Your short-term rental or vacation rental property business can suffer or benefit from reviews posted on Airbnb, VRBO, Google, and whatever other platform you're using to rent out your property. How you handle these reviews, especially bad ones, can make a huge difference.

Always keep in mind that these reviews are public, and they make a difference because people actually read them. While it's normal for everyone to have a couple of bad reviews—maybe nothing can please a particularly difficult guest, or you dropped the ball on one item and they wrote the review while in a fit of anger—if you are getting a consistent amount of bad reviews, they will damage your reputation. So what do you do? And how do you respond?

Negative Reviews

First, if you notice guests complaining about the same thing, actually address and take care of the issue. These could end up being very valuable recommendations, and they should be treated that way. I welcome feedback from guests and customers, and have implemented a lot of their advice for the better. Turn this lemon into lemonade, and take this as an opportunity to make the change. Just make sure you let them know in the comments! Here's a step-by-step:

1. Stay calm and always respond in a neutral tone.
2. Acknowledge their experience so that they know you heard them.
3. If you made an error, take responsibility.
4. Apologize when it's needed! Don't be overly dramatic or make it conditional, but just keep short and professional.
5. If a guest writes a misleading review because for example, they misunderstood directions, clarify politely.
6. Thank them for highlighting a problem they may be writing about, and let them know that you have corrected the problem.
7. Be short and professional, don't get into too many details or be defensive.
8. If necessary, offer to resolve their issue offline and invite them to email you more directly.

Positive Reviews

What about positive reviews? Those are also very important to acknowledge—especially as they can boost visibility by improving search rankings (some booking platforms prioritize listings with frequent guest interactions). They can go a long way in giving your guests a continued positive image of you and/or your company's brand. It will also build loyalty and encourages a guest to book with you again.