All About Reviews: A Community Help Guide

[Dave-and-Deb0]

-----------------Update June 5th 2017--------------------

An updated version of this Community Guide is now available, click here to view.

-----------------------------------------------

One of the most popular topics on the Community Center is reviews.  I have created this Community Help Guide to hopefully answer the most common questions and issues in one place.  If you have any other information you wish to share on the topic of reviews, please share them by responding to this post.  You can find my other Community Help Guides here and if this help you, feel free to give a thumbs up below! 

How do reviews work?

Approximately 24 hours after your guests checks out, you and your guest will have an opportunity to review each other on your experience.  Once the reviews are written, the guests review will be published to your profile and your review of the guest will be published to their profile.

When can a host or guest leave a review?

Airbnb will send an email approximately 24 hours after the guest checks out which will include a button with “Leave a Review” in it.  You click on this and it will take you to your Airbnb account where you can review your guest.

How can I write a review for a guest?

When you get your email or notification, click on the "Leave a Review" button and this will take this to the "review" section of your account.  

Here is what the email looks like:

You can also go to your review section on your account and your review opportunity will be there.  Take a look at the image below where it says "Reviews By You".  There is a "1" beside it showing that I have one review to write.  Click on where it says, "Reviews By You"

You will then have an opportunity to write you review for your guest by selecting "Write a Review".

Once you choose "Write a Review", you will be taken to the page below.  Fill in the boxes and choose your star ratings for the guest (1 being poor and 5 being excellent).  The "Describe Your Experience" section is what will be posted publicly on your guest's profile but the private guest feedback only goes to the host.  You can then give a thumbs up or down depending if you would recommend this guest to other hosts (I believe this comes into play with your Instant Book settings).  Once this is all entered and you have checked for errors, you can then click "Submit".

After you submit your review, you will be taken to a page to provide private feedback to Airbnb.  Enter feedback if you wish and then click "submit".

You will then get a confirmation page.  Click next and you are done providing your review.

What can I not say or do in a review - Review Guidelines

Your reviews of a guest or a guest’s review of you must fall within Airbnb Review Guidelines:

They don't allow:

• Reviews that do not represent a user’s personal experience .
• Reviews unrelated to the actual reservation (ex: political, religious, or social commentary).
• Content that endorses or promotes illegal or harmful activity or violence, or is profane, vulgar, obscene, defamatory, threatening, or discriminatory.
• Content that violates another person’s or entity’s rights, including intellectual property rights and privacy rights (ex: publishing another person’s full name, address or other identifying information without permission).
• Content that is proven to be used as extortion.
• Content that refers to an Airbnb investigation.

For full details of the review guidelines, visit https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/262/what-are-airbnb-s-review-guidelines

How long after I leave a review will it be published?

This depends on whether or not you have already reviewed the guest.  You and your guest have 14 days to leave a review for each other.  Once you and your guest leave a review for each other, the review is posted immediately.  If you leave a review for your guest but they do not reviewed you, your review will automatically be published after the 14 day period expires.  

I had a guest who did not seem pleased.  If I do not leave the guest a review, can his/her review show up?

Yes, if the guest provides a review for you, their review will either show up when you post your review or after the 14 day review period ends.

How can I get a guest to provide a review?

For some guests, it does not matter what you do, they will not provide a review.  It could be that they are too busy or they are not good with technology.  So besides the guests who will not review you, how do you get the rest of the guests to review you?

Well, first of all, Airbnb sends out reminders to the guests to provide a review so hopefully this prods them to review you.

The first thing I do is write my review and then I send them a message through the Airbnb messaging system thanking them for their stay.  I then paste in my review for them to read and ask them to take the time to review me.  I also mention the importance of reviews and that usually reviews are the deciding factor when prospective guests book so their review would be greatly appreciated.

Here is an example:

Hi Adele,

Hope you enjoyed your stay. I just wrote you a review and would appreciate it if you could write me one as well.

“Here is what I wrote: "Although I did not get a chance to meet Adele, her communication was great.  Adele and her friend were excellent guests who left the suite in impeccable shape.  I would host Adele again and would recommend her in a heartbeat.  I look forward to meeting you on your next trip to Edmonton. “

Thanks again for choosing to stay with us Adele and I hope you are feeling better.

The other thing I do is send them a reminder text message about three days before the 14 day deadline.

Can a guest who cancelled leave a review?

A guest who cancels cannot leave a review for you.  For more information, visit https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/368/can-i-leave-a-review-for-a-canceled-reservation

Can a guest who never showed leave a review?

Yes and No!  If a guest never shows up and does not cancel their reservation, there is no way of Airbnb knowing if the guest checked in or not.  You can still leave a review for the guest which could be something like, “Name was unable to stay during his scheduled reservation.  Throughout our transaction, he/she had great communication and I look forward to hosting this guest on any future trips”.

If a guest leaves you a negative review but never set foot in your listing, you should contact Airbnb to see if you can have the review deleted or modified to only show the guests experience such as communication since they cannot really accurately comment on the other categories.   

I have a review but I don’t see my star rating

You need to be reviewed three times before the star ratings will appear on your listing.  For more information, visit https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/13/how-do-reviews-work

How can I see what I have received for star ratings under each category?

You can see your overall star ratings by viewing your live listing and scrolling down to your reviews at the bottom of your listing

To get detailed reviews on star ratings for each category, click on the “Stats” section of your account and find the “Ratings by Guests” section.  You can then click on each category to see more detailed stats.  In order to figure out what each guest provides for stars, you will need to check this each time after a review and compare this to the previous time you checked.

What can I do if someone leaves a negative review that is untrue?

Airbnb states, “Our community relies on honest, transparent reviews. We will remove or alter a review if we find that it violates our review guidelines.”

Become familiar with the review guidelines and if the guest violates any of these, contact Airbnb and see if they will remove the review.  They may remove a part of the review or the entire review.  I believe it is important to keep all communication through the Airbnb messaging system so if I find myself in this situation, I can back it up with messages to or from the guest.  

The more information you have to back up the false review, the better chance of having the review deleted or modified.  Also see below on how to respond to a bad review left by a guest.

How do I leave a review for a bad guest or respond to a bad review left by a guest?

Please visit Deborah's great article that covers this at the GlobalHosting Forum & Blog: “How to write a review for a bad guest (or respond to review)” .  While your there, take a few minutes and sign up as there is a wealth of information and a go to place for experienced hosts (and it's FREE)

What if I made a mistake on a review?

There does not seem to be a firm answer to this but my suggestion is always to contact Airbnb and see if they can edit the review for you.  Some hosts have had success with this while others have not.  It really comes down to what type of editing you need done and which customer service agent handles your phone call.  My advice is to proofread your review three times before submitting it.

Can I respond to a review?

Airbnb provides a chance for you to respond to a review that was written about you BUT you only have 14 days to leave the response.  Also note that once you submit your response, it is applied immediately and cannot be edited so ensure you have proofread your response before submitting it.  For more information on responses to reviews, visit https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/367/can-i-reply-to-a-review

I respond to all my reviews and usually thank the guest for taking the time to provide a review and I tell them that I look forward to their return.

A common thing I see on the Community Center is hosts complaining about receiving a negative review from a guest and they then provide a lengthy response to that review often in an argumentative response.  If hosts are responding to a negative review, I encourage sticking to the facts and make it brief.  Often times the guest leaves quite a good review and by responding to the negatives, they are making the issue bigger than it may be for any future prospective guest to see.  If you are brief and don’t harp on the negative, the review will likely be buried in short time.  Let your great reviews speak for you!

One other note, if a guest provides negative private feedback, DO NOT respond to this in your response to a review as this will then make that issue public for prospective guests to see.

Can I leave a response to a response?

No!  Once you write your review and a guest responds, that is the end of the discussion.  You cannot respond to a response.   

I have people stay with me but not through Airbnb.  Can they provide me a review?

People who have stayed with you outside of Airbnb cannot provide you with a review BUT they can provide you with a reference.  For more information, check out this Help Guide: References

Can I transfer reviews from another site to Airbnb?

No but if you have your previous guests email or are friends with them on Facebook, you can have them provide a reference for you.  For more information, check out this Help Guide: References

Can I transfer my reviews to another account?

Some people have sold their house or want to transfer their reviews to another account.  Although reviews are about a particular listing, they are not tied to that listing but to your account.  If you sell your house or want someone else to run your listing for you, they would need to create their own account and make a new listing.  If you want someone to run your listing for you but keep your reviews, you would need to give them access to your account which could be very risky.

How can I respond to private feedback that a guest provided?

Guests have an opportunity to provide private feedback which will not be displayed in the review.  You cannot respond to this feedback through the review process but you can respond to it using the Airbnb messaging system.

If I delete a listing, will I lose my reviews?

You will not lose your reviews if you delete a listing as the reviews are tied to your account.  Airbnb states, “Past reviews of your listing will remain on your public profile—they cannot be removed.”  For more information on deleting your listing, you can check out this Help Guide: Delete A Listing(Deactivate)

I have an automated review that says, “The host cancelled this reservation __ days before arrival.  This is an automated posting.”  Why is that there and how can I get it removed?

This automated review is placed on your account because you likely cancelled on a guest and this is one of the penalties for cancelling on a guest.  To see other penalties for cancelling on a guest, visit https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/990/how-do-host-cancellation-penalties-work

You can contact Airbnb to see about the possibility of getting the review removed but this is usually for extenuating circumstances

Can I edit a review?

Yes and no.  When you write a review, you have 48 hours to edit your review UNLESS the guest has already written a review, a guest writes a review during the 48 hours editing time or the 14 day review period ends.  If you are wanting to edit a review that is already published, you could contact Airbnb and see if they will edit the review you wrote but this seems to be inconsistent.

What happens if the hosts or guest misses the 14 day deadline?

After 14 days, all reviews written will be published and you have lost the opportunity to provide a review.

What if I do not receive an email or notification to review a guest?

If you do not receive an email or notification to review a guest, contact Airbnb and they can usually fix this issue.  There have been some reports of some people being notified a couple days after checkout.

If you have any other tips, comments, or suggestions regarding reviews, please respond below and share with others.

Dave

[Jeet0]

@Dave-and-Deb0

Amazing work again Dave! This answers almost all questions related to reviews. If only there was a way that such Posts were highlighted or pinned to the top somewhere in the forum, it would be much convenient for new users to get their answers.

Kudos to you!

[Lizzie]

Fantastic guide @Dave-and-Deb0, thanks so much for creating this. 

@Jeet0, funny you should mention this, do take a look at the  Community Help Guides thread in the Getting Started board. Dave has created an amazing number of helpful guides on commonly asked questions here in the CC.

If you or anyone else would like to contribute to this board by creating your own guide or perhaps you have another idea for something you would like to create here please do go ahead and let me know. 🙂

[Jeet0]

Hey @Lizzie,

Wow, thanks for pointing me to this great collection of guides. My bad, I don't know how I missed it while browsing. Maybe if we can put it on the main Community Home Page, somehow, instead of Community Center >> Welcome >> Getting Started >> Community Help Guides, it'll gain more visibility and Hosts will be able to resolve their issues on their own, especially when so many questions are repetative.

I'll definitely try to contribute to these guides.

🙂

Jeet

[Lizzie]

Thanks @Jeet0, yes I agree this board could do with a little more visiblity. I am hoping the updated design changes we are working on at the moment for the CC, will help to address this. Please do spread the word on the Help Guides thread to others. 🙂

Also, just to highlight I have now featured this guide on the homepage.

[Zoë2]

Will the guest see the thumbs up thumbs down feedback? My guest arrived and then left to stay with a friend. I don't know if he had a good reason or if this is typical. I would like to give him a thumbs down because he cancelled with no notice.

[Clare0]

@Dave-and-Deb0 Once again, you ROCK!  Will book mark for future use!

[Aaron12]

Hey @Dave-and-Deb0, truly a fantastic post!

I was wondering if you had any insight on the following hypothetical scenario:

In the event that a guest has damaged a few items-> I claim to keep some of the damage deposit -> airbnb mediates-> keeps the damage deposit -> guest reviews me but leaves a negative review because they're unhappy about being caught-> guest rates me let's say 2/5 stars because they got pinned for the damage -> I ask airbnb to remove the review because according to the Review Content Policy "Reviews cannot contain content that refers to an Airbnb investigation." -> Airbnb removes the review and now my question

Will Airbnb also negate the guests low star rating?

In the event I was actually a superhost, I would be very hesitant to even claim a damage deposit on a guest if I knew that it might result in them negatively rating me, thus me losing my badge. What would you do? Shouldn't airbnb negate all reviews AND ratings for guests and hosts involved in an investigation?

I've submitted this question to airbnb as well so if I find out before you I'll post it in here 🙂

Thanks!

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Aaron12,

According to Airbnb, "whenever a review is blocked the star rating is also blocked".

So if you have this situation happen to you, contact Airbnb, provide them with the reservation number and they will have a look at it for you.

Dave

[Jess45]

Hai, my following 2 guest review on May 2017 did not show up on my listing but only show at my profile and I would like to have the review show up at my listing please. Thanks 

[Maria-Lurdes0]

I wonder if Airbnb is starting to work on revealing guests star ratings in some way?  I had a survey yesterday that I didn't pay enough attention to the first slide of, but a lot of the questions were about guests and star ratings like "what if the guest had consistent 4 stars for cleanliness" or something like that.

If that's the case, I think a lot of guests are going to be surprised by their star rankings!

[Sara2]

Thanks Dave and Deb I will print it out

what happens if a guest seems sweet and nice and has not broken anything etc but seems to have mental or drug related issues that you don't want guest to see but maybe other hosts or ABB should be aware of?

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Sara2,

There would be no way of letting a future host know unless you put it in the public review which I would not do.  You can let Airbnb know by completing the box after you review the guest (see image below).  I am not sure what they do with these comments though.

Dave

[Susie5]

That is my question - what does Airbnb do with those comments? are they shared with the guests? future hosts? etc.  

[Caroline51]

Will I be notified during the 14 day period that a guest has left a review for me?  I've always written guest reviews immediately, and then whenever the guest writes his/her review I'm notified that both reviews have been posted.  So I've never been in a situation where guests has reviewed me before I've reviewed them, and I'd just like to know if I'll be notified they've written a review before my 14 day opportunity to post my own review has expired.  This is an awkward situation because it's my first unpleasant experience with an Airbnb guest, and they know I was upset about the way they behaved in my home.  I'd rather not review them at all -- but if they leave a review for me I have a feeling it'll be peremptorily defensive/negative.  In which case I'll regret not writing a review to state the facts from my point of view.  Ugh!