As a host, you know the bread and butter of success in the short-term rental industry is securing those coveted 5-star reviews. In fact, how many positive reviews you have is one of the most important elements Airbnb’s algorithm looks at when deciding where to show listings. The more 5-star reviews your property has, the higher it will rank in a guest’s search results. But how do you consistently get these reviews? Well, one of the easiest ways to earn guest reviews is by leaving reviews for your guests. Whether you’re a new host or a veteran looking to amp up your business, this blog post discusses the importance of hosts leaving reviews on Airbnb.
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
3 tips for getting reviews
Racking up those positive reviews is key to your success. Below are three simple and actionable ways to increase the number of reviews you have coming in.
1. Leave reviews to get reviews
First and foremost,leave reviews for your guests. When a host leaves a review for a guest, the guest receives a notification that the host has reviewed their stay. However, they cannot see the review immediately. In what is known as a “double-blind review system,” the Airbnb guest cannot read the review left about them until they’ve reviewed the property they stayed at or 14-days have passed. Typically, guests like to see what a host has written about them as soon as possible. Therefore, the sooner a host writes a review of a guest, the sooner they’ll receive a review in return.
2. Ask for reviews
Another way to earn reviews is to ask. In your post-stay message, kindly remind guests how important it is to review their stay with you.
Thank them for visiting, and say something along the lines of: “Thank you for staying at our home! It was a pleasure having you. If you enjoyed your stay, we would greatly appreciate it if you could leave a review. Reviews greatly impact our business, and every review makes a difference.”
Letting a guest know that their review matters may be the extra push they need to take the time to write one. If they had a great stay, they may be more inclined to write a review because they see firsthand that it helps you out as a host.
3. Remind guests to leave reviews
Guests have 14 days to leave a review. If 10 days have passed without a review, now is the perfect time to send a friendly reminder to the reviewer, asking them to recap and rate their stay.
Why should hosts leave reviews on Airbnb?
As you can see, leaving reviews for your guests is one of the primary ways to earn reviews yourself. As we mentioned, the more positive reviews you have, the better you will rank on Airbnb’s search results. In addition to keeping your calendar full and earning more, you’re also contributing to the community. Airbnb works because of the trust between hosts and guests. When you review a guest, you let other hosts know that this person is a great guest to host (or not!).
Automate with Host Tools
Personally sending a review request to every single guest is overwhelming. Frankly, nobody has time for that. That’s where Host Tools steps in. Let us automate your communication with your guests. This means you craft a review request message one time and never have to worry about it again. Ten days have passed, and you still haven’t received that review? We’ll automatically send a reminder.
Additionally, Host Tools can automatically review your guests. This means you can have a pre-determined rating and message that Host Tools sends after every check-out. Of course, you have the option to go in and pause it for any unforeseen circumstances. We’re here to make your life easier, and automated messaging is just one way we do it.
Final thoughts
Leaving and receiving reviews on Airbnb are instrumental parts of the experience. When you automate your review process with Host Tools, you not only increase your supply of positive reviews but also contribute to the Airbnb community in a meaningful way.
Host Tools provides an automated, unified calendar for short-term rental hosts, allowing you to seamlessly list on all major channels. Start your free trial today!
