How to respond to a negative Airbnb review — without making it worse

Category: Guest Communication

By: Kevin O'Brien

Posted: 2025-12-28T21:58:43.176Z

Just got my first truly nasty review. Guest gave me 2 stars and wrote a paragraph about how the property was "dirty" (it was professionally cleaned), "the bed was uncomfortable" (it's a brand new Casper mattress), and "the host was unresponsive" (I replied to every message within 30 minutes). I'm angry but I know I need to respond professionally. What's the best way to respond to negative reviews? Should I even respond at all?

Reply by Michael Thompson:

Always respond. Always. The response isn't for the guest who left the review — it's for the hundreds of future guests who will read it. I'd write something like: "Thanks for your feedback. Our property is professionally cleaned between every stay with a pre-arrival walkthrough. The mattress is a new Casper that's been popular with guests. Our message records show responses within 30 minutes throughout the stay. We take all feedback seriously and always look for ways to improve." Short, factual, zero drama. Here's the thing — you don't need to "win" the argument or prove they're wrong. Just calmly stating facts ("our records show") lets future guests draw their own conclusions. They're smart enough to read between the lines when a reviewer sounds unreasonable. Few things I've learned the hard way: don't respond when you're angry. Seriously. Write a draft, sleep on it, rewrite it in the morning. Keep it under 150 words — a long defensive essay looks worse than the bad review itself. Never call the guest a liar even if they obviously are. And have another host friend read your response before you post it. The good news? A negative review with a classy response actually helps your bookings sometimes. I've had guests tell me they booked specifically because of how I handled a bad review. For help crafting responses, https://strspecialist.com/tools/review-response-generator is pretty useful.

Reply by Priya Nair:

Also: **check if the review violates Airbnb policy and can be removed.** Reviews can be removed if they: - Contain discriminatory language - Reference a canceled reservation (only completed stays should have reviews) - Are retaliatory (guest threatened a bad review unless you gave a refund — and you have this in messages!) - Contain content about other guests, not your property - Include personal information - Were written by someone who didn't actually stay If any of these apply: 1. Go to the review → click the flag icon → "Report this review" 2. Call Airbnb support and request escalation to Trust & Safety 3. Provide evidence (message screenshots showing retaliation, etc.) Airbnb removes about 10-15% of reported reviews in my experience. It's always worth trying if there's a legitimate policy violation.

Reply by Emily Chen: