Why reviews matter

Reviews and ratings help guests decide if your place is right for them. Better reviews and ratings can lead to more bookings and higher earnings.

You and the guest who booked the stay have 14 days after checkout to review each other. Reviews are posted after you both submit reviews or the 14-day review period ends – whichever comes first.

Guests can share feedback in:

• A private note. Their feedback doesn’t appear on your listing and doesn’t affect your rating.
• A public review. Their feedback appears on your listing and profile. If you reply to a public review, your response will appear below it.

The most recent reviews show up first by default. Guests can also search reviews and sort by recency, highest rating or lowest rating.

Treat guest feedback as an opportunity to improve what you offer. Read every review, and respond constructively to show you take that feedback seriously.

Guests are asked to rate their overall experience and six categories using one to five stars. Overall experience is not an average of the other categories.

The categories are:

• Check-in. How easy was it to find the place and get inside?
• Cleanliness. How well was the home cleaned before the guest arrived?
• Accuracy. Did the place meet the guest’s expectations based on the listing?
• Communication. From booking to checkout, how well did the Host communicate?
• Location. How did the guest feel about the area and neighbourhood?
• Value. How was the value of the place for the price?

After three guests rate your listing:

• The average overall star rating appears near your listing title in search results and on your listing.
• The average category star ratings appear above guest reviews.
• Each guest’s overall star rating appears next to their review, putting their feedback into better context.

Ratings help Airbnb identify and recognise top Hosts and listings, including the Superhost programme and Guest Favourites. 

Superhosts are recognised for their track record of outstanding hospitality. Superhosts must maintain an average overall rating of at least 4.8 stars and meet other criteria. 

Guest Favourites are 2 million of the most loved homes on Airbnb, according to guests. A variety of factors help identify Guest Favourites, including excellent reviews and ratings above 4.9 stars on average, plus high marks for all six categories.

Reviewing guests is one way to remind them to review you. Your reviews appear on the profile pages of the guest who booked and the guests who accepted invitations to that reservation. Strive to:

• Show gratitude. This could be as simple as: “Thanks for being our guest!”
• Offer details. You might write: “This guest followed our checkout instructions perfectly.”
• Be respectful. Consider addressing sensitive issues in a private note.

You’ll be prompted to rate guests on cleanliness, communication and following your house rules. Your feedback helps enforce ground rules for guests, which require guests to treat your home like their own and follow your house rules.

Information contained in this article may have changed since publication.