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Category: Guest Communication
By: James Wu
Reply by David Okafor:
Always respond to 4-star reviews. Not for the guest who wrote it (they're gone) but for future guests reading reviews. Your response shows: 1. You're attentive and responsive 2. You take feedback seriously 3. Issues get fixed quickly Here's a template response for your situation: "Thank you for the great feedback, [Name]! We're thrilled you enjoyed the location and cleanliness. You're right that the AC was due for maintenance — we've already replaced the unit so future guests will enjoy whisper-quiet cooling. We'd love to host you again!" Key principles: - Be grateful and warm - Acknowledge the issue specifically - Describe the fix (shows future guests this problem is resolved) - End with a forward-looking positive note Our review response tool at https://strspecialist.com/tools/review-response-generator generates responses like this in seconds.
Reply by Tony Russo:
I'm more strategic about review responses. My rules: - **5 stars:** Short and sweet. "Thanks [Name], loved hosting you! Come back anytime." - **4 stars:** Medium response acknowledging feedback + fix implemented - **3 stars:** Longer response addressing each point professionally - **1-2 stars:** Very carefully crafted public response (often sharing my side politely) For 4-star reviews, the goal is to neutralize the minor negative. Future guests see "AC was noisy" but then immediately see "host already replaced it." Net impact: positive. Never be defensive. Never complain about the rating. That looks terrible to future bookers.
Reply by Ryan Tanaka:
Hot take: stop stressing about 4-star reviews. I have a 4.87 average across 200+ reviews and I'm booked solid. That's 87% five-stars with a sprinkling of fours. Guests aren't looking for a perfect 5.0 — in fact, a perfect 5.0 looks suspicious (are the reviews fake?). Focus your energy on preventing 1-3 star reviews and the 4s will take care of themselves.