How should I respond to Airbnb reviews, good and bad?

A review is written by one guest, but your response is read by every guest who finds your listing after them. Airbnb sets the rules on what can be removed and when reviews go live. Everything else, the tone and length of your reply, is up to you. All Airbnb rules on this page come from its Help Center, read on Nov 4, 2026. HostCalmly is not affiliated with Airbnb.

How Airbnb reviews work

Airbnb's Reviews for homes (opens in a new tab) article sets the timing:

• 14 days. Both host and guest have 14 days after checkout to write a review.
• Neither side sees the other's review first. Reviews are published once both have submitted, or when the 14 days end, whichever comes first.
• Editing. You can edit your review until it's published.
• What's public. Written reviews and the overall star rating are public. The subcategory ratings and the guest's private notes to you are not. Airbnb says those private notes are seen only by you and Airbnb.

The How long you have to write a review (opens in a new tab) article adds that there are no exceptions for late reviews. After the window closes, the guest can still message you.

When Airbnb will remove a review

Airbnb's Reviews Policy (opens in a new tab) says reviews must be relevant, authentic and trustworthy, and must follow the Content Policy. A review can be removed if it's:

• Irrelevant. Not based on first-hand experience of the stay, or about something other than the stay. Airbnb gives the example of a guest who never arrived or canceled for reasons unrelated to the listing.
• Fake. Not tied to a real reservation.
• Biased, deceptive or coerced. Including reviews traded for discounts, refunds, reciprocal reviews or a promise not to report something.
• Written to harm competition. A review of a listing the reviewer competes with or is directly affiliated with.
• Retaliatory. See the next section.
• Against the Content Policy. Explicit, discriminatory, harmful or illegal content.

What doesn't qualify, according to the same policy:

• Disagreeing with a star rating is not grounds for removal on its own.
• Things outside your control, such as street noise, can stay up if they're relevant to future guests.
• Subjective opinions, such as the kitchen feeling small, can stay up.
• Negative reviews. Airbnb doesn't remove a review just because it's negative, and it generally doesn't mediate disputes over whether a review is accurate. Your response is the place to answer it.

The retaliation rule

The Reviews Policy treats a review as retaliatory only when all three are true: the reviewer broke a policy, they were told about it, and they then left a biased review after it was reported. A review that discusses the facts of a Resolution Center request or AirCover claim isn't automatically retaliatory. For example, a guest you reported for breaking the party rules, who was notified and then posted a biased review about it, fits all three. A guest who simply disliked the stay does not.

How to ask for removal

The Reviews Policy describes a removal request from the Help Center: choose the review, pick a reason, explain why it breaks the policy and attach any supporting documents. Quote the specific rule it breaks. A request that only says the review is unfair doesn't meet the standard above.

Responding publicly

Airbnb's Responding to a review (opens in a new tab) article says you reply from Profile, then Reviews, then Reviews about you, using Leave public response. You can also reply from the Insights page. Your response posts immediately, and future guests and hosts see it on your listing page with the original review.

The Help Center articles we read don't state a deadline for responding to a review of a home, and they don't say whether you can edit a response after you post it. Treat it as permanent and read it twice before you submit.

What a response can't include

Airbnb's Content Policy (opens in a new tab) applies to responses too. Leave out:

• The guest's private information, or anything from your private messages that identifies them.
• Anything demeaning, insulting, harassing or threatening.
• Anything that breaks Airbnb's Nondiscrimination Policy.
• Advertising for a separate business, including company names or links.

Airbnb's Resource Center article Why reviews matter (opens in a new tab) suggests replying respectfully, even to negative feedback, and moving sensitive issues to a direct message instead.

A reply structure for good reviews

Keep it to two or three sentences. A thank-you that repeats what they liked does more than a generic "thanks."

1. Thank them by first name.
2. Mention one specific thing they or you enjoyed, which future guests skim for.
3. Close warmly, with an open invitation to come back.

You don't have to reply to every five-star review. A reply on the detailed ones is enough.

A reply structure for critical reviews

Wait a day before you write. A reply written while you're upset reads that way to every guest who sees it.

1. Thank them for staying. One line.
2. Name the specific point in a sentence, without arguing.
3. Give one calm fact, such as your cleaning checklist or quiet hours. Skip anything you can't back up.
4. Say what you changed, if you changed something. A fix is more convincing than an explanation.
5. Sign off. No blame, no guest details, no "as you know."

If the review is wrong on a fact, state the fact once and let future guests judge. If it breaks the Reviews Policy, request removal instead of debating it in public. The negative review response template has wording you can fill in.

Writing your review of the guest

The same 14-day window applies to you. Writing yours promptly matters because Airbnb publishes both reviews once both are in, so your review can also nudge the guest to write theirs.

• What you rate. Airbnb's Why reviews matter (opens in a new tab) article says you rate guests on cleanliness, communication and following house rules.
• Who sees it. The same article says your review shows on the profile of the guest who booked and any guests who accepted invitations to the reservation.
• What to write. Stick to facts from the stay: how they communicated, whether they followed the house rules and how they left the home. The guest review template covers this in a few lines.
• Wait for the turnover. Write it after your cleaner has been through, so you know how the home was left. If there's damage, file the claim first. The damage claim message covers the wording.
• Never trade reviews. The Reviews Policy treats reviews traded for discounts, refunds or reciprocal reviews as coerced.

Private feedback

Guests can leave private notes that only you and Airbnb see. Read them alongside the public review: a guest may say there what they didn't want to say in public. Answer anything that needs answering by direct message, not in your public response. If a private note points to a real problem, fix it and add it to your house rules or your turnover checklist.