Los Angeles, CA · Member since 2016 · 565 posts · 391 votes
Question for experienced STR hosts: If you are a super-host on airbnb and a Premier Partner on VRBO, you certainly hate 4 star reviews like me. When there is an issue, you proactively communicate with the guest to avoid a negative review, that I am sure you all do.
But when all is good, from time to time, there is someone who just thinks your place deserved 4 not 5 stars and breaks your track record which ultimately could cost you your status and ranking.
In the few cases of 4 stars I have received in the past couple years, there is absolutely no negative comment in the review, all positive and fantastic, worse they even want to come back (not me, lol) and then they rate 4 stars. When you asked them why 4 and not 5, they reply something in the lines: "4 is not bad, all was good... I maybe able to change it if it's a big deal..."... and of course it's too late to explain.
Do you guys ask them for a good review before they leave? If so how do you articulate your request to avoid the reverse effect?
I include it in my language when communicating to guests. In my standard welcome email, I express how I want to provide a 5-star experience and for them to please let me know if I can do anything to improve their stay. And a couple of days after they leave, if they haven't already left a review, I follow up with a message asking for a review "if you feel you had a 5-star experience".
So far it's worked out well (except for the one guy who didn't say a word and then left me 2 stars because he was upset my studio cabin was "all one room"!!!). I feel like I'm able to articulate the importance of a 5-star review, specifically, without actually asking for it/implying they should leave one even if they don't feel it's deserved.
There's always going to be the occasional person who doesn't get it and thinks 4 stars is perfectly fine, but hopefully this strategy heads a lot of that off at the pass.
I do exactly as Julie does. I only get 5 star reviews now. I had two 4 star reviews in the first year, but changed my verbiage to the way Julie does it. I know have 70 reviews on Homeaway with 68 being 5 star. I have 9 reviews on Airbnb and all are 5 star.
This not only has provided us with valuable feedback that we ASK them for (We have changed some items just from these comments) but I think it helps us both set the expectation we are aiming to get 5-Stars.
I know that a few 4-star reviews are a result of pure randomness. Believe it or not, some guests just mis-click the wrong stars. I've followed up with some reviews and the guest has admitted to entering the wrong rating.