What we actually check when we review your listing, and how to make the most common fixes yourself, from the first photo to the Visitor Levy.
Free Airbnb listing review: what happens after you send the link
When your link arrives, it goes to someone on our team who looks after homes in Edinburgh every day. Not a bot, and not a sales script. Here's how they spend the time.
- They read the listing as a guest would. On a phone as well as a laptop, because plenty of guests search and book on the go. They look at the search result, then open the listing and scroll it top to bottom.
- They compare it with homes nearby. Using PriceLabs market data, they check what similar homes in your area list at, how full their calendars are, and how your price and minimum stay sit against them.
- They read your recent reviews. Not just the score, but what guests keep saying, good and bad.
- They check the rules. Your licence number and EPC rating on the listing, guest numbers within the licence, and the Visitor Levy set up for stays in the City of Edinburgh.
- They write it up. A short email: what's working, what to fix first, and why. Usually three or four changes, in the order that will make the most difference.
It helps to send the listing guests book most often, and to use the notes box for anything you've already tried. If you tell us what would help most, more bookings, better prices or reviews, we'll put that first.
If you'd like to talk the review through, you can always book a short call or message the team.
If you'd rather see the earning side first, the Airbnb income calculator gives a quick range for your area and size.
Airbnb listing photos in Edinburgh: what guests look for
Photos do more work than anything else on a listing. Guests decide whether to tap on the first one, and decide whether to book in the next ten. These are the photo problems we find most often.
The first photo
It should show the best room in the best light, usually the living room or a view. A close-up of a cushion or a dark hallway loses guests before they open the listing. In Edinburgh, a window with the Castle, Arthur's Seat or the Forth in it is worth leading with.
The order
Guests want to answer three questions quickly: where will we sit, where will we sleep, and can we cook. So after the first photo, show the living space, then each bedroom with its bed size clear, then the kitchen, then the bathroom. The street, the stair and local sights come after.
Being honest about the stair
Many Edinburgh flats are up a tenement stair, sometimes three or four floors. Show it, and say so in the description. A guest who knows about the stairs leaves a happy review. A guest who finds out with two suitcases at 10pm leaves a different one. Our tenement flat guide has more on this.
Light and season
Photos taken on a grey November afternoon make a lovely flat look tired. Shoot in daylight, lights on, blinds open. If the home has changed since the photos, retake them: guests notice a different sofa.
For homes we manage, professional photography is included in onboarding. If you're hosting yourself, our tools, tips and tricks for self-hosts guide covers taking good photos on a phone.
Airbnb titles and descriptions that answer guests' questions
Guests search by area and dates, then scan. A good title tells them where the home is and why it stands out, in the few words they'll read. A good description answers the questions they'd otherwise message you about.
Titles that lead with the neighbourhood
"Bright flat, great location" could be anywhere. "Stockbridge 2-bed by the Water of Leith, sleeps 4" tells a guest what they need. Use the name guests know: Old Town, New Town, Leith, Bruntsfield, Portobello. Then one thing that's true and specific: a view, parking, a garden, a short walk to Murrayfield.
What to include in the description
- Getting in: how check-in works, and what time
- Stairs and lifts: which floor, and whether there's a lift
- Parking: whether there is any, and whether it's a permit zone
- Beds: the size of each, and whether any are sofa beds
- Bins and quiet hours: the house rules that keep the stair happy
- The area: one or two honest lines on what's nearby, from the Meadows to the beach
What every Edinburgh listing must show
Every short-let advert must show the licence number and the EPC rating. The listing should never offer more guests than the licence allows. These are easy to miss when a listing is copied from an older one. Our licence requirements page lists the conditions.
If your listing also sits on Booking.com or Vrbo, check the same details there. Small differences between channels are a common source of confused guests. Our free guest message and house manual kit includes ready-made wording for check-in, stairs and quiet hours.
Airbnb pricing and calendar in Edinburgh: the gaps we find most
Price and calendar problems are the hardest to spot from the inside, because the home still gets bookings. The question is whether it gets the right ones.
One price all year
Edinburgh has one of the most uneven years of any UK city. August and Hogmanay sit well above everything else. Graduation weeks in June and July, Six Nations weekends at Murrayfield and big concerts fill the city too. Then there are quiet Tuesdays in February. A home priced the same on all of those nights is too cheap on the busy ones and too dear on the quiet ones. One pair of Newington flats we now look after went from £2,465 a month on one price all year to £10,380 a month once each night was priced on its own.
Minimum stays
Most homes take stays of two or three nights, with longer minimums in August and over New Year. A three-night minimum on a quiet week in March can leave the home empty when a two-night stay was there for the taking.
Calendar gaps and blocked nights
- Single nights between bookings that no one can book
- Dates blocked by mistake months ago and never opened
- A calendar only open three months ahead, when August and Hogmanay guests book far earlier
- Channels out of sync, so a night booked on Booking.com still shows free on Airbnb
For homes we manage, pricing runs every night with PriceLabs and a person checking it. See typical nightly prices by area on our Airbnb management page, and read our note on the Six Nations 2027 at Murrayfield for one of next year's busy weekends.
Airbnb reviews and ratings, and the repeated complaint to fix first
A rating is an average of many small moments, but it usually moves because of one or two things guests keep mentioning. Finding those is most of the job.
How to read your own reviews
- Read the last 20 reviews in one sitting, not one at a time as they arrive.
- Write down every complaint, however small: the shower, the stairs, a noisy street, the check-in instructions, the Wi-Fi.
- Count them. The one that comes up three or four times is the one to fix first.
- Fix it properly, then mention the fix in the listing so new guests see it.
The fixes are often simple. Blackout blinds for light summer nights. Clearer directions to the right stair door. A spare set of towels. A second kettle in a home that sleeps six.
Replying to reviews
Future guests read your replies as much as the reviews. Thank people warmly and briefly. When a review is critical, acknowledge it, say what you've done, and leave it there. A calm reply to a hard review often does more for bookings than another five-star one.
Why the number matters
Airbnb's co-host network asks for an account rating of 4.8 or more, which gives a sense of how high guests' expectations now sit. Across the homes we look after, guests have given us 4.7 stars from 1,552 reviews on Airbnb, Booking.com and Google, and you can read what owners say on our reviews page.
For a longer checklist of what guests notice, read What every Edinburgh host should know.
Licence, Visitor Levy and fees on your Airbnb listing
These are the checks owners are most surprised by, because they're about rules rather than bookings. They still affect both.
The Visitor Levy
Stays in the City of Edinburgh starting on or after 24 July 2026 carry a 5% Visitor Levy on the accommodation price, for the first five nights. The guest pays it; the host collects it and pays the council every quarter. It doesn't apply in East Lothian, so not in Musselburgh or North Berwick. We check that the levy is set up so guests see it correctly, and that it isn't being charged where it shouldn't be. Our Visitor Levy guide has the return dates and a worked example.
Your licence
We check the licence number is on the listing, that the guest numbers match, and whether renewal is coming up. Short-term let licences need renewing, and applying before the expiry date lets you keep hosting while the council decides. See licence renewal in Edinburgh. If you're letting only for a few weeks, check the temporary exemption rules.
Cleaning fees and extras
Guests compare the total price, not the nightly one. A high cleaning fee on a two-night stay can make a well-priced home look expensive next to its neighbours. Extra-guest fees, pet fees and long lists of charges can do the same. We look at the total a guest sees for a typical stay, and whether the fees are helping or quietly costing you bookings.
If your home isn't licensed yet, or you're not sure which licence it has, start with our short-term let licensing guide.
After your listing review, fix it yourself or hand it over
Every suggestion in your review is yours to use, whatever you decide next. Most owners end up in one of three places.
You make the changes yourself
Plenty of hosts do. Start with the first fix on the list, give it two or three weeks, and watch what changes in your bookings and messages. Our free guides help: tools, tips and tricks for self-hosts covers pricing tools and calendars, and the guest message and house manual kit gives you wording to borrow.
You already have a manager
Share the review with them. A good manager will welcome a second pair of eyes and act on it. If the same problems keep coming back, our guide Is your short-let manager working for you? sets out what good looks like, and our page on switching manager explains a calm handover that keeps your bookings.
You'd rather hand it over
If the review shows more work than you have evenings for, we can look after the whole thing: guests, pricing, cleaning, repairs, the licence and the levy. Full management is from 15% + VAT of net booking revenue, which is 18% including VAT, and new owners who sign a one-year agreement by 31 December 2026 pay 10% + VAT for their first four months. Every number is on our pricing page.
Whichever you choose, there's no follow-up beyond a single check-in. If you'd like to see the full picture for your home, start a free plan and you'll have it by 11am the next working day.
Book a 15-minute call with one of the co-founders, or get a free plan for your home: what it could earn, the licence route and every cost.
