Blog

Nowadays no one does anything, eats anywhere or travels without reading at least one or two reviews.  When it comes to planning a vacation, we do our research! This means reading several reviews, sometimes hundreds to help narrow down the options and weed out the bad from the good. Reading all these reviews often causes more confusion and can be overwhelming. Help is on the way!  

Most hotel chains have a standard star rating indicating what to expect but with the high daily rates many vacationers are looking elsewhere. Short term rentals have become ideal alternatives in both price and convenience however, they don’t have a standard star rating. The reviews on vacation rentals are like any other consumer product – based solely on the consumer’s experience with anything and everything written. There is no filter; no standard star rating by which you can compare each rental to so it’s up to the vacationer looking for a great getaway to funnel through these reviews as best as possible.

The Top 5 Ways Help Guide You Through Short Term Rental Reviews:

1. Date of review
2. Pattern
3. Reviewer: Male or Female and age.
4. The tone, language and respect
5. Did the property owner reply?

Let’s go through each one briefly so you know what to look out for. Now keep in mind its not possible to make everyone happy all the time. Guests arrive from all corners of the world with different expectations and ideas. Whether its dollars, euros or pounds everyone is spending hard earned money and wants to make sure they get the best bang for their buck!

1.Date of Review:

If a reviewer from 2013 left an unflattering review take into consideration the possible improvement the homeowner or management company could have made since then. Don’t disregard the review, simply keep in mind many changes could have be made since the review was left 5 years ago. Take note of the main concern i.e. issues with cleanliness or lack of communication with homeowner and notice if it appears again in other more recent reviews- that is something to take note of!

2.Pattern/Repetition:

Look for a pattern or a common/repetitive complaint. The house was not clean, the towels were in bad shape or the Wi-Fi did not work for most of my stay. This will show you that even though the issues have been raised time and time again, the homeowner/vacation homeowner or management company have chosen to ignore them. This is a red flag when searching for a rental property.

3.Who is The Reviewer:

The gender and age or a reviewer does play a part. I mean no discrimination, bias or harm by this so please hear me out. A 21-year-old male will have very different expectations and needs compared with a young mom of two kids under 4 years of age. The 21-year-old male may leave a review with a complaint that the short-term rental was not as close to the nightlife as he had hoped it would be and found the listing to be misleading in that way. You will find a review left by a young mom highlight that they were closer to the nightlife than she had hoped for and it was a very chaotic environment for their young children. Both can say they found the property listing to have been misleading, but can you see how each one has either own perspective and expectation? I would pay attention and see if this comment comes up again. Are there complaints about proximity to nightlife? Is it only the young renters who have this issue? Take note of who leaves the review and issues they comment about. Will these issues be relevant to you?

4. How is the Review Written:

It’s important to note how the reviewer is expressing himself or herself. It’s easy to sit behind a screen and freely vent all your frustration but it takes someone with integrity to put across their dissatisfaction appropriately. Someone who is cursing, screaming by using capital letters and lots of exclamations is not someone to pay much attention to. A reviewer who expresses his/her dissatisfaction in a clear and concise manner and who is respectful and open is a review that should be highlighted. Showing a lack of respect in your reviews does not hold your review in high regard.

5.Homeowner/Management Company Response:

How did the homeowner/vacation homeowner or management company reply to the review? It is so important to take note of the reply. The tone of the reply is just as important as the review left by the vacationer. As a potential guest of this rental, you need to know how your potential landlord will conduct himself. If the reply to the review is one of anger, outrage and contempt this is something to notice. If the homeowner or management company reply positively, take note of the complaint and rectify it, this is a vacation rental to seriously consider. 

As with all things in life, rental vacation reviews are subjective but it’s up to you, a potential guest of a short-term rental to go through them and work out what is a legitimate complaint versus an expectation that was unreachable.

Smart Move Accommodations is a management company who have various short-term rentals listed.

You can view their reviews on the

Smart Move website Smart Move Website Reviews

Facebook Smart Move Facebook Reviews

Google Smart Move Google Reviews