Featured Airbnb hosts share how guests can get better reviews

• Like hosts, Airbnb guests receive reviews after staying at a property.
• The two-way review process is for the benefit of the community, according to Airbnb.
• Business Insider spoke with top Airbnb hosts about how to boost guest ratings.

Unlike hotels, guests who book their stay through Airbnb don’t just leave a review; They are reviewed by themselves.

Just as guests are free to rate and review hosts, hosts are free to do the same, which helps others in the community know what to expect in terms of cleanliness, house rules and communication, according to Airbnb’s website.

To find out the exact thought processes of hosts when evaluating guests and how travelers can get five-star reviews, Business Insider spoke to two Airbnb hosts who stand out for their outstanding hospitality.

Jamie Merwin, an Airbnb featured host, said she has been renting cottages and cabins on the platform for nearly four years. Meanwhile, Rachel Boyce told BI she is a great Airbnb host who has been renting out tiny houses in Georgia on the website since 2021.

Respect property

According to Merwin, respecting estates starts with following the house rules.

“A ‘distinguished guest’ is someone who leaves the property in a condition close to how they entered it,” she said.

To earn a five-star rating from Merwin, she told Insider guests they should wash and put away dishes, clean surfaces like countertops, and make sure floors are clean of dirt and food crumbs.

“A four-star guest would be someone who followed most of the house rules, and any rules that weren’t followed 100% weren’t serious,” she said. “For example, not putting clean dishes in the dishwasher or not resetting the thermostat to the desired temperature.”

Leaving dishes in the sink will give you three, leaving a mess will give you two, and “destroying the place” will give you one.

According to Boyce, respecting the property also means following safety rules to protect guests and the surrounding environment. This is especially important to Boyce since her property is tucked away in a rural area of ​​Georgia, surrounded by forests and wildlife.

“Not everyone is more outdoorsy,” Boyce said, referring to some of the guests she has hosted. For this reason, she said it’s important to follow specific guidelines for their safety, such as monitoring their surroundings when hiking and not smoking.

“Because we’re a little different, I have some specific conditions, like not smoking because I don’t want you to set fire to our forest,” she said.

The best way to respect a property is to treat it like your home, Boyce says.

“Just treat it like you would your own stuff. Especially if you get something really dirty or if you break something,” she said.

If anything goes wrong, Boyce said, guests should be “upfront” with the hosts. One example she gave was how a recently hosted guest accidentally broke a chair at one of her Airbnb and told her about it immediately.

“I was able to search for it and order it very quickly, because as soon as you leave, someone else comes along, and the next people will want it as good as you got it,” she said.

Open communication is key

According to Merwin and Boyce, it’s important to communicate clearly with your host during your stay — especially if things don’t go as planned.

Besides taking care of the space, Boyce advises guests to “keep communication open if anything goes wrong” or if they have any requests that might violate the house rules.

For example, Boyce said she’s open to relaxing her rules about throwing parties if a guest is honest about having people over.

“If someone says, ‘Hey, I’d like to have brunch with some of the girls that come over or whatever,’ that could be considered a party, but I’d be willing to relax a little bit about my rules,” she added. He said.

A guest recently asked if they could visit a friend at the property for dinner, and she said, “Sure. Thank you for reaching out to me about this. certainly. I don’t mind if they come, but please don’t be mad that I have to come and clean up.'”

The Airbnb website also has tips on how guests can get better reviews. The home rental company says guests should treat the property as if it were yours and follow the house rules, echoing what Boice and Merwin shared. He also shares specific tips and information about what can happen if guests ignore this.

“When repeated or serious violations of these ground rules are reported, guests may also be suspended or removed from our community,” Airbnb says on its website.