Would anyone mind sharing what they use for suggestions? I don’t want to reinvent the wheel if someone has something they don’t mind sharing so that I can tweak it for my needs. I’m thinking of making something that breaks down the star system and asks: “What would make your experience here a 5”?, etc, so that maybe I get more positive reviews since they’ve already addressed their suggestions? Has this backfired for anyone?
Hi @Sarah_Warren,
See http://www.airhostsforum.com/t/my-way-of-rating-guests/5067/58
Is this the kind of thing you had in mind? I have a suggestion form I hand out, including a lost of possible improvements. But that may not be what you have in mind.
Haha, I’ve read that thread but never clicked the link. I like it, I’ll work starting with that! Thanks!
Hi @Sarah_Warren,
@cindiksherman also posted text summaries to the end of that thread. I suggested she post it here as well. See http://www.airhostsforum.com/t/my-way-of-rating-guests/5067/69
I’m reposting this here on the appropriate thread… AGAIN… if you don’t like the wording used, you can change it to fit YOUR situation… this is just my idea of how ratings work at my airbnb property:
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 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 our property 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!
3 Likes
I love it, but I’m sure not one of my guests would read it 
Well, as a guest I would never bother reading so much, it’s way too technical (and a bit pushy) in my opinion.
I leave a very simple A4 paper that reads “A question ? A suggestion ? Just let us know what we could do to make your experience even better :). We will do our best to fulfill your expectations”
I show the document to guests at check-in. I’ld say that 90% of guests write something. It allows me to discuss any concern when I meet them for their check-out.
During checkout, as I mostly get newbies, I also tell them that Airbnb is going to send them an email to leave a review of my place, that it would be very kind of them if they leave a nice review as reviews are very important, and that I will do the same about them “and it’s important for guests as well as many hosts won’t accept guests who don’t have several good reviews”.
I have 96.5% 5-star ratings.
I sometimes want to tell them that “for Airbnb HQ, anything below 5-star is a bad rating and we get all kind of warning messages if we get a 4” but I think it would sound pushy.
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Hi @Barthelemy,
Personally, I think being a little pushy is Ok. Most guests don’t realise than anything below 5 star is not Ok. And the precise rating doesn’t mean much to them. Some guests probably think that they should only award 5 stars if the place is Xanadu, with stately pleasure domes gleaming in more-than-oriental spendour. But they should be educated about what these ratings mean to hosts. And I think a document which explains these things is not a bad idea. The guests may choose not to read it, of course.
And if they really don’t like the place, I’m sure they’ll express their displeasure suitably.
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Thank you for this I think I will attach a copy of this with their itinerary and give it to them when I check them in. I get a lot of newbies all well and this will help.
I’m going to add this to my listing description!
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So, I’m definitely implementing an overview of the review system paper, thanks for the suggestions @cindiksherman. Does anyone use an actual suggestion card with something like: do you have comments/suggestions? What was missing, what can I improve on to make every guest’s experience 5-star? I’ve seen people mention leaving one. Thanks!
That is exactly what I"m looking for!
Hi @Sarah_Warren,
For what it’s worth, here is mine. No mention of stars, though:
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Dear xxx,
Please write suggestions for improvement below.
Please rate these possible improvements on a scale of 0 to 10, where 0 means you don’t care at all, and 10 means it would be a excellent improvement.
Item Score
A desktop computer in the tower room
An office chair for the desk
A fridge in the tower room
A faster internet connection in the tower room
Wall-mounted LED TV in the tower room
Netflix in the tower room
Sitting room in the balcony garden
A sofa to sit on in the front entrance room.
A better sofa in the kitchen area
A coffee machine
Washer and dryer
Better taps and shower mixer in the bathroom
Soap and shampoo containers attached to the bathroom
shower wall
Other: please specify below.
I like that. I’ll have to make something where they can write in suggestions, and then have an area on the bottom with planned improvements to see what people would actually like.
Hi @Sarah_Warren,
Looks good. But why two copies of the same thing side by side? And you might want to include multiple Others.
Maybe it’s me, but I don’t want to solicit suggestions from guests. I don’t think it translates to the next guest. Air asks guests to suggest what could be improved when they review you. I got one suggestion to add a mirror in the room and I did. So far all 5 star reviews.
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Hi @Maggieroni,
Well, I find a little prompting goes a long way. Though it’s true, some people just don’t want to give feedback. And people have to be there a while to actually have something useful to say.
The idea is to look for items that consistently rank high, obviously. There are always commonalities.
I plan to print and cut in half. I guess I could have just done a screen shot of just one side 
