Review Guidelines for Hosts

Guest reviews are essential for building trust and helping future guests choose the right property. Understanding how reviews work on Holidu and other platforms will help you manage your reputation effectively. This guide covers everything you need to know about reviews, ratings, and best practices.

Understanding Reviews vs. Replies

It's important to distinguish between two key concepts:

• Reviewing a guest: You write feedback about the guest themselves. This option is available on platforms like Airbnb and Vrbo.
• Replying to a guest review: You respond publicly to what a guest wrote about your property. This is available on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and Holidu.

How the Holidu Rating System Works

Guests rate their stay on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). Your overall property rating is the average of all scores received. Guests can also provide detailed ratings in specific categories:

• Location
• Cleanliness
• Description accuracy
• Value for money

Written feedback provides additional context that helps future guests make informed decisions.

Who Can Submit Reviews?

• Holidu guests: Guests who booked directly through Holidu can leave a review once their stay is complete.
• Partner channel guests: Guests booking via Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, or other distribution channels can also leave reviews, managed under each channel's specific rules.

Manual Bookings and Reviews

Manual bookings are entries created manually by you or your property manager, rather than coming through Holidu or a connected channel. Guests cannot leave reviews for manual bookings.

Where Your Reviews Are Displayed

Reviews shown on your Holidu profile may include content from Holidu guests and connected channels such as Booking.com, Airbnb, and Vrbo. Reviews appear as individual guest feedback, aggregated rating scores, or additional details like reviewer location and group type.

Sorting rules: Reviews are primarily sorted by booking date, with written reviews prioritized. Negative reviews only appear if your property has at least two reviews total.

How to Access Your Reviews

All reviews are visible in your Holidu Host account. To access them:

1. Log in to your Holidu Host account
2. Go to Properties
3. Open Configuration → Reviews

Reviews can take up to 14 days to appear after a guest completes their stay. On Holidu, you'll see your overall score. The full review text is only visible if the booking was made directly on Holidu. Partner channel reviews show only bookings made through that specific channel.

Review Compliance Standards

Holidu displays all legitimate reviews—positive or negative—that comply with community standards. Reviews must be truthful, helpful to other guests, and written by the actual guest who stayed.

Content Not Allowed in Reviews

• References to illegal activities
• Politically or religiously sensitive content
• Promotional material or external links
• Personal details (names, contact information, payment details)
• Profanity, hate speech, threats, or sexual content
• Spam, fake reviews, or impersonation

Responding to Guest Reviews

Depending on your booking channel, you can respond publicly to guest reviews on Booking.com, Airbnb, Holidu, and other platforms. Responses are your opportunity to:

• Provide context for future potential guests
• Show appreciation for positive feedback
• Address concerns professionally and constructively

For detailed guidance, see our article on how to write effective review responses with examples and FAQs.

Reporting Inappropriate Reviews

If you believe a review violates community guidelines, contact our Customer Service Team. Our local teams can assist you in your language and investigate violations.

For more information, see what to do if your guest left a bad review.

Guest Edits and Deletions

The ability to edit or delete reviews depends entirely on the booking channel. Rules vary by platform:

• Holidu: Reviews cannot be modified. If a guest requests a change, our team will delete it and send a new review link.
• Booking.com: Guests can edit their review anytime from their account until it's automatically deleted after 2 years. Guests must contact Booking.com directly.
• Airbnb: Guests can edit reviews only before publication. They must contact Airbnb for assistance.
• Vrbo: Guests must contact Vrbo directly to request edits or deletions.

Improving Your Review Score

Building a strong review profile takes time and attention to guest experience. For actionable strategies, explore our comprehensive guide on how to get good reviews as a Holidu host and learn why reviews are important to your success.

Important Policies

• Guest reviews reflect individual guest opinions, not Holidu's views.
• Holidu acts as a distributor of reviews, not a publisher, and accepts no liability for review content.
• Hosts and property managers may not post reviews on behalf of guests or offer incentives for leaving reviews.
• Some reviews may be automatically translated using DeepL. Neither Holidu nor DeepL guarantees translation accuracy.

Need additional help with reviews? Check our related articles on how Booking.com calculates review scores or why a guest didn't leave written feedback.