Airbnb Guest Experience

How to Get 5-Star Airbnb Reviews

Guests trust other guests. Because of this, a steady stream of 5-star Airbnb reviews can highly affect a guest’s decision to book your short-term rental over another in a competitive market. It’s crucial to understand the importance of reviews and how you can provide guest stays worthy of five stars.

by The Turno Team

Why 5-Star Airbnb Reviews Matter

“With more than 90% of consumers consulting reviews before they land on a decision, digital word of mouth is more critical now than ever.”

Futurestay

Airbnb reviews are essential in building your credibility as a host, helping to reassure guests they are making a wise decision booking with you. In turn, receiving a 5-star rating is what every host aims for.

Below, discover the top reasons why positive Airbnb reviews are valuable.

1. Ranking

The more positive reviews you have as a host, the higher you will rank in Airbnb’s search results. A higher ranking means increased visibility and bookings for your short-term rental.

2. Superhost Status

A host needs to have an overall rating of 4.8 stars or above based on at least more than 10 stays in the past 12 months to obtain and retain Superhost status. In other words, it is important to have positive reviews and maintain them.

3. Upgrade

You can use reviews to your advantage and as information for improving and upgrading your vacation rental.

Reviews allow you to get feedback on amenities, communication, and many other aspects of a guest’s stay. You can then take this feedback and improve the quality and functionality of your short-term rental home.

4. Trust

In the short-term rental industry, trust is earned, not freely given. It is earned by having authentic reviews to showcase in your listing.

Positive guest reviews from previous guests help prospective travelers gain trust and encourage them to choose your listing. Reviews will communicate to others that an experience staying at your vacation rental would be worthwhile.

How to Get 5-Star Reviews from Your Guests

Discover some of the top suggestions you can follow to encourage satisfied customers to spend a few moments submitting a review of their stay.

Ask Nicely

The first step to a good review: ask.

If you’re confident that a guest had a good experience in your rental, ask them to leave a review. Get in touch with the guest soon after checkout to thank them for staying at your rental. Let them know that you would love to read about their time at your property in the form of a review.

OTAs like Airbnb and Vrbo allow you to send messages to guests through their platforms, but if you requested a guest’s email or phone number, you can request a review through those routes.

“Consider reviewing all of your guests, so that they receive an email with your review and feel compelled to offer one for you in return. If you’d like to be even more proactive than that, consider offering a checkout message to your guests asking them to provide feedback on their experience.

By offering multiple checkpoints to your guests, you will set yourself up to have the best chance of success in obtaining reviews.”

– Futurestay

Make Your Guests Feel at Home

Making guests feel welcome at your property helps them feel comfortable and at home. One way to make guests feel welcome is to leave a welcome note.

Leaving a short welcome note for the guest upon entry is an easy and thoughtful gesture. If you cannot drop off a note every time a new guest checks in, you can simply send them a message upon check-in asking if they are finding the accommodations to be satisfactory.

young woman using automation software on her phone

Provide Local Tips

By giving guests suggestions for places to go in the area, they will, in turn, have a better experience, and this will reflect in your rental reviews.

Some hosts provide information on their listing with suggested activities, restaurants, and sites in the area. Some hosts leave a guidebook in the home for guests to peruse during their stay. You can even go to local businesses to get coupons or discounts for your guests to use. These could be for restaurants or activities in your area.

Hold Cleanliness to the Highest Standard

One of the major things that hosts receive bad reviews for is a dirty vacation rental. Having a clean property is very important for the guests’ quality of stay and helps ensure that you, as a host, receive a 5-star Airbnb review. This includes clean dishes, linens, appliances, and more.

As a host, finding a reputable vacation rental cleaner that you trust to do a great job cleaning your rental can be a difficult task on its own. Once you have found a cleaner, it can be difficult to keep up with the scheduling of upcoming turnovers. Luckily, this problem can be solved by connecting with vacation cleaners through Turno.

Female janitor with vacuum cleaner in room

Remember: Communication Is Key

Good communication is key in establishing the trust of guests and gaining 5-star reviews. Responding quickly to guests’ inquiries will reflect positively on your hosting style as well as on your property.

The quality of communication is also important. When communicating with guests, you want to remain positive and friendly.

Don’t Deceive

In some cases, guests feel that a vacation rental looks different than what they were expecting. Ways to avoid this include taking professional pictures of your property, not exaggerating about what your home has to offer, and not leaving key information out of your listing description.

“Ensure that your listing is accurate. It’s important to manage expectations of your property. Nothing is worse than booking an all-inclusive stay and getting to a place with no sheets or towels.”

– Futurestay

5-Star Experiences Make for 5-Star Airbnb Reviews

“You know how to get reviews now, but it’s also critical to do what you can to ensure these reviews will be glowing accounts of a stay at your property.

For example, consider personalizing your guests’ experience by meeting them for check-in or sending a message an hour after they’ve arrived to ensure everything is going smoothly. These small, personal touches will go a long way toward showing your guests that you are deserving of their 5-star Airbnb reviews.”

– Futurestay

On the other hand, no matter how much effort you put into pleasing your guests with quality service, bad reviews can happen. As discouraging as they may be, every host should understand how to respond to negative reviews.