Review Guidelines for Hosts

Guest reviews are essential for helping future guests make informed decisions about your property. Understanding how reviews work on Holidu and across distribution channels will help you manage your hosting experience effectively. This guide explains everything you need to know about reviews, ratings, and how to maintain a strong property reputation.

Reviews vs. Replies: Understanding the Difference

It's important to distinguish between two different types of feedback:

• Reviewing a guest: You write feedback about the guest (available on Airbnb and Vrbo)
• Replying to a guest review: You respond publicly to what a guest wrote about your property (available on Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and Holidu)

How the Holidu Rating System Works

Holidu uses a straightforward rating system designed to help guests understand property quality at a glance:

• Guests rate their stay on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest)
• Your overall property rating is calculated as the average of all scores received
• Guests can provide detailed subscores in key categories including location, cleanliness, description accuracy, and value for money
• Guests may also leave written comments with additional details about their experience

Who Can Submit a Review?

Reviews come from multiple sources across your distribution network:

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

How does Booking.com calculate the review score?

Why didn't my guest leave a comment?

Manual Bookings and Review Eligibility

Manual bookings are reservations entered manually by a host or property manager rather than through Holidu or a connected channel. An important distinction: guests cannot leave reviews for manual bookings. This is an important consideration when recording reservations in your system.

Which Reviews Are Displayed on Your Property Listing?

Not all reviews appear in the same format. Here's what you need to know about review visibility:

Review Sources

Reviews shown on Holidu may include reviews from Holidu guests and reviews from connected channels such as Booking.com, Airbnb, and Vrbo.

How Reviews Are Displayed

Reviews appear as:

• Individual guest reviews with full comments
• Aggregated rating scores from multiple reviews
• Additional details such as reviewer country and group type

Review Sorting and Display Rules

Reviews are organized according to specific sorting rules:

• Reviews are primarily sorted by booking date
• Reviews with written comments are prioritized over ratings-only reviews
• Negative reviews appear only if your property has at least two reviews total

Accessing Your Reviews in the Host Dashboard

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

1. Log in to your Holidu Host account
2. Navigate to Properties
3. Select Configuration, then Reviews

Important note: It can take up to 14 days for a guest review to appear in your dashboard after a stay concludes.

Reviews Across Different Platforms

You can view reviews on distribution channels, but display varies by platform:

• On Holidu, the overall property score is prominently displayed
• The full text of reviews is only visible if the booking was made directly on Holidu
• On partner channels, only reviews from bookings made through that specific channel are shown

Review Compliance Standards

Holidu displays all legitimate reviews—positive or negative—as long as they meet our community standards and compliance requirements.

What's Not Allowed in Reviews

Reviews will not be displayed if they contain:

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

What Makes a Valid Review

All displayed reviews must be:

• Truthful and related to the guest's travel experience
• Genuinely helpful to other potential guests
• Written by the actual guest who stayed at your property

Responding to Guest Reviews

Depending on the platform, you may have the opportunity to respond publicly to guest reviews on Booking.com, Airbnb, Holidu, and Vrbo.

Your response is an excellent opportunity to:

• Provide helpful context for future guests
• Show genuine appreciation for positive feedback
• Address any concerns professionally and constructively

How to write a review response with examples and FAQs

Reporting Reviews That Violate Guidelines

If you believe a review violates our community guidelines or standards, please contact our Customer Service Team. Our local teams are available to assist you in your language.

Can I delete a review left by a guest? My guest left a bad review—what can I do?

Guest Review Editing and Deletion Policies

The ability to edit or delete reviews depends entirely on which platform the booking was made through. Holidu does not control guest editing or deletion options on external platforms.

Platform-Specific Policies

• Holidu: Reviews cannot be modified by guests. If a guest requests changes, our support team can delete the review and send them a new link to resubmit
• Booking.com: Guests can edit their review anytime from their account until it's automatically deleted after 2 years. Guests should contact Booking.com directly
• Airbnb: Guests can edit reviews only before publication. Once published, guests must contact Airbnb to make changes
• Vrbo: Guests must contact Vrbo directly to request review edits or deletion

Strategies for Improving Your Property Reviews

Want to increase your property's review score and attract more bookings? Focus on delivering exceptional guest experiences and understanding what drives positive feedback.

How to get good reviews—a guide for Holidu hosts

Why are reviews important?

Important Information About Translations

Some reviews on your property listing may be automatically translated using DeepL technology. While we strive for accuracy, Holidu and DeepL do not guarantee perfect translation precision. Minor variations in meaning or tone may occur in translated reviews.

Key Takeaways

• Guest reviews reflect the opinions and experiences of guests, not official Holidu opinions
• Holidu acts as a distributor of reviews, not a publisher, and accepts no liability for review content
• Hosts and partners may not post reviews on behalf of guests or offer incentives in exchange for positive reviews
• Review compliance standards apply equally to all reviews regardless of rating
• Responding professionally to reviews—both positive and negative—demonstrates your commitment to guest satisfaction