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What Should An Airbnb Review Say?

If you’ve just wrapped up being a guest at an Airbnb, you may be wondering what your review about the Airbnb should say and maybe even how many stars you should leave. Another thing you may be thinking about is what will the Airbnb host say in their review about you. Well, don’t worry because we’ll also cover our tip on how you can get 5 stars on your next Airbnb review!

How was Your Airbnb Stay?

We’ve been hosts for 5 years and we know the most important thing about your review is to be honest about your experience. Don’t say that the place was great if it wasn’t. However, on the opposite side, your review shouldn’t exaggerate the negatives of the space either. If your review is inaccurate, the host can have it taken down, which isn’t helpful for you or for future guests. A few things to consider when writing your review is:

1. How was the check-in info? Was it clear and easy to understand?
2. When you arrived, did the space look the same as the pictures?
3. Was the description accurate & help you know what to expect?
4. Were there clear maintenance issues that need to be resolved?
5. How clean was the Airbnb?
6. If you had any issues, how responsive was the host?
7. How clear were the check-out instructions and were they excessive?

These are all things you should be thinking about when writing your Airbnb review for the host.

What Do the Airbnb Review Stars Mean?

Many guests think that the star rating on Airbnb reviews is similar to how the star ‘rating’ on hotels works. For example, you should only leave 5 stars on what would be a 5 star quality hotel. This is wrong and likely the biggest gripe from Airbnb Hosts. Here is an easy breakdown on the star ratings with an airbnb review:

• 5 Stars: The space was clean, listing was accurate, everything worked, and the host was responsive if there were issues
• 4 Stars: Any one-two of the following – space was unclean, listing was inaccurate, host was unresponsive, maintenance issues were not addressed
• 3 Stars: Any two-three of the above
• 2 Stars: This place should not be a rental
• 1 Star: The host should be in jail and the home burnt down

Another important thing is to give the host an opportunity to resolve any issues before your checkout. If you don’t tell them that there’s something impacting your stay, how are they supposed to help you during your trip? Many hosts will bend over backwards to help their guests. If they don’t, that’s your opportunity to let future guests know in your Airbnb review. How a host responds can help your 4 star stay turn into a 5 star experience!

What to NOT Say in Your Airbnb Review

Whatever you do, don’t tell the host that you’ll ‘leave a good review if ________’. You can’t threaten, extort, intimidate, or incentivize a host. Your Airbnb review will get reported and taken down quicker than you can say ‘give me a refund for a good review’. If you have a bad experience, you can ask for a refund, but for the love of god, don’t mention a review when you ask for a refund.

Like we mentioned earlier, make sure that your review is accurate and focuses on the space & your experience with the host. They can’t help it if your boyfriend broke up with you during your stay (It’s happened to guests of ours), or that your last ditch trip to save your marriage didn’t work out (some guests really overshare, lol). One of the easiest ways hosts can get a review taken down is if it includes info unrelated to the space.

Also, if you couldn’t make your trip for one reason or another, and the host didn’t give you a refund, don’t bother trying to leave a review (if the host is following their cancellation policy). The host will likely know that you didn’t stay in their place and your review will be taken down because Airbnb will determine that it isn’t relevant.

Here’s Airbnb’s Review Policy to make sure you’re not breaking any rules in your review

Example Airbnb Reviews:

5 Star Review:

_____’s check-in instructions were easy to follow and the space was clean & tidy when we arrived. The place looked exactly like the pictures. _____ was responsive with any questions we had. We would stay here again and recommend it to future guests.

4 Star Review:

_____’s space was easy to find. When we arrived the space was slightly dirty. Otherwise it was a nice space and in a convenient location.

3 Star Review:

_____’s check-in instructions were hard to follow and we had issues checking in. When we arrived, the space looked different than the photos with older uncomfortable furniture. But despite the initial issues we enjoyed the rest of our stay.

2 Star Review:

Avoid this space. The host was unresponsive to any of our issues or didn’t offer any solutions. The space was unclean and had some neglected maintenance issues. We couldn’t stay for our entire trip due to issues.

1 Star Review

We found a dead body inside, it may have been the last guest. Don’t book this place if you want to survive the night.

How to get a 5 Star Review for your Airbnb Stay

Here’s a tip on how to get a 5 star review for yourself. It goes without saying that you need to have followed the host’s instructions and rules. This absolutely won’t work if you left the place in a mess, you had a bunch of unauthorized guests, you smoked inside, or anything that is egregious.

This also only works if you had a good experience, because you don’t want to be a liar. Here’s your tip: Message the host after you leave them a review.

That’s it.

In the message, you’ll want to say thanks for letting you stay, that you enjoyed your time there, and that you just left them a 5 star Airbnb review for their space.

This simple message can overcome plenty of small issues and help ensure that you get a 5 star Airbnb review as a guest.

Now that you know how Airbnb reviews work, what they should say, and how to get a positive review yourself, you’re all set for your next Airbnb stay!