How to write a Great Vacation Rental Review
Ask any vacation rental owner what the best part of owning and renting their property is, and most likely they will reply it is when they get a ‘5-Star’ review from an appreciative guest!
There is nothing like that positive pat-on-the-back that tells a VR owner that they contributed to a positive vacation time for their guest.
See a Template Example of a Good Vacation Rental Review here.
We hope and expect that every one of our guests will want to leave us a five star review.
Some people don’t believe in leaving a 5-star review because “nothing is ever perfect” or it “wasn’t a 5-star property” but what these folks don’t understand is that is not what vacation rental reviews are all about.
A vacation rental review is not about a property rating. Property rankings are best left to professional travel writers, who have an objective system for qualifying them.
What the property is like is really not the purpose of a review, because all guests have a chance to see in detail what they are booking before they make their choice.
If a property isn’t what they are after, there are lots of others to choose from, and lots of information available about all of them.
A main purpose of the review is to validate whether the information presented can be relied upon. Is a future guest likely to have a good experience?
When you write a review, you are really writing a message to other guests.
They are looking to someone who has first-hand experience and can assure them of the answer to these questions:
Can they trust that
– the property is as presented,
– the property will be available upon arrival,
– the property is reasonably clean and kept and maintained to a good standard,
– the property is properly licensed and accredited,
– the owner, manager or representative is responsible, responsive and helpful with communication,
– the owner is concerned about the quality of the guest’s experience and will take reasonable steps to ensure their enjoyment of their stay at the property?
If the answer to all of these questions is YES, then the property and the owner deserve a five star (or highest possible ranking) review.
If you genuinely feel that the answer to any of these questions is no, then you have an issue that you should take up with the owner prior to leaving a review. If you can’t get satisfaction after discussing your concern with the owner (and being open to what they suggest or respond with) only then should you note it in a public review.
Sometimes an owner can’t solve a problem for a guest, but they can still respond in a manner that displays that they understand the guest’s concern and care about the guest’s satisfaction. Owners in the business refer to this as a ‘5-star response’.
Things that are not relevant to a review:
- Did something go wrong or break down during your stay? This can happen in any situation, anywhere, at any time, so is usually not relevant. It’s simply bad luck or bad timing.
(How the host responded to the situation IS relevant. Did they act reasonably and promptly to minimize your inconvenience? Did they respond to the issue as most reasonable people would expect?) The only exception is if many things broke down constantly due to an obvious lack of maintenance. That certainly bears mentioning. - Personal preferences. It doesn’t matter if you don’t like the colour of drapes, type of flooring, type of dishes, etc. These are not relevant to a review, and a guest should be prepared to exhibit some flexibility in adapting to what the property provides. Beyond this, if there were aspects of the property that you didn’t like, but could have been seen or noticed in photos or the property description, or you could have asked the property owner about it prior to booking if really important, then this is not something that would typically warrant a reduction in rating.
- The weather, or a noisy party down the street, or any other thing beyond the owner host’s reasonable control.
You may have had something affect your stay, but if it was not usual or typical, and would be unlikely to happen again, you just have to chalk it up to bad luck. Something that won’t affect other future guests doesn’t bear mentioning in a review.
Things that are relevant to a review:
- Anything that surprised you in a pleasant way.
- Anything the owner did that went above and beyond what would be expected.
- Any example of the owner responding to a problem or issue in a very positive manner, or steps the owner took to simply make things up to you if it was a matter they couldn’t resolve for you.
- Anything that is special or unique about the property that a future guest may be unsure about. For example, they may be wondering “Yes, the owner says the property is private, but is it really THAT private?” Assure future guests about the unique benefits of the property.
Something that you should never do:
Ask for a refund, or tie the nature of your response to a refund, or change your review because you did or did not receive a refund. Demanding a refund in return for a good review is actually extortion, and against the law. Refunds of security deposits, or requests for refunds should always be kept out of the review process.
If any kind of compensation is involved, the integrity and validity of both the review, and the process, are automatically called into question. Trust is destroyed when any type of consideration plays a part in a review or property rating.
Here are a few examples of things not to criticize in a review:
- The firmness or softness of mattresses. This is entirely subjective and more a function of what one is used to at home than anything else.
- Minor maintenance that can be fixed immediately. They won’t affect future guests.
- Any complaint or issue you had but failed to report immediately to the owner.
It’s unfair to criticize anything you did not give the owner/manager a chance to rectify immediately. - Don’t criticize decor… unless it is significantly different from listing photos. It’s up to each guest to study the photos and decide if they like the decor. If not, they should choose a different property. If you didn’t like it once you arrived, you only have yourself to thank for not studying listing photos closely enough.
- Traffic delays due to construction. They’re temporary, and often affect the entire area equally. It’s certainly fair to mention them.
You can learn more here.
A few closing tips:
- If your overall stay was positive, try to keep things positive.
- Remember you’re writing to other future guests. They want to know if the listing information is accurate, and how helpful and trustworthy the owner is. Do they communicate well? Is support available if needed? They also want to know what you liked best about staying at the property.
- Future guests want to know that what they’re seeing in a listing is real, and will be there for them when they arrive. Often a vacation rental listing looks too good to be true. You’ve been there and can provide assurance! Is it?
- For further information on Vacation Rental 5-Star Review Rankings, check out this article here on our website. You may want to read it before you leave your review, as it provides some guidance on what to write and how to leave a review that’s really helpful.