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I’ve replied to one review so far out of 85 reviews and kind of regret it. I just mentioned a shortcut to one of the neighborhood attractions the guest said she enjoyed visiting. At least it is a few pages in.
I was tempted to reply to the guy who said I live near Disneyland (I’m in Seattle) but I decided not to since it was clearly his error.
I was tempted to reply to the recent guest who complained recently about the double bed and started it was a short (it isn’t). I got a new queen bed and updated my listing to say BRAND NEW QUEEN BED and have told incoming guests so hopefully that is sufficient.
edit To clarify, publicly she just said “the bed is only a double and short” but she wrote a condescending essay in private feedback about how terrible the bed was and how she couldn’t fit due to her 5’9" height.
It depends on the listing, I think. Sometimes when it’s a really unique place and only available on occasions (like when the host vacates) it seems fine. It all depends on what is said and how.
I get irritated by the canned response to every review, it just takes up space and will make me move on unless the place is really what I’m looking for. The ranty responses are fascinating but will put me right off .
I have only ever responded to one review (out of 600+, for context) because it was my first stinker and needed clarification. I thought long and hard about what to say, took advice from other hosts, and kept it short and directed at future guests.
There is one particular host who used to post on the Community forum that had the most awful responses I’ve ever seen. They were either gushing to the point you need a sick bucket or they were drenched in such passive aggressive ‘after all I did for you and you only gave me 4 stars’ stuff it makes your head spin. Honestly, she’s like a one-woman lesson in what not to do. In my opinion, at least.
Also, she reviews guests as if they are courtesans at her palace rather than paying customers. I’m all for honest reviews of guests but she takes it to the extreme. Several of her guests have replied to her reviews saying they will never use Airbnb again. Great job!
edit I realise that all sounds a bit bitchy. But honestly, it’s bad. I would post a link but that’s not acceptable on a public forum.
My 2 cents. You can see what the guest wrote for previous hosts…and there you will see what the host replied…I’ve been doing this for a few years now and has helped me avoid some doozies.
I’m a bit dizzy now replying to you replying to yourself! Accounts mixed up, maybe?
Anyway, the Chrome extension doesn’t show hosts’ responses to guest reviews. It only shows guest reviews. And guests’ responses to host reviews.
So a host would still have to go search for your response to a guest review. So I still think it’s not a great idea to publicly respond to a guest review unless you have future guests in mind.
I accidentally responded publicly to a private comment early on. It wasn’t a difficult error for a new host to make, as I recall.
It turned out OK, it just made the guests look none too bright, as they failed to read or look at the pics and thought they got the entire house instead of the suite attached to the house. So my response actually made that clear to all future guests.
It’s always a good idea to reply to a review, especially when it’s a bad review. It shows other potential guests that you care and that you want to make sure that everything is handled properly afterward. Plus, it can give you the chance to show that you’ll make sure to prevent a specific problem from happening again in the future.
That’s really shitty of her. A double bed is a standard length of 6’ 3", which is PLENTY long enough for a 5’9" person so she’s full of bs. She should look for king size etc bed (6’6") if that’s what she wants. I would have replied factually that it was a standard double as advertised.
Fortunately the 5’9" comment was private feedback but it is tempting to use the reply to remind guests to read the listing carefully. I have thought about responding to note the bed has been upgraded to a queen, but I don’t want to look like I got a new bed due to one nitpicky guest (I didn’t, the timing just worked out that way). On the other hand, it might look like she’s claiming the listed queen is actually a double.
That’s a shame it was private because she would have looked like the idiot she is. You could just say the bed is a queen (king in UK), even though it wasn’t then it is now.
Airbnb doesn’t tell the guest that the host left a public response - or vice versa.
So all those “thank you”s that hosts leave as a public response will never be seen by that particular guest, only future guests.
And if you are leaving a rebuttal for a bad review, it actually sort of hurts you to leave a public response because now that bad review sticks out like a sore thumb. And the guest you intended to rebut doesn’t even know you’ve left it.
Not sure why Air doesn’t send an email saying “a public response was left on your review for so and so host” but so far they don’t.
Really? That’s interesting. Although when I respond to good reviews, it’s really not for that guest’s benefit. It really is more for potential guests who are looking at my listing. I think it gives a personal touch. I like seeing when hosts respond. It makes me feel like they really care about their guests.
I had one guest mess up her review by posting private comments in public review and vice versa. Her public review, if I recall, correctly, was asking me something about a future stay? Can’t remember. Her private comments to me were a long detailed glowing review recommending me and my place.
I posted a reply, stating thanks for the great review you sent me privately, it was so nice I thought I’d share here. And copied and pasted into the reply.
I thought long and hard before I did that. What’s to stop any host from making a bunch of nice stuff up and say the guest wrote it?
I read one host review that I thought was ridiculous. It was just a promo for their listing. Something like this.
"We are pleased to report that xxx had a marvelous stay at the xxx bungalows. She was quiet and clean and took full advantage of the gorgeous infinity pool while enjoying the complimentary wine we provided. Her communication with us was superb from her initial reservation to the lavish praise she heaped on us at every opportunity. We found ourselves blushing with pleasure at the wonderful note she left in our guest book. Of course all our guests leave us tips, gifts and wonderful notes but xxx really went above and beyond. We hope that xx will visit us again the next time she seeks “a holiday of a lifetime!”
