Negative review: what should you do?

Every host's worst nightmare: receiving an unfair negative review. After all the trouble you went to in order to welcome your guests and give them a lovely stay, it always stings. And beyond the personal attack, it drags down your overall rating and puts off future guests. Here are the key steps for responding and reacting to a negative review.

Get in touch with the person

Rule number one: whatever you do, don't delete the review. It's a common mistake, but one to avoid.

First, try to understand what happened. Contact the person who left the review and try to find some common ground.

You should have their contact details: email, text message, phone call, you can try everything. Be courteous and make a genuine effort to listen and to apologise. Talking it through is often the key.

Reply to the negative review

Next, even if the person hasn't yet answered your messages, reply to the review.

Explain the reasons behind the review if the stay went badly from your side too, or on the contrary express your surprise if you feel the review is unwarranted.

Replying to negative reviews is very important, because it shows that you listen to your guests.

Contact the platform

If your attempts to get in touch lead nowhere, and the reply you posted goes unanswered, you can contact the platform.

In that case, look up the customer service number and explain the situation to them in detail. Some platforms such as Airbnb have pages dedicated to resolving this type of problem. They put the host and the guest directly in touch.

Call on your other guests

You've tried everything: getting in touch, the platform, the reply... and the negative review is still there. Don't panic.

Future guests will be able to see that you did reply, saying that you don't understand and that "despite numerous follow-ups, the guest has not responded". That can reassure them and suggest it's an isolated review.

But for extra peace of mind, you can always get in touch with your previous guests: the ones whose stay you remember going perfectly well and who didn't leave a review. Explain the situation and ask whether they'd be willing to help you bring your rating back up by adding a good one.

Work on it beforehand

A negative review is often down to a misunderstanding or an unresolved bad experience.

So, to head off this kind of review, you can get in touch with your guests during their stay. Without being intrusive, don't hesitate to ask whether the stay is going well, whether they need any help or, better still, whether they've managed to try the restaurant you mentioned, and so on. It's a pleasant way of making contact and showing that you're there for them. What about you: have you ever had this kind of trouble? How did you sort it out?