How to Get Good Airbnb Reviews as a Guest, According to Hosts
Competition for Airbnbs has only increased since the start of the pandemic. Total demand for short-term rentals in September was up 26.6% compared with the same period in 2019, according to vacation rental data platform AirDNA. And for some guests, successfully booking an Airbnb means more than just paying the cost (plus any additional fees) — it means maintaining a good rating from hosts.
Like Uber and other peer-to-peer rental platforms, the reviews on Airbnb go both ways. Guests review properties and hosts to inform future guests, and hosts review guests to inform future hosts.
Having a poor or nonexistent rating as a guest can make it hard to book stays, particularly on peak travel dates when hosts can be choosy about whom they accept.
“If somebody doesn’t have any reviews, that’s kind of a red flag — especially if it’s a brand-new account,” says Patrick Moltrup, an Airbnb host in California’s Coachella Valley. He says brand-new accounts with no ratings are a concern because guests who get bad reviews tend to delete their accounts and open new ones.
“We require a review before we book you.”
Despite recent horror stories about hosts demanding that guests perform arduous tasks at checkout, and reports of hosts getting fed up with unruly guests, maintaining a good guest rating doesn’t require a lot of effort, according to Moltrup. Being thoughtful about some basic rules can make the difference between a successful rental and a canceled (or rejected) booking.
How to find your Airbnb reviews
Just like reviews for the properties themselves, the reviews you receive from hosts have two parts: a written review and a numeric rating on a 5-star scale.
Finding your reviews can be tricky, since Airbnb hides them deep within the account menu. On the website or