Rate My Response to a 4 Star Guest Review

[Brandon Gale]

Hey Guys, got my AirBnB up and running about a month ago, everythings been going great, have been booked solid and first 7 guests all left 5 star reviews. Of course I finally hit my first bump in the road, and one that ive seen many other hosts hit too. A guests had a fine stay and never communicated any issues with me, then left a 4 star review with some minor feedback. I am writing up my public response to the review to post on AirBnB and wanted to get some feedback from you all who have been using the platform longer than myself.

The guests review was:

"Cute, cozy cabin. The area is very quiet and peaceful with beautiful views of the mountain. Really enjoyed the hot tub and appreciated that the host left starter packets of soap in the bathrooms and plenty of games for us to enjoy. The kitchen is rather small but functional. The only cons for this property are that there are no drawers in the master bedroom for clothes and the beds are very firm which my group did not find comfortable. I would also recommend either putting blinds up or blackout curtains in the master bedroom to block out the early morning sun. Overall, it’s a very nice cabin."

My response I have written:

"Thank you for your feedback (name). We hope you enjoyed your stay and are sorry to hear that it did not warrant 5 stars. The kitchen is recently remodeled and we put a lot of work into it so we are sorry to hear that it did not meet your standards. The master bedroom does actually have cubbies along the back of the bed frame on the sides. We recently added high quality memory foam mattresses to the king bedrooms, we are sorry that this is not your preference of mattress, and have added this detail to the listing in case any future guests do not prefer this either. We also have recently added blackout shades to all the bedrooms. Again, thank you for your feedback and we hope you enjoyed your stay!"

Let me know what you guys think or what you would change! I obviously want to make it clear that these are minor issues, and that a few are simply untrue, without coming off as harsh or a confrontational host.

[Karl McGarvey]

Too much feedback - feels like youre defensive and trying to justify a better review. I would leave it with "So glad you all enjoyed your stay and the incredible location of our property. We really appreciate the feedback that you left about X, Y, Z so that we can best serve our future guests. Looking forward to hosting you on your next stay!" (They do not get to reply to your response so leaving the positive response of getting to host them again creates the mindset among readers that they intent to come back, even with minor issues)