The vast majority of travelers will check reviews before making the decision to book, so getting good reviews consistently is essential to the success of any Vrbo vacation rental business. The higher the ratings and number of positive reviews that a Vrbo listing has accrued, the higher it will rank in search, the better it can compete, and is more likely to be booked.
Everything You Need to Know About VRBO Reviews
__1. Why are reviews important to Vrbo hosts?____2. What is the Vrbo Reviews Policy for hosts?____3. What is Vrbo Reviews Extortion Policy?____4. What are Vrbo Reviews Content Guidelines?____5. What are Vrbo Eligibility Guidelines for reviewing Hosts?____6. How to remove a review on Vrbo?____7. How to deal with a Vrbo review that cannot be removed?__Why are Reviews Important to Vrbo Hosts?
Getting good reviews is important to Vrbo hosts for many reasons. A steady flow of good reviews will:
Increase the visibility of your property to users
Provide social proof of the high quality of your listing and build trust in it
Increase the rate of conversion to bookings
Gain valuable feedback on what hosts are doing right
Even negative reviews have their silver lining. They help hosts:
Gain valuable feedback on what hosts are doing wrong
Improve guest experience by learning from the criticisms pointed out
How do Vrbo Reviews Work?
Just like with Airbnb, Vrbo allows both guests and hosts to review their experience. Unlike Airbnb however, they have up to one year to leave their review.
What is the Vrbo Reviews Policy for Hosts?
Vrbo's review policy for hosts consists of several components:
Vrbo Reviews Visibility
Vrbo hosts can view their guests’ ratings by other Vrbo owners when the guest makes a booking request for their vacation rental. This is the only time that reviews of a guest are made visible to Vrbo hosts.
Reviews of hosts can be viewed by anyone viewing the listing.
Vrbo Reviews Process
Vrbo hosts will find a marketplace feed card for reviewing their guests displayed in their account on the day of checkout. They will receive a reminder email 3 days later in case they have not yet given a review.
Vrbo Reviews Score
Guests can be rated between 1 and 5 stars for their cleanliness, communication, adherence to house rules, and overall experience.
Vrbo Reviews Timeline
Both hosts and guests are given a period of one year to submit their review. However, once one party has submitted their review, the other has only 14 more days to submit theirs.
Vrbo Reviews Publication
Reviews are published once both parties complete their reviews or the 14 days are over. Neither party can see the other’s review of them until then. If one party does not submit their review within the deadline they cannot submit a review later.
Once published, neither hosts nor guests can edit their reviews. Vrbo hosts however can respond to a guest’s review.
What is Vrbo Reviews Extortion Policy?
A part of its content guidelines, Vrbo’s extortion policy is a clear prohibition on guests or property owners/managers extorting the other party for money or any other consideration. Therefore:
Guests cannot threaten to use a review against the host to obtain a refund or additional compensation.
Hosts cannot order a review in exchange for a refund.
Hosts cannot ask a guest to revise their review for compensation.
Extortion attempts can be reported to Vrbo along with supporting evidence.
What are Vrbo Reviews Content Guidelines?
Vrbo reserves the right to remove any content contributed by users. including hosts and guests. This includes reviews that do not meet its content guidelines.
It also does not take any responsibility for ensuring the legitimacy of any such content contributed and will not involve itself in any disputes that may arise as a result.
Vrbo’s reviews content guidelines include:
A review must be submitted within one year of the date of stay.
Users who post content must have all legal rights to post the content.
Content must be directly related to its purpose. For example, a review must focus on a Vrbo host’s experience renting their property to the traveler.
Reviews must be accurate and respectful.
Reviews and responses must not disclose the physical location of the property.
Reviews and responses must not disclose the actual rates charged by the Vrbo host. This is because Vrbo hosts can change or negotiate the rate they accept for a property.
Reviews or responses cannot be posted for the direct purpose of forcing the other party to pay or return funds.
What are Vrbo Eligibility Guidelines for Reviewing Hosts?
Vrbo allows only one member of the rental party to leave a review. However, unlike with Airbnb, any member of the guest party can review the host as long as they meet the following eligibility requirements:
Be at least 18 years old
Not own or manage the property being reviewed
Provide adequate evidence of their stay such as a receipt of property access information or proof of payment
Be able to validate their identity or email
How to Remove a Review on Vrbo?
If a Vrbo host wants to remove a particularly negative review left by a guest or even delete a review they’ve left for a guest, they can attempt to do so by contacting Vrbo customer support and opening a ticket requesting the review be removed.
To successfully get a review removed, the host must show that the review does not meet Vrbo’s content guidelines.
Once a published review is deleted, a new review cannot be submitted.
Before you decide to try and get a review removed however, consider if it is worth the trouble. A small complaint or one negative review in a flood of many positive ones are not going to hurt you. If however you have more negative reviews than positive then you need to focus on improving your total offering rather than trying to get reviews deleted.
What if a Vrbo Review Cannot be Removed?
If you are not successful in getting the review removed, there are other ways of managing the review:
1. Post a Response
Vrbo permits you to respond to any review of your listing on the platform so hosts can directly address the complaints and concerns expressed by the guests in the review. Be professional, show that you understood what they have stated, express your regret for how they felt, and address the criticism directly. Make sure you showcase your dedication to improving guest experience.
2. Ask Other Guests to Leave a Review
Asking your guests to leave a review is one of the best ways for hosts to ensure reviews keep coming in. Because Vrbo allows reviews to be submitted for up to one year, reach out to your past guests who haven’t reviewed you yet to do so. Let the positive experiences of your past and new guests serve as proof of the high-quality experience provided by your Vrbo property.
