Agoda Reviews: Verified, Moderated, Honest

Reviews are real experiences by real customers. At Agoda, we believe that reviews are not only critical in helping guests make informed decisions about where to stay. We also believe they are the best way for you to learn about your guests, and by extension, learn about your property and your business. That’s why we only post reviews by verified guests and moderate them to make sure only constructive reviews are visible on our website and app.

Responding to Reviews: A Conversation with Guests

Agoda enables you to reply directly to reviews because we believe that 2-way conversations yield the best education, understanding, and trust. Your direct response to guest reviews allows you to address grievances with previous guests while showing potential guests how much you care.

Additionally, review responses give you a fast and free platform for advertising your brand while talking about improvements you’re making to your property and services.

Guidelines and Standards for Quality Communication

To get the most out of review responses, Agoda recommends you observe some basic rules which will enhance your communication and improve customer reception. Agoda prohibits profanity, personal attacks, or libel from reviews. Beyond that, we encourage a wide range of expression. Expect a wide range of reviews and viewpoints and be prepared to respond with similar diversity.

Your responses will be moderated and may be rejected if they contain personally identifying, libelous, excessive, or irrelevant information. Overall, Agoda will have the final say on what is permitted and shown on agoda.com.

• Personalize Your Responses – Scan the review for details about the guest and their stay and use these details in your reply (while respecting privacy – see paragraph 5 below). It will have much greater impact and value if the reader feels they are being spoken to directly.
• Apologize If Needed – Often a negative review is the product of a correctable mistake, and simply saying “sorry” will resolve the issue for the guest while showing humility to other users.
• Don’t Repeat Yourself – Posting the same reply or opening sentences in multiple responses will make it look like you’re a computer. Try and use different wording in responses, even if the message is the same.
• Be Reachable – For negative reviews, it’s helpful to leave the name of the property manager or guest contact in the event they would like to follow up. Even if they don’t, the gesture will make a difference to those browsing the reviews.
• Respect Privacy – Never mention the guest’s full name; just the first name is enough. Never mention any personally identifying information about the guest, including nationality, room type, or dates of stay.
• Be Concise – Get to the point, and don’t waste time with flowery explanations or irrelevant information. Avoid marketing language or self-promotion, unless it’s to mention a specific feature or improvement that’s connected to the original review.
• Legal – By posting and responding to guest reviews you do so in agreement with the legal conditions set out in the Terms and Conditions for YCS.

How to view and respond to your guest reviews

Step 1: Go to Performance

Step 2: Select Reviews

Step 3: Complete all relevant fields