Getting glaring five star reviews on Airbnb is crucial if you want to do well on the platform. Having other guests vouch for you is the best way to build credibility and lock in more bookings. In order to get the much-wanted Superhost status, a whopping 80% of your reviews need to be five shining stars.
In short, the best way to get five star reviews is to make your guests really, really happy. In other words, you need to go the extra mile, and as we all know, there are no traffic jams along the extra mile. But there’s more too it and there are some tricks that you should be aware of that will help you.
How to get five star reviews on Airbnb
Let’s get down to the nitty gritty. Here are my best tips on how to receive five star reviews on Airbnb.
Under-promise over-deliver
The magical piece of advise on how to get those five star reviews rolling in: Under promise, over deliver.
Guests will base their reviews on what they expect from you and your space. Expectations are based on your listing. This means that if you provide your guests with more and better things then your listing show cases, you’ll most likely get an amazing review.
So, don’t oversell your place and surprise your guests with a few little extras. Example: why not prepare a little “welcome box” for your guests? Put in a small box of chocolates, a local simcard or phone, a map of your city and a small welcome message. Little cost, little effort, huge appreciation. Or maybe have a bottle of cool Prosecco waiting for your guests. You get the idea.
To get really good reviews, there should definitely be no unexpected negatives. This means you have to be really honest about your listing! Ask yourself, is there anything that your guests might not like about your listing? If so, include this in your listing!
Example: my street can be a little noisy in the mornings, not ideal for light-sleepers who wants to sleep in. I mention this in my listing. As a consequence, people who are bothered by this won’t book my place. I may lose out on a few bookings this way, but those who would have booked my place without knowing about the noise would most likely not give me a five star rating
Communicate well and often
Staying at an Airbnb can be slightly out of the comfort zone for people, specially the first time. Guests are completely dependent on the host for their experience. If the host screws up, guests could find themselves in an unfamiliar city in front of a closed door and a host who doesn’t pick up the phone. That’s a nightmare scenario, but as human beings we tend to fear the worst.
To prevent these worries, communicate often with your guest from the moment you receive an inquiry. Respond quickly, politely and in an elaborate fashion. After the booking is received, send your guests a welcome guidebook with information about your house, directions, the neighborhood, who the guests should contact on arrival and local recommendations.
Expert tip: Use Hostfully to create a beautiful online guidebook
Ask your guests if they need any assistance with their travel plans, make yourself available and let them know that you are there for them. This will go a long way in getting a glaring review.
The day after your guests have checked-in, ask them if everything is as expected. If there are any shortcomings, you want to know about it as soon as possible so you can do something about it! Even if you can’t solve the problem, being aware and making an effort to sort things out will be appreciated greatly.
Make things personal
Aim to build a relationship with your guests. If the guests like you as a person and they feel that they know you, often times you’ll be forgiven for minor issues. The best way to do this is to spend some time with your guests after they’ve checked-in.
If you’re a “remote host,” there are a few things you can do to make things personal. Have your Airbnb manager put a written welcome note in the house for example. Provide your guests with plenty of local recommendations, your favorite coffee shops, bars and restaurants. You could even record a quick video message to welcome your guests.
A little-known trick
Finally, here’s a little know trick that you can use to find out a bit more about your guests needs. This only works if they have stayed at Airbnbs before. Go to your guest’s profile on Airbnb and see if they have any reviews. If so, you can see the host who left the review.
Chances are your guest also reviewed the host and it could be helpful to see what he or she had to say. Click on the host’s listing and scroll through the reviews to find the one that your guest has left. Look for clues as to what your guest values most and if there were any complaints. If your guest mentions something wasn’t clean, make sure to pay extra attention to the cleanliness of your house. You get the idea!
Join the conversation! How are you doing with your reviews? Do you have any tips? Comment below so that we can all learn from each other!