Running an Airbnb business can be a hectic venture. You want to give your guest the best attention and look forward to the best reviews after their stay. While you will receive positive reviews from many of your guests, there is still room for bad reviews. Unsatisfactory customer experience, including cleaning issues, might be why they give bad reviews. But what should you do after receiving Airbnb bad reviews? The guide below explains more.
Before the guests leave
Hold a brief meeting with your guests
You can deal with the bad reviews from your guests before they leave. It might be hard to convince your guests to consider your premises in the future after letting them leave with a bad view of your business. Holding a brief meeting before they leave will help you gather more information about the situation. Through the meeting, you learn what they didn’t like and find ways to avoid them.
💡 Your guest should see the concern in your voice and actions and willingness to improve their experience when they visit next.
Note down their complaint
While having a review site or box at Airbnb is essential in learning about your guests’ experience, there are many things you might miss. Before your guests leave, it is paramount to note down complaints and experiences. You find ways to address the issues on short notice by noting them down. This is also a way to get a real feeling about their stay before trying to change their minds. You will also prioritize the issues you can handle immediately and those for later after noting down their complaints.
💡 Businesses are frequently hesitant to retrace their steps or engage in introspection in order to understand what happened and why. As a result, it is critical to properly manage complaints in order to identify root causes more easily.
Ask your guests the changes they expect
Many things might determine the Airbnb experience of your guests. Waiting for them to leave their reviews and comment on your website can work against your business. It is essential to ask them about the changes they want before they write the reviews. By talking to them and asking about the changes they expect, you lower the chances of receiving Airbnb bad reviews. Be keen on the changes they expect in:
- Menu
- Room cleanliness and hygiene
- Entertainment
- Staff interaction and relationship
- Services charges
After your guests leave
Write a response to every review received
The last thing you want as a business is to maintain the bad experience you let guests leave after their Airbnb stay. While the expectation is to get the best reviews from your guests, leave room for negative comments. It is prudent to write a response to every review as soon as you receive it. Note that potential customers will go through the reviews before coming to your establishment. By writing a response, you give your former guests a chance to rethink the reviews and even convince them to change their opinions.
Acknowledge your mistakes
After receiving Airbnb bad reviews, do not ignore them. The chances that there are mistakes to rectify as a business are higher. It is important to acknowledge the mistakes and work on avoiding them in the future. Even after leaving bad reviews, potential customers will see your acknowledgment and be encouraged to stay at your place. You also show a willingness to improve service delivery for future guests by acknowledging your mistakes.
💡 Mistakes teach us what doesn’t work and inspire us to think and act in new ways.
Talk to your staff
Most of the bad reviews you get from the guests will highlight what you need to change. If it’s about your premise’s cleanliness and hygiene, hold a meeting with your janitors and other staff to address the issues. Be specific about the things the guests wanted you to change and discuss how to actualize them. While taking the blame is significant, ensure your staff takes responsibility and works towards making positive changes.
Show your progress
All other efforts notwithstanding, you must show the changes and progress to avoid bad Airbnb reviews in the future. Using your website or social media platforms, highlight the changes made based on your guests’ bad reviews and responses. It is easy to impress your potential guests and avoid the bad reviews by showing proof of positive changes in your establishment. Include blogs and other content that highlight your previous guests’ roles in improving the Airbnb customer experience.
Running an Airbnb establishment can be a daunting task. Despite working hard to give your guests the best experience and stay, you might still get bad reviews. You should, however, learn and find ways to avoid negative feedback and reviews in the future. This guide highlights the crucial things you should do before and after your guests leave to increase the positive reviews chances in the future.
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