Many Airbnb guests know how difficult it can be to rate an Airbnb when your stay was overall quite bad but the host was incredibly kind. Fortunately, the company has stepped up with an epic solution: Airbnb has added a special rating category for when your host was well-meaning but totally inept.
Awesome! This is such a game-changer.
Starting this week, Airbnb users will be able to opt out of giving their polite yet clueless host a negative review by selecting the new “Host Meant Well But Was Deeply Inept” rating category. Now, instead of leaving a brutally honest write-ip in that details how the host was a sweet elderly man who was extremely responsive but unfortunately had no toilet paper or working lights in his home, you can simply select from a few pre-written descriptions such as “Really Interesting Anecdotes But No Locks On The Doors,” “All Pipes Leaking But Host Refunded A Lot Of Money For It,” and “A Bad Review Might Break This Host.” This way, you’ll be able to let other renters know what they’re in for without lowering the host’s rating, which would be mean.
So much yes!
“Perhaps this has happened to you: your Airbnb host drops by each morning of your stay with fresh linens, but at the same time, the home has no running water, and when you asked about it, the host began to cry, explaining how the only reason they started running an Airbnb in the first place was because of a life-altering car accident that forced them out of the job they’d loved for 40 years,” explained Airbnb in their press statement. “In these situations, it’s basically impossible to give an honest review, but guests often feel that they’re doing a disservice to future renters without giving them a heads-up about the nightmare they’ll be walking into. With our new feature, we hope to remedy this conundrum.”
Airbnbs that receive “Host Meant Well But Was Deeply Inept” ratings will be denoted by an emoji of an old man shrugging helplessly beside the Airbnb’s star count, so that users know before booking that just because the home has 4.5 stars doesn’t mean it won’t also have some severe, undisclosed problem. Whatever that problem is, though, the host will likely try to remedy the issue with a batch fresh-baked cookies, which will be a really nice gesture, but will also probably taste horrible.
This is so cool! Here’s hoping VRBO follows suit, because this will seriously do wonders for customer satisfaction by letting guests know in advance when they’re in for a very bad trip with a very nice host.
