Improving your Booking.com score is not just about asking for more reviews: it involves reviewing how you present your accommodation, how you manage each stay and how you respond to guests. With a structured approach, you can gain visibility, improve the quality of your bookings and increase revenue without resorting to gimmicks or shortcuts.
Why is your Booking.com rating so important?
For many travelers, the Booking.com rating is the first filter when choosing accommodation. Between two similar options, the one with the better score and more recent reviews will almost always win, so every tenth counts in terms of visibility and average price per night.
How Booking.com ratings and ranking really works
Before applying any strategy, it is important to understand that score and ranking are not the same thing. The score is the average of guest reviews, while the ranking is the order in which Booking.com shows your listing in the search results.
The algorithm takes into account factors such as average score, number and age of reviews, conversion rate, cancellations and availability. Therefore, a good score is not enough: if your calendar is almost always blocked or your prices are not competitive, you will also be penalized.
What Booking values (and what it doesn't)
Booking cares primarily about one thing: that the guest is satisfied with their booking. This means that your ad must promise exactly what you are going to offer, no more and no less. Unrealistic photos, exaggerated descriptions or unclear policies usually result in bad reviews.
On the other hand, the platform rewards accommodations that maintain a consistent standard of good experience: cleanliness, smooth communication, promptness in case of problems and transparency in information. Anything that comes close to that will help you improve your score and your ranking in the medium term.
Initial diagnosis: before trying to improve your score
Quick diagnostic checklist
To get off to a good start, review these key points of your Booking.com listing:
- Full announcement: the service, standards, policies and description fields must be filled in completely.
- Current photos: that show the real state of the housing, without “cheating” with extreme filters.
- Recent negative reviews: identifies what is repeated and since when.
- Response time to messages: Long response times often affect host perception.
- Cancellations: check if your policy generates a lot of frustration or misunderstandings.
This initial evaluation will allow you to prioritize the changes that will really have an impact on your score, rather than trying random things.
Pre-booking strategies: advertisement, photos and pricing
An honest and realistic advertisement
Review your description with a very practical approach: the question it should answer is “what exactly will the guest find?”. Avoid generic phrases like “luxury apartment” if the standard does not reach that level; clarity is key.
Photos that sell without misleading
Images are the element that most influences bookings and ratings. Opt for professional photos or, at least, well-worked: good lighting, clean composition and uncluttered spaces. Show what the guest will actually use: bed, kitchen, bathroom, living room, views and entrance to the building.
Avoid hiding key elements such as a nearby building, a view of an interior courtyard or the actual size of the bathroom. An overly idealized photo creates unrealistic expectations that later translate into comments such as “it wasn't like the pictures”.
Clear policies to avoid surprises
Many negative reviews are not due to the condition of the accommodation, but to misunderstandings about schedules, deposits, rules or extra charges. It is essential to have everything clearly written in the advertisement: check-in and check-out times, late check-in fees, noise levels, pet policy, etc.
Pricing and availability: the hidden impact on your score
Price may not seem to be related to rating, but it does influence the guest's perception. When someone feels that they have paid too much for what they have received, their rating tends to be lower in almost all categories.
Therefore, it is advisable to use pricing tools or at least compare your rates with similar accommodations in your area. Adjusting prices according to demand, events and the season makes the guest feel that they have “made the right choice” and encourages them to be more generous in their rating.
During your stay: where your score is really decided
Smooth check-in for tourist apartments
The first physical contact with the accommodation sets the tone for the entire stay. A chaotic or unclear check-in generates stress and predisposes the guest to look at everything else with a magnifying glass. Define a simple process and repeat it every time.
Impeccable cleanliness and maintenance
Cleanliness is one of the most important factors in the final score. It is not enough to “clean”; you need a standard: cleaning checklist, periodic supervisions and quick response to incidents (stained sheets, odors, small flaws).
In urban apartments, the key is in the details: the state of the bathroom, a complete kitchen, pillows in good condition and good waste management. If you fail in these basics, it's hard to make up for it with decor or location.
Proactive communication and incident channel
Even with a perfect apartment, problems can arise: noisy neighbors, occasional Wi-Fi outages, minor glitches... The difference between a good and a bad review is usually in how you respond to the problem.
Establish a clear communication channel (WhatsApp, phone, Booking.com messaging) and commit to always respond within minutes. Sometimes the guest is not looking for a perfect solution, but to feel that someone is attending to the problem and offering a reasonable alternative.
After check-out: how to get more and better reviews
Always respond to comments (especially negative ones).
Responding to reviews does not directly improve your rating, but it does show future guests that you are involved in the management of the accommodation. For positive comments, a brief, personalized thank you is sufficient.
In negative comments, avoid arguing: thank them for the feedback, apologize for what happened and explain what you will do to prevent it from happening again.. Sometimes you won't convince the person who left the review, but you will convince whoever reads it later.
What you should never do with reviews
Some practices end up damaging your reputation, even if they are well-intentioned. For example, aggressively insisting that they change a review, offering discounts in exchange for a better score, or responding defensively.
Instead, focus your energy on improving internal processes and communication. Every well-managed negative review is an opportunity to adjust something and prevent that problem from recurring in the future.
30-day action plan to boost your score
If you want to see tangible results, it helps to follow a concrete plan rather than making isolated changes. Think of the next 30 days as an intensive period of improving your Booking.com presence.
This could be a simple scheme to start implementing changes in an organized way.
Week 1: Diagnosis and Announcement
- Review all the comments of the last months and group them by topic.
- Update the description, services and rules of your ad.
- Identify the three most frequent complaints and define actions to correct them.
This week's objective is to understand what is going on and align the ad with the reality of the accommodation.
Week 2: Photos, Cleaning and Maintenance
- Take new photos or improve existing ones with good lighting and realistic framing.
- Thoroughly review the cleanliness and create a detailed checklist.
- Solves common small problems (faucets, paint, bedding, kitchenware).
With these changes you will see a decrease in negative comments about “sloppy appearance” and an improvement in the overall perception of the accommodation.
Week 3: Communication and Check-in
- Compose clear automated messages for booking, pre-arrival and check-out.
- Simplify the check-in process and add visual instructions if necessary.
- Define who responds to incidents and how, within 15-20 minutes.
The focus is on the guest's feeling that there is someone watching over your stay at all times, not only at the time of booking.
Week 4: Reviews and fine tuning
- Create a post-stay message to thank them for their visit and request a review in a natural way.
- Start systematically responding to all new reviews.
- Check prices and availability in relation to your direct competitors.
From this point on, all that remains is to maintain discipline in these processes. The improvement in your score usually comes gradually over the following months.
When does it make sense to delegate the management of Booking.com?
Managing a listing on Booking.com takes time: adjusting prices, responding quickly, optimizing the listing, coordinating cleanings and check-ins. If you manage several accommodations or have limited resources on a daily basis, it is normal that some aspects will suffer, and this will be reflected in your score.
In cases like this, relying on a specialized team can make all the difference.
A Booking.com's professional management service helps you maintain stable processes, stay on top of the guest relationship and take better advantage of the city's demand.
At BCN Flat Management, we focus on just that: transforming your Booking.com presence into a solid and predictable source of bookings, while you decide to what extent you want to be involved in the day-to-day operations.
If you start by sorting out your listing, your processes and your communication, you will see that increasing your Booking.com score is a natural consequence of managing your accommodation better, not an isolated goal. From there, every extra tenth translates into more visibility, better guests and a more sustainable tourism business in Barcelona.