How to Write Airbnb Guest Reviews [Examples Included]

How to Write Airbnb Guest Reviews

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The more good host reviews you have, the more appealing your Airbnb listing will become to potential guests. Just like hosts, guests also use good reviews to decide which vacation rental property they should book. 

Though, why should you bother to create an Airbnb guest review if you can just focus on providing a brilliant guest experience in the first place? In reality, things work differently and you will have to take an extra step and write a review for your guest first. 

The challenge of writing, whether it’s your property listing or a review, is knowing where to start. That’s why we’ve created Airbnb review templates. These templates, along with the rules we’ve shared, will give the direction you need.

However, it’s easier said than done, and hosts might find themselves struggling to come up with a brief, yet comprehensive, review for their guests. Read on to find out how to create the best reviews that will improve your star rating and get you closer to becoming a Superhost.

Why Are Airbnb Guest Reviews Important?

Airbnb is a perfect example of how powerful social proof is. Hosts confess that they always look through reviews before they confirm a reservation. The same holds true for Airbnb guests who are certainly curious to know what experience they can expect if they decide to book with you.

Did you also know that your number of reviews influences your listing position on Airbnb? The more reviews you’ve received, the higher your listing’s SEO rankings and the more bookings you’ll get. 

Airbnb encourages both hosts and guests to leave reviews by sending prompts right after guests check out. Then, you will have 14 days to leave your feedback. To ensure impartial and honest comments, reviews are published only after you and your guests have completed them or after the 14-day period.

However, one challenge that you might face in your quest to grow the number of reviews is the fact that guests are reluctant to leave them. This is why it’s so important that you make the first move and write an Airbnb review for your guests. As soon as you leave a review, Airbnb will encourage them to provide their feedback by sending a notification.

By being proactive and allocating some time to share your feedback, you can increase the number of your reviews and win more reservations. Besides, you help your past guests to look more trustworthy in the eyes of other hosts, and this is something they will certainly appreciate.

Eight Rules of Writing Guest Reviews

To increase your chances of obtaining Superhost status, make sure to review each and every guest that books with you. It’s also best practice to respond to any reviews that have already been left by your guests.

You can use the following eight rules to simplify this “extra task” and ensure your reviews are informative, fair, and concise:

Wait a few days

Visit your property first and check that everything is in good order before writing a positive Airbnb guest review. This tactic is even more useful if something went wrong. 

If guests didn’t follow all the rules, wait for a few days. Then, once you’ve cooled off, you can begin to put your feedback into words.

Be positive and polite

Part of good Airbnb etiquette is to remain polite in all of your communication, even after your guests have checked out. Use your review as an opportunity to thank your guests (again) for staying at your rental. Your Airbnb guests will appreciate your gratitude and professionalism.

Keep it short (and sweet, if you can)

Make sure your reviews are based on the facts. They have to be accurate and honest. If you have minor suggestions (like “you could have taken the rubbish out”), you can mention them in private feedback instead of sharing it in a public review.

Make them helpful to future hosts

When you write a review, answer the questions that can tell other hosts about your experience of hosting your guests. For example, future hosts might be curious to know whether guests:

• Respected your house rules
• Left your property in a good condition
• Invited additional guests without your prior consent

It can also be a good idea to include a phrase like “highly recommended”, “really nice guest”, or “great time hosting” when you conclude your review. Other hosts will find this helpful as it will give them an idea of if you would host the guests again.

Build templates to save time

By creating templates for your reviews, you can put them together much faster. Templates will help a lot when you are on the go and need to leave a review or when you’re receiving a high volume of bookings.

Reply to all Airbnb reviews

Don’t leave your guests hanging once they’ve submitted a review for you. If a guest has taken the time to review you, always review them as soon as possible too. You might just secure yourself a word-of-mouth referral or a repeat guest.

Sometimes you may receive a negative review, but, regardless of what it says, you need to maintain a professional stance. Ignoring a review is definitely not the best strategy for dealing with bad Airbnb reviews. In fact, you can turn negative reviews to your advantage by applying special techniques.

Protect personal information

One of the most important aspects of the Airbnb guest review process is protecting your guests’ personal information. Of course, when writing an Airbnb guest review, you need to include some details, like the guest’s name, but, beyond that, you shouldn’t include anything else.

Focus on the positive

While it can be tempting for an Airbnb host to leave a guest a negative review, it’s usually not a good idea in the long run. Depending on your aim for the review, being too honest and writing a bad review for a bad guest can affect your ability to win future bookings.

It’s a better idea to focus on facts and share constructive feedback like whether your guests followed your house rules, check-in procedures, and if they were generally good guests or not.

Mini Checklist of What to Include in Your Reviews 

You don’t need to create personalized reviews for every guest. It’s a good idea to include similar details in each of your review templates such as the following basic details:

• Guest name (first name only)
• Positive descriptive words like “lovely couple”, “ideal guest”, “perfect guests”, “super friendly”, “quiet”, etc. 
• A recommendation or some sort of endorsement like “I will gladly host them again”, or “they were a pleasure to host”.

Review Templates and Examples for Airbnb Guest Reviews

As mentioned earlier, one of the top tips for growing your number of reviews is to create guest review templates. 

The first type of template you’ll want to create is for a 4 or 5-star review. In most cases, your Airbnb guests will be great people and you’ll want to leave them a good review as quickly as possible. 

Then, you’ll also want to create a template for an average guest and another for a 1-star hosting experience.

Here are some examples you can use:

Here are some examples you can use:

Template 1: [GUEST NAME] was very neat and clean. I would host him again and I highly recommend him as a great guest!

Template 2: [GUEST NAME] was a great guest. They took great care of my space and left it clean and tidy. I’d be glad to host [GUEST NAME] again.

Template 3: I loved having [GUESTS’ NAMES]! They treated the property with respect. They were awesome and I hope I get to host them again.

Template 4: I enjoyed hosting [GUEST NAME]. Our experience was smooth from the beginning to the end. I hope to have the opportunity to host them again!

Template 5: [GUEST NAME] was a pleasure to host. They followed my house rules and were perfect guests. I would happily host them again!

Template 6: Hosting [GUEST NAME] was very easy and stress-free. They were an ideal guest and followed my house rules so I would host this excellent guest again.

Template 7: It was a pleasure hosting [GUEST NAME]. They were great guests as shown by the other very positive reviews on their profiles. Overall, they were excellent guests.

Template 8: It’s easy to leave this positive review as [GUEST NAME] was a very nice guest. I enjoyed hosting her and appreciate the lovely message she left in my welcome book.

Automate Your Airbnb Guest Review Process

If you are looking to automate your work with reviews, vacation rental software offers a great solution. iGMS, for instance, allows managing and publishing of reviews automatically right from the software. There’s no need to log in to your Airbnb account.

The iGMS guest reviewing feature lets you build templates for guest reviews using predefined elements. You’ll also be notified about the number of days you have left to publish a review and the date on which a guest submits one for you. This is a simple and easy way to reduce the hassle of your Airbnb guest review management.

With a tool like iGMS, you can run your business with very little stress. Virtually every aspect of the Airbnb management process can be hassle-free. On top of its review automation, it also offers several other features to automate many of your routine tasks such as:

• Managing multiple accounts and listings on the top OTAs from a single interface
• Synchronizing reservations across multiple platforms to eliminate the risk of double-bookings
• Organizing messages into a single feed with a unified inbox
• Improving communication with automated templates and triggered messaging

Write Reviews Right: Polite and to the Point

When you take the effort to write reviews, you’re doing it for your business and your fellow hosts. It’s one of the few free ways to improve your ratings. It won’t cost you any money, just time.

Not only does your business depend on them, but also the Airbnb community. Your guest review will help other hosts decide whether or not to accept bookings from even the most fantastic guests. 

Before you post any review, read it again. As each review will also give guests insight into your professionalism, it’s best to keep reviews short and polite to build trust. No review, even if it’s negative, should be a personal attack on the guest.