How to Respond to A Bad Review
"Overall, the place is very nice. Very clean and comfortable. The feng shui is bad. A basic book to help would be "Move Your Stuff, Change Your Life." All the pointy things, such as the hanging lamp and picture of the octopus pointing at the bed and beams crossing the bed, are bad energy. We turned the bed, which helped a lot. 3 Stars Overall"
You went above and beyond and did everything you could possibly think of. Eventually, a negative review is going to happen. I learned very early on that you can only please some. You can only control what you can control, and eventually, the 4, 3, 2, or even 1-star review will happen. What Next?
WAIT: Never respond to a negative review moments after reading it, but do your best to respond within 24 hours. Taking constructive or unconstructive criticism is challenging, especially on something personal, such as your short-term rental property. Oddly, your initial reaction may make you feel better in the short term but will negatively impact the big picture. After an initial calm-down period, always respond to a negative review by thanking the guest for the feedback, providing your version of the story, presenting only facts and without pointing a figure back at the guest, and lastly, addressing how you may receive the concern for future guests. Swallow your pride. This is hospitality. The guest is always right even when they are dead wrong!
Bury It: Airbnb and other OTAs only show a few of the most recent reviews on your listing page. The quickest way to get that review to have less impact on your listing is to get as many reviews as fast as possible. Be diligent about making the next few guests leave a review and a positive one at that. If you have some calendar availability soon, consider discounting the rates or shorting your length of stay requirements to get extra bookings soon to have more opportunities for a positive review. If your OTA allows you to respond directly to the review and your response is public, reply to the following few positive reviews with lengthy responses. The negative review will be pushed lower and lower on your listing page, creating a more likely scenario that your negative review will get scrolled by without even being recognized.
Last Resort: Get familiar with the OTA's review policy and standards. If a review is out of line, reach out to the OTA with your case ready. Explain how the review violates their own policy, and you can get the review removed altogether. With personal experience, I know this can take a crazy amount of time to get done and sometimes needs multiple attempts, depending on the specific OTA.
The Best Defense is a Good Offense: If you suspect a negative review may be coming, stall the review as long as possible. Most OTA's will only post a review once both parties have created a review. This is done so there is no chance of retaliation. If you suspect a bad review may be coming, don't create your own review till the last hour of the opportunity to do so. If done well and if you implemented some of the strategies above, a bad review may never even show its face on your main listing page, and the 3-star review will get lost in your hundreds of 5-star reviews.