One of the most popular short-term and vacation rental marketplace is Airbnb, which in just a few years has developed a huge market. If you want to consistently rent out your property on Airbnb, your reviews are a huge factor. A large number of 5-star Airbnb reviews will make potential guests more likely to choose your listing, whereas poor reviews will drive people away.

How can you improve your chances of getting 5-star reviews?

Make Sure Your Listing Is Accurate.

A major annoyance for guests is when they arrive at their rental and it’s not at all like it seemed in the pictures and the description. If a guest feels like your listing was deceptive, they’re going to be disappointed in the rental and they’re more likely to leave you an average or bad review.

Avoid this issue by taking plenty of pictures of the entire rental and writing a detailed description. Of course, you want people to rent your place, but you also want people to know exactly what they’re getting when they do. Don’t over promise what your rental can’t deliver. If it doesn’t have the biggest bedroom, mention that in the listing and include a few pictures to demonstrate. Does your area get a bit noisy at night? Warn light sleepers about it. Potential guests will appreciate your honesty. The best philosophy is to under promise and then over deliver.

Create the Most Accommodating Rental Possible.

The most significant factor in your Airbnb reviews is the experience that guests have at your rental. If they love it, you’re likely to get plenty of 5-star reviews, and if they hate it, you can expect to hear about it.

You don’t need to break the bank setting up your place for your guests, but you should make it as comfortable as you can for them. Keeping it clean is a must, so if you’re a remote host, make sure that you hire someone to clean the rental between guests. Stock up on items that guests may need, such as soap and shampoo in the shower, toothpaste in the bathroom, and snacks and drinks in the kitchen. Sometimes the difference between a 4 and a 5-star review can be whether your guests can brew themselves a pot of coffee in the morning.

The easiest way to make your rental accommodating is to think about what you would want if you were staying there.

Communicate with Your Guests.

It’s always a bit of a leap of faith when you stay at an Airbnb, as you don’t know exactly what you’re getting until you arrive. For first timers, this is particularly true, and the process can be a bit nerve-wracking. You can help guests relax and have a great time by communicating with them early and often.

In all your communications with guests, aim to be polite, friendly and helpful. Answer any questions they have, and don’t be afraid to go into detail about your place. You should also make sure that you reply promptly to any inquiries and booking requests. Not only is this professional, but it could also be the difference between whether a guest books with you or with another host who responded more quickly. You can receive all your messages through an Airbnb app, so you should install it on your phone to get messages right away.

When guests book your place, send them a welcome message with your rental guidebook. Let them know that they can talk to you if they need any assistance, either with the rental or with their travel plans. After they’ve checked in, contact your guests and see if everything is what they expected.

Look at Your Guest’s Previous Reviews.

Here’s a simply way to avoid potential issues – check out the profile of any guest who books your rental, and read the past reviews that they’ve written. In doing so, you can see what your guest liked and disliked about previous rentals. While you obviously won’t build your rental around each guest, you can make minor adjustments as necessary.

For example, maybe you see that in a previous review, a guest mentioned that the rental they were staying at wasn’t very clean. Your rental should be clean anyway, but you’ll definitely want to make sure of it before this guest checks in.

Consistently providing a high-quality experience, communicating well and creating an accurate listing are the keys to getting those coveted 5-star reviews. It isn’t always easy to run a vacation rental, especially when you have guests almost every day. If you hire a property manager like us, we can help you with your rental, making life easier for you and getting more 5-star reviews.

IF YOU ARE AN AIRBNB 5-STAR HOST AND HAVE ADVICE FOR SOMEONE JUST STARTING OUT, PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENT SECTION BELOW!