Review Guidelines for Hosts

Guest reviews play an essential role in helping future guests choose the right accommodation. Here’s everything you need to know about how reviews work on Holidu and what to expect as a host.

Reviews vs. Replies: What’s the Difference?

Reviews are central to your hosting experience. To avoid confusion, here’s the difference between reviewing a guest and replying to a guest review.

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

Related: How can I review my guest for a Holidu booking?
Related: How can I review my guest for an Airbnb and Vrbo booking?
Related: Can I respond to a guest review for an Airbnb and Booking.com reservation?
Related: Can I respond to a guest review for a Holidu reservation?

How the Holidu Rating System Works

• Guests can rate their stay on a scale from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest).
• The overall property rating is calculated as the average of all scores received.
• Guests can provide subscores in categories such as:
  • Location
  • Cleanliness
  • Description accuracy
    Value for money
• Guests may also leave written feedback with more 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 platform guests: Guests who booked via Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com or other distribution channels can also leave reviews, but these are managed according to the rules of each platform.

Related: How does Booking.com calculate the review score?
Related: Why didn’t my guest leave a comment?

What Kind of Reviews Are Displayed?

Reviews shown on Holidu may include:

• Reviews from Holidu guests
• Reviews from connected platforms (e.g., Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo)

They may appear as:

• A single review from one guest
• An aggregated rating score from multiple reviews
• Additional details such as reviewer country, group type, etc.

Sorting rules:

• Reviews are primarily sorted by booking date.
• Reviews with written content are prioritised.
• Negative reviews appear only if the property has at least two reviews.

Where Can I See My Reviews?

All reviews are visible in your Holidu Host account under the Reviews section.

To access the reviews section:

1. Log in to your Holidu Host account.
2. Go to Properties.
3. Open Configuration → Reviews.

It can take up to 14 days for a guest review to appear.

You can also see reviews on distribution channels, but keep in mind:

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

Review Compliance Standards

We display all legitimate reviews (positive or negative) as long as they comply with our standards.

Not allowed:

• Illegal activity references
• Politically or religiously sensitive content
• Promotional material or external links
• Personal details (names, contacts, payments)
• Profanity, hate speech, threats, sexual content
• Spam, fake reviews, impersonation

Reviews must be:

• Truthful and travel-related
• Helpful to other guests
• Written by the actual guest who stayed

Responses to Reviews

Depending on the platform, you may respond to guest reviews (e.g. on Booking.com, Airbnb, Vrbo).

This is your opportunity to:

• Provide context for future guests
• Show appreciation for positive feedback

Related: How to write a review response (with examples & FAQs)

Reporting Reviews

If you believe a review violates these guidelines, please contact our Customer Service Team.

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

Editing or Deleting Reviews (for Guests)

Important: The rules about editing reviews depend entirely on the booking channel. Holidu does not control whether or how guests can edit reviews on external platforms.

• Holidu → Reviews cannot be modified. If a guest wants to change their review, our team must delete it and send them a new link.
• Booking.com → Guests can edit their review anytime from their account, until it is deleted automatically after 2 years.
• Airbnb → Guests can edit their review, but only before it is published.
• Vrbo → Guests must contact Vrbo directly to edit or delete their review.

Related: Can I delete a guest review?

Improving Your Reviews

Looking to boost your property score?

Related: How to get good reviews — a guide for Holidu hosts
Related: Why are reviews important?

Translations Disclaimer

Some reviews may be automatically translated using DeepL. Holidu and DeepL do not guarantee accuracy.

Important Note

• Guest reviews reflect the opinions of guests, not Holidu.
• Holidu acts as a distributor, not a publisher, and accepts no liability for review content.
• It is not possible to resend the review request email to guests — these are automatically sent by each booking channel.
• Hosts and partners may not post reviews on behalf of guests or offer incentives for reviews.