Why Goodwill Is the Secret to Better Airbnb Reviews

Thank you for this. It resonated deeply with me and articulated things in a way I hadn't really quantified yet. I fed it into my Claude project so that it can inform the tone of everything we do :-)

Just one tiny example that I implemented a couple weeks ago that aligns well with the principles you explain: 

My night-before-checkout message doesn't reiterate the laundry list of chores that we're hoping the guest will do. It just reminds them where they can find those details. I think it makes the guest feel trusted to not hit them with the actual list again.  

And we actually give the guest permission to skip some things if they're feeling rushed in the morning. It bothers me when I see hosts complain that a guest left the lights on, or didn't strip the bed, or something stupid like that. So what!

Ironically, I think this message has actually caused people to do a better job of cleaning up after themselves! Because of the trust bond that's been formed over the course of the stay.

BTW here's the night-before message I've been using. My wife's been doing a lot of the cleanings as an extra income stream in the summer, and this message solves 3 problems that have been nagging at us. First is that it very gently reminds them of the checkout time, so that we don't get someone who genuinely thought checkout was 11 am. Second, that people often try to be helpful by running the washer, leaving us with wet linens to schlep offsite. And third, we would often be waiting until 10 am to start cleaning a place where the guest left at 7 am and we just didn't know. We had four checkouts today and every single one of them gave us a heads-up when they left!

Hi Melissa, hope you've been having a great time in Ocean City!

For tomorrow's checkout, you'll find some notes on the Airbnb app, or in the Welcome Guide that's on the console table in the kitchen. We try to keep it light, so if you're short on time in the morning, no stress.

Please note that our laundry gets taken offsite, so there's definitely no need to run the washer :-)

Enjoy the rest of your stay, and if you think of it, just shoot us a note if you end up checking out any sooner than 10:00 AM.

Thanks!

Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful reply, Tom! 

I really enjoyed reading your checkout message, especially the line about “no stress if you’re short on time.” i think that’s a wonderful example of building goodwill right at the end of a stay.

I also hadn’t considered the point that guests often do more when they feel trusted rather than managed.  I’m going to think about how I can use that philosophy for my own properties.

Would you mind if i updated the article to include that idea? I think it’s a great example of goodwill in practice.

Thanks again for sharing it!