I think only JPEG and possibly PNG. I don’t think it lets you upload PDFs. And none of JPEGs/PNGs/PDFs are particularly useful, anyway. We need something we can edit.
Here’s the raw copy… that can be edited as you see fit… happy hosting!
Your opinion & ideas are important to us!
We work hard to make your stay as peaceful, problem-free and enjoyable as possible. Your feedback is vital to helping us make future guests’ stays great as well. If there’s anything we can do to help make your time here more enjoyable, please be sure to let us know!
Our future is (literally) in the stars!
The all important 5-star host rating system explained…
Oddly enough, how hosts are ranked in the search engines on Airbnb.com can come down to the difference between a 4-star and 5-star rating. Since Airbnb uses a 5-star system (instead of the typical 10) each star is worth a rather significant 20% and can make a huge difference to us as hosts.
Airbnb Hosts are rated on the following:
• Overall Experience: This is far and away the most important rating to any host! Please know that we strive for a 5-Star Overall Experience for all of our guests!
• Cleanliness: Is the property clean and presentable? We use a cleaning service, so we hope that everything is spectacular — we’d sure like to know specifics if it’s not.
• Accuracy: Is the property as described in the listing or were there surprises? It’s important to review the entire listing carefully before booking, then there should be no surprises.
• Value: Is the property and experience worth the nightly fee? This is another important category for any host. We try to keep up with local pricing trends regularly.
• Communication: Were the hosts readily available and responsive before, during and after your stay to answer questions or for help? Was the house manual helpful?
• Arrival: We feel this category doesn’t much apply. Guests at Suite Retreat aren’t held to an arrival schedule and have keyless access to the property 24/7.
• Location: This is another category that’s kind of odd. There is a map available on the listing to show it’s location within approx. one-quarter mile. It’s important as a guest to check our location carefully before making an actual booking.
Host Ratings Defined:
5 STARS = Excellent. There may have been a few minor details, but overall a great experience.
4 STARS = Good. There were several issues that need improved, but overall, a good experience.
3 STARS = Okay. There were a lot of things wrong with the property, just an okay experience.
2 STARS = Bad. There were significant problems with the property, this was a bad experience.
1 STAR = terrible. The property is awful, I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone, this was a terrible experience.
If you have specific comments, concerns, or feedback, we would appreciate it if you would please share those with us personally in a note, email, text or through airbnb’s private comments area during the review process, unless they’re so egregious that they need to be included in the public review.
Guest Ratings/Reviews Defined:
Airbnb is a sharing economy dependent on ratings and reviews from both hosts and guests. Just as you keep an eye on the reviews and ratings of hosts, other hosts are watching yours to see if you’ll make a suitable guest in their home.
Rating system for our guests…
At Suite Retreat you pretty much start out with a 5-Star Rating and have to really try to get something lower. Below is our rating system including a few examples:
5 STARS = Excellent. Guests read and followed the house rules, completed all of the steps on the check-out list, communicated well with hosts and treated property and hosts with respect. These guests are an absolute pleasure to host and we’d love to have you back again!
4 STARS = good. Guests may have left one or two items on the check-out list undone (examples: coffee maker not cleaned, trash/recycle not taken out, dishes in the sink, food left in refrigerator, etc.). Guests were otherwise respectful of the house rules, the property and the hosts. Even so, we’d love to have you back again, too. A definite thumbs up.
3 STARS = okay. Guests missed completing quite a few items on the check-out list. Guests may have been excessively loud and/or disrespectful of the house rules, property and/or hosts. You may or may not get a thumbs up when being rated.
2 STARS = bad. Guests missed completing most of the items on the check-out list and left the property damaged and a mess. This costs extra time and money turning over the property so our next guests can have the experience they expect. Guests didn’t adhere to the house rules , or were disrespectful. These guests won’t get a thumbs up and won’t be accepted back.
1 STAR = terrible. Guests completely disregarded house rules and the check-out list. The property was left damaged and a mess. The hosts and their home were treated disrespectfully. A claim will likely be filed through Airbnb’s claim process for all or part of the damage deposit and/or excess cleaning fees. These guests get a definitive thumbs down and future hosts will be warned through the review process and posted as a warning on airhostsforum.
If your rating is a 4-Stars to 5-Stars, you will get a good review and anything constructive we have to say will be left in the private comments area.
If your rating is 3-Stars or below, for the sake of future airbnb hosts, we will more than likely mention the problems in the public review and you will not end up with an overall favorable rating.
I hope this helps you understand Airbnb’s rating and review process and how important it is to all of us. Please don’t hesitate to let us know if you have questions, concerns, suggestions or feedback!
We value you and your opinion — thank you for being our guests!
I tried to remove all of the personalization, but you’ll want to make sure I didn’t miss anything… I added this to my house manual right after the checkout guidelines/tips… it’s there, whether they read it or not is another issue. I plan on leaving a smaller 5.5 x 8.5 copy of it with the check-out guidelines/tips that I leave as a check list on the counter next to the house manual. The copy for that is as follows:
Helpful Check-Out Tips:
We think of airbnbing kind of like camping… try to leave no trace. Well, almost no trace… while we don’t expect you to deep clean the place… we would greatly appreciate it if you could leave our home pretty much as you found it.
This would include the following:
Hi @cindiksherman,
That all looks great, thanks.
@Sarah_Warren created a dedicated thread on approximately this topic. See http://www.airhostsforum.com/t/suggestion-cards/6348
You could repost your stuff there if you wanted. That might actually be a better place for it.
See other threads posted here about this! I wouldn’t say that.
Kona: If there’s something in the content I posted that you don’t agree with, you’re free to change it to whatever suits your situation.
cindi, I think you’re misconstruing Kona’s statement and intent. Her statement, “I wouldn’t say that”, related to your volunteering to ship a guest’s forgotten belongings to them.
It’s up to you of course, but in a recent thread the majority of hosts were disgruntled that guests expected and accepted the returned items without offering remuneration for the time and expense involved to mail the items.
Most agreed it was aggravating and they were changing their policies to having guests pay for postage in advance or something similar. You were merely being offered a ‘word-to-the wise’ on the subject…that it is probably not a good idea to tell guests they are covered for a free return.
At least, that’s how I read it.