Leaving Reviews for STR owners
New to Real Estate · Bryan/College Station, TX · Member since 2020 · 28 posts · 14 votes
Leaving Reviews for STR owners
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Bruce WoodruffPro Member
Contractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votesI would leave a bad review. No need to contact the owner first (IMHO). It is ultimately on them, whether they are self-managing or they hired the PM company.
There is zero excuse for you having to stay in a dirty gross place and starting your vacation off on a bad note. A few bad reviews and whoever is in charge will wake up.
It won't hurt the host too much...they should have dozens, if not more, decent reviews so a bad review won't lower the average that much...
26 Replies
- 3ySarah KensingerPro MemberReal Estate Consultant · OH · Member since 2023 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
It affects them pretty good, because people go off reviews and reviews affect where your listing falls within the OTA. As someone who has stayed at 35 STR in the last 6 years, I appreciate and want honest reviews of a property before I book the place. Be nice and respectful, but please share an honest review of the property! Maybe they'll clean it up if enough people leave "bad" reviews.
- 3yTravis TimmonsPro MemberRental Property Investor · Ellsworth, ME · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 2k+ votes
You have to give an honest (bad) review. Two things can be true - it can be an amazing property and also not be clean or well maintained.
- 3yDave StokleyBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 699 posts · 799 votes
Think of reviews as your obligation as part of the STR community. The whole system is built on honest reviews. If you leave a bad review yeah you are making one guy's life a little tougher, but if you don't you could be misleading hundreds of other people into a bad experience.
- 3yJohn UnderwoodPro MemberInvestor · Greer, SC · Member since 2014 · 13k+ posts · 17k+ votes
I would contact the owner or PM first.
Did you let them know there was no hot water at the sink? If they don't know they can't fix it. If you did let them know about this or any other issues. How did they respond? This is key for me.
Depending on what they say or do I would leave an appropriate review.
There is no excuse for the place being dirty.
- 3yAndrew SteffensBusiness MemberTampa, FL · Member since 2022 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
I agree with John
Contact them first; unfortunately most people who reach out to us as hosts are looking for compensation in exchange for a more favorable review. I think they way they respond possibly could earn them some last minute "points". I'm not sure if you know or not but it could be a Property Manager, Remote Owner, or other but a lot of times it is contracted employees doing the cleaning etc. If the owner cares about your feedback they will cancel the contract or at least threaten it as the things you mentioned are egregious. If they are truly concerned great, maybe you can mention that in the review. If seemingly not, mention that as well.
Vacation Rentals of Florida53 Reviews - 3yBruce WoodruffPro MemberContractor/Investor/Consultant · San Diego / Phoenix · Member since 2021 · 12k+ posts · 15k+ votes
I would leave a bad review. No need to contact the owner first (IMHO). It is ultimately on them, whether they are self-managing or they hired the PM company.
There is zero excuse for you having to stay in a dirty gross place and starting your vacation off on a bad note. A few bad reviews and whoever is in charge will wake up.
It won't hurt the host too much...they should have dozens, if not more, decent reviews so a bad review won't lower the average that much...
- Cambridge, MA · Member since 2015 · 651 posts · 736 votes3yI disagree. In order for our hard earned 5 star reviews to be worth anything, we need guests to be honest.
Quote from @John Underwood:
I would contact the owner or PM first.
Did you let them know there was no hot water at the sink? If they don't know they can't fix it. If you did let them know about this or any other issues. How did they respond? This is key for me.
Depending on what they say or do I would leave an appropriate review.
There is no excuse for the place being dirty.
I totally get that there might be things wrong in my STR that I don’t know about which is why I LOVE the message I send my departing guests telling them I strive for 5 stars, please tell me anything that wasn’t 5 stars (paraphrasing). I deeply appreciate the suggestions I get even MORE than the 5 stars it generates from those who make suggestions!
But I do expect honest reviews from my guests and even more importantly to me, I expect honest reviews on the Airbnbs I book!
Pay attention to those reviews when booking! If cleanliness is important, search the reviews for clean. If wifi is important to you, search the reviews for wifi or internet, etc. What one person finds problematic, another might find not a problem. - 3yDave StokleyBusiness MemberProperty Manager · Cleveland, OH · Member since 2015 · 699 posts · 799 votes
Quote from @Carolyn Fuller:
I disagree. In order for our hard earned 5 star reviews to be worth anything, we need guests to be honest.Quote from @John Underwood:
I would contact the owner or PM first.
Did you let them know there was no hot water at the sink? If they don't know they can't fix it. If you did let them know about this or any other issues. How did they respond? This is key for me.
Depending on what they say or do I would leave an appropriate review.
There is no excuse for the place being dirty.
I totally get that there might be things wrong in my STR that I don’t know about which is why I LOVE the message I send my departing guests telling them I strive for 5 stars, please tell me anything that wasn’t 5 stars (paraphrasing). I deeply appreciate the suggestions I get even MORE than the 5 stars it generates from those who make suggestions!
But I do expect honest reviews from my guests and even more importantly to me, I expect honest reviews on the Airbnbs I book!
Pay attention to those reviews when booking! If cleanliness is important, search the reviews for clean. If wifi is important to you, search the reviews for wifi or internet, etc. What one person finds problematic, another might find not a problem.Agree with you @Carolyn Fuller. Where did this attitude come from that everyone should have a chance to fix problems after guests arrive? That’s insane! Nobody wants their trip disrupted by having to wait for a second cleaning, hot water repairs, etc. Get it right the first time!
And yeah things can break after cleans and during stays and most people are understanding if you can address it quickly. But there are no second chances for a first impression, and there’s no excuse for an unclean place.
- Real Estate Agent · Smoky Mountains, TN · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 984 votes3y
I struggle with this too! You never want to burn a fellow host, but in the same regard we are not all created equal. Use your best judgement and don't nitpick, but do be honest.
- Investor · Cincinnati/Fort Thomas, KY · Member since 2015 · 206 posts · 183 votes3y
@Kyle McVay You can send a message that only the host sees. If there are mixed reviews it would indicate it is a normal issue with the listing. If it is all 5 stars, the host is really striving to keep the 5 stars and even a 4 star knocks them down in search results.
As a fellow STR host and LTR owner, I try to give my detailed feedback directly to the host (more towels, cleaners missed an area, etc.). I stay only in STRs when I travel (8 so far this calendar year) so I try to give detailed feedback to hosts with a chance to fix it, just like hotels receive and
I am given with my LTRs and STRs. When I am booking an STR I really want to know if beds are comfortable, and responsiveness and tone of host IF something is amiss.
- Rental Property Investor · Grove City, OH · Member since 2018 · 93 posts · 71 votes3y
Did you contact the host when you came across these issues? I always try to give the host a chance to make it right before I leave a bad review. If they give you a refund for a partial night or something like that to make up for the dirty accommodations, then I would still give 5 stars BUT in the description of the review let the future guests know what you experienced.
- Investor · Las Vegas, NV · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 10k+ votes3y
These are the kind of problems that 50% of hotels would waive all charges. 40% might waive some and 10% would just move you to a "better room". What do you think the percents are with STR landlords like this one? 10% MIGHT waive all fees, 20-30% might waive some and other 60-70% would what, not respond, call them liars, say they are being too picky? If they're going to charge at or near hotel rooms PLUS mandatory cleaning fees (I don't know why these don't have to be included in room rates after the ruling against airlines.) the place should be immaculate. Or this renter or at least the previous one should get their cleaning fee refunded. Maybe that's the newest profit center, charging for cleaning and not doing it.
- Investor · Plymouth, MN · Member since 2020 · 157 posts · 102 votes3y
As a fellow host we give total honest feedback direct to the host and not in a public review.
We love getting private honest feedback. Some guests have great ideas on improvements or fixing little things we were not aware. Some have bad ideas 😀
We go ballistic when when guests post on a Public review little things that are easily solvable. For example, remote batteries didn't work so we couldn't use blah.....we store extra batteries in all of our properties. Or things such as lots of scary lizards outside and we wish host would do something about it.
Now if a total disaster were to happen and the host handled it very poorly we would write in the review. We have stayed in dozens of Airbnb's all over the usa and abroad....and never had a big disaster. Now some had tons of room for improvement - fixing things, better directions, more kitchen stuff, but these are things we send directly to the host.
There are ways of making sure everyone is aware and know what to expect and still being positive.....great example was an Airbnb we stayed in Óbidos, Portugal. We loved it. Many reviews complained of old musky wall, narrow stairs, old bedframe.....on our review we wrote something like the cracking sound of warped floors fit well in in the old Portuguese house built over 400 years. One of the main walls in the house is the city wall built in the 8th century - don't expect white plaster or paint as it's pretty close to original.... get up early and walk on top of the city wall for an awesome view. Drink coffee first as there are no hand rails on the city wall and if you fall you probably are not going to make it home but definitely worth the risk. 5/5.
- 3yMichael BaumPro MemberOlympia, WA · Member since 2016 · 8k+ posts · 7k+ votes
Hey @Kyle McVay, some of the things you listed are plain unacceptable. Dirty is a huge problem. The dip? I mean it is a tub of dip in the fridge? Meh...
No hot water to the sink should also mean no hot water to the dishwasher. That is a problem.
I recently hosted someone who has a few STR. She had a lot of little complaints. The wall clock in the master bedroom ticks too loud, no electric griddle, there was some soap scum on the overflow drains in the sinks, the light switches had some crud on them, the master bed was squeeky, the master bedroom door was sticky. Some of the blinds got broken by the previous guests so I had to replace them but couldn't due to back to back bookings. That sort of thing.
I actually appreciate the feedback. I took care of 90% of the items she listed (the door needs to come off so I can plane 1/16" off the top and that is about it.
I asked them not to leave a review if they didn't feel it was a 5 star stay and they complied. I left them a 5 star review as they left the house in great shape.
I keep sending them pics of the repairs and the new electric griddle I am bringing to the house next week.
They were really nice folks and as an owner, I like to get things fixed as soon as I can.
- New to Real Estate · Bryan/College Station, TX · Member since 2020 · 28 posts · 14 votes3y
Quote from @Michael Baum:
Hey @Kyle McVay, some of the things you listed are plain unacceptable. Dirty is a huge problem. The dip? I mean it is a tub of dip in the fridge? Meh...
No hot water to the sink should also mean no hot water to the dishwasher. That is a problem.
I recently hosted someone who has a few STR. She had a lot of little complaints. The wall clock in the master bedroom ticks too loud, no electric griddle, there was some soap scum on the overflow drains in the sinks, the light switches had some crud on them, the master bed was squeeky, the master bedroom door was sticky. Some of the blinds got broken by the previous guests so I had to replace them but couldn't due to back to back bookings. That sort of thing.
I actually appreciate the feedback. I took care of 90% of the items she listed (the door needs to come off so I can plane 1/16" off the top and that is about it.
I asked them not to leave a review if they didn't feel it was a 5 star stay and they complied. I left them a 5 star review as they left the house in great shape.
I keep sending them pics of the repairs and the new electric griddle I am bringing to the house next week.
They were really nice folks and as an owner, I like to get things fixed as soon as I can.
Yes, the bed creaked the neighbor was somewhat odd and I could of choked the guy with the blower outside our door multiple times for over an hour. All of that is incidental stuff that is neither here nor there. I once rented a really nice STR and during the first night of the stay a SWAT Team showed up at a nearby house to remove some woman from the house accross the street. It was wild. I left those people a wonderful review because their home was great. They can't help it if some crazy mess is happening across the street.
I'm a Texas Mom, my boy plays baseball, I don't care about canned dip ...let me clarify chewed dip... a used pregnancy test on the floor, the sticky obviously dirty floor. There was more but I decided to wear shoes and enjoy my weekend, before we left I took some notes. ;) - Developer · Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 23 posts · 15 votes3y
I am honest bro. I pay money for something and I expect it to be what I pay for. I do always tell them in private first to see how they react but in the end, unless I am convinced they will address the issues I tell the public. I had one in Houston recently that was a disaster BUT the owner was down the road and showed up within 5 minutes and was just as unhappy as I was. She offered a refund, another unit she had that would be an upgrade, and even to pay for luxury hotel for one night while she arranged to have the unit completely cleaned overnight.
The issue was the guys before us had smoked weed inside and it was strong, like someone was in there at that time doing it. There were a couple of other minor cleaning issues as well. We made a deal to cut the rental price in half and she had ionizer machines shipped overnight from amazon to remove the door the following day.
Let me say this, the ones she bought worked magic. I couldn't believe it. This thing was tiny and we left for the day turned it on the 2hr cycle and when we returned it was the freshest air I ever inhaled in my life lol it was insane. I took a pic of the machine to remind myself to buy one if I ever needed this for a unit of my own.
With all of this she kept in touch and did an amazing job. Came by when we left and said goodbye. She took care of us and I appreciated that. So I left a great review but I did mention it had an issue on arrival but that the owner went above and beyond to remedy it with multiple solutions. Be honest and nice if possible.
- 3yDan H.Pro MemberInvestor · Poway, CA · Member since 2015 · 7k+ posts · 8k+ votes
I believe reviews should be honest, but if you contact the PM first you have more insight prior to leaving the review. Arrr we they trying a new cleaning contractor or have another explanation for the cleanliness. How do they take the constructive criticism? Do they attempt to address your concerns?
I believe by contacting PM first snd discussing the issues can affect (in both directions) your review.
I fired my pm a year ago and started the reviews back at zero (lost over a thousand reviews). One of my first reviews on VRBO was a scathing review. There was some exaggeration in the review, but I suspect a lot of the items listed did bother the guest and as they thought about their stay their feelings about the unit worsened. What bothers me most about the review is not the exaggerations but that the PM reached out to the guest 2 times that they had record verifying the guests had no issues and the guests failed to indicate both times of any issues. As indicated I suspect the guest believes their review, but when asked about their stay when something could maybe have been done to address some of the issues they indicated there were no issue. I feel leaving a scathing review after you indicated twice that there were zero issues is not cool (even if they were real issues).
This scathing review is affecting this unit’s VRBO booking rate and due to this impact the unit has a reduced rent compared to similar unit in my same complex (note this unit is the better unit: better view and better decorations but has $50/night lower rent than the other unit).
Talk to PM first then leave an honest review.
Good luck
- Investor · Provo, UT · Member since 2016 · 759 posts · 626 votes3y
We had a situation just like this recently and we ended up messaging the host directly.
The house was okay but has lots of little issues and you could tell it was about running the place as cheaply as possible.
I think in the future though we will just leave a poor review because I am worried that a few more people will do what we did and they will never take care of the issues.
- 3yColleen F.Pro MemberInvestor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
@Kyle McVay the time to give a chance to make it right is when you get there and you see an issue. Call them there is no hot water in the sink and I don't know who you have cleaning but they didn't do a good job. The 5 star review process is crazy. Opt out of a review or give an honest one. I would favor the later.
- 3yJay ThomasPro MemberReal Estate Agent · Houston, TX · Member since 2021 · 1k+ posts · 715 votes
I suggest reaching out to the host directly to address your concerns. Let them know about the deceptive pictures and the cleanliness problems you encountered. It's important to provide specific feedback to help them improve. Remember to mention positive aspects too. Bad reviews can seriously impact an STR's reputation, potentially discouraging future guests from booking.
- Rental Property Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2018 · 37 posts · 11 votes3y
As someone who had run two STR Units in TX over the past year, I can say that reviews can make or break certain deals. At least on Airbnb, reviews affect the Algorithm and can determine where your listing is on the platform. For example, I had nearly 50 Positive Reviews (nothing less than 4-Stars), as well as what they call Superhost Status (which is another conversation entirely), and that kept my listings on the first page when guests were looking at that market, yet a few bad reviews can put you on the pages that are too far for the average person to scroll to.
In short, hospitality is KEY in the STR game. I'm sorry to hear about the horrible experiences. - Property Manager · Albany, OR · Member since 2016 · 58 posts · 23 votes3y
@Kyle McVay
If it's not a 5 start, it's negative for a host. Basically 5 star means "nothing is perfect, but we loved the house and loved our stay". Maybe you found a bug, or there was 1 hair on the bath counter, or maybe something didn't work correctly and you informed the host about it, who took care of it, or let you know ahead of time something wasn't up to par but they had it scheduled to be taken care of..... all of these situations would still warrant a 5 star review. It's when there's obvious negligence or lack of caring that should start to lower the rating. Finding a used pregnancy test
- Property Manager · Albany, OR · Member since 2016 · 58 posts · 23 votes3y
@Kyle McVay
For STR anything below a 5 star is considered a negative review for a host. 5 star basically means "nobody is perfect, but the house was clean, and we enjoyed our stay". Things happen, stuff breaks or wears out. If you inform the host and they fix it, or if the host let you know a situation is in the process of being fixed (like maybe a washer needs replaced, but won't be delivered for a week) even if you find minimal things like a single hair on a counter, or bug(s) got in the house. Depending on location, bugs can be very common and unavoidable. These situations would all still get a 5-star. It's when hosts clearly don't care or don't clean that ratings start to go down. You should ALWAYS reach out to the host first. If they are responsive and apologetic and fix the clear housekeeping issue, that's one thing. If they insist it was cleaned and become argumentative, than give them the lower rating.
- Investor · Member since 2022 · 1k+ posts · 754 votes3y
It definitely affects them but based on his track record doesn’t sound like he cares.
I’d offer him private feedback and then mark him down in whatever areas you felt you needed too.
When it’s guests with clean track records I give them the benefit of the doubt
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