LISTING REVIEW guide
Guest reviews of properties and vacation experiences have a huge impact on vacation rental revenue. In fact, guests are 80% more likely to book a vacation rental listing that includes guest reviews.
That means encouraging positive guest reviews is an easy way to increase bookings for the property--and more business for you.
Without encouragement, only 33% of guests will leave a review after their stay. Here are small steps you can take to solicit reviews that recognize your hard work:
Personally reach out to guests right after check-in (to ensure there are no issues) and/or after check-out to thank them for their stay and remind them to leave a review.
Leave a handwritten note welcoming them to the property and ask for a review after their stay. You can even pre-write cards for your housekeeping crew to leave.
Create a printable welcome letter with essential property details (i.e., wifi password, house rules, contact information) and a review request. Let guests know you’re there to help if they need anything and how they can help you in return.
When you’re servicing a new property, the first few bookings are critical for reviews. Focus on those first reviews right away to put the property on the fast track for success!
Maureen with Carlson Concierge in Phoenix leaves a welcome letter and reaches out to guests during their stays. As a result, nearly 50% of guests leave reviews for her properties.
Managing over 10,000 properties, we’ve learned that property listings with five positive reviews are more likely to get bookings. You can drive more bookings (and business) to the properties you service by encouraging 5-star reviews ASAP.
And not just any reviews. Getting 5 star reviews at the start helps you avoid having to balance out lower ratings in the future.
Do what you can to ensure a listing attracts 5-star reviews as quickly as possible. Any extra costs (such as providing a gift basket and note encouraging a review) will be offset by the popularity of the property--giving you more business in the long run. Once you have a five or more positive reviews (4.5 rating or above), you can scale things back.
You have the most important role in a listing earning positive reviews because your work directly impacts the quality of a guest’s stay.
As the eyes and ears of the property, you play a critical role in making sure each home meets our 4 Core Property Standards. If a property meets these standards every time a guest checks in, it should easily receive positive reviews. Here’s how you can help:
The #1 reason guests leave a bad review is because the home is not clean. To prevent cleaning issues:
• Stay up to date on bookings by reviewing the calendar in your Partner Account regularly
• Inspect the property prior to arrival
• Do a deep clean of the property annually
The 2nd most common guest complaint is not being able to get into a home upon arrival. To prevent check-in issues:
• Double check the access code provided to the guest
• Be available to guests during check-in so that if any issues arise, you can resolve them quickly
If the property doesn’t match the listing, guests are likely to mention it in their review. To prevent this issue:
• Review the listing description and photos in your Partner Account
• Notify Evolve if any decor, amenities, etc. have changed in the home
Guests notice if homes do not have proper safety measures in place. To ensure the home is safe:
• Perform regular inspections
• Make sure walkways and entryways are lit and free of any debris/hazards (i.e. ice)
Since reviews are so key to the performance of a listing, we have a whole team of review experts checking that every property is getting reviews. Here’s what we do to encourage reviews:
We send an email to guests within 48 hours of check-out
We include a direct link to the site where they booked (Airbnb, HomeAway, etc.) and remind them to leave a review
On-site issues happen from time to time. If you’re responsive and get the issue resolved quickly, guests are less likely to leave a negative review.
Our ultimate goal is to provide a five-star guest experience and we want to work with partners who are also committed to our owners’ success.
The Evolve Reviews team writes responses to negative reviews to show that you, the owners, and Evolve as a company prioritize the guest experience.
If we think your feedback can help us address a negative review, we’ll reach out to ask you for additional details.
You can also reach out to us any time you notice a negative review on a property you service. Your feedback is always greatly appreciated and can be essential in helping us respond to the review.
Evolve listings have an average review score of 4.6. See where you stand with reviews so you can learn what you’re doing well and where you can improve. You can find reviews for properties you service in two places:
You can see all your listing reviews in your online Partner Account.
Reviews are uploaded to the property listings. Keep in mind that there is an average two-week processing time from when we receive a review to when it appears on the listing.
To make sure your properties continue to perform well, the Partner Development team monitors your reviews. We’ll reach out if we identify opportunities where we think you could improve your review scores.
If you’re servicing a property that doesn’t meet the 4 Core Property Standards or has outstanding issues that consistently create bad guest experiences, please let us know as soon as possible. We will be happy to work with you and the owner to get it back on track for success.
