As an Airbnb host and guest alike, we all fear the bad review. Holding on to that coveted 5-star average rating for as long as we can is our goal. But that inevitable low rating comes that leaves us totally gutted. So what can we do about it? How can you deal with a bad Airbnb review?

Luckily there are many different ways to deal with a bad Airbnb review. The purpose of this article is to let you in on some of these secrets. I’ve had bad reviews removed before and you can too. Therefore – here are 9 ways to deal with bad Airbnb reviews!

1. Get it Removed

Can I get a bad Airbnb review removed? Yes you can. Well, maybe. You may think it’s as easy as calling up Airbnb customer support and getting the review removed right? Unfortunately this is about as difficult as pulling teeth from an unsedated lion.

Airbnb have some very strict policies in regards to reviews. Unless your guest or host breaks policy, you have little to no hope in getting the review taken down.

Here are Airbnb’s three main review policies:

“A review that doesn’t represent the guests/hosts personal experience.

Reviews that are based on accepting extra payments, additional services or a discounted rate, so pretty much any form of bribery.

Reviews motivated by a threat of extortion. If your guest holds you to ransom with the threat of a bad review.”

Airbnb.com

So if your bad review falls under any of these categories, you’re within your rights to get the review taken down. But you will need to have evidence of the policy being violated. This is why it is so important to keep all correspondence on Airbnb and never over the phone. Evidence is key.

Some policies are very hard to obtain proof from. Like if your guest lies about something that happened to them within the property.

A personal experience of mine was when a guest burnt their child’s foot when giving them a bath. They left the hot water tap running to warm the bath up and of course, the child lifted their foot and it got scalded.

Her experience in the property then become negative even though it wasn’t my fault or anything to do with the house. I helped as best I could but as there was a very strong language barrier (English – Chinese) it was difficult.

Long story short, she left me a 1-star review overall and 2 stars for communication. Ouch.

Arguing this was futile and after a lot of emails and phone calls with Airbnb, her review still stands.

2. Ask your guest/host to amend the rating

If getting the review taken down has failed, there is another option. For instance, you can always ask your guest/host to amend their rating after they have left it.

This is a bit of a long shot, especially if you left on bad terms. But hey, it is always worth a shot. What’s the worst that can happen?

Airbnb is always happy to contact the guest/host on your behalf. They will explain to the host/guest how important the rating they left is. On top of that, they’ll check to make sure your host/guest is 100% happy with what they left.

While this tactic cannot change your bad Airbnb review, it can get the star rating changed. This is far more important anyway. Why? Because star ratings count towards SuperHost status and your overall Airbnb rating.

It can never hurt to ask!

3. Don’t leave a review… Yet

Sometimes you get that guest that you know is going to leave a bad review. Call it gut instinct or intuition, you just know its coming. A whopper, a nasty, a kick in the guts.

So to try and dissuade your guest from leaving a review as much as possible. Here is a tactic you can try out.

First, when your guest checks out, Airbnb will prompt them for a review. Keep in mind most travellers will be making their trek home or driving to their next destination. As a result that prompt may go unnoticed or ignored.

Second, when you leave your review, Airbnb will prompt a guest to let them know. They’ll get a message saying “your host/guest has left a review, see what they wrote by leaving a review of your own.”

The Tactic:

This is where the tactic comes into play. Your guest will only have a 14-day window from when they check out to leave a review. So if you hold off on leaving a review for them right up until the last moment, you may avoid the review altogether!

This sounds too good to be true, but it has worked for me on more than one occasion. So be patient, stealthy and pounce at the final hour to dodge that bad review.

4. Reply to the review

If option 1 or 2 haven’t worked in your favor, replying to the review is where you can smooth out any wrinkles.

Now there are a couple of things to remember when replying to a review.

1. Everyone can see it, so keep it civil, fair and friendly
2. If you only reply to negative reviews it will make them stand out. Try replying to all reviews, it will showcase that you are an active helpful host.
3. Don’t be defensive and petty in your replies, it will put future guests/hosts off more than the actual review. Keep it professional.

Here is an example of an Airbnb host who only replies to their bad reviews. While she was lovely in her response, the bad reviews draw your eye in, rather than all the good ones around it.

Example:

Straight away you think, the lifts must be slow and the place has a bit of wear and tear.

If you are going to reply to a review, pick out the good points that the guest/host has written about. For example, Naomi could have said:

“Thank you Allison, I’m so glad you found the location of the apartment perfect. And found it easy to walk into the city and catch the public transport that is right at our doorstep”

Writing a similar response to her other good reviews would be a wise move. It will appear that she has double the amount of positive reviews by making them stand out. Likewise they will swamp the bad Airbnb reviews and make them much harder to find.

I cover this topic some more in my article on 29 ways to get good Airbnb reviews.

5. Learn, absorb, improve

Now we have done everything physically possible to remove, amend and reply to the bad review. Now its time to learn from it.

What could you have done better? Does the guest have a point that the apartment could do with a bit of a spruce up, or could it be time for some new photos? Is there something that you could improve on?

Let’s take Allison’s case above again. Allison should disclose in her listing that the apartment is on a high floor and there can be a wait for the elevators during peak times.

She could also take on board that some things in her apartment may need replacing or repairing. Maybe the walls need a repaint or the carpet needs a clean. Remember that your guests are paying to use your space, so make sure it is all up to scratch.

So remember, a positive can come from a bad Airbnb review. Take it as something that you can learn and improve from will help you to move on and keep doing what you do best.

I recommend you read my article on how Airbnb reviews work for some more inspiration.

6. Don’t stress, it will disappear!

If you have hosted an Airbnb long enough, that one bad, unfair, false and petty review will come. It’s as inevitable as death and taxes.

Unfortunately, you can’t please everyone all of the time, its impossible. One person’s heaven is another person’s hell. Stressing over every bad review will turn you prematurely grey.

Generally, when people are looking to book your place, they will have a look at your ratings First. Next they will read one, maybe two pages of your reviews. The good news is there are only 7 reviews shown per page on each Airbnb listing. As a result, those bad Airbnb reviews will start to vanish down into page 8 or 9, unlikely to be read again!

Alternatively, you could apply my suggestion back at #4 about replying to reviews. This wont push the bad review further down the Airbnb list, but it will help your review page look long. Likewise it will help to drown out the bad review.

To summarise, don’t stress! If you are taking lots of bookings, your bad review will be a thing of the past. Your shiny new reviews will push the bad one to the back of the shelf with the dusty VHS tapes and floppy discs that no one cares about anymore.

7. Don’t check star ratings

Another great tip for de-stressing your Airbnb life is to avoid looking at your star ratings. Now hear me out here…

Say your listing is flying along, you get a lovely couple that stay in your Airbnb. Your guests love the place and all is going well. It comes time for them to leave a review and, like them, it’s lovely. They had a great time, but, they gave you an overall rating of four stars. WHAT?!

This will have you pulling out your hair in disbelief! I know, I’ve been there. I used to contact these guests afterwards and ask if there was something wrong? What I could have done better? They reply with nothing, the place was great we just didn’t think it was five stars.

By this point, you have no hair left on your head and you’re ready to throw in the towel.

So I made the decision to never check my star ratings again. And just like that, the pressure was off, a mountain of stress was gone and I was back to being a happy host.

Now I’m not suggesting to never read a review again, this feedback is very important.

Reviewing your reviews without seeing the star rating is an easy process. Click on your Airbnb profile (click your profile photo) and click reviews. All of your reviews will be visible without the star ratings.

How to check your bad Airbnb reviews:

Trust me, you won’t look back.

8. Diversify

Having all your eggs in the one basket is never a good idea. This also applies to the short term rental business. When you receive a very nasty review this could halt your business for days or weeks.

Diversifying onto other platforms like Home Away or Booking.com etc can help fill vacant nights that a bad review may cause.

Then, once your bad Airbnb review sinks onto the next page (see #6 of this article) you will be back to business as usual.

9. Hit the reset button

This is most definitely a last resort option. In fact, it if was an actual button, it would require a fingerprint scanner and a dual key lock system to open.

When you get hit with the ultimate in bad reviews, I’m talking a listing ending, no more bookings for weeks type bad review. You may need to consider hitting the reset button on your entire listing.

Here are a few examples of listing ending reviews:

“The place was full of bed bugs, we got bitten from head to toe. I would not recommend anyone staying in this house.”

“During our stay, the house was broken into overnight and all our belongings were stolen. Our trip was completely ruined, we will not be back.”

“We were woken at 2 am by a riot of gunshots in the street. There was police everywhere and a shot even came in through one of the windows. We were terrified”

These are extreme examples and are quite rare, but they do happen.

If Airbnb has refused to take down or amend the review, the only option would be to take down your listing. The consequence being you would need to start from scratch. Your Airbnb listing may not be showing very high anyway, with a review like this.

This does sound daunting, especially if you have worked hard and have built up a great review base. But a fresh start will help to wash away the stress and anxiety and give you a chance to start over.

Summary

In summary, let me lay this on you once and for all. If you’re going to be an Airbnb host, you will eventually receive a bad review. It’s just the way it is. The fact is there are some angry, sad, unhappy people out there who you cannot please.

That goes for you guests as well. Some hosts are going to be precious about their house and quick to give a bad review.

With that in mind, it’s important to keep upbeat and positive. Don’t take it too personally as you now 9 ways to deal with bad Airbnb reviews.

The methods I have shown you work so be sure to give them a try. If you have any other suggestions I would love to hear from you in the comments section below.

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