Are you missing out on bookings because of average Airbnb reviews?
Even a 2% drop in occupancy rate can cost you thousands of $$$$ a year.
What if I told you that getting 5-star Airbnb reviews was not a lottery but a science.
And like every science, by following a set of rules we can predict certain outcomes.
In this article, I break down the review system and give you actionable steps to guarantee 5-star Airbnb reviews every time.
What metrics does Airbnb use for its review system?
The backbone of the whole Airbnb sharing economy model is trust.
That's why Airbnb asks each guest to leave a review and rate their stay with a host.
Guest's are asked a series of questions about their stay giving you a star rating between 1-5.
The questions Airbnb asks your guests are:
• Overall experience.
• Share your story.
• Feedback to host.
• Accuracy: how accurately did the photos and description represent the actual space?
• Cleanliness: did the cleanliness match your expectations of the space?
• Check-in: how smooth was the check-in process, within the control of the host?
• Communication: how responsive and accessible was the host before and during your stay?
• Location: how appealing is the neighborhood (safety, convenience, desirability)?
• Value: how would you rate the value of the listing?
• Would you recommend staying here?
Below I share my secrets and give you actionable steps to smash it time after time.
Overall experience.
Your guest's overall experience is a culmination of how much they enjoyed their stay.
You must make sure that your property, and everything that goes with it, is working as it should.
Guests love to have a moan if things are quite right so don't give them the ammunition.
Be sure to provide:
• Comfy bed.
• Quality bed linen.
• Clean and fresh house.
• Provide as many creature comforts as possible.
• An easy to follow house manual in case of any issues?
• Welcome pack with Tea and Fresh Coffee (Instant Coffee sucks) and milk.
• Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil etc.
If you give your guests what they expected and MORE! They'll be putty in your hands.
5 Stars...
F*#k yeah!
Share your story.
Guests have the opportunity to share their stories about their stay publicly on your listing page.
Airbnb does a great job of encouraging your guests to be nice with their public stories to create the cozy community feel they pride themselves on. And this is great :)
The trick to note is that 90% of the time, the question is answered with a review more about the Host and their character, than the property itself.
What this tells us is, that in order to get smoking HOT write-ups from your guests you need to build an epic relationship with them.
If you are a live-in Host, or even a live-next-door Host, you have a massive advantage as you can build rapport person to person.
However, if you are a hands off Nomadic Airbnb Host (like me ), who prefers to let their Airbnb trickle feed their bank balance on auto-pilot then things aren't quite so easy.
I mean, how do you build a good rapport with your guests when you've never met them?
The key here is your communication up to, during, and after their stay.
I have a series of Airbnb Saved Messages (that you'll discover later in this post) that I have set up to fire off at guests at set periods of their stay.
This way, even though I am not there, I'm connecting with my guests, making sure that they're well looked after and appreciated.
Feedback to Host.
Guests leave private feedback to the host for any improvements or concerns.
This feedback is private and doesn't count towards your review score. Yet, this is a hugely valuable resource for improving your property to suit your demographic.
Rookie Host's often choose to ignore this feedback, or worse still, become irate at the preposterous proposition that their property isn't 100% perfect.
Do this at your peril.
Use this untapped resource as a direct feedback loop to help you improve your property for your next bookings.
Great Host's are always looking for ways to improve
Accuracy: How accurately did the photos and description represent the actual space?
Your images and descriptions are scrutinized under the microscope by your guests as they are given the opportunity to rate their accuracy.
Getting 5 stars here should be a breeze right?
I mean, all you have to do is give the guests what they were expecting and that's it. Boom. Done.
Tips.
• Make sure your images create an accurate picture of your property.
• Give an accurate description of your home.
• If there is something about your property that is not the best be sure to mention it. This way your guest won’t feel misinformed.
• Provide accurate locations.
So what I'm really saying here is just to give your guests what they expected without any nasty surprises.
And if you can go beyond what they were expecting, even better!
It pays to take a minute, read your descriptions and check our your photo's just to make sure that what you have on screen is what they are getting when they arrive.
Cleanliness: Did the cleanliness match your expectations of the space?
This is an anonymous star rating out of 5; the results from all reviewers are averaged out and shown on the property’s listing page.
Lot's of your guests will be clean freaks, searching for dust and dirt with a fine-toothed comb.
Cleanliness is an area that you can't afford to be blase about.
If you do the cleaning yourself then you have no excuses.
If you hire a cleaner though, you'll need a system in place to make sure the job is done thoroughly.
I only hire cleaners who are willing to work on a bonus system, whereby their bonus is paid upon a successful 5-star cleanliness review.
I also pass on all positive and negative guest feedback directly to my cleaners. If your cleaner has a vested interest in your reviews, you'll never have to worry about getting a 5-star Airbnb cleanliness ratings again.
Check-in experience: How smooth was the check-in process, within the control of the host?
This is an anonymous star rating out of 5; the results from all reviewers are averaged out and shown on the property’s listing page.
Bare in mind you are judged on things within a Host's control.
If you're a live-in Host and prefer to handle your check-in's in person, you should breeze through this. So long as you are helpful and not a creep your 5-star review should be safe.
However, I am a firm believer in having an external secure coded key lock for your guests to gain access to your place when they arrive for a number of reasons.
Firstly, no host with a life wants to be waiting around all day for their guests to arrive.
Secondly, it saves time and hassles trying to coordinate arrival times.
And thirdly… What could be smoother than your guest arriving at any time, on their terms, with simple easy access without a mollycoddling host faffing over their every move!
Location: How appealing is the neighborhood (safety, convenience, desirability)?
Guest's will rate your location out of 5 and it will be displayed on your listing page.
Now there ain't a whole lot you can do if your place isn't in a prime location. This much we just have to suck up.
However, there are a few things you can do to make the most of what you've got.
This is where you need to get creative...
You gotta Rock'Watcha'Got!!!
For example, your home might be super close to transport links, have a killer bar in the local area, be close to a park or woodlands etc.
You see, just because your house is not in a prime location doesn't mean that your area has nothing to offer.
So don't let your guests come and go from your place without at least being aware of what is around them.
Value: How would you rate the value of the listing?
Rated out of 5; Did your guest feel that the money they paid to stay at your place was worth it?
A culmination of it all really.
It's all very well charging top dollar for your pad, but if your guests feel like they are getting ripped off, you'll soon pay the price.
The goal of every Airbnb Host is to maximize their earnings. I mean we all want better occupancy rates at higher prices.
Right?
And this is what I am here to help you achieve.
But, you don't get something for nothing in this world my friend. It's all about fair exchange.
This doesn't mean drop your prices. What this means is that you need to add more value!!!
And it doesn't have to cost you arm and a leg. In fact, it often doesn't have to cost you a penny. But you do need to provide value for money.
It could be as simple as providing a hair dryer or a bottle of wine on arrival, or it could be reaching out to your guests to let them know they can check-in early or check-out late.
Whatever it is. Always be on the lookout for ways to add more value. Always give more than your guests expected.
Communication.How responsive and accessible was the host before and during your stay?
This is an anonymous star rating out of 5; the results from all reviewers are averaged out and shown on the property’s listing page.
How do you communicate with your guests? Do they feel comfortable and well looked after when they stay at your place?
This is an absolute must.
Communication is key!
To achieve 5-star reviews every time, this is the area where you must excel.
Your communication starts from the very first message and doesn’t end until you’ve received your final review.
You must appear to be constantly on hand to offer help to your guests. You want to create a genuine rapport with them.
Chat informally, as a friend rather than a formal host.
Communicating this way will build a friendship and trust, that will consistently drive 5-star reviews your way.
As I mentioned earlier I have a set of Saved Airbnb Messages (These Saved Messages are effectively message templates that are stored on Airbnb to help save time responding to guests) that I have perfected over time, that I fire off at set intervals during a guests stay.
Two clicks and I'm done.
Here’s my personal list of Saved Messages.
Feel free to steal/improve:
Booking Confirmation.
“Hey GUEST NAME,
Super happy you chose to stay at our place for your trip to YOUR LOCATION.
If you have any questions whatsoever please don’t hesitate to hit me up.
I’m 100% here to help.
Otherwise, I’ll be in touch with more detailed check-in instructions a day or so before check-in.
Thanks again.
Speak soon.
Rowan”
72 Hours Before Check-in
“Hey GUEST NAME,
I thought I’d touch base to fill you in on a few details before you arrive to help things along.
PROPERTY NAME.
PROPERTY ADDRESS.
I’ve outlined some basic details that should come in handy for your stay:
CHECK-IN:
The scheduled check-in time is: YOUR CHECK IN TIME. So feel free to arrive anytime after that.
To make things easy and super flexible, the keys for the house will be put in a secure lockbox on the lower left-hand side of the front door.
The lockbox code is: YOUR CODE
So, whenever you arrive, let yourselves in and make yourselves at home
RESERVATION DETAILS:
You are scheduled to check-in on YOUR CHECK IN TIME with a check-out on CHECK OUT DATE.
WIFI:
The Wifi name is: WIFI NAME
Password: PASSWORD
PARKING:
Parking in YOUR LOCATION is always a struggle, however, there are a few good options which I’ll outline below
There is a privately run car park situated within 50m of the property. This is a great short-term option, but probably not the best choice for long-stay as it can be a little pricey.
There is a council run pay and display car park on STREET NEARBY, which is about a 4min walk from the house. This car park provides very reasonable long stay rates.
There is free parking in the town, but it is hard to find, and also hard to get…
The free parking is situated at STREET NEARBY. These roads are about 5mins walk away from the property. Occasionally you may have to park further away to get a vacant space. I personally always park up here, and I always get a space, however, on some occasions, I may have to park further up the hill approx 10min walk.
If you are happy to search around, you will be able to find free parking, it may just take a bit of searching
I think that just about everything for now.
There’s a heap more information about the house in the ‘Owner’s Manual’ on Airbnb too if you need it.
Most importantly, make yourselves at home and have a blast.
Thanks again.
Rowan”
16 Hours Before Check-out
“Hey GUEST NAME,
I hope you’ve really enjoyed your stay in PROPERTY NAME!
Just a quick reminder that tomorrow is check-out day. The standard check-out time is YOUR CHECK OUT TIME, but I have spoken to our cleaner and she has given the thumbs up for a late check out for you.
So you’re more than welcome to stay until 11.30 Yey!
When you’re ready to leave, if you could please lock the door and put the keys back in the lockbox, and give the code a little scramble, that would be great.
Thanks so much for choosing to stay at our place.
Hope you’ve had an awesome stay.
Thanks again.
Rowan”
3 Hours After Check-out
“Hey GUEST NAME,
A big thank you for being so respectful of our place during your stay, and thanks heaps for leaving the house so nice and tidy!
It’s really appreciated.
Hope you had an awesome trip to YOUR LOCATION.
Safe travels.
Rowan”
Would you recommend staying here?
A yes/no question that is anonymous and not linked to the reviewer.
Yes, yes and yes!
Of course they should.
You've followed what I've been teaching you right?
Then sit back, relax, and take another sip of that Mai-Thai.
Our work is done here.