What we found

• 72,124reviews read, across 214 listings
• 1 in 19five-star reviews describe a problem
• 16%of listings rated 4.8 or higher came out Skip
• 4.91stars, the highest-rated listing we'd skip
• 21%of everything we checked came out Skip

Last counted November 13, 2026 at 10:51 AM UTC.

Five stars, and still a problem

Plenty of guests give five stars and then tell you what went wrong. We read those too. A problem here means the guest described at least a real annoyance, something they had to work around, not a passing remark. Each review counts once, under its main problem. These rows count reviews, not listings.

• Five-star reviews that describe a problem anyway

  3,389 of the 65,873 five-star reviews we've read, 5.1%
  1 in 19five-star reviews
• Same thing, on listings rated 4.8 or higher

  2,956 of 58,801, across 191 listings
  1 in 20five-star reviews
• Reviews that mention a problem and play it down

  4,476 reviews said something like "a bit of street noise" about a problem they went on to describe. Every review is asked that as its own question. How we decide says how.
  6.2%of all reviews

How the verdicts fell

From here down, the rows count listings.

• Book

  163 listings
  76%of listings
• Skip

  44 listings
  21%of listings
• Too new to call

  7 listings with 10 reviews or fewer, read but not called
  3%of listings
• Skips among listings rated 4.8 or higher

  31 of 188 listings. A high rating didn't rule it out.
  16%of 4.8+ listings

Why we said Skip

How many of the Skips each problem appears on, the same measure as the Book rows below, with the number it actually tipped in the small print. A Skip can rest on two problems, so the rows overlap. Things that didn't work tipped the most: 26 of the 44.

• Things that didn't work

  Broken showers, dead Wi-Fi, no hot water. Tipped the verdict on 26 of them.
  93%41 of 44 Skips
• Cleanliness

  Dirt, hair, smells, pests. Tipped the verdict on 15 of them.
  91%40 of 44 Skips
• Noise

  Street noise, thin walls, the neighbors. Tipped the verdict on 11 of them.
  89%39 of 44 Skips
• Not what the listing showed

  Smaller, darker or older than the photos. Tipped the verdict on 13 of them.
  86%38 of 44 Skips
• Stairs and getting in

  Stairs, no lift, a hard time getting in. Tipped the verdict on 3 of them.
  73%32 of 44 Skips
• The host

  Slow, absent or rude. Tipped the verdict on 5 of them.
  66%29 of 44 Skips
• Fees and surprise charges

  Fees that showed up after booking. Tipped the verdict on 4 of them.
  66%29 of 44 Skips
• The street or the neighborhood

  A street that felt unsafe or rundown. Tipped the verdict on 2 of them.
  52%23 of 44 Skips
• Safety

  Wiring, gas, locks that don't lock, unlit stairs. Tipped the verdict on 0 of them.
  50%22 of 44 Skips

Why we said Book

A Book means nothing reached the bar: no serious problem that happy and unhappy guests both hit, and nothing repeating among recent guests. It doesn't mean nobody said anything.

• Books with nothing to go in knowing

  The report lists no problem at all
  23%37 of 163 Books
• Books with things to go in knowing

  Problems guests raised that didn't reach the bar, listed on the report
  77%126 of 163 Books

What guests still raised on the Books, most common first.

• Things that didn't work

  Broken showers, dead Wi-Fi, no hot water
  51%83 of 163 Books
• Cleanliness

  Dirt, hair, smells, pests
  41%67 of 163 Books
• Noise

  Street noise, thin walls, the neighbors
  39%63 of 163 Books
• Not what the listing showed

  Smaller, darker or older than the photos
  38%62 of 163 Books
• Stairs and getting in

  Stairs, no lift, a hard time getting in
  31%51 of 163 Books
• The host

  Slow, absent or rude
  21%34 of 163 Books

What guests complain about

The share of listings each problem turns up on. The small print gives the reviews behind it. "Serious" means the guest said it hurt the stay or would've changed their booking.

• Things that didn't work

  On 125 of 214 listings. 755 reviews name it, 83 of them as serious.
  58%of listings
• Cleanliness

  On 107 of 214 listings. 527 reviews name it, 127 of them as serious.
  50%of listings
• Noise

  On 104 of 214 listings. 589 reviews name it, 45 of them as serious.
  49%of listings
• Not what the listing showed

  On 101 of 214 listings. 593 reviews name it, 73 of them as serious.
  47%of listings
• Stairs and getting in

  On 83 of 214 listings. 284 reviews name it, 14 of them as serious.
  39%of listings
• The host

  On 63 of 214 listings. 221 reviews name it, 59 of them as serious.
  29%of listings
• The street or the neighborhood

  On 55 of 214 listings. 183 reviews name it, 13 of them as serious.
  26%of listings
• Fees and surprise charges

  On 53 of 214 listings. 175 reviews name it, 26 of them as serious.
  25%of listings
• Safety

  On 44 of 214 listings. 70 reviews name it, 35 of them as serious.
  21%of listings

Which way listings are going

Problem reports per 100 reviews, the last year against everything before it, on each listing. "About the same" covers anything that didn't clearly move. A listing with too few reviews on one side of that line gets no call, and the four rows add up to every listing.

• Getting better

  20 listings had fewer problems this year than before
  10%of listings
• About the same

  112 listings
  52%of listings
• Getting worse

  15 listings had more problems this year than before
  7%of listings
• Too little history to say

  67 listings had too few reviews in the last year, or before it, to compare
  31%of listings

Last counted November 13, 2026 at 10:51 AM UTC. Recounted every five minutes.