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Category: Guest Communication
By: Grace Kim
Reply by David Okafor:
My post-checkout message has a 62% review rate (compared to ~30% before I started using it). Here's the template: **Sent 2 hours after checkout:** "Hi [Name]! Thank you so much for being a wonderful guest! We hope you had an amazing time in [city]. 🏡 If you have a moment, we'd really appreciate an honest review of your stay. Your feedback helps us keep improving AND helps future travelers find a great place to stay. [If they mentioned something they loved during their stay, add]: We're so glad you loved [the rooftop deck / the neighborhood / the kitchen]! Thank you for choosing to stay with us. Safe travels home! ✈️" **Why this works:** 1. It's WARM (not transactional) 2. It asks for an "honest" review (not begging for 5 stars) 3. It references something personal if possible 4. It's sent within a few hours while the experience is fresh I automate this through Hospitable (https://hospitable.com) so I never forget to send it.
Reply by Jake Anderson:
I'll add one technique that increased my review rate significantly: **leave YOUR review of the guest first.** When you leave a review, the guest gets a notification: "[Host] left you a review! Leave a review to see what they said." This curiosity drives them to leave one in return. My workflow: 1. Guest checks out 2. I leave a 5-star review within 1 hour (unless they were problematic) 3. 2 hours later, my automated post-checkout message goes out 4. Most guests leave a review within 24 hours This combo pushes my review rate above 70%. Reviews are the lifeblood of your listing.
Reply by Tyler Jackson:
Whatever you do, **never explicitly ask for 5 stars.** Airbnb frowns on this and guests find it manipulative. "Honest review" or "your feedback" is the right framing. Also, don't send a review request if there were ANY issues during the stay (even minor ones). If the WiFi went out for an hour and you fixed it, let sleeping dogs lie. The guest might have forgotten about it, but your review nudge will remind them to mention it.