How the Airbnb Review Policy Works (and What to Do About Unfair Reviews)

How Airbnb Review Policy Works and What to Do About Unfair Reviews

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When you open your home to a stranger or book a stay in someone else’s halfway across the world, trust is your currency. On Airbnb, that trust is built through reviews. They are the heartbeat of the Airbnb community.

Airbnb designed its review system to ensure both guests and hosts play an active role. It’s meant to be fair, and usually is, but unfair negative reviews sometimes slip through the cracks.

Keep reading to learn how Airbnb’s review policy works, how much time parties have to leave feedback, when negative reviews can be removed, how the process works, and how to earn consistent positive feedback from guests.

How the Airbnb Review System Works

Airbnb reviews work based on 5-star ratings and text reviews. It is about sharing a genuine experience after staying at an Airbnb that will help future guests decide whether to stay at a property. And vice versa, a host can rate a guest after check-out.

Both hosts and guests are active participants and can give reviews to each other. Guests leave star reviews in a few categories, such as cleanliness, accuracy, check-in, communication, location, and value. They also write a public review that everyone can see but can also leave a private note to the owner through message system.

Guest reviews should include relevant comments that reflect the property and the stay. The accuracy of the listing plays a major role in shaping guests’ expectations, as well as overall experience, comfort, and perception of the amenities. Reviews should be based on the actual experience at the property.

14-day window

Each party has 14 days to submit a review. Once that period ends, neither the host nor the guest can leave feedback. The countdown starts from the check-out date.

If both the guest and host submit reviews before the 14-day window expires, they’re published automatically. But if only one party leaves a review, it stays hidden until the full 14-day period is over.

Airbnb will send a notification when the other party submits a review. However, according to this review process you won’t see content of what they wrote until you either submit your own review or the 14-day deadline expires.

How should hosts write reviews for their guests?

When it comes to leaving reviews, there’s no special tactic other than writing a professional, honest review.

Sometimes, hosts may be unsure about how to rate a guest. Say a guest checks out, and afterward, an issue arises—like broken furniture. Should you leave a bad review for the guest?

Well, the north star of hosting is professionalism. It’s about maintaining your brand and ensuring your review strikes the right tone. Hosts must think about how reviews will be perceived by future guests. Having message and review templates ready helps. Why?

Leaving reviews consistently is non-negotiable. Airbnb ranks active hosts higher in search results, which means your listing appears more frequently and more guests will book. Automated reviews with tools like iGMS make the whole process easier with pre-set templates.

When writing a review template, the best practice is using use gender-neutral forms to apply to any guest, and also to create templates that are suitable for any number of guests.

With automated reviews hosts are able to set a few-day delay (it's usually three days) to be sure that there was no damage found after guests have checked out.

And if needed, hosts can always override the system for a specific guest at any time to maintain full control over their messaging.

Can I edit an Airbnb review later?

Once hosts and guests submit their reviews and they are published on Airbnb, there’s no way to moderate reviews anymore.

You can edit a review only within the 14-day period or as long as the other party hasn’t submitted theirs yet.

However, you can always respond to a review.

Responding to a Review

While a public response can't be changed, you can comment on a review. This gives you an opportunity to share your side of the story if the review was misleading. Keep in mind that your response is directed at future guests, much more than the one you’re replying to.

If the review was negative, use this chance to clarify any misunderstandings and provide your perspective. Acknowledge constructive criticism and show openness to honest feedback.

But responding shouldn't be limited to negative reviews. You can also express gratitude for an exceptional review. In fact, it’s just as important to respond with positive messages that show appreciation, not only to reply to criticism.

Airbnb’s Review Removal Policy: Can I Get a Negative Review Removed?

Airbnb's review policy is that they don't like to intervene and mediate disputes. Negative or not-so-positive reviews will stay visible to public. Basically, you can only contact Airbnb to request a change in the gender pronoun the other party used to describe you in their review.

However, Airbnb allows reviews to be removed in certain cases when it violates its policy. This means that if the review fits into any of the most common scenarios listed below, you have a chance to remove it.

Again, there’s a process in place, and Airbnb customer service has the final say. As it stands now, you can get a review removed if:

The review is biased or manipulative

Airbnb want to stay away from fake stays and fraudulent reviews. If a review is incentivized through a discount, refund, or reciprocal exchange, it violates policy. For example, a fake booking used to leave a positive review or multiple accounts leaving coordinated feedback should be removed by Airbnb.

This rule also protects hosts from retaliatory reviews. According to Airbnb’s policy:

Guests should not write biased or inauthentic reviews to retaliate against a host who enforces a policy or rule.

Hosts can request a review removal under this policy if they can provide proof that it was written as retaliation.

The review is irrelevant

Airbnb may remove a review if it is deemed irrelevant to the actual stay or experience. Reviews are meant to help community members make informed decisions about listings and hosts, so they must relate to the accommodation on Airbnb. If they don't, they're irrelevant.

If a guest talks about their experience as a tourist but says nothing about the accommodation, host, or Airbnb stay, that review isn’t relevant.

The same goes for guests who never stayed at the property because the cancellation policy didn’t allow last-minute cancellations. That kind of review can be removed.

The review violates Airbnb’s Content Policy

Airbnb's Content Policy prohibits discriminatory, violent, or threatening content or content containing private or confidential information. Subsequently, such content can be removed upon request.

If it promotes illegal or harmful activity, or if it is sexually explicit content, it can be removed. Also content that is discriminatory, and content that attempts to impersonate another person, account, or entity and violates privacy rights.

Dealing With a Retaliatory Review

A retaliatory review happens when a guest leaves an unfair or dishonest review. This usually follows a host enforcing house rules or taking justified action.

For example, a host might report an unauthorized party. Or charge for damages through the deposit or decide to contact Airbnb’s Resolution Center. Sometimes, a guest leaves a bad review after being denied a refund.

In such cases, keep all message threads as proof. You need to show Airbnb that the review was written out of retaliation and not based on the actual stay.

How to Apply for a Review Removal on Airbnb

To apply for a review removal follow these steps:

1. Be sure to review Airbnb’s policy to figure out which rule supports your situation.
2. Gather documentation as evidence, such as screenshots, photos, or message threads, that substantiate your claim.
3. Submit a review removal request on desktop:
   • Click Start the request
   • Select the review you want removed
   • Select the reason you want the review removed and provide details about why you want the review removed
   • Upload any supporting documentation and proof
   • Click Submit

How to Consistently Earn Positive Reviews (4.8+)

On Airbnb, a 4.8 rating is the benchmark you should aim to maintain — and ideally never fall below. Not only is a 4.8+ rating required to earn and keep Superhost status, but it also builds trust with potential guests.

This number acts as a psychological trigger. People form expectations based on what others have experienced. A high rating instantly suggests reliability, cleanliness, and good service. So, how can you keep your rating high and the overall tone of your reviews positive?

Deliver Value Consistently

Anyone can provide an exceptional experience once. True excellence is measured by consistency. The real challenge is delivering that same high level of service for every guest, every time. This is what builds a strong reputation and leads to consistently positive reviews.

To achieve this, you need to put a repeatable system in place. This means:

• Having a cleaning checklist to ensure the space is spotless before every check-in.
• Using automated messages to keep guest engaged and react in a timely manner.
• Creating standard procedures for things like restocking essentials, handling guest requests, or responding to issues.
• Regularly inspecting your property to catch small problems before they turn into big complaints.

Setting accurate expectations through your listing

One of the most common reasons for negative reviews is disappointment. Not because the place was bad, but because it didn’t match what the guest expected. If your listing sets up unrealistic or overly polished expectations, guests may feel misled, even if the stay was generally good.

This is why honesty and clarity in your listing are essential. Photos should be current and reflect the actual condition of the space. If there are stairs and no elevator, that’s important for many guests to know. If coffee machine is broken, delist it from amenities.

Proactive communication

What if I told you that many negative guest reviews could be avoided simply by sending each guest a quick message to check in on them?

If guests are unhappy or missing something, and you wait until check-out to find out, it’s already too late. Take a proactive approach: message your guest a day after check-in to ask if everything is going well. If you get them to voice any issues early and resolve them promptly, you significantly reduce the risk of receiving a bad review.

Sure thing, it's very time consuming to text each guest every time. That's why iGMS is here. This tool does the heavy lifting for you, such as message and review automation to ensure a perfect guest experience not only once, but systematically and every time.

Takeaway

In this article, we shared some helpful tips on how to navigate the Airbnb review policy. Here’s the bottom line:

Reviews are the backbone of the Airbnb community, and most guests are happy to leave them. As a host, it’s just as important that you participate. Airbnb values active, engaged hosts who care about the guest experience.

You can get bad reviews removed for certain reservations, but most of the time, they’ll stay public and visible to future guests. That’s why it’s important to keep improving, learn from each guest, and look for ways to make every stay better. And if you want to make things easier on yourself, check out how iGMS will help simplify your hosting.

About the Author
Zorica Milinkovic is a B2B SaaS writer who is passionate about psychology, marketing, and, when inspiration strikes, cooking. You can find her on LinkedIn.