Most potential guests read negative Airbnb reviews to get a more comprehensive picture of other guests’ prior experiences with a host or property. However, if hosts get too many unfavorable Airbnb reviews, they will lose reservations. As a consequence, many Airbnb hosts are terrified of getting negative feedback.
On the other hand, bad ratings are an unavoidable part of doing business. Even Superhosts have to deal with Airbnb host complaints and unfavorable comments from time to time.
However, a few poor Airbnb reviews may not affect your company as much as you fear. In many circumstances, bad vacation rental evaluations might work in your favor.
Here are some of the best strategies to cope with negative Airbnb reviews and transform the ones you can’t get rid of into a hidden marketing weapon.
Ways to Handle Negative Airbnb Reviews
Whatever the unfavorable review says, you must always keep a professional demeanor. Use one of the four tactics below to successfully deal with negative Airbnb reviews:
1. Make a Removal Request to Airbnb
You’re in luck if you’ve gotten a negative review that violates Airbnb’s Content Policy, which also controls reviews. You may just contact Airbnb to get it deleted in this scenario.
You must, however, convincingly show your case to do so. Spam, extortion, sponsored reviews, and reviews that do not represent the author’s genuine experience are common reasons for removing unfavorable Airbnb reviews.
Make sure you’ve read and understood the Airbnb TOS and that you only interact with guests via the Airbnb site. That way, neither the guest’s review nor your conduct on the site will be questioned.
- Request That Your Guest Change Their Rating
This is the quickest method to turn a negative Airbnb review into a favorable one. Simply request that the visitor update their rating. If their visit ended on a sour note, though, this is unlikely to work. But, if there’s any possibility, you’ll have to move quickly and properly craft your plea.
Explain to the visitor how critical Airbnb reviews are to your company’s success. While the content of the review will not be erased if the visitor changes their rating, the higher star rating will help you keep your Airbnb account in good standing.
3. Respond to Every Review You Get
Even if the Airbnb reviews are negative, be sure you respond politely and professionally. Responding to every review you get is a terrific approach to portray yourself as a courteous and engaged host. This demonstrates to your potential visitors that you are a pleasant host.
It also shows visitors that you are open to feedback and eager to address Airbnb host problems. If you want this method to work, make sure you reply to positive and negative evaluations.
4. Postponement Leaving a Review as a Guest
Guests have 14 days from when they check in to submit a review. If you have reason to believe the visitor was disappointed with their stay, don’t post a negative review right after they check out.
This will allow the person to calm down and maybe write a less critical review when they return. It also stops Airbnb from asking the visitor to post a review in exchange since you’ve already done so.
How to Make the Most of Negative Reviews
Here are some ways you may utilize poor Airbnb reviews to your advantage now that you know how to react to them successfully.
Long Responses Should be Avoided
An extended response focusing only on the good parts of your guest’s stay might go a long way toward masking a particularly poor review. The more you write about the occurrence, the more it seems like you tried to remedy the problem, and the visitor could have been more understanding. Finally, since your review offers more information than the guest’s, a lengthier review will seem to accurately represent the visitors’ stay.
Concentrate on the Positives of Their Visit
While your visitor is likely to go into depth in their bad review about every element of their stay that went wrong, now is your time to contradict what they say. Tell your side of the story in your review. Make an effort to turn things around by first confessing your errors. Then utilize the rest of the review to highlight as many positive aspects of your interaction with the visitor as feasible.
Tell us How You Plan to Improve
Some visitors prefer to submit negative Airbnb reviews simply because they want their hosts to do a better job the next time they visit. Show future visitors that you understand by describing how you dealt with the problems raised in the review.
Make a point of mentioning any enhancements or bonuses you’ve implemented since the complainant’s stay. This gives potential visitors peace of mind when they book since they know you value their opinion.
Demonstrate That You’ve Learned From Negative Airbnb Reviews
Use negative Airbnb reviews to determine what your visitors care about the most. Once you’ve completed the required changes, include them in your listing description and promote them on social media.
Read your rivals’ unfavorable evaluations if you want a decent method for improving your own. You may find their weak spots and turn them into your strong ones this way.
Final Steps in Recovering from Negative Airbnb Reviews
Bad Airbnb reviews don’t have to ruin your reputation as a host if you have a strategy in place to deal with them. Continue to provide a fantastic guest experience to get as many positive Airbnb host reviews as possible.
Consider giving discounts or encouraging shorter stays to increase your Airbnb rating quicker. This will attract more visitors in a shorter period than your typical booking rate.
