In our latest blog on why quality matters on Airbnb, we now shift our focus to a critical aspect of hosting: guest assessment of your listings, namely;
- their interactions with you before they arrive
- their first impressions
- the comfort and feel of your place throughout their stay
- their overall expectations of their stay
Understanding how guests perceive their stay and addressing any negative experiences they highlight is crucial for your success as a host both in terms of getting previous guests to return and recommend and keeping your listings in good shape on Airbnb’s website.
Why You Should Focus on Negative Guest Feedback
Guest feedback is more than just a report card—it’s a roadmap for improvement. Negative review tags are particularly important because they pinpoint the areas where your listing may have fallen short of expectations. By paying attention to these tags, you can identify recurring issues and take proactive steps to resolve them, ultimately leading to better ratings, more bookings, and higher earnings.
This is especially vital for new listings, where every positive review counts. Hosts with fewer lifetime reviews have been shown to earn more when they secure an additional highly rated review. Addressing negative feedback not only prevents further issues but also enhances the confidence guests have in your listings as ‘doing what they say on the tin’.
Understanding Negative Review Tags
Review tags provide detailed insights into what guests liked or didn’t like about their stay. While positive tags are always encouraging, it’s the negative ones that offer the most potential for an upturn in what the guests experience at your property. Here are some common negative review tags and categories a guest can report that you should monitor:
1. Communication
- Slow to respond
- Not helpful
2. Accuracy
- Didn’t match photos
- Needs maintenance
3. Check-In
- Hard to locate
- Hard to get inside
3. Communication
- Slow to respond
- Not helpful
4. Cleanliness
- Dirty or dusty
- Noticeable smells
5. Location
- Noisy
- Inconvenient location
These categories provide specific issues and can guide you on where to focus your improvements. Prioritising the most frequently reported issues will help you address the areas that impacted the guests the most and need the highest attention.
How eviivo Can Support You
At eviivo, we’re committed to helping you provide the best possible experience for your guests. Our tools, such as the Airbnb Feedback report, are designed to give you the insights you need to monitor and improve your listing’s performance.
To access the Airbnb Feedback report, navigate to Dashboard > OTA Reports > Airbnb Feedback. This report aggregates the bookings where negative tags have been left, showing you the most reported tags in order of priority. The higher the count of tags, the more immediate the need for action.
You can drill down to individual bookings to see which guests were affected and which listings received negative feedback. This level of detail helps you concentrate your efforts and address the most pressing issues first.
Take Action Today
Your commitment to improving guest experiences will not only enhance your reputation but also increase your bookings and revenue. Use the insights from the Airbnb Feedback report to identify and rectify issues, ensuring your listings meet and exceed guest expectations.
At eviivo, we’re here to support you every step of the way. Let’s work together to turn every stay into a five-star experience.