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Updated about 6 years ago, 10/15/2018
How much will you pay for a 5* review?
I was in a situation today where $100 bought me a nice 5* review on AirBnB. Basically, a guest was pissed about something stupid. Not my fault at all but that doesn't really matter when it comes time to leave their review. I called the guest and offered $100 refund in exchange for the review and they were thrilled... Went from prob a 3* to a 5*. Worth every penny to me. (Nightly rate here $350). I've had these situations pop up here and there and have gone up to $200 if the issue is my fault (A/C died as an example). I've also waived early check in fees, and late departure fees and clearly state something like, "I'm happy to allow an early check in. It' normally a $50 fee but i'll waive it in exchange for a nice 5* review". I'm batting close to 100% with the nice reviews and on the off chance something weird pops up this usually buys me some good will so they don't review at all. (as opposed to a bad review).
I'm less likely to do these things on the properties that have 50+ reviews but for those under 20 a bad one can hurt a lot.
I was curious what some of you all do, and what the most you've paid for a review is.