Updated : Mar 12, 2025
When everything was not just a click away, and people had to go to stores to purchase any product or service, they relied on their judgment to evaluate if that thing was a value for their money. However, now that everything is available online and people can’t physically consider their purchase, they rely on feedback from other buyers to make an evaluation. As an Airbnb host, you may realize this phenomenon and the importance of getting Airbnb guest reviews to build the credibility of your vacation rental business.
Understand how to get more reviews on Airbnb should be a priority if your goals is to get the Guest Favourite Badge and Superhost status. In this article, we’ll take you through getting Airbnb reviews.
What is an Airbnb Review?
An Airbnb review is a combination of a star rating and a written review of up to 1,000 words that both guests and hosts can leave at their discretion. This system allows both parties to share feedback about their experience. Reviews can be submitted within 14 days of check-out, ensuring a transparent and balanced system that enhances trust within the Airbnb community.
After a guest’s stay concludes, both the host and guest receive an email or app notification prompting them to leave a review. Guests evaluate their stay based on the following criteria:
Airbnb Star Rating Criteria (Up to 5 Stars):
- Value — Was the stay worth the price paid?
- Property Cleanliness — Did the property meet Airbnb’s cleanliness standards?
- Accuracy — Were the information and photos in the listing accurate?
- Check-in/Check-out — Was the process simple and seamless?
- Communication — How responsive and helpful was the host?
- Amenities — Were the amenities listed available and in good working order?
- Overall Experience — How would the guest rate their entire stay?
Each of the first six criteria contributes to the guest’s overall assessment, but they alone do not determine the property’s star rating. The Overall Experience rating (criterion 7) is the most critical component of an Airbnb review. It not only reflects the guest’s satisfaction with their stay but also directly impacts the property’s overall rating, Superhost eligibility, and competitive standing on Airbnb.
Here’s how it works:
- A 4-star Overall Experience rating means the property met expectations and matched its description.
- A 5-star Overall Experience rating indicates the property exceeded expectations and delivered an exceptional experience.
Suppose a guest gives five stars across the first six criteria but rates the Overall Experience as four stars. In that case, it signifies that while individual aspects of the stay were satisfactory, the overall experience fell short somehow. Maintaining a perfect 5-star rating is challenging, especially with frequent bookings, as a single negative review can affect the overall score.
How Can I Get More Airbnb Reviews?
Airbnb reviews make your listing look more appealing to potential guests, making it crucial to collect more reviews. Below I have listed a few ways to get more reviews on Airbnb.
1. Leave a Review for your Guest
Airbnb has instilled a brilliant solution to ensure that both parties leave a review. They have introduced double-blind reviews, meaning that the guest is notified as soon as you leave a review. However, they can only see it if they leave one for you or after 14 days.
You can leverage this system by leaving a review for every guest that stays with you. This will significantly improve your chances of getting reviewed in return.
Template for guest reviews
Airbnb Guest Review Template 1
{guest_first_name} was an outstanding guest. They were considerate, maintained cleanliness, and communicated effectively before arrival. Everything went smoothly, and we wholeheartedly recommend them to other hosts.
Airbnb Guest Review Template 2
We would welcome {guest_first_name} back anytime! They treated our property with utmost respect, keeping it clean and tidy throughout their stay. Their communication was clear and timely.
Airbnb Guest Review Template 3
Hosting {guest_first_name} was a pleasure. They left the space immaculate and their communication was excellent from start to finish. We would gladly host them again and believe any host would be fortunate to have them as guests. Thank you for choosing our place!
Airbnb Guest Review Template 4
It was a pleasure to host {guest_first_name}. They were friendly, maintained cleanliness, and I would highly recommend them to any host.
Airbnb Guest Review Template 5
{guest_first_name} was a delightful guest. They left the property in pristine condition. Hosting them was a pleasure, and we wholeheartedly recommend them to other hosts. A perfect 10/10 experience!
2. Make sure they have a great experience at your rental
As their host, you must ensure that the guests have a great experience living in your property and your city. You will probably be hosting people who don’t belong to your area and will need some help with navigating your city. Although Airbnb doesn’t mandate you to become a guide for your guests, going the extra mile gets you good reviews.
Provide a great experience with competitive rates!
Static pricing is the enemy of your Airbnb. Understand your market and competitors, understand seasonality to price your property dynamically
Start your 30-day FREE trial now!Make sure you keep maps or guides of the city at the rental and suggest to them good places to visit or keep a menu of some great restaurants in your vicinity. You can also offer them something extra with welcome drinks or chocolates by the bed (who doesn’t love extra stuff?). You can also read up on Airbnb hosting tips and implement what you learn to ensure that your guests have the time of their lives at your rental, and they write about that in their feedback.
3. Send a check-out message and request feedback.
You can send a message to your guests at the end of your stay along with check-out instructions to thank them for their stay. You can ask them to leave a review for you in the same message.
For example: ‘Thank you for choosing us to host you. We loved having you with us. Have a safe journey home. We would appreciate it if you could take some time to write us feedback and let us know what you thought about your stay with us so we can do better in the future.’
Please note that Airbnb prohibits incentivizing reviews with payments or offering special offers, so avoid doing that.
You can add quirky reminders around the house to remind your guests that they should leave a review. You can use Madeleine’s Review Magnet to remind them about the review. This can be stuck in your refrigerator or any other surface on your property.
How do I Avoid a Bad Airbnb Review?
Sometimes, it is tough to avoid bad reviews because certain unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances can spoil your guests’ experience and result in a bad review. For example, a last-minute breaking of an appliance or bathroom faucet, a city-wide outage of electricity, etc., can hamper your guests’ experience.
However, you can still ensure that nothing is left on chance from your end, atleast with these simple steps:
1. Take notice of guest’s feedback
Feedback from your guests can help you improve the guest experience of your future guests. Pay close attention to what your previous guests had to say about being hosted by you. Do more of what you were complimented for and avoid things that result in complaints or negative comments.
Also read: Airbnb Guest Review Example: Top 12 Examples
Your guests can help you build on your strengths and better your weaknesses. Do remember to thank your guests for every positive review they leave and address any complaints left in negative ones. Dealing with bad reviews is tricky, so I have covered all that goes into it in the section below.
2. Ensure the information mentioned in your listing is accurate
Misleading information can lead to your guests expecting what you are not capable of offering. This can leave a sour taste in your guest’s mouth and leave you a bad review. For example, you may have mentioned parking space or the availability of wifi in your listing description. According to you, it may not be a big deal, but your guests might have booked your accommodation to work from there while traveling or may have their car, which needs to be parked near the rental.
Don’t set expectations you can’t meet, and always try to do more than your guests expect. For example, make sure that your photographs and listing information accurately represent the experience your guests will get.
3. Leave a welcome note.
Remember, a good first impression can make all the difference. So leave a welcome book for your guests when they arrive to make sure that they think about you positively from the very first moment. Even a simple message can do the trick, something like- “Welcome! I hope you enjoy your stay here. If you have any queries, please let me know.”
In this message, you can also mention the contact information of the property’s caretaker, nearby hospitals, fire stations, grocers, restaurants, etc. Also, you can include the wifi password and instructions to operate any complicated appliance in the message to ensure that your guests have all the information they will likely need.
Dealing with Negative Airbnb Reviews
As mentioned above, not all reviews will be positive because unforeseen circumstances will make your guests’ feel bad. All you can do is make sure that you deal with those complaints professionally and avoid them in the future. Take these with a grain of salt. Sometimes, people will overreact to simple inconveniences.
1. Understand the complaint
Most of the time, you will be dealing with a genuine complaint made by someone who otherwise leaves positive reviews. However, there may be times when you are dealing with a chronic complainer who usually leaves negative reviews and complaints about their stay at various vacation rentals.
It would be good if you could quickly browse through the profile of the complainant and see which category they fall in and reach out to them accordingly.
2. Be polite
Bad reviews can feel like a personal attack, especially since you put in so much effort to ensure that your guests’ experience is excellent. However, don’t let that reflect in your reply no matter what. Always be polite with your response and be open to criticism. You can’t please everyone even if you tried but responding politely will show your future guests that you are open to negative feedback and willing to improve.
3. Directly communicate with the guest.
You can often change your guest’s opinions by talking to them directly and explaining the situation. Airbnb does give guests the option to edit reviews 48 hours after the review is posted. So, you have a chance to turn a bad review into a good one after you directly reach out to your reviewer.
4. Respond to the review
If you cannot change your guests’ minds and they were genuinely unhappy with your service, all you can do is apologize to them publicly for their bad experience. Keep in mind that future guests will look at your guests’ reviews to see what they are getting into. So posting a public apology can show your future guests that you make a sincere effort to fix every problem.
5. Avoid the same complaint by making improvements.
A negative review can help you improve your experience with future guests. See if there’s anything that you can take away from a bad review that can help you make other guests more satisfied.
Conclusion
To score top rankings at the Airbnb best listings, write positive reviews for your customers. Your ranking will automatically be boosted with the Airbnb algorithm when your customers do the same for you. Most customers add the desired number of reviews in the search filters. These are usually more than four stars, so you’ll have better chances of showing up in search results by maintaining a higher score.
