Airbnb reviews

If you are a vacation rental owner and you are reading this, you are most likely offering your vacation rental on the Airbnb platform. You probably have some questions about Airbnb reviews? How do they work? How do you write them? And many others… Good news! With our complete guide you’ll know everything about Airbnb reviews!

All about Airbnb reviews

Everyone always consults online reviews rigorously. Whether you are buying appliances for your short-term rental, redoing the plumbing, or looking to install new flooring in the living room, customer reviews are valuable. Good reviews may push you towards buying something, or on the contrary, bad reviews may convince you otherwise. It’s the same for the reviews on the Airbnb booking platform.

Indeed, reviews are an excellent way to allow both travelers and hosts like you to get a better understanding of what a rental property is like or to learn about potential guests. Reviews provide some level of credibility if they are good, or cause concern if they are negative. Reviews are therefore useful when they offer unbiased and objective information.

How do reviews work on Airbnb and how do you add them?

The way reviews work is pretty simple. Here’s how to leave a review on Airbnb:

1. Once your stay is complete, Airbnb will ask you to leave a guest review as well as a star rating on the guest’s profile.
2. There is a 14 day period after your traveler’s departure to leave your review. After this period, it will be too late.
3. Feedback is published only a) when both parties have left feedback or b) after 14 days, whichever comes first.
4. Private feedback can be sent after both parties have left feedback.

Airbnb obviously recommends that you always be truthful and fair in your traveler reviews. This is essential in order to provide relevant feedback that will help future guests. Feedback from guests will help you too. It is essential to be the best host you can be.

What are Airbnb star ratings?

Stars complement the traveler review. They allow travelers to quickly and easily rate you on different categories:

• Overall experience
• Cleanliness: what was it like?
• Accuracy: was the listing accurate?
• Arrival: Did everything go smoothly?
• Communication: Did you (the host) respond quickly to messages and questions?
• Location: information available on how to get to the accommodation, points of interest etc.
• Value for money: price corresponding to the different services?
• Facilities: did everything work?

By knowing these criteria, you can easily improve on certain points from one traveler to the next in order to strive for traveler excellence.

Where are the Airbnb star ratings?

Once you have collected more than 3 reviews, an average out of 5 will be calculated and displayed in the search results as well as on your listing page.

According to data published by Airbnb in 2023, the average rating of accommodations on the platform is 4.7 stars. Furthermore, vacation rentals with a rating above 4.75 stars have a 10-15% higher conversion rate into bookings than listings with a rating between 4.0 and 4.25 stars. The lesson is clear: positive reviews are not only a joy to receive, but also allow you to increase your revenue.

Where do I find Airbnb reviews?

You can find your reviews on your Airbnb profile as well as on the reviews page. This page will allow you to track your total number of reviews as well as your overall star rating. This way you can track your progress and implement strategies to further improve your rating.

You can also view your reviews left and received here.

How do I delete Airbnb reviews?

If you wrote the review:

If a review you wrote has been published, you can contact Airbnb to request that the review be removed.

How do I remove bad reviews on Airbnb?

You cannot delete a negative review, but you have the right as a host to respond to it in order to explain it from your point of view. Negative criticism is admissible, but if you feel it is unjustified, you should say so. It would be a shame to damage your reputation as a host because of unjustified bad reviews.

It is also possible to report the review if you think it violates Airbnb’s review policy.

In all cases, there will be a balance between your positive and negative reviews. If only one negative review taints your profile page, travelers will not be suspicious because you will have many more positive reviews. This should not do you any harm or damage.

How to write an Airbnb review?

Are you just starting out and don’t necessarily feel comfortable writing a positive review or a negative review? Don’t worry, we’ll give you a few tips and some sample reviews to get you started.

Keep in mind that the comment is limited to 1000 words, that you have 14 days maximum after your guests’ departure to leave one and that it must respect the Airbnb policy.

Go to the Comments page (via a browser) to leave your remarks and opinions.

What should you base your feedback on?

For example, you can judge your guests on the following aspects to leave your public comment:

• Communication: did everything go well on the guest’s side?
• Cleanliness / condition of the house at the beginning: did your guests leave your property in good condition?
• Overall experience: friendly? No problems?
• Will you welcome these guests again?

10 examples of positive Airbnb reviews:

There is obviously not only one type of review, nor an ideal comment as they are personal and specific to your experience and feeling. But we have provided you with ten examples of positive comments to help you get started:

1. ___ and ___ were very pleasant travelers. We look forward to having you back. I recommend them.

2. Very pleasant and easy contact with ___. Thank you for visiting us and see you soon.

3. We welcomed the little family of ___. Everything went very well and we had a great time together. Have a nice trip home!

4. ___ left the apartment in perfect condition.

5. ___’s family was pleasant and the children were very good. We hope to have them back again very soon.

6. Very nice conversation with ___ and ___. Thank you for your kindness. We look forward to seeing you!

7. I can only recommend ___ and his friends. They came to spend some time with friends in the area and left the house in impeccable condition. We hope you have made some great memories. Welcome back!

8. ___ and his friend spent a week in our charming villa. Everything went very well. Thank you for your visit!

9. ___ was a very charming and friendly traveler. From communication to departure to the condition of the apartment, everything was simple and efficient. I highly recommend him!

10. Thank you ___ and ___ for visiting us in our lovely cottage. It was a pleasure to host you and thank you for your recommendations on___. We look forward to having you back!

We hope this selection will inspire you.

What about negative Airbnb reviews

Not everything can be perfect and sometimes you may have to leave negative reviews. They are necessary in order to point out inappropriate behavior, disregard of the rules or the place and are useful in order to warn future hosts who would receive these guests.

Do not hesitate to write your remarks in your comment in a respectful and sincere way, which are the values of the platform. You can also discuss it with the guest beforehand.

Read, write and reply to Airbnb comments with Smoobu

Smoobu is a Channel Manager that allows you, as a rental owner, to optimize your rental management. It is possible with Smoobu to use your account to read, respond and submit your own reviews of your Airbnb guests. This way, you always have your guests’ reviews at your fingertips and you can respond to them directly, without having to log in to Airbnb.

Find out more on our blog.

The importance of Airbnb reviews

Airbnb reviews have a real place and importance on the platform. They allow both owners and travelers to make the right decision to book a property or accept a tenant. In addition, reviews help to :

• generate more booking requests
• help the Airbnb community
• give credibility to your host profile and your property
• respond to customer feedback