Where to find the review option after checkout
You can leave a review on Airbnb through the app or website, but only after your checkout date has passed. Open the Airbnb app or go to airbnb.com, then tap or click the profile icon in the top right corner. Select Trips from the menu.
Find the listing you stayed at in your past trips. The review window opens 24 hours after checkout and closes 30 days later. If you do not see a review button, your checkout date may not have arrived yet, or the 30-day window may have closed.
Key Takeaways
- Reviews become available 24 hours after your checkout date and must be submitted within 30 days of that date.
- You rate the host, cleanliness, communication, accuracy, location, and value on a scale of 1 to 5 stars, then write a written comment.
- Your review is private until the host also leaves a review for you, at which point both reviews publish at the same time.
- You can edit or delete your review at any time before the host submits theirs, but not after.
The star rating system and what each category means
Airbnb asks you to rate six separate categories, each on a scale of 1 to 5 stars. Cleanliness covers whether the space was clean when you arrived and during your stay. Communication measures how quickly and helpfully the host responded to your messages. Accuracy means whether the listing photos, description, and amenities matched what you actually found.
Location rates how convenient the neighborhood was for getting around. Value asks whether the price matched what you received. Host is an overall rating of your experience with the person running the listing. You do not have to give the same star count to each category — they are independent scores.
Writing your written review
After you select your star ratings, Airbnb gives you a text box to write comments. This section is optional, but hosts and future guests find written reviews far more useful than stars alone. Keep your review factual and specific: instead of "great place," write "the kitchen had everything we needed and the host left clear instructions for the wifi password."
Mention problems you encountered if they were significant — a broken shower, noise from neighbors, or a missing amenity listed in the description. Airbnb's guidelines ask you to avoid personal attacks on the host and to focus on the stay itself. You can write as much or as little as you want, but most helpful reviews are between two and five sentences.
When your review becomes public
Your review stays private until the host also submits a review for you. Once both reviews are in, they publish at the same time on both your profiles. This two-way system means neither party can see what the other wrote before deciding what to write themselves.
If the host does not leave a review within 30 days of your checkout, your review publishes automatically on day 31. The host can still add a review after that point, but it will appear after yours on the listing page.
Editing or removing a review you already submitted
You can change your review at any time before the host submits theirs. Open your Trips, find the listing, and look for an edit or pencil icon next to your review. Click it to change your star ratings or rewrite your comments.
Once the host leaves a review, you can no longer edit or delete yours. If you need to dispute something in your review after that point, contact Airbnb support through the app or website and explain the issue. Airbnb can remove reviews that violate its policies, such as those containing personal information, hate speech, or false claims.
What hosts see and how reviews affect their rating
Hosts see your full review — all six star ratings and your written comments — once it publishes. Your review contributes to the host's overall star rating, which appears on their profile and listing page. A single bad review does not tank a host's rating if they have many good ones, but patterns of low scores in specific categories (like cleanliness) can hurt their ability to attract future guests.
Hosts take reviews seriously because Airbnb's algorithm shows listings with higher ratings more often in search results. A host with consistently low cleanliness scores may lose bookings, which is why they often respond to critical reviews or ask guests to clarify what went wrong.
Reviews that Airbnb will remove
Airbnb removes reviews that contain hate speech, threats, or discrimination based on protected characteristics. Reviews that include personal information like phone numbers or addresses are also removed. If your review mentions something that happened outside the listing — a problem with a restaurant nearby, for example — Airbnb may take it down because it does not reflect the host's performance.
Reviews that are purely promotional or that appear to be written by someone other than the guest (like a competitor trying to damage the host's rating) can be removed as well. If you believe a review violates these rules, you can report it to Airbnb through the listing page.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I leave a review if I canceled my reservation?
No. You can only review a listing if you actually stayed there. Canceled reservations do not open a review window, even if you paid for the booking.
What happens if I leave a bad review?
Your review is factual feedback about your stay. Hosts cannot retaliate or leave a bad review in response — Airbnb's policies prohibit retaliatory reviews. If a host does leave one, you can report it to Airbnb support.
Can the host see my review before they write theirs?
No. Your review stays hidden until the host submits theirs. Both reviews publish at the same time, so neither party knows what the other wrote beforehand.
How long do reviews stay on the listing?
Reviews remain on the listing indefinitely unless Airbnb removes them for violating policies. Hosts cannot delete reviews left by guests, but they can respond to them publicly.
Can I review a host if I booked through a friend's account?
No. Only the person whose account made the reservation can leave a review. The account holder must have actually stayed at the listing.