How to Make Sure Your Airbnb Gets Good Reviews

Are you hoping to make your Airbnb a success? Then you need to get your guests to leave good reviews behind. Word of mouth is one of the fastest ways an Airbnb can get noticed and get more guests coming there.

We're going to show you a few ways you can make your Airbnb a success by catering to your guests. This doesn't mean doing anything underhanded and trying to obtain good reviews through bribery, but it means simply being a good host and making your guests want to leave a good review for you.

1. Keep It Super Clean

An Airbnb should feel like a home away from home, but it should feel better than a home. It should always be clean when guests arrive, and you may not have the opportunity, time, or skill to make it clean yourself to the standard you would like. That's why many Airbnb owners hire a housekeeping agency to tidy up the place for them. If you have several properties, you may not even be able to visit each of them after every guest. It makes sense to hire professional cleaners to do the cleaning so you don't have to worry about that part of it. Whether you choose to clean the property yourself or through a professional service, just make sure that it looks as tidy as possible before your guests arrive. Making a great first impression is going to be the best way to entice a good review from your visitors.

2. Make Yourself Available

While you might not be able to visit the property in person while your guests are staying there to handle any needs they have, you should make sure that you can answer the phone if they have any issues. You don't want to have your phone turned off even in the middle of the night. Your guests should be able to reach you no matter what their problem is and no matter what time of day they want to call. They would be able to get that kind of service at a hotel, so they should be able to expect similar service from you. It can be an inconvenience, but it's a very good way to show that you care about their experience.

3. Don't Give Them Too Much Work

The trend these days with Airbnbs are for the owners to leave a lot of chores for the guest to do. Your guests are looking for a chance to get away on vacation when they stay at your property. They're not wanting to do a bunch of housework. It's okay to require them to pick up their own trash, do the dishes, and possibly even throw the bed sheets into the washing machine before they leave, but be careful about requiring anything beyond that. They shouldn't be your housekeepers, and they shouldn't be expected to do all the cleaning for you. Yes, you don't want a lot of work to do when you inspect the property after each guest, but you don't want your guests to feel like they're doing a lot of work either. They should have a good impression of the experience and want to recommend it to someone else. If they didn't feel like they got much of a break during their visit, then they're not likely to leave a good review.

4. Provide Some Complementary Benefits

If you nickel and dime your guests for everything, they may not feel like leaving a good review. If you provide small complementary services or amenities, your guests will really appreciate that. They'll feel like they're being well taken care of. You can do this by leaving coffee or mints for them to use, providing complimentary bath soap and toilet paper, and other small essentials that they might need but may have forgotten to bring themselves. These things won't cost you much, and it can make life a lot more convenient for your guests while they are staying there. They'll appreciate the little complementary aspects of their visit and how thoughtful you were.

5. Let Your Guests Know about Nearby Activities

Don't assume that your guests came to the area knowing full well what kind of activities they would be doing the whole time. You could give them some good ideas by letting them know about the best eateries and tourist spots in the area, particularly anything that only locals might be aware of. You can give them a heads up on what they should expect from that neighborhood. By giving them a list of spots to visit, you can enhance their experience and leave them with a really good impression of their visit.

6. Ensure Their Safety

If you set-up an Airbnb somewhere, you should know about the neighborhood and the security risks that your guests might encounter there. Make sure that the property is well secured for that area. In some places, that may mean putting bars on the windows or putting up a metal gate at the front door. If there have been break-ins in the area, you may need to upgrade your security to make it harder for thieves to get into the property. If you have security concerns for your Airbnb, it's a good idea to talk to the local police and see what they would recommend. You may want to let your guests know what time it's safe to be out until in that neighborhood and what kind of dangers they should look out for. Some areas of the country have dangerous animals that your guests should be made aware of, and other areas may have dangerous weather they should know about.

Getting good reviews on your Airbnb can be a lot of work, but it can also lead to a lot more visits to your property. If you want your Airbnb to be successful, you need to make the effort to please your guests and think about their needs.