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Since Airbnb couldn't verify my credit card due to technical reasons, I started using Booking a lot (with the same card - no problem whatsoever), and it was a p

Since Airbnb couldn't verify my credit card due to technical reasons, I started using Booking a lot (with the same card - no problem whatsoever), and it was a pretty good experience. Why do you think this way about Booking?

hiq 4y ago
What's your minimal rating when you book? I found out that anything lower than 8/10 is really bad on Booking, which was counterintuitive to me.
- deadbunny 4y ago
  Sounds like video game reviews. Anything lower than an 7/10 is considered bad. As an example, Aliens Colonial Marines[1] was literally unplayable, filled with bugs, and generally got a 48/100. To me that should be a middling game not literal unplayable garbage. 1. https://www.pcgamer.com/aliens-colonial-marines-review/ https://www.pcgamer.com/aliens-colonial-marines-review/
  - throwaway290 4y ago
    Reviews are not representative. You want to look for new reviews (fake reviewers are active in waves, only for as long as they are paid), even if they are bad, read them and see what people dislike. The only way to warn others without risking your account is by posting a reasonably high rating and a seemingly positive review that obscures how horrible the place is. "Convenient if you drive a car, otherwise you'll want to rely on cabs since walking one way might take 30+ minutes. Lovely staff, make sure to ask about reception hours since they may not always be as advertised. Perfect bed if you like a hard mattress and aren't too tall (say less than 6 ft). Got a bit itchy in the morning, probably my skin allergies. Some roach sightings but they are everywhere in this price range right?" This will stand out among all the paid 5 star reviews with two words and three grammatical errors.
  - supertofu 4y ago
    48/100 is an F.
- elliekelly 4y ago
  Yes! Does Booking give stars on a curve? Because there is some serious ratings inflation happening. I once stayed in a 6/10 “room” in Spain and it was just a walk-in closet with a cot. And calling it a walk-in closet is generous. It was really more like a walk-in closet sized shed or garage that had been tacked onto the side of the house. Picture the back door of a house that when you open the door that should lead outside you instead enter a generic Home Depot type shed that has had its doors removed and been nailed to the side of the house. It was only marginally better than sleeping in a cardboard box. No one in their right mind would ever rate this “room” more than 1/10 but somehow on booking.com it was a 6??
- CaptainZapp 4y ago
  True, but so what? Just book rooms with a minimal review average of (i'd say) 7.5 and up. The good thing about booking.com reviews is that you must have to have stayed at a property to leave a review. Sure, that can also be gamed, but the risk is significantly lower that a review is outright dodgy.
- xboxnolifes 4y ago
  Realistically, this is how every rating system I've ever come across works. On a 10 point scale, you avoid anything under a 7.5. this applies to even unfiltered public ratings, so I assume it's an attribute of how human apply numeric opinion scoring.
  - wizofaus 4y ago
    7/10 on Zomato is pretty good though, whereas a 3.5/5 Google review suggests "stay away unless desperate". But I agree there's no system where 5/10 means "average". I suspect it does relate to our time in educational institutions where a 50% mark is really the worst possible score you ever want to consider.
- splonk 4y ago
  I used to have access to a large set of hotel review data. The median score on Booking was 8.1 (if you filter for business travelers it's in the 7s, but I'm not sure if that's available in the UI). This is partly because the scale is actually from 2.5-10, not 1-10 or 0-10 as you might expect. The rest is probably just because people don't evenly distribute ratings and tend to favor the top and bottom of the scale.
newaccount74 4y ago
They ask you what was good about the hotel, and what was bad, and then they show only the good part of the review to others.
- raverbashing 4y ago
  I always see both parts on the review
  - newaccount74 4y ago
    If you click through to the detailed reviews you can see both parts. But on some screens they show just the positive part.
    - aconsult1 4y ago
      I have at least one example of Airbnb ignoring a bad review. I had a pretty bad experience in Washington DC once and left a review to warn future guests. To my surprise such review never came online. I checked for several weeks after and saw new reviews popping up on the same property but my review was nowhere. I still use Airbnb but just lower my expectations by a huge amount because according to them everyone is having a fantastic experience. Just like Instagram... Thanks internet!
deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago
I had a situation with Booking a couple years ago where I booked a room that was double booked. It’s kind of the hosts fault, but Booking’s support was completely unhelpful in resolving the situation.

hiq 4y ago

What's your minimal rating when you book? I found out that anything lower than 8/10 is really bad on Booking, which was counterintuitive to me.

deadbunny 4y ago
Sounds like video game reviews. Anything lower than an 7/10 is considered bad. As an example, Aliens Colonial Marines[1] was literally unplayable, filled with bugs, and generally got a 48/100. To me that should be a middling game not literal unplayable garbage. 1. https://www.pcgamer.com/aliens-colonial-marines-review/ https://www.pcgamer.com/aliens-colonial-marines-review/
- throwaway290 4y ago
  Reviews are not representative. You want to look for new reviews (fake reviewers are active in waves, only for as long as they are paid), even if they are bad, read them and see what people dislike. The only way to warn others without risking your account is by posting a reasonably high rating and a seemingly positive review that obscures how horrible the place is. "Convenient if you drive a car, otherwise you'll want to rely on cabs since walking one way might take 30+ minutes. Lovely staff, make sure to ask about reception hours since they may not always be as advertised. Perfect bed if you like a hard mattress and aren't too tall (say less than 6 ft). Got a bit itchy in the morning, probably my skin allergies. Some roach sightings but they are everywhere in this price range right?" This will stand out among all the paid 5 star reviews with two words and three grammatical errors.
- supertofu 4y ago
  48/100 is an F.
elliekelly 4y ago
Yes! Does Booking give stars on a curve? Because there is some serious ratings inflation happening. I once stayed in a 6/10 “room” in Spain and it was just a walk-in closet with a cot. And calling it a walk-in closet is generous. It was really more like a walk-in closet sized shed or garage that had been tacked onto the side of the house. Picture the back door of a house that when you open the door that should lead outside you instead enter a generic Home Depot type shed that has had its doors removed and been nailed to the side of the house. It was only marginally better than sleeping in a cardboard box. No one in their right mind would ever rate this “room” more than 1/10 but somehow on booking.com it was a 6??
CaptainZapp 4y ago
True, but so what? Just book rooms with a minimal review average of (i'd say) 7.5 and up. The good thing about booking.com reviews is that you must have to have stayed at a property to leave a review. Sure, that can also be gamed, but the risk is significantly lower that a review is outright dodgy.
xboxnolifes 4y ago
Realistically, this is how every rating system I've ever come across works. On a 10 point scale, you avoid anything under a 7.5. this applies to even unfiltered public ratings, so I assume it's an attribute of how human apply numeric opinion scoring.
- wizofaus 4y ago
  7/10 on Zomato is pretty good though, whereas a 3.5/5 Google review suggests "stay away unless desperate". But I agree there's no system where 5/10 means "average". I suspect it does relate to our time in educational institutions where a 50% mark is really the worst possible score you ever want to consider.
splonk 4y ago
I used to have access to a large set of hotel review data. The median score on Booking was 8.1 (if you filter for business travelers it's in the 7s, but I'm not sure if that's available in the UI). This is partly because the scale is actually from 2.5-10, not 1-10 or 0-10 as you might expect. The rest is probably just because people don't evenly distribute ratings and tend to favor the top and bottom of the scale.

newaccount74 4y ago

They ask you what was good about the hotel, and what was bad, and then they show only the good part of the review to others.

raverbashing 4y ago
I always see both parts on the review
- newaccount74 4y ago
  If you click through to the detailed reviews you can see both parts. But on some screens they show just the positive part.
  - aconsult1 4y ago
    I have at least one example of Airbnb ignoring a bad review. I had a pretty bad experience in Washington DC once and left a review to warn future guests. To my surprise such review never came online. I checked for several weeks after and saw new reviews popping up on the same property but my review was nowhere. I still use Airbnb but just lower my expectations by a huge amount because according to them everyone is having a fantastic experience. Just like Instagram... Thanks internet!

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

SOLAR_FIELDS 4y ago

I had a situation with Booking a couple years ago where I booked a room that was double booked. It’s kind of the hosts fault, but Booking’s support was completely unhelpful in resolving the situation.