When a guest checks out from a vacation rental on Airbnb, hosts are asked to write an Airbnb guest review describing their experience with the people who booked and visited their accommodation. Likewise, guests are encouraged to write a review detailing their experience of their stay and the owner.
Many hospitality businesses fall short of their competition simply because they don’t have enough reviews. As more travelers than ever are taking the time to research and read reviews of accommodations before booking, vacation rental owners can’t afford to miss out.
Both host reviews and guest reviews are very important – they can help make the difference between securing a booking and the customer looking elsewhere.
At times it can be a bit difficult to come up with a new guest review each time, especially if you rent regularly. That’s why we’ve put together these 101 Airbnb review templates to help you.
Don’t see the form to download our 101 Airbnb guest review examples? Click here.
In addition, this article will look at why Airbnb guest reviews are valuable, how to write them, and what to do if you manage your vacation rental remotely. We’ll also examine a few highlights from the 101 Airbnb guest reviews examples.
Why are Airbnb guest reviews important?
Since bookings on Airbnb depend strongly on reviews and ratings, it’s highly recommended to write a guest review. Remember that both guests and hosts need to write a review for either one to appear.
These reviews will not only help you and other landlords to better evaluate potential guests, but they also help to keep the Airbnb community safe and vigilant. Let’s take a look at the reasons why you should spend time writing a review for a guest:
Increase bookings
You’ve got a fantastic vacation rental; apart from the photos and your listing description, what is the best way to showcase it and increase your bookings? Genuine experiences from guests who have stayed there!
Customers rely on other opinions to make the right decision for their trips. When potential guests are looking at your rental, they will always look at reviews written by people who have stayed there. They want to know if it’s worth booking and if the photos and listing description live up to the guest experience.
So by writing Airbnb guest reviews, you’ll get more reviews in return! Not only will writing guest reviews build up trust for future bookers, but it will give you more exposure. Your name and profile will appear more often on the site, so more potential customers will be able to find your property. Overall, it will increase your bookings and build up your profile and reputation as a host.
Give a good impression
Another key aspect is the impression you give to other users. A host that spends time and effort writing a review for each of their guests, especially if it’s personalized, will impress other potential guests.
It will show that you are trustworthy, and they’ll know they’re in safe hands when booking your vacation rental. An Airbnb host who commits to communicating with their guests, even after they have left, will certainly be attentive to the other details of the stay, such as cleaning, reception, and communication. These small details make a huge difference.
Help other hosts
Leaving guest reviews is crucial to helping the whole Airbnb host community. It enables you and other hosts to browse and evaluate potential problem guests. So as soon as a guest requests your rental on Airbnb, you can see how that guest behaved in other Airbnb rentals. For example, if you’ve seen a negative review written by the host of a previous stay, you’ll know not to accept that guest.
If you’re an experienced Airbnb host, you likely know the value of relying on other hosts’ reviews to decide whether to accept a guest. By following suit and posting your own guest reviews, you support other hosts who may want to rely on your information before accepting a reservation.
Respond to negative reviews
Another advantage is that it allows hosts to do damage control if necessary. If a guest posts negative remarks in their review of your property, you now have a chance to give reasonable explanations to address the complaints publicly. Negative reviews also let you showcase your excellent customer service – not only to the unhappy guest but to potential guests reading through your reviews.
According to Christophe Salmon, co-Founder of Revyoos, one of the biggest mistakes vacation rental owners make is only publishing positive reviews. Research shows that customers are less likely to trust a vacation rental with a perfect 5-star rating than one with a number of negative reviews. The ideal rating for optimum conversion is 4.9!
How to write a review for a guest on Airbnb
A good guest review is vital for your business as it indicates to guests and other hosts that you are professional and attentive. Still, some hosts get a bit lost in the process.
Think about the actual guest and their stay at your vacation rental and take the following into account:
1. Honesty is the best policy
As a host, you must ensure that you leave an honest and accurate review of those who stay with you and that they’re based on your experience with them and how they took care of your vacation rental. If you were satisfied with everything, let other hosts know they were a pleasure to accommodate.
If you had a negative experience with your guest, you should project this honestly in your review. After all, future hosts will see this and will want to avoid problematic guests. You wouldn’t want them to experience the same issues you had.
2. Would you host them again?
If the guests were to contact you in the future asking to stay in your rental, would you let them? If so, say that in your review, including whether or not you’d feel comfortable recommending them to other hosts.
If you’d prefer not to host them again, politely reference this in your review.
3. Was the place in good condition when they left it?
If they left it in bad condition, mention it! The same goes for house rules; did they break any? E.g., no smoking, no parties, no additional guests, etc.
Remember that accidents happen, so if something broke during their stay, it should only be mentioned if it was left unaddressed or was poorly handled. Stating the condition of the stay matters if it’s a reflection of the guest’s character and how careful or careless they were about looking after your vacation rental.
4. Did it go smoothly?
Your guest review should include your experience from the moment they booked to checking out. How was communicating with them before check-in? Did they check out at the exact time they were supposed to? Or were they late? Did any problems occur during their stay?
Answering these questions sets expectations for future hosts. If the guests are more hands-off or, worse yet, unresponsive, then it should be made clear in the Airbnb guest review.
5. Give them a star rating
Although you provide plenty of details about them, you can also give a star rating, which shows just how great (or not so great) they were when they stayed with you. Sometimes, it catches everyone’s attention faster than what you write in your review.
This also eliminates the issue of fluffing or sugarcoating any problems you might have had with the guest. If it was a two-star experience, say it!
6. What kind of guests were they?
You can also write about the type of guest they were. Were they simply on vacation, visiting family, or on business? If appropriate, you could mention how the reason for their trip affected your experience in hosting them.
Airbnb guest reviews guidelines
In order to make reviews extra meaningful and easy to write, Airbnb has a few guidelines that you must adhere to as a host. Here are some of the key points to consider when leaving a review.
- After their checkout date, you have 14 days to write your Airbnb guest review.
- Be honest and unbiased when writing your comments. Remember, they will be visible to any other hosts.
- Reviews must be relevant, and you should highlight any aspect you think other hosts should know about.
- Reviews may only be provided for a genuine stay or experience, and fake requests cannot be accepted in return for a positive review.
- Positive reviews cannot be exchanged for something of value, i.e., discounts or refunds.
How can I write a review if I manage the property long-distance?
If you are foreseeing a long-distance rental property, you should still write a guest review on Airbnb. If you have a property manager, ask them to give you feedback after your guests have departed. You can also ask them to use an inventory checklist to ensure everything was left in place and intact. If you have a good relationship with your neighbors, ask them if the renters were noisy.
Your review doesn’t necessarily have to be lengthy; it could also just be a response to a visitor’s review and a way of saying “thank you” for choosing your rental. If you’re still not sure what to say about your guests, use our Airbnb reviews for guests sample below.
Why you should write personalized reviews
Although it’s quick and easy to copy reviews from Airbnb guest review templates, bear in mind that the tone, content, and reasons for leaving a review may differ from guest to guest.
Furthermore, guests will value the feedback they receive if it’s personalized, as it will help them when requesting future bookings. It will also make them feel that you appreciated their good behavior and care for your home.
10 positive Airbnb guest review samples
Here are 10 ideas included in the 101 Airbnb guest review examples that you can use and edit accordingly.
- (guests name) was a pleasure to host! They left the place clean and were quiet throughout the weekend. We had great contact and I look forward to having them stay with me again!
- I loved having (guest name) because they were able to treat the place with respect, have a great time and enjoy the area. They were awesome with renting the space and I hope I get to host them again.
- All of my house rules were respected with (guest name) and they were able to come and go with ease. I loved having them there as they were respectful and quiet. I highly recommend them to others!
- (Names) were absolutely wonderful guests to host. I just knew that my home was in good hands with them. Thank you for staying at (name of property)!
- (Name) and his/her boyfriend/girlfriend were brilliant guests! A friendly and polite couple who knows how to take great care of other people’s property. I would most certainly host them again and similarly would recommend them to other hosts.
- We had a great experience hosting (name). The communication was pleasant and smooth at all times. Also, our house was left in perfect condition. We hope that he/she will come back in the future!
- It was a pleasure hosting (name) and her/his family. They were excellent guests: pleasant to communicate with, very attentive and looked after our home perfectly. We are grateful for their visit, and they are certainly welcome back.
- Our experience with (names) was amazing. They are very friendly and easy-going people. On top of that, they left our home spotlessly clean. We hope to host them again in the future!
- We got to host (name) for his/her first Airbnb experience and he/she was the ideal guest! We would gladly host her again and can only recommend him/her to any Airbnb host.
- We had a great time hosting (name) and his/her friends. Easy-going people, considerate and respectful of their surroundings. Would gladly host them again and can recommend them to other hosts.
You can scroll down to the bottom of the page to download the full list of the 101 Airbnb guest review examples.
How to write a negative guest review on Airbnb
For every guest that you’ll have a gleaming review to share, you’ll have to be prepared for the negative ones too. Having solid vacation rental house rules will help ensure that your guests respect your home, but nothing is guaranteed.
Not every stay is going to be the best, and it’s important that you share your honest opinion. With that in mind, honesty still needs to come with politeness – and professionalism!
Here are 10 examples of negative Airbnb guest reviews to build from. Ideally, you should customize them to directly mention the problem or issue. If you’re leaving a negative guest review on Airbnb, you need to be specific about why, so use these examples as an outline, but be sure to amend them as you see fit.
- I wouldn’t recommend hosting this guest. The guest broke the locks of the off-limit storage area of the house, which was explicitly stated in the welcome book that the storage room was not for guest use.
- Our check-out time is at 11 AM, but guests decided to stay until 3 PM. The house was very unorganized when they did finally check out, causing us to have to push back our next reservation. I wouldn’t recommend these guests as it might affect your other reservations, as it did ours.
- Guests disrespected our Airbnb rules by throwing a house party and having five additional visitors stay in the Airbnb. When we issued an additional cleaning fee for the mess, the guest left a one-star review. Do not host this guest.
- I will not be hosting this guest in the future. After banging on all the neighbors’ doors at midnight, we received a fine from the homeowner’s association.
- I regret having to leave a negative review, but I do not recommend hosting this guest at all. (Guest name) was polite in the beginning but did not comply with any of our house rules, such as house parties, locking the door when leaving, and our no pets policy.
- Despite (names) being friendly and polite, I was disappointed in the condition that they left the house in. They left dirty dishes in the kitchen and there were broken glasses in the sink. On top of that, I had complaints from the neighbors saying they were playing excessively loud music late at night. I wouldn’t recommend hosting them.
- Although (name) had made an obvious effort to clean up after themselves, there were a number of damaged items, including an expensive piece of art that was hanging in the living room. For this reason, I am leaving a two-star review.
- This guest didn’t follow the house rules sent to them and was overall quite disruptive. I found trash throughout the house and it was obvious that someone had been smoking indoors. I recommend not hosting this guest.
- I would be wary of hosting this guest again in the future due to the poor condition they left the property in. Although my staff did an excellent job of cleaning up after (name), it wasn’t their responsibility to clean the dishes and take out the trash.
- This is the second time that (name) has stayed with us; however, we were surprised to hear that they had a number of unauthorized guests staying with them. We had no issues the first time around, but we recommend emphasizing your house rules if you decide to host them.
As you’ll note from these Airbnb review samples, it’s vital that you’re firm and to the point. However, it’s equally important to be respectful, professional, and calm. Don’t write it in the heat of the moment, because you may end up saying something that you regret that makes you look bad.
Airbnb guest reviews are important for you, your business, guests, and other hosts, so it’s important to take the time and effort to write thoughtful reviews.
Feel free to use these Airbnb guest review samples to help you, but remember that the more information you include, the better. If you have any review templates or examples that have worked particularly well for you, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
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