How to get more 5-star reviews as a host
Most guests do not arrive planning to give four stars. They lower the score for specific, avoidable reasons: arrival was confusing, something did not work and nobody fixed it, the place did not match the photos, or checkout felt like a list of chores. Five-star reviews come from stays where those moments were handled. Here is what to do at each stage.
Understand what a four-star review is telling you
Read your four-star and three-star reviews side by side and highlight every specific complaint. You will usually find the same few themes: arrival, cleanliness, something broken, noise, or a gap between the listing and reality. Those themes are your plan. A generic effort to ‘improve the experience’ changes little; fixing the three things guests keep mentioning changes the score.
Before the stay: set expectations you can beat
Reviews measure the gap between what guests expected and what they got. Listings that oversell create that gap before the guest arrives. Describe the property honestly, including its limits: the steep stairs, the street noise on weekend nights, the small second bedroom. Guests forgive limits they were told about; they punish surprises.
Then send clear pre-arrival information a few days before: directions, parking, check-in time and how access works. A guest who arrives without needing to call you starts the stay in a good mood, and that mood colours everything after it.
Arrival: remove every reason to call
The first thirty minutes set the tone of the review. Give step-by-step arrival instructions with a photo for each step, release access details on the day, and make sure the essentials are visible the moment guests walk in: Wi-Fi details, how the heating or air conditioning works, and how to reach you.
Small welcome touches help, but they do not compensate for a confusing arrival. Clear instructions do more for your rating than a bottle of wine left by a door the guest could not find.
During the stay: catch problems while they are small
This is where most five-star reviews are won or lost. Many guests do not report small problems, such as a dripping tap, a weak shower or a missing pan, because it feels like complaining or it is too much effort. They mention them in the review instead.
Make reporting effortless and invite it explicitly. Send a short message on the first evening asking whether everything is as expected, and give guests a simple way to report an issue with a photo. Then reply fast, fix it, and ask the guest to confirm it is fixed. A problem that was handled well often turns into a compliment: ‘the host fixed it within the hour’.
Make the small things easy
None of these are expensive. They remove the small frustrations that turn a five into a four.
- Spare essentials in obvious places: toilet paper, bin bags, a second set of towels, phone chargers.
- A short, current list of local recommendations, with walking times.
- Instructions next to anything that is not obvious: the coffee machine, the shower, the TV inputs.
- Blackout curtains or blinds in bedrooms, and a fan or heater if the climate needs one.
- A quick answer to messages, with expected response times stated up front.
Checkout: end on a calm note
Guests write the review shortly after leaving, so the last impression weighs heavily. Keep checkout tasks short and reasonable, send a friendly reminder the evening before, and offer a late checkout when the schedule allows. A long list of chores and a warning about fees is the last thing guests read before they rate you.
Ask for feedback privately first
After checkout, ask a simple private question before asking for a public review: ‘Was there anything we could have done better?’ Guests who had a small issue often prefer to tell you directly, and you learn about it without a lower score. Guests who loved the stay are happy to leave a public review when you ask in the same message.
Follow the review rules of each platform: ask for honest reviews, never offer incentives in exchange for a rating, and never ask guests to change a review.
Reply to every review
Thank guests for positive reviews in a sentence or two, mentioning something specific. Reply to critical ones calmly: thank the guest, acknowledge the issue, and say what you changed. Future guests read your replies to judge how you handle problems, and a good reply to a critical review can reassure them more than another five stars.