Automated reviews help you maintain consistent guest feedback without the daily manual effort. When enabled, iGMS automatically sends reviews to your guests after they check out, saving you time while ensuring you never miss the review window. This guide focuses specifically on getting the automated review feature up and running for the first time.
Things to keep in mind:
Before you can enable automated reviews, you need to create at least three positive review templates in your account. This minimum requirement ensures variety in your automated reviews and prevents the system from sending identical feedback repeatedly to different guests.
Also, the Auto-reviews feature should be enabled in your profile settings as well as in the property settings.
Creating Your Review Templates
Navigate to the Reviews section from your main iGMS menu and click on the Review Templates tab.
Click Create Template to begin.
Give your template a descriptive name that helps you identify its purpose, such as "Positive Guest Review 1" or "Excellent Stay Template."
In the text field, write the review message you want to send to guests.
You can personalize each template using placeholders from the Useful Elements dropdown. These placeholders automatically insert specific information like the guest's name, your property name, or the checkout date when the review is sent. This allows you to maintain a personal touch while using automated templates.
Once you've written your first template, click save and repeat this process until you have at least three templates ready. Please remember, all three should be positive reviews with ratings of 4 stars or higher.
Enabling Auto-Reviews
Once you have at least three templates created, you're ready to enable the automated review feature.
Go to your Profile > Settings and make sure the auto-reviews toggle is enabled.
Go to the Property Editor and make sure the Auto-reviews are enabled. By default, it should be enabled.
Go to the Auto-Reviews by Host tab and click the Settings button to open the review settings panel.
You'll see separate toggle switches for Airbnb Auto-Review and Vrbo Auto-Review. These controls allow you to enable or disable automated reviews independently for each platform. Toggle on the platforms where you want automated reviews to be active.
Setting Your Review Delay
The delay setting determines how long iGMS waits after a guest checks out before automatically sending a review.
In the Settings panel, you'll find the delay option where you can set the number of days or hours to wait. We recommend setting a delay of 3 to 4 days after checkout. This window allows you to thoroughly inspect the property and confirm everything is in order while still leaving plenty of time before the platform's review deadline.
Note: Both Airbnb and Vrbo allow 14 days after checkout to submit reviews, so a 3-4 day delay provides a safety buffer while ensuring your reviews are sent promptly.
How Automated Reviews Work
Now that your automated reviews are enabled, you can explore the full capabilities of the Reviews section.
The Reviews Section overview article covers how to view and reply to guest reviews, monitor your property performance with detailed metrics across six rating categories, manage your review templates with advanced features, and understand review time limits for both platforms.
These features will help you maintain your reputation and improve the properties' overall rating.
If you need any help, please feel free to reach out to us at [email protected].