Key Takeaways
Guest Reviews Help to Gain Superhost Status: They provide future guests vital information and insights about you as a host and your property. Additionally, good Airbnb guest reviews push you up on the listings.
Public Reviews Help to Maintain High Standards: Good Airbnb reviews can boost your property’s reputation.
Leaving Honest Reviews for Guests is Also Important: This helps to keep the quality and trust of the Airbnb platform and its community of users. These reviews can impact future guest behaviors and expectations.
Guest reviews on Airbnb play a vital role in the success of your short-term property rental. It demonstrates the experiences of both guests and hosts, giving valuable insight into the chosen accommodation and visitors who will be staying at the property.
For potential guests, it is a tool that allows them to review your rental property’s services, while for hosts, reviews of your property can serve as important validation and feedback to not only prove to other guests the descriptions and pictures about your rental but also to allow you to improve.
As Airbnb is one of the best vacation rental platforms, guest reviews are crucial and work in both directions: influencing someone’s booking decisions and giving the property manager the power to have a clearer understanding of who is the potential future guest.
How Guest Reviews and Ratings Work on Airbnb
The review that a guest leaves for your property on Airbnb serves many purposes. It helps with ranking your listing, giving you Superhost status, and ultimately reflects the success of your managed property.
According to a study by BrightLocal, a recent survey found that 82% of consumers read online reviews for local businesses, including short-term rentals. This means that a good review is crucial for your Airbnb’s success.
What is a Good Guest Review on Airbnb?
A good Airbnb guest review provides a complete and honest retelling of the guest’s stay. The review should highlight key points important to any guest, such as cleanliness, communication and interaction with the host, and most importantly, the host’s ability to resolve any unforeseen issues quickly. If a guest raves about their positive experiences and efficient responses to their needs and requests, the review will shine and stand out to future potential guests.
Here is a short and straightforward good Airbnb guest review example that leaves a wonderful impression and invites other potential guests to be assured of their booking.

Source: Airbnb
It touches on all the key points that any guest would search for:
- The state of the property
- The location
- Facilities
- Host‘s friendliness and responsiveness
Are Airbnb Host Reviews Public?
Yes, these reviews are always made public to serve both future guests and other hosts. For potential guests, reading reviews of past visitors gives them an idea of how you are as a host and what they can expect from the property. On the other hand, for hosts, public reviews help to boost the property’s reputation but also function as a great tool to improve your rental or your management style.
What is a Bad Airbnb Guest Review?
Seeing a 1-star rating is never good. This is an alarming sign to any potential guest, but what is even more frustrating to both future guests and the host is that no further details are outlined or explain the experience.
Let’s decode this guest review as an example:

Source: Airbnb
As you can see, it gives potential guests the idea that something is wrong with the host and their management of the property, perhaps even alluding to them running a scam. It also unfairly sheds a negative light on the host and their property without any justification for the scenario that took place.
It’s a lose-lose situation for the host in two ways:
- The 1-star rating and review flash warning signs to future guests.
- The host doesn’t have more details or feedback to use for future improvements.
Pro Tip: These types of reviews can be damaging to any host’s reputation as will likely turn off future guests from booking. This is why a host needs to respond to these comments promptly and professionally, always offering solutions or improvements to prevent future issues.
Can a Guest Leave a Review if They Didn’t Book on Airbnb?
Airbnb has very specific policies regarding the ability to review properties. Generally speaking, guests can only leave a review after they have completed a stay at your property. However, some unique circumstances can either result in a review being permitted or removed.
If a reservation was canceled, depending on the reason behind the cancelation by the host, the guest could leave a comment about their experience. Additionally, a review can be removed from your property’s listing if the content is deemed irrelevant, violates Airbnb’s content policies, or if the host can prove that the guest never stayed at the property.
These rules are put into play to ensure that reviews are trustworthy and relevant.
Why Property Managers and Owners Should Write Reviews for Guests
Property owners and property managers are part of the Airbnb community and play a role in adding to the platform’s quality and trustworthiness when it comes to leaving reviews of their guests.
These reviews provide essential feedback to the guests on their behavior while staying at the property but also impact a host’s decision on whether or not to accept a booking request (if they have not activated the instant book feature).
The Benefits of Leaving Positive Reviews for Guests
It might seem strange, but there is a whole psychology around giving positive feedback and praise to guests who fit your ideal standard. Your review can impact the guest’s future behavior at other properties, including cleanliness, and respect for house rules.
On the flip side, negative reviews help Airbnb to maintain standards as well as protect other hosts from potentially horrible experiences and damage to their properties.
What Do Airbnb Hosts See About Guests?
The information that you can see as a short-term rental property manager, is what Airbnb provides as part of the guest profile. This section includes the guest’s details, verification status (Know Your Customer compliance), and previous reviews from other hosts. Having access to this information about potential guests allows hosts to be more conscious of who they welcome to their properties and what they can potentially expect from the experience.
How to Review a Bad Airbnb Guest
Unfortunately, you have had a horrible guest stay at one of your properties and you feel like you have to inform other hosts. It might be difficult and uncomfortable to do but think of it as an act of service. Wouldn’t you have liked to see a similar review about this guest before you accepted them onto your rental?
Tips for hosts on writing a review for a problematic guest
- Remain factual.
- Write about specific incidents that led to a negative experience.
- Do not use accusatory language.
Can a Guest See Their Airbnb Rating?
Yes, guests can see their Airbnb ratings through their profile section, under the reviews tab.
High ratings can enhance a guest’s ability to book hot properties, while lower ratings will significantly limit their options for rentals.
Maximizing the Impact of Guest Reviews for Superhost Status
Guest reviews on Airbnb are essential to the success of any short-term rental on the platform. They help guests find your property and make informed decisions about booking through your hosting status and previous guest feedback.
These reviews, both for you as a host and for guests, are public. This helps to maintain transparency and accountability on both sides. For short-term property managers, engaging in the review process is crucial for significantly impacting your reputation and your property’s integrity.
By using advanced tools and metric systems provided by both Airbnb and Avantio, you can streamline this process. Avantio’s property managing tools and trackers will help you maintain your Airbnb properties with ease, helping you obtain high reviews and enhance your overall hosting ability.

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