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Guest Reviews: A Quick Guide to Writing a Review for Your Guest

Reviews have power in the vacation rental industry. Short-term rental hosts and guests on Airbnb and VRBO can judge your property based on the reviews they read. Providing feedback is essential to hosts and guests alike. Let's dig in a bit on the topic.

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By Karolyn Hutson

Published on January 7, 2023

Why are Host Reviews so Important?

Reviews and ratings are two of the most important aspects of online booking decisions. They provide constructive feedback and act as social proof for your property. Let’s see why good Airbnb host reviews are important:

  1.  Builds trust
    Being an Airbnb host, leaving a review, and responding to a review honestly make you a trusted, reliable, and respectable part of the host’s community. It means that you’ve earned enough ratings and continually reviewed your visitors, which will attract other guests to your property.
  2.  Make a good impression
    Another important consideration in reviewing your guests is the impression you leave on other guests. A host who takes the time to write a constructive and unbiased review for each of their vacationers will impress other bookings. It will prove your trustworthiness, and people will feel secure when reserving your vacation rental.
  3.  Help other hosts in accepting reservations
    Writing a good Airbnb host review for guests can help other hosts screen potential guests for their vacation rentals. This allows other hosts to view a profile and analyze what they were like, how they behaved with other hosts in the past, and what complaints are mentioned in the experience. If you’ve hosted on Airbnb before, you’re probably aware of the importance of reading other hosts’ reviews before deciding whether to accept a guest.
  4.  Profile and reputation damage control
    Airbnb host review-leaving option allows hosts to undertake some profile and reputation damage control by responding to the reviews of their guests. If a guest writes a negative review on your profile about their stay, you’ll have an opportunity to provide context to their critiques.

An Airbnb host who communicates with their guests long after they’ve left will undoubtedly pay attention to other aspects of the stay, such as cleanliness, reception, and communication. These minor things have a significant effect on the profile and future bookings.

How to respond to Airbnb guest reviews?

To submit your review,

  • Go to the “Reviews” section.
  • Click on the “Reviews about you.”

You can submit your review within 30 days of publishing by the guest.

Tips for writing a review for your guest

There’s a proper way of writing an Airbnb host review that looks professional and attracts future guests to book your place for their vacations. Think about your experience with the guest and consider the following tips for writing a review for your guest;

  1.  Be honest about whatever you experienced
    Being an Airbnb host, you must ensure that guests who stay at your rental receive an honest, accurate, and constructive review. Is there anything you felt that this shouldn’t have happened? Did they follow your house rules? Write everything formally. If you had a good experience with them, let other hosts know and make reservations easier for your fellow hosts.
  2.  Do you recommend them?
    Staying honest with your experience, answer the questions; Would you want them as your guests again? Do you have any concerns about referring this visitor to other hosts? If yes, mention it in your review. It’s important to let them know if you’d like them to return!
  3.  State the condition of your house
    In your review, mention the condition of your property after they left. Did they break the house rules you shared with them? was anything broken? Write the answer to the questions accurately.
  4.  What type of vacationers were they?
    You may also describe the kind of guests they were, such as partygoers, peaceful guests, or newlyweds, as well as their purposes for staying, such as a weekend vacation, family gatherings, or business meetings. Use words to describe them such as peaceful, friendly, pleasant, noisy, dirty, etc.

Remember that you have 30 days to write and publish a review after the guest leaves their feedback.

You don’t need to write a long Airbnb host review with lengthy paragraphs. It simply can be a comment to visitors which says, “Thank you for visiting my place” or “I’m glad you liked my house and were relaxed at my place.”

See a few examples below if you’re still confused about what to write, where to start, what things to consider when writing, and what format to choose.

5 positive Airbnb host review templates for your guest

If you’ve had a great experience with your guests and want to write it down. Refer to these templates. We can’t always write something new, so here, you can find 5 different Airbnb host review examples for positive reviews and keep rotating the words and sentences to make a new review each time.   These will just get you started. A variety of additional examples are provided in our host resource directory.

  • Template 1
    [Guestfirstname] was fantastic and very communicative. It was a pleasure hosting him and his friend(s). They left my place clean and organized. We’d love to welcome [Guestfirstname] at my rental again.
  • Template 2
    One of the fantastic guests I hosted. [Guestfirstname] and his wife [Guest2firstname] were peaceful and respectful. A very cheery couple. They left my property clean and tidy. [Guestfirstname] you’re welcome back anytime at my rental and any of the other properties. Highly recommended.
  • Template 3
    [Guestfirstname] was very courteous and polite. They were respectful of house rules. They left the place in perfect and spotless order. Hope to see them again. Recommended to other hosts as well.
  • Template 4
    I can’t even explain how great it was to host [Guestfirstname]. They were respectful towards our neighbors as well. If I could give [Guestfirstname] 10 stars, I would. I’d love to welcome him back anytime. I recommend this guest to every host out there.
  •  Template 5
    The group was very communicative, friendly, polite, and respectful of house rules.

5 negative Airbnb review templates for your guest

We agree that we can’t always have a positive experience with our guests. Sometimes, guests can be challenging. If you’ve had a bad experience with a guest and want to share, consider these 5 negative Airbnb host review examples.

  • Template 1
    [Guestfirstname] arrived with more guests than they mentioned in the conversation before the reservation. Guests were smoking in the flat, causing unpleasant smells for the following guests, even though smoking was explicitly forbidden within the residence. I would never recommend them to other hosts.
  •  Template 2
    I regret having to write this, but I wouldn’t recommend them to any host. They were very communicative in the beginning but didn’t stick to our house rules. Plus, they left the apartment in a mess. They should’ve cleaned the space.
  •  Template 3
    Communication was great, but various neighbors complained about the nuisance. They possibly had a party at my rental. I would contact Airbnb to block them.
  •  Template 4
    Everything was fantastic! They left the house clean, but before leaving, they should’ve closed the door – risking the apartment’s security. [Guestfirstname] please take care of this next time whenever you have a reservation with me next time.
  •  Template 5
    Not recommended! [Guestfirstname] left behind damages that must be repaired to the property. Moreover, we mentioned some expectations in the house rules for a reason. Unfortunately, [Guestfirstname] ignored these rules and had a party at my rental. This was a huge letdown for us. I will never host them again.

As you can see from these examples, being specific and to the point is very important. Being ill-intentioned can hurt your image as a host. Straightforwardly and briefly, explain why you would or would not suggest this visitor.

Written by

With over six years of short-term rental hosting experience, Karolyn has helped hundreds of guests have an enjoyable experience. I love writing and am passionate about real estate, hospitality, and photography. Karolyn holds a bachelor's degree in Journalism and enjoys sharing her experiences to help others.