Review Guidelines for Hosts

Guest reviews play an essential role in helping future guests choose the right property. This guide explains how reviews work on Holidu and what you need to know as a host.

Reviews vs. Replies: What's the Difference?

Understanding these two concepts helps you manage feedback effectively:

• 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 1-10 rating scale where guests rate their overall experience after checkout. Your property's rating is the average of all scores received.

Guest ratings include subscores in these categories:

• Location
• Cleanliness
• Description accuracy
• Value for money

Guests may also leave written feedback with additional details about their stay.

Who Can Submit a Review?

• 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 leave reviews under each channel's specific rules

Learn how Booking.com calculates the review score

Find out why your guest didn't leave a comment

Manual Bookings and Reviews

Manual bookings are entries created directly by hosts or property managers, rather than bookings made through Holidu or connected channels. Guests cannot leave reviews for manual bookings.

What Reviews Are Displayed?

Review sources on Holidu include:

• Reviews from direct Holidu bookings
• Reviews from connected channels (Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo)

How reviews appear:

• Single reviews from individual guests
• Aggregated rating scores from multiple reviews
• Additional details such as reviewer location and group type

Review sorting rules:

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

Where to View Your Reviews

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

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

New reviews can take up to 14 days to appear on your profile.

Important note: On Holidu, only the overall score is displayed. The full review text is visible only for bookings made directly through Holidu. On partner channels, only reviews from that specific platform are shown.

Review Compliance Standards

Holidu displays all legitimate reviews, whether positive or negative, provided they meet our compliance standards.

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

Valid reviews must be:

• Truthful and travel-related
• Helpful to prospective guests
• Written by the actual guest who stayed at your property

How to Respond to Reviews

Depending on the booking channel, you may reply to guest reviews on Booking.com, Airbnb, and Holidu. Use these responses to:

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

View detailed guidance on writing review responses with examples

Reporting Inappropriate Reviews

If you believe a review violates our guidelines, contact our Customer Service Team. Our local teams can assist you in your language and review the content promptly.

Learn what to do if you receive a negative review

Editing or Deleting Reviews

Review editing policies depend entirely on the booking platform. Holidu does not control how other platforms manage review modifications.

Platform-specific policies:

• Holidu: Reviews cannot be modified. If a guest requests changes, our team deletes the review and sends them a new 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 changes
• Vrbo: Guests must contact Vrbo directly to request edits or deletions

Improving Your Property Reviews

Want to boost your property's rating and attract more bookings?

Read our complete guide to getting good reviews

Discover why reviews are critical for your hosting success

Important Information

• Guest reviews reflect individual guest opinions, not Holidu's views
• Holidu acts as a distributor of reviews and accepts no liability for their content
• Hosts and property managers may not post reviews on behalf of guests or offer incentives for positive reviews
• Some reviews are automatically translated using DeepL. While useful, Holidu and DeepL do not guarantee translation accuracy