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I think the worry is retaliatory reviews. I've been in a situation where if I left my host an honest review, I expected to get a nasty review in return. It's

I think the worry is retaliatory reviews. I've been in a situation where if I left my host an honest review, I expected to get a nasty review in return. It's honestly a problem with all of these bi-directional rating systems. As long as they make it at all possible for the ratings to leak before both parties have rated, there's a strong disincentive for any party to leave an honest rating.

antognini 9y ago
I thought that you couldn't see what a host or guest wrote about you until you already wrote your review. That's the way it's been for me, anyway.
- InitialLastName 9y ago
  TBH I haven't used AirBNB in a long time (too many small hassles + one big bad experience), so it's hard for me to say at this point. I do know that similar systems (Uber, at least) have had issues with leaky reviews leading to retaliation. It's hard to implement a system like that, especially when your users have safety, money, and comfort on the line.
  - mrgordon 9y ago
    Works great with the double blind system Airbnb uses
zephyrnh 9y ago
Airbnb switched to a "double blind" review system several years go, so you only see the other person's review after you've written your own. If you don't leave a review within two weeks, the other review becomes public and you no longer have the option to leave a review. I did a search to see if there was any press about this, couldn't find much but there's a bit about it here: https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/building-for-trust-503e9872bbbb https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/building-for-trust-503... "The result was a 7% increase in review rates and a 2% increase in negative reviews."
- splintercell 9y ago
  My reason for not writing a negative review is because before staying at their place we exchanged phone numbers and other things, and now I don't feel comfortable writing a negative review and possibly having a confrontation. YMMV but I avoid writing negative reviews despite the 'double blind' review system.
  - BugsJustFindMe 9y ago
    Always contact them through AirBnB. You should be treating it just like contacting random strangers for sex on Craigslist, potentially dangerous. There's no reason to give a random stranger your personal contact details.

antognini 9y ago

I thought that you couldn't see what a host or guest wrote about you until you already wrote your review. That's the way it's been for me, anyway.

InitialLastName 9y ago
TBH I haven't used AirBNB in a long time (too many small hassles + one big bad experience), so it's hard for me to say at this point. I do know that similar systems (Uber, at least) have had issues with leaky reviews leading to retaliation. It's hard to implement a system like that, especially when your users have safety, money, and comfort on the line.
- mrgordon 9y ago
  Works great with the double blind system Airbnb uses

zephyrnh 9y ago

Airbnb switched to a "double blind" review system several years go, so you only see the other person's review after you've written your own. If you don't leave a review within two weeks, the other review becomes public and you no longer have the option to leave a review. I did a search to see if there was any press about this, couldn't find much but there's a bit about it here: https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/building-for-trust-503e9872bbbb https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/building-for-trust-503... "The result was a 7% increase in review rates and a 2% increase in negative reviews."

splintercell 9y ago
My reason for not writing a negative review is because before staying at their place we exchanged phone numbers and other things, and now I don't feel comfortable writing a negative review and possibly having a confrontation. YMMV but I avoid writing negative reviews despite the 'double blind' review system.
- BugsJustFindMe 9y ago
  Always contact them through AirBnB. You should be treating it just like contacting random strangers for sex on Craigslist, potentially dangerous. There's no reason to give a random stranger your personal contact details.