19 Sep Airbnb Reviews: How to Best Handle Negative Guest Reviews

Airbnb blesses me 95% of the time with polite and sensible guests. The rare occurrences do happen once in a while. When it does happen, how do you handle it? In this post, let me show you from my experience what to do and not to do.

Airbnb Reviews: What Not To Do

In my tenure as an Airbnb Host, I have received 50 reviews up-to-date. Here is the breakdown: 40 reviews are 5-star, 8 reviews are 4-stars, and 2 reviews are 3-stars. Luckily, I have never gotten a score below 3-stars.

Your reviews are the 3rd most important factor that a guest will consider before booking. So, how you handle your negative reviews will give off a certain impression. In this case, how do you turn something bad into something good? Let’s explore this further.

Tip #1- Do Not Be Offensive

An offensive host leaves a bad first impression. Put yourself in the guest’s shoe. You come across a review where a previous guest left. You then see the host goes on attacking the previous guest. How does that make you feel as a potential guest? You’re probably wondering if you would get the same harsh treatment…

The screenshot below is the perfect example of what I mean.

Just to quickly summarize it: Stephan was the guest and Clara was the host. Wow, that was very intense. Clearly, the host went on an offensive to attack the guest. A big no-no, regardless.

Tip #2- Do Not Be Defensive

It is similarly important that we do not go on the defensive. When you defend yourself against a negative review, it only validates the truth of the review. What if the review was a lie? Perhaps what is more important is that you do not want to leave a bad first impression. Leave your emotions out of the review. Remember this is a business and should be treated like a business.

Airbnb Reviews: What To Do

This is my routine for analyzing a less than a 5-star review. You are welcome to borrow it, or better yet, modify it and make it your own!

Tip #3 – Reflection

I hit the pause button anytime I receive a 4-star review or less and take some time to reflect on them to see if there are any hidden truths behind it. I for one, value negative reviews. It is only through a bad review, can you start your progress to become a better host.

Tip #4 – Be Positive

There is no point in adding more negativity to an already negative review. Besides, negativity layers a bad first impression. You want your potential guests to know that you are a positive host and positive hosts generally get more bookings.

Tip #5 – Own It

From this review, I learned a couple of new things. First, the numbering was confusing to her, so I should have provided an exact location for the unit. Second, I should leave my street light on for guests that arrive late. My business motto; own it and move on.

Tip #6 – Spin the Negative Airbnb Review

If you had noticed about my example above, I thanked her for her compliments, but more noticeably, I acknowledged the areas that I could improve on, specifically by providing more exact details regarding the location of the apartment.

Last Words

It is easy to take a negative review to heart and feel down. I take each negative review as a chance to learn and be a better host.

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