How to Get Better Airbnb Ratings

Airbnb ratings are one of the most critical aspects of your listing. Without consistently high ratings, Airbnb will not rank you very highly in their search results and your occupancy rate will suffer because of it. 

There are two types of Airbnb reviews: when guests review hosts and when hosts review guests. Airbnb reviews affect both parties tremendously. A guest rating determines whether that guest will be able to secure bookings in the future. A host review will determine whether other potential guests want to book the property in question or not.

A guest rating is as important as an Airbnb host rating, just for different reasons. An Airbnb host should look at guest ratings to ascertain if they want this person to stay in their listing. An Airbnb guest should look at host reviews to decide whether they want to book this host’s property or not. A poor or nonexistent rating is not a good sign for either Airbnb hosts or guests.

As a team of experienced Airbnb hosts, we know a thing or two about running a successful listing and getting lots of Airbnb reviews. This week, we wanted to develop and publish our simple yet effective list of foolproof ways to get better ratings!

Ways to Get Better Airbnb Reviews and Star Ratings

1. Start Off on the Right Foot

As an Airbnb host, you want your guest’s experience with your listing to be smooth and hassle-free. This starts at the moment they enquire about a booking, not just when they walk through the door. The first moment that they make contact with you, you’ll need to put your host hat on and make sure you’re as helpful and accommodating as possible. 

It might be tempting to turn your nose up at little requests like a late check-out or an early check-in but put yourself in your guests’ position. Imagine you are catching a flight at night and check-out from your Airbnb is at 11 am. This will usually cause guests a fair amount of anxiety and if you can help fix their problem, you’ll be in the good books before they even check in!

2. Ensure Your Listing Page is Updated

The fastest way to get yourself a bad review is to promise things you don’t have. Never add amenities to your listing that you do not have. It takes two minutes to update your listing information. If your jacuzzi is broken, take it off your amenity list until it is fixed.

You never know if someone has booked your listing simply for that jacuzzi. It would be really bad to get an Airbnb review saying that you promised amenities that you couldn’t deliver.

3. Clean, Clean, and Then Clean Some More

Airbnb hosts tend to agree that cleanliness has never been more important to guests. Of course, people want to stay in clean accommodation but with COVID, hosts now need to ensure that everything isn’t just tidy, it’s really, properly clean. A written review stating that your property isn’t clean is going to be very hard to shake.

There is a special section for guests to review your cleanliness. This alone should encourage you to up your game and ensure everything is spotless.

4. Be Available

Unpredictable things happen and as a host, you need to be available in case your guests need you. Of course, this expectation only exists within reason. Guests should only contact you in an emergency and you should be available if they need you. 

Giving your guests your phone number when you check in is a good way to show them that you do want them to contact you if something is wrong! Some hosts don’t exude that welcome feeling and if you want a five-star review, show your guests that you are not one of those hosts.

5. Leave Little Treats

Airbnb guests appreciate it when hosts leave added extras. These added extras help prompt guests to leave favorable Airbnb reviews. ‘Added extras’ include anything from fresh cookies, to a bottle of wine, to breakfast goodies and everything in between!

6. Price Fairly and Competitively

Pricing is another sticking point for guests. If you’re charging higher prices, guests will expect a premium experience. On the flip side, if you charge lower prices, guests will not expect lower standards. It’s one of the hardest parts of being a short-term rental host! 

With dynamic pricing tools like DPGO, your prices will be optimized according to the market environment, but this does not mean that they will be sky-high. Our price recommendations are meant to ensure that you get a booking, without sacrificing on earnings. If you want to try DPGO, click on the banner below!

7. Rate Your Guests

Once your guests have checked out, be sure to rate them! If they weren’t planning on doing the same, giving them a rating might prompt them to give you a quick review. One rule of thumb – never ask for a five-star review. You can send out an automated email after checkout where you request that they take five minutes to give you a rating, but never ask for a specific review.

Writing the Perfect Airbnb Review

When guests review properties, they usually just speak about their experiences. When hosts write Airbnb reviews, they need to inform future hosts about the type of guests. Hosts rarely leave bad reviews, and this is because of the way that Airbnb reviews work. The fear of a bad Airbnb review as retaliation for an honest guest review is a real concern for some hosts.

Online reviews can be tricky to write, but if you hit the following markers and include the following guidelines, you’ll have five-star reviews in no time!

Neutral, Professional Language

We strongly recommend keeping reviews as professional as possible. Even if the guest is not welcome in your listing again, stick to the facts and be as restrained as possible in your use of language. And no, we don’t mean THAT type of language!

Stick to the Facts

No good can come from lying in your guest reviews. Just be 100% honest, recall the events in a factual manner, and stick to the story. Instead of embellishing the truth, suggest improvements on how the guests could behave better at their next chosen listing.

Avoid Getting Personal

Levying a personal attack on your previous guests is not a good look. Some potential future guests could be reading these reviews, and they might avoid your listing due to the overly personal nature of your reviews. Plus, divulging too much information, like booking details, about your guests can get you in trouble with Airbnb directly!

Be Cognisant of What You’re Writing

Bad reviews tend to follow you. The Airbnb rating you give to a guest can essentially prohibit them from ever using the platform again with that account. Of course, you want to warn your fellow hosts about a few recent horror stories and bad guests but some things should be kept to private feedback channels, like with Airbnb Support.

Time the Publishing of Your Review

Review retaliation is real and we’ve seen plenty of listings ruined by lies posted in retaliation for a poor guest review. You can get bad reviews removed by Airbnb, but by all accounts (and as a former Airbnb host), we all know how complex that process can be.

How Can DPGO Help?

We know a thing or two about optimized short-term rental operations and we’d love to help you take your business to the next level! DPGO is an AI-driven dynamic pricing engine that takes the pain out of manual pricing updates, pricing strategy development, discounts, seasonal adjustments, and more. You give us your pricing framework (minimum and maximum price, minimum stay requirements, seasonal percentage adjustments, and any discounts you want to offer) and we do the rest! Never worry about your pricing strategy again with DPGO – we’re always here to help!