Vita da Host
Guide for guests

How to leave an honest, sincere and fair review on Booking.

A few minutes to understand how it works, what the scores really mean, and why your overall rating can change the future of a small accommodation.

3 min read
1 · Introduction

Why reviews matter

Reviews are essential for anyone managing an accommodation. A well-written review helps future guests choose and rewards the work of those who hosted you. That's why we ask just a few minutes of your time to leave an honest, sincere and fair one. This short guide explains how to do it and, above all, what the scores really mean.

2 · Procedure

How it works, step by step

  1. Step 1

    You receive an email

    After check-out you get an email from Booking.com, usually about 48 hours after departure, inviting you to leave a review.

  2. Step 2

    You have 90 days

    From that moment you have 90 days (3 months) to complete it. After that, it is no longer possible.

  3. Step 3

    Can't find the email?

    Sign in to your Booking.com account, click your name in the top right → "Reviews", find the property in the list and click "Write a review".

  4. Step 4

    Fill in and submit

    Complete the form (see below) and submit. Booking checks the review and publishes it if it meets the guidelines. It stays visible on the property page for 36 months.

  5. Step 5

    No anonymity, no offences

    Reviews are not anonymous and must avoid personal data, insults, discriminatory or off-topic content, otherwise they will not be published.

3 · What you are asked

The form fields

Required

Overall score

A score from 1 to 10 on the overall experience of your stay. It is the only truly required field.

Optional

Category scores

Cleanliness, comfort, location, facilities, staff, value for money, free WiFi.

Optional · valuable

Written comment

Tell what went well and what, in your opinion, can be improved.

4 · Score scale

What each score means

· Overall score ·

8 – 10
Excellent experience

Everything went well or very well.

6 – 7
Barely sufficient

Something didn't work.

Below 6
Negative experience

From every point of view.

5 · Please read carefully
The most important point of the guide

The overall score is independent from the category scores

On Booking the overall score is a separate vote: it is NOT the average of the scores you give to individual categories, and it is counted separately.

This means that if your experience was excellent and you gave 9 or 10 in all categories (cleanliness, comfort, location…), then you must also give 9 or 10 as the overall score.

Putting an "instinctive" 8 as overall score when everything went very well is a very common mistake and, for a property, devastating: it drags the score down even when the guest was fully satisfied.

In short: give the overall score the same value your experience truly deserves. If it was excellent, tell us with an excellent-experience score.

· Real example ·
✗ Common mistake
CategoryScore
Cleanliness10/10
Comfort10/10
Location10/10
Staff10/10
Value for money9/10
Overall score (wrong)
8/10
✓ Fair review
CategoryScore
Cleanliness10/10
Comfort10/10
Location10/10
Staff10/10
Value for money9/10
Overall score (correct)
10/10
6 · Best practices

Tips for a fair review

  • Score the actual experience, honestly.

  • Be specific in your comment: it helps other travellers and helps the property improve.

  • If something went wrong, it's useful to say so: but remember that a low score "on principle" after a positive stay is not fair to those who hosted you.

  • Avoid personal data, offences or off-topic content: they would not be published.

7 · Closing

Thank you!

Thank you for the time you spend leaving a well-written review. For us hosts it means a lot.

Go to Booking to write the review
Opens Booking.com in a new tab
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