By Ryan Drew | Superhost and Vacation Rental Expert | Last Updated January 9, 2025
Everyone dreads the low-starred public review. Just one could sink your entire Airbnb profile (at least for a while) so we all strive to avoid it. Thankfully, guests also have the option to leave private feedback after their stay. This is a great way to note what you can improve on and frees up the public review space for the more positive aspects of their stay.
Private feedback doesn’t appear on your profile, and only you and the guest can see it. But where exactly is it located?
How do you view your Airbnb private feedback?
On a web browser (not a mobile device):
- Go to your hosting dashboard
- Go to “Reservations” tab at top
- Go to “Completed” tab
- In your list of past reservations, click on “Details” on right hand side
- Click on “View Details” in middle of screen
- On next page, the “Private Note” is your private feedback
Want to know more about private feedback and Airbnb reviews? Keep reading!
How do I give feedback on Airbnb? Make your voice heard!
Leaving feedback on Airbnb is just as easy as leaving regular review. After the stay has ended, both the host and the guest will have the opportunity to leave a review on each other. Airbnb has a holding period on these reviews, and neither will be posted until either A: they’re both submitted or B: 14 days have elapsed since the end of the stay. In the 14 day case, whoever has submitted a review will have it posted.
If you forget to submit a review or choose not to, the other person’s review will be posted, and you won’t have as much of an opportunity to leave feedback. Check out my tips for leaving a review after 14 days to ensure that your comments get heard!
On the same review screen, you’ll have the chance to provide private feedback as well. These comments won’t be posted anywhere, and only the other person will have access to them. This is a great place to post suggestions or small critiques that don’t really merit a place in a public review.
How can you reply to private feedback on Airbnb?
Messages Are Your Best Bet
There isn’t a set way to respond to private feedback like there is for regular, public reviews, so you have to get a bit creative. By far the easiest way is to contact the other person via Airbnb messages.
Note that you shouldn’t really need to say much in your response other than a polite “Thank you, I’ll make those changes!” or something similar. It’s not worth arguing with someone that isn’t even there anymore!
Other Forms of Contact
If you can’t contact someone via messaging or they aren’t responding (assuming you need a response) you can try other forms of communication. You should have access to their email or phone number from the booking, so you can try and contact them there if necessary.
Again, I wouldn’t sweat it unless you really, really need a response from the other person. Once the stay is all said and done with, most people just want to move on if they had a negative experience.
Replying to Public Reviews
As far as replying to public Airbnb reviews, there actually is a “real” way to do it. You can respond to the review once it has been posted, meaning that either you have also posted your review, or the 14 day period has run out. The reason Airbnb makes people wait to see the other person’s response is in the interest of both sides receiving a fairer review that isn’t biased based on what they have read.
Once the review has been posted, you’ll have the chance to respond. Note that you cannot remove a review simply because you don’t like it (that wouldn’t really be fair, would it?). Remain professional in your response, and use the space to clarify anything that a potential future guest might be worried about.
If issues have been raised, detail how you’ll address them going forward. If the review was positive, a simple “Thank you!” is never a bad idea either!
What should I write in my Airbnb review? My top tips!
Post Honestly…
Whether you’re posting as a host or a guest, you should never lie in a review. You obviously shouldn’t make things out to be worse than they actually were, but you shouldn’t pretend that things were all good if they really weren’t either. Doing either of these is a disservice to future hosts or guests who will be interacting with this person.
Remember to evaluate the situation fairly and objectively. If there was a negative experience, how did the other person try to remedy it? If they didn’t try anything at all, why might that have been? A lot of issues can be solved by maintaining open communication during a stay; do you feel that you made the other person aware of potential issues?
If you feel there were simple, human errors or miscommunications, be honest about them too. Hosts and guests alike should appreciate honest feedback. However, a review after the fact is definitely not the preferred way to find out about an issue.
But Don’t Be Too Critical
Your job in posting an Airbnb review is not to be a hospitality critic! It is to fairly evaluate your stay so that others down the road can decide whether or not they’d like to do business with the other party. Raise issues if they need to be raised, but don’t pick apart every little detail of the stay. Remember that everyone is human, and no one is perfect.
Be Thoughtful About Where You Post Suggestions
Public reviews should be used for information that you want the whole world to know. Well, the whole Airbnb world at least! If you had an absolutely abysmal stay, then by all means write about it! However, if you just have a few minor suggestions, they might be better suited for private feedback. Remember that reviews don’t expire, so be mindful of the impact that your words will have.
Rental Recon Tip: New to hosting and wondering why you’re not getting any bookings? Don’t despair! Hosting an Airbnb has a steep learning curve, and there are probably a few key things that you can change about your listing and marketing strategies to start raking in the bookings.
My quickest tip for hosts is to check out what other listings in your area look like. What are they doing right? What would you change? All of this is valuable data and will help you craft the perfect listing with a little time and effort.
Check Out Our Other Articles on Rental Recon:
- Books for Airbnb Hosting Success – Top Recommendations
- Airbnb Sign-Up Discount: Unlock Rewards as a New Host
- Airbnb Message Templates for Hosts: A Complete Guide for Streamlined Communication
Related Questions:
Can you add photos to an Airbnb review?
Unfortunately, Airbnb does not allow guests to post photos with their review. It can be assumed that this is to protect host privacy, but photos would be immensely helpful to future guests and the host alike! Hopefully Airbnb will roll out this feature soon.
