Reply templates · Guesthouses & B&Bs
How to reply to an unfair 1-star guesthouse review
Guesthouse 1-stars are personal — it's your house. The classics: a guest furious about load-shedding as if you scheduled it, a business traveller reviewing a family B&B against hotel standards, or the group that got warned about noise and reviewed you in revenge. Our SA review study found guesthouses carry the harshest ratings of any industry we measured, so replies matter disproportionately here.
Reply 1 · Load-shedding / infrastructure
Hi Mr Botha, we're sorry the power cuts marked your stay — Stage 4 hit our whole area that week. It's why every room has backup lights and we run the generator for the kitchen and Wi-Fi from 6am. We'll be clearer about what's covered during outages when guests book. We'd welcome you back in a calmer week. — [Guesthouse]
Reply 2 · Wrong expectations (hotel vs B&B)
Thank you for the feedback, Mr Botha. A fair note for future guests: we're an eight-room guesthouse, not a hotel — no 24-hour desk or room service, but a home-cooked breakfast and hosts who know your name. Guests who want that usually love it here; we're sorry it wasn't the fit for this trip. — [Hosts' names]
Reply 3 · House-rules revenge review
We remember this stay differently: our other guests' sleep matters, and after several requests about noise at 2am we enforced the house rules every guest signs. We stand by that. We wish you well and better-suited accommodation on your next trip. — [Guesthouse]
Before you hit reply
- State what you DO provide during load-shedding — that paragraph sells to every future reader
- 'We're a guesthouse, not a hotel' is a positioning statement, not an apology — use it proudly
- On revenge reviews, be firm once and stop; measured firmness reads as credibility
- Never reveal a guest's room number, dates or party details — privacy applies to hospitality too
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