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How Critical are Airbnb Reviews for Short-Term Rental Success? reAlpha Explains.

Airbnb reviews are more than a few stars on a rental listing. In fact, they have the power to make or break a real estate investment.

While the connection between an Airbnb review and the overall success of your property investment portfolio might not be clear, we assure you that they’re closely linked.

If you’re not familiar with the review process on Airbnb, when a guest checks out, they’re prompted to leave an honest review about their recent stay.

All reviews are out of 5-stars and the categories being rated are the cleanliness of the rental, the communication that occurred between the host and the guest before and during their stay, and if the rules and expectations were reasonable during their stay.

The review system is two-way, meaning both the guest and the host have to complete a review before it becomes visible on their profile, and once it goes live it can’t be edited.

Why are Airbnb Reviews Important?

1. Happy Algorithm, Happy Rental

Algorithms are used in everything we do, from finding you the best results during a Google search, to the lights that coordinate the flow of traffic on your morning commute.

They’ve become an essential part of our day-to-day lives.

So, it should come as no surprise that Airbnb uses its own algorithm to provide more accurate listings that appeal to users. Guests enter search criteria, and the algorithm sorts through millions of listings to find the best results.

And while the algorithm considers several criteria when filtering results, like the quality of the listing photos, one key criterion that determines how high they rank is the listing’s reviews.

Because of this, listings that have one or more reviews will rank higher for users than those that don’t have any. Equally, listings with positive 5-star reviews will rank significantly higher and appear more frequently than those with poor reviews and fewer stars.

Reviews keep the Airbnb algorithm happy.

2. Armed with Information

Potential guests use all the information available to them in an Airbnb listing to decide if they want to book. That includes the photos, rental rates, property descriptions, accommodations, and availability.

But research shows that 95% of people will read reviews before booking, and as many as 93% will base their booking decisions on those reviews.
With that knowledge, it makes sense that Airbnb listings with frequent positive reviews will be star performers because reviews arm users with all the information they need to book.

3. Trust the Process

There’s nothing quite like booking a beautiful oceanfront stay that boasts of a scenic view, only to arrive and discover that the alleged view is nothing more than a beach poster on the kitchenette fridge.

While that might sound like hyperbole, trust us when we say that when an Airbnb guest is met with disappointment about their stay, it can feel that bad (and their scathing reviews can feel even worse).

Potential guests want to know that they’re actually getting what they're paying for when booking, and the easiest way to confirm that before arriving is by reading reviews.
Reviews instill trust in the booking process. Especially when all or most of the reviews are positive or favourable to the property.

4. Improve, Improve, Improve

Oftentimes, Airbnb hosts are too busy drinking their own kool-aid that they can overlook areas of their property that could benefit from mild to moderate improvements.

Thankfully, most guest reviews contain some form of feedback (be it good or not-so-great) that can give insight into how outsiders perceive the property.

Airbnb hosts can then run with that feedback and make changes on the fly that’ll ensure guests feel heard, and help improve the experience for guests-to-be.

That means the property stays busy and booked as a direct result of reviews.

How Airbnb Reviews Impact Your Investment

The takeaway from it all is that between showing up in Airbnb search results, creating trust with potential guests, giving users all the information they need to make a decision to confidently book a stay, and providing a place to share feedback, Airbnb reviews have a huge impact on the success of a listing.

Without consistent, positive reviews from guests, an Airbnb listing simply won’t have the chance to perform. Even the best listing can and will likely fail to be a star performer.

Airbnb reviews aren’t just essential for the success of a listing, but for the financial well-being of anyone adding vacation-ready properties to their investment portfolio.

Growing Your Investments with reAlpha

reAlpha is an investment company that uses proprietary AI technology to identify Airbnb properties with the highest rental potential. We apply that data to build portfolios that anyone can invest in.

The technology looks at different criteria, like the neighborhood that an Airbnb is located in, the local crime rates, purchase price, property details, ease of repair, structural concerns, and any opportunities for improvement, along with (you guessed it) guest reviews if the property i an existing short-term rental, to determine the investment potential of a listing.

Based on those factors, a property may or may not become a part of our investment portfolios. Once we add a property, we actively manage it to ensure positive guest experiences and therefore reAlpha reviews.

Given that Real Estate is America’s most popular investment, and with short-term rentals outperforming long-term rentals by 70%, adding Airbnb properties to your portfolio is a no-brainer. Plus, it’s easier than ever before with reAlpha’s unique AI technology.

Start building your portfolio with reAlpha.

Check out some recent reAlpha reviews of Florida properties!

Also, be sure to check out reAlpha reviews from investors at realpha.com/investors !

Sources:

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/39/how-search-results-work#:~:text=Airbnb%20uses%20an%20algorithm%20to,listings%20that%20reflect%20those%20criteria.
https://www.mediatoolkit.com/blog/tourist-reviews-online-some-stats-you-should-know/#:~:text=Research%20has%20shown%20that%2095,are%20influenced%20by%20online%20reviews.

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