TFA's thesis is that people convey negative information -- just not primarily through the star rating. As a longtime Airbnb user I can't imagine staying at a p

TFA's thesis is that people convey negative information -- just not primarily through the star rating. As a longtime Airbnb user I can't imagine staying at a place just because it has a good star rating. You have to read the reviews and see what people liked and didn't like. If a place has a bad star rating I generally wouldn't consider staying there at all, but a 4.8 star rating with lots of substantive reviews and no real complaints is very different from a 4.8 star rating with a bunch of people noting that there's deafening construction noise from 8AM to 8PM. Also, how would anyone retaliate on Airbnb? You can't see the host's review until after you've posted your own.