Power-Up Workshop: Mastering Upsells and Reviews

In our latest Power-up Workshop, ​@Brian Seelos showed how to use Hospitable’s Guest Portal, Upsells, and Review automations to boost guest satisfaction, collect more 5-star reviews, and add extra revenue on every stay. If you couldn’t join live, here’s a quick recap of what you can set up today—and why it’s worth watching the full session for the live walkthrough and Q&A.

Watch the full “Upsells & Reviews” Power-Up Workshop replay

The one minute recap

• Turn the Guest Portal into a revenue + satisfaction engine

  • Use the Guest Portal to centralize rental agreements, ID verification, security deposits, reservation details and upsells.

  • Brand it with your logo, colors, and custom domain so it feels like your own mini guest app.

• Set up simple, high-impact Upsells that run on autopilot

  • Start with easy wins guests already ask for all the time: early check-in, late checkout, pet fees, baby gear, parking, pool/hot tub heat, airport transfers, etc.

  • Brian shared that even a handful of these brought in a few hundred dollars in extra revenue since summer—without extra work.

• Make upsells smart, safe, and operationally clean

  • Control when Upsells appear (e.g. only the day before arrival), how long before check-in/checkout they can be purchased, and whether they require your approval.

  • Hospitable automatically adjusts reservation check-in/checkout times when upsells are purchased, which can then update your messaging, smart locks, tasks, and connected tools like Turno.

• Promote Upsells naturally in your guest messaging

  • Mention the Guest Portal and Upsell options in your booking confirmation, check-in instructions, and checkout message so guests actually see what’s available.

  • Brian showed his real message examples and how he links directly to the portal at key moments.

• Build a review system that maximizes 5-star ratings

  • Use review request rules to send a friendly nudge 2 hours after checkout, then follow-ups at 3 days and 7 days—only if the guest hasn’t reviewed yet.

  • Explain why 5-star ratings matter to your business and invite guests to share private feedback with you instead of posting a low public rating.

  • Brian also shared a simple “what 5 stars really means” graphic he sends to set expectations for newer Airbnb guests.

• Automate host reviews and AI-powered replies

  • Create multiple host review templates so Hospitable can automatically rotate through them when you review guests.

  • Let Hospitable’s AI draft tailored replies to guest reviews; you just skim, tweak if needed (especially for 3–4★ reviews), and click send.

• Customize per channel, including direct bookings

  • Use slightly different review request messages for Airbnb, Vrbo, Booking.com, and direct bookings.

  • For direct stays, you can either send guests to review on your Hospitable direct site or link out to platforms like Google Reviews or Facebook.

This was a great Power up! Thanks ​@Brian Seelos - While we have a strong review game, we hadn’t considered adding in a full 3 reminders. Off topic slightly, but it’d be good to see a review ratio in metrics (meaning how many stays DIDN’T leave reviews. Possible ​@Andrew Schorr ?

Hi ​@anthonyrallo!

The team working on Metrics is actively collecting suggestions right here in this feature request, so feel free to add your idea there too: https://feedback.hospitable.com/p/additional-widget-requesets-for-the-new-metrics-dashboards