Your new listing has no reviews. How to get the first three bookings

A great place with no reviews is a harder sell than an average place with forty. Guests booking somewhere nobody has reviewed are taking a risk, and most of them will choose the listing that feels safer. Your job in the first few weeks is to make that risk feel smaller.

Price for the first reviews, not for the year

The most effective lever is price. Set your rate a little below comparable listings nearby, enough that a guest comparing options has a reason to take a chance on you. The discount isn't a loss; it's what you pay for the first reviews, which are worth far more over the life of the listing.

Airbnb has at times offered a new-listing promotion as a setting when you publish. If it's available to you, it's worth considering. Either way, plan to raise your price in steps after three to five good reviews, rather than in one jump.

Make the listing do the reassuring

Without reviews, everything else on the page has to work harder. That means:

• Thorough photos. Every room, the bathroom, the kitchen, the view, the entrance. A guest should feel there's nothing hidden. How many photos a listing needs covers the full set.
• A clear description. What the place is like, who it suits and what's nearby, in plain language.
• A complete host profile. A real photo of you and a few lines about who you are. Guests booking an unreviewed place are partly booking you.

Run the listing through our Listing Health Check before you publish; it catches the gaps that make a new listing look unfinished.

Lower the barrier to booking

A flexible cancellation policy makes a new listing much easier to say yes to, because the guest isn't locked in to something unknown. Instant Book does the same for guests who don't want to wait for a reply. Both widen the pool of guests who'll consider you while you have no track record. You can tighten them later. Should you turn on Instant Book covers the trade-off.

Shorter minimum stays help too. A one or two-night minimum lets more guests try you out.

Reply to every enquiry fast

In the first few weeks, enquiries are precious. A guest messaging a listing with no reviews is already half-interested and probably comparing you with two or three others. A quick, friendly, specific reply often decides it. Turn on notifications, answer within the hour where you can, and answer the actual question rather than pasting a generic welcome. Fast responses also count towards your host metrics from the very start, which matters later if you're aiming for Superhost.

Make the first guests' stays exceptional

The first few reviews set your starting rating, and an early 4-star can take a long time to dilute. Go a bit further than usual for these guests: an extra-careful clean, a clear check-in message, a small welcome touch, and a quick reply to anything they ask.

Don't overdo it in a way you can't sustain, but make sure nothing goes wrong that could have been prevented.

Ask for the review, gently

After each early stay, leave the guest a review promptly and send a short thank-you message. Many guests review in return without being asked; a friendly nudge catches the rest. How to ask for a review without being annoying has wording that works.

Don't fake it

Avoid bookings from friends or family to get reviews moving. It breaks Airbnb's rules, it's easier to spot than people think, and losing those reviews later puts you back where you started, with a mark against your account. Real guests at a slightly lower price get you there almost as fast.