Public reply to a five-star review
Post this under a positive public review, within a few days, where future guests will read it.
{Guest name}, thank you for taking the time to review {Property name}. I was glad to read your note about {Review detail}.
You are welcome back when the calendar is open. Future guests can see the listing for the current details.
When to send
Post a public reply when a review is already public and you want future guests to see that a person reads the reviews. {review_detail} is a detail they wrote, not a detail you wish they had written: “the street parking being easier than you expected” or “the keypad instructions.” {guest_name} is whatever name the review shows. {property_name} keeps a host with several listings from thanking someone for the wrong cabin.
This template is for a review that does not need a correction. If they praised you and also said the heat was broken, do not use a pure thank-you that ignores the heat. A reply that skips the only complaint is the sentence future guests notice. In that case, thank them for {review_detail} and add one factual sentence about the heat, such as “The heater was repaired on Tuesday.” Do not argue with the stars.
Do not post this under a review that is still hidden, if your platform hides reviews until both sides write. Wait until the reply box is the public one. A reply in the private thread is just the thank-you note, which is a different file.
Timing tip
Within a few days is enough. A reply posted the same hour looks attentive. A reply posted three months later looks like a cleanup project, and the guest may not see it. You do not need to reply to every five-star review. Reply when {review_detail} gives you something true to echo. A stack of identical “So glad you loved it!” replies is less useful to a future guest than a few specific ones.
If you are angry about a different review the same day, do not write this one in the same sitting. The tone leaks. {review_detail} should sound like you noticed their words.
Common mistakes
Selling is the first one. A discount code, a direct-booking link, or “we have availability next holiday” turns a thank-you into an ad under their name. The template points future guests at the listing, which is already public, and stops. Do not add a price or a date.
The second is repeating their whole review back to them. One detail is recognition. A paraphrase of every sentence looks like you are stretching the reply for search words. {review_detail} stays short.
The third is a correction they did not ask for. “Actually the sofa is a loveseat” under a kind review is how you spend the goodwill. Unless the detail would mislead the next guest in a way that causes a bad arrival, let it go. If it would mislead, fix the listing, and mention the fix in a single clause.
Future guests are the readers
You are writing to the people who have not booked yet, using this guest’s name. They are deciding whether the host is calm and whether the listing matches the reviews. A reply that argues with a five-star review, or that begs for more bookings, answers that question in the wrong direction.
“You are welcome back when the calendar is open” does not promise a date and does not move the relationship off the platform. Keep that boundary. If you want a warmer private thanks, send the thank-you note in the thread. The public reply can stay this short.