How many times can I follow up for a review?

[Paige208]

Hello all,

We are fairly new and have had roughly 6 bookings thus far. We go above and beyond for our guests because frankly, that’s how we would want to be treated. So it’s  frustrating when guests have an awesome time and verbalize it to us but don’t leave a review. I even add verbiage on check out saying we would be super appreciative for your review. My question is how many times can I follow up for a review? I’m thinking once, I don’t want to come off desperate or pushy, although at the moment I am a bit desperate for reviews so we can get more established 😄

Thanks all!

[Sarah977]

@Paige208  Guests are sent notifications to review by Airbnb just as hosts are. There's nothing wrong with mentioning to guests that you'd really appreciate it if they took a few minutes to leave a review, especially as you are newish and trying to build up reviews. It's also a good idea to let them know that the review window is only 14 days,, which seems like plenty of time, but some guests seem to be unaware of this, and it's easy to forget if they don't do it soon after their stay.

More than one message from a host about this would feel intrusive and coersive to many guests and could easily backfire. They'll either review or they won't.

[Josiane160]

@Sarah977 and @Paige208 Thank you so much for both question and answer. My husband and I just started this venture in November and we have had a few guests. The first two were amazing and gave us brilliant reviews, so we thought we were great 🙂 The third communicated to us he was happy but never gave us a review. I was bothered and wanted to message him, but my husband told me to let it go. The guest had received the request for a review and had either forgotten it or neglected it. I let it go (not, obviously) so I came here to seek some wisdom. Which you ladies gave me. Thank you so much. 

[Marissa156]

@Paige208 

Hi! We’re newish as well and have about a dozen reviews and each time after checkout, I get anxious for that review to come in. There’s certainly a behavioral element to this that’s almost a bit of a gamification—as a person eager to please and do well, I want that next gold star! But in the end, 5 good reviews versus 15, I don’t think it’ll really changes the traction and revenue you’ll get. And you will get there even if one or two people don’t end up reviewing. So in my opinion, I’d say no follow up if you already share a checkout message and Airbnb sends prompts too.