Your guests are talking about you – the question is whether you are making those conversations work for your business. In the self-catering sector, online reviews are one of the most powerful tools available to any operator, yet they remain one of the most underused. A glowing 5-star review collected and left to sit on one platform is a missed opportunity. Used strategically, reviews can build trust before a guest even makes an enquiry, improve your visibility across multiple platforms, and convert browsers into bookers – often without any additional marketing spend.
This guidance sheet will walk you through the practical steps to build a simple, repeatable review strategy that works for your self-catering business – from understanding how guests really make booking decisions, to responding to reviews with confidence and using them to drive more direct bookings.
Understanding how your potential guests make decisions is the starting point for any effective review strategy. Research consistently shows that the majority of travellers read online reviews before making a booking, and that self-catering guests in particular rely heavily on peer feedback, given the nature of staying in someone’s private property.
The typical guest journey looks something like this:
Key things guests look for in reviews:
The takeaway: guests are making judgements about your property before they contact you. Your review profile is doing the selling – whether you manage it or not.
Not all review platforms are equal, and the platforms that matter most will depend on where your guests are finding you. However, there are several key platforms that every self-catering operator should be aware of:
Google Business Profile
Google reviews are arguably the most important for visibility. They appear in Google Search and Google Maps, meaning they influence whether potential guests find you in the first place. A strong Google review profile also supports your local SEO – the higher your rating and the more reviews you have, the more likely Google is to show your property in search results.
Booking Platforms (Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO)
Reviews on booking platforms directly affect your ranking within those platforms. More reviews – and higher ratings – mean better placement in search results, which leads to more bookings. These reviews also serve as social proof for guests who discover you through other channels and then check your listings.
Your Own Website
Displaying reviews on your own website is one of the most effective ways to build trust with direct bookers. A guest who arrives at your site having found you through Google or social media is far more likely to book directly if they can see authentic reviews displayed prominently.
Social Media
Sharing reviews on Facebook and LinkedIn extends the reach of every piece of positive feedback you receive. It keeps your social channels active with credible, authentic content – and reminds your existing followers to recommend you to others.
Trustist Tip: The Trustist platform aggregates your reviews from multiple sources – Google, Facebook, Trustpilot and more and displays them in one place on your website. It can also automatically share new reviews to your social channels, saving you time and maximising visibility.
Most self-catering operators know reviews are important, the challenge is consistency. Here are the most common issues, and how to address them:
“I don’t want to ask – it feels awkward”
Asking for a review feels uncomfortable to many operators, but guests who have had a great stay are almost always happy to leave one – they just need a prompt. A warm, personal message is far more effective than a generic automated request, and most guests will appreciate the personal touch.
“I forget to ask after checkout”
This is the most common reason review collections stall – life gets busy, and following up slips. The solution is automation. Setting up a simple automated message triggered after checkout removes the reliance on memory and ensures every guest receives a request without additional effort from you.
“My reviews are scattered across different platforms”
Managing reviews across Google, Airbnb, Booking.com and your own website individually is time consuming. Bringing them together in one dashboard and displaying them collectively on your website, is a far more efficient approach and gives potential guests a more comprehensive picture of your reputation.
“I got a negative review and don’t know what to do”
Negative reviews happen to every operator. How you respond matters more than the review itself. A professional, measured response demonstrates to future guests that you take feedback seriously and are committed to delivering a great experience.
The most effective review strategies are the simplest ones. You don’t need an elaborate system – you need a consistent one. Here is a straightforward process that any self-catering operator can implement:
Step 1 Deliver a great experience
Reviews reflect the stay. The foundation of any review strategy is delivering the experience guests want to talk about – cleanliness, communication, and the small touches that make a self-catering property feel special.
Step 2 – Send a post-checkout message
Within 24-48 hours of checkout, send a personal message thanking the guest and asking them to share their experience. Keep it short and warm. Include a direct link to your preferred review platform to make it as easy as possible.
Example message:
Example: “Hi [Name], thank you so much for staying with us, we hope you had a wonderful time. If you have a moment, we would love it if you could leave us a review on Google. It makes a real difference to a small, independent property like ours. Here is the link: [link]. Thank you again – we hope to welcome you back soon.”
Step 3 — Make it easy
Every additional step between the guest and the review is an opportunity for them to give up. Always include a direct link. If you are using a platform like Trustist, you can send a single link that lets the guest choose which platform to review on – maximising the chance they complete it.
Step 4 – Automate where possible
Once you have a message that works, automate it. Most property management systems allow post-checkout messages to be scheduled automatically. Trustist also offers automated review request functionality, removing the manual step entirely.
Step 5 – Respond to every review
Responding to reviews – positive and negative – signals to guests and to search engines that your business is active and engaged. It takes only a few minutes but makes a significant difference to how your property is perceived.
Example: “Thank you so much, Sarah! We are delighted you loved the location and found everything just as described. We hope to welcome you back to [Property Name] very soon.”
Responding to negative reviews
Example: “Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. We are sorry to hear that [specific issue] did not meet your expectations – this is not the experience we aim to provide. We have taken steps to address this and would welcome the opportunity to speak with you directly. Please feel free to contact us at [contact details].”
Remember: your response is not just for the guest who left the review, it is for every future guest who reads it.
Reviews are not just a measure of past performance – they are a tool for driving future bookings. Here is how to put them to work:
Display reviews on your website
Add a reviews widget or testimonials section to your website homepage and booking page. Guests who arrive at your site are already interested – seeing authentic reviews at the point of decision can be the difference between a direct booking and them going back to a booking platform.
Share reviews on social media
Turn each new review into a social media post. A screenshot or a designed graphic featuring a guest quote keeps your channels active and provides content that feels authentic rather than promotional. Platforms like Trustist can automate this process, posting new reviews directly to your Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
Include reviews in your email communications
If you send a newsletter or follow-up emails to past guests, include a selection of recent reviews. This reinforces the quality of the experience and encourages past guests to return or recommend you to others.
Use reviews in your listings
Where platforms allow, reference your review performance in your listing descriptions. Phrases such as “consistently rated 5 stars for cleanliness and communication” provide additional reassurance at the point of booking.
Leverage your overall rating
Your overall star rating is one of the most visible signals of trust across all platforms. Consistently collecting reviews – even a small number per month – compounds over time, improving your rating and your visibility in search results.
Reviews are one of the few marketing tools available to self-catering operators that are both free and highly effective – but only if you have a system in place to collect, manage and showcase them consistently. The businesses that win in self-catering are not necessarily the ones with the most marketing budget, they are the ones whose reputation is most visible, most trusted, and most actively managed.
Start with the basics: ask every guest, make it easy, respond to every review, and display them where future guests will see them. From there, automation and aggregation tools like Trustist can help you scale the process without adding to your workload.
Your happy guests are already out there. Make sure their voices are working for your business.
Author of Guidance: Trustist
Contact: William Mcbey william.mcbey@trustist.com or What’s app 07396797331
Date of Guidance: May 2026
Version Number: V1
Disclaimer – Guidance Sheets are written by experienced Members of the ASSC and other experts. The information in the ‘Guidance Sheet’ is provided by the ASSC for use by Members in support of their own independent business decisions. It does not constitute advice or instruction for which the ASSC can be held liable in any way whatsoever. All Members and other readers remain responsible for the consequences of any decisions taken whether in the light of information gained from this Guidance Sheet