Bookably has today added host-written reviews of guests to its platform, extending the existing property reviews written by guests and creating a two-way feedback loop on every stay.
Under the new system, guests continue to rate and review the holiday homes they stay in, and hosts now do the same for their guests — a star rating plus a short written review after checkout. Reviews from both sides are held back until both have been submitted, so neither can influence the other.
The change also gives hosts a new signal at the point of decision. When a booking request comes through, hosts can now see what previous hosts have said about that guest — turning a call that used to be made blind into an informed one.
What it means for hosts
Hosts see a prospective guest’s review history before accepting: a visible record of how that guest has treated other holiday homes on the platform, whether they were on time, tidy, respected house rules, and communicated well. After each stay, hosts write their own review in turn. The blind release keeps that feedback honest — a host’s review stays independent of whatever the guest writes back, with no pressure to soften. Over time, the result is a hosting community working from a shared read on who to welcome.
What it means for guests
Every respectful stay now builds a track record that travels with the guest from one booking to the next, so considerate travellers have something concrete to show for themselves when a host is weighing a request. The accountability flows back into the guest experience too: the property reviews guests rely on when browsing listings were written by travellers who had to put their own name to a review in return — which is what makes them worth trusting in the first place.
The launch sits squarely with the values Bookably has always stood by: fairness that runs in both directions, transparency built into the system rather than bolted on, and empowerment for hosts and guests alike to back their reputations with the truth of their behaviour.
Two-way reviews are live today on Bookably.