How to Remove A Review From Booking.com (Updated 2025)

It’s great to gather a bunch of positive feedback but keeping an eye on the negative ones is just as crucial. Addressing less-than-stellar reviews shows your customers you genuinely care. Plus, it's a golden opportunity to improve and build trust.

Getting a negative review—especially a really harsh one—can be a real headache for any hotel. Whether you run a hotel or any kind of hospitality business, your reputation on OTAs plays a huge role in attracting customers. 

Since so many people rely on these reviews to decide where to stay, keeping an eye on them and handling feedback the right way can make a big difference.

Headquartered in the Netherlands, Booking.com is a leading online travel agency (OTA) offering over 29 million listings worldwide, including approximately 7.9 million homes, apartments, and other unique places to stay along with 350 million verified reviews from real guests.

Recent data underscores the significant role of online reviews in consumer decision-making. In 2024, 93% of consumers read online reviews before making a purchase, with 58% willing to pay more or travel further with positive reviews.

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Why Remove?

At times, you may feel a review is misleading or unfairly damaging your property's reputation—after all, there are always two sides to a story! This isn't just about negative feedback; even reviews that fail to acknowledge recent renovations or improvements can create a misleading impression for potential guests. 

In such cases, having outdated or inaccurate reviews removed can provide a fresh start.

Therefore, Booking.com has its own set of strict guidelines for review removal, and requests to delete reviews are processed accordingly. Again, Booking.com only allows reviews from verified guests—meaning hotels can confirm whether a reviewer actually stayed at their property. 

This ensures that all reviews are 100% authentic. 

That said, because reviews are inherently subjective, some content may still be irrelevant, contrived, misleading, or fall outside the platform’s guidelines, making it necessary to explore options for removal.

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Conditions For The Removal Of A Guest Review on Booking.com

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According to Booking.com, review removal is only possible in the following cases:

• The guest canceled their reservation and confirmed that they didn’t arrive at the property.
• You canceled the reservation at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled check-in.
• The reservation is marked as a no-show and the review doesn’t detail the guest’s experience.
• You canceled someone’s booking on the planned day of check-in because of an invalid credit card.
• An investigation confirms the guest mistakenly reviewed the wrong property.
• The review is part of a blackmail attempt by the guest, with valid written proof required.

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You can also request a review removal if it violates Booking.com's guidelines, such as:

• Containing abusive language, discrimination, threats, or political/religious commentary.
• Promoting illegal activities.
• Including personal contact details like phone numbers, addresses, or website links.

To report such cases, contact Booking.com via your extranet ‘Inbox’ under the subject ‘Reviews.’ However, note that while policy-violating comments may be removed, the review score will remain online.

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A Few Pointers To Keep in Mind:

• If a guest arrives at your property but isn’t satisfied and ends up not staying, they’ll be able to leave a review. 
• If a guest canceled the reservation before the check-in date or didn’t show up at your property because you couldn’t accept one of their requests, you can ask Booking.com to investigate the case. If the latter concludes that the guest was informed prior to check-in or via fine print that the benefit is subject to availability, it can remove the review, depending on the context.
• If you cancel a reservation less than 24 hours before check-in due to an overbooking, the guest will be allowed to leave a review.
• If a guest has confirmed their stay, Booking.com will keep their review online.

Now that you have determined that review indeed may violate the guidelines, let’s see how to request the removal of this guest review: 

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How To Request The Removal Of A Guest Review

If you’d like to contact Booking.com regarding a review removal, follow these steps,

1. Log in to the extranet
2. Click on Inbox
3. Click on Booking.com messages 
4. Click on See contact options
5. Select Guest Reviews as the topic
6. Click on See all contact options
7. Choose your preferred contact method
8. If you chose Message indicate your booking number and explain your issue

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Need help removing reviews for other platforms? Check-out the GuestTouch quick guide here for disputing online reviews.

While knowing how to request review removal is important, effective guest engagement is often the key to preventing and resolving review issues before they escalate. 

Here are some useful strategies that can help you manage your property's reputation more effectively.

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Mastering Guest Engagement: Building Positive Experiences

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Pre-Stay Communication

• Send personalized welcome messages before arrival
• Confirm special requests and preferences
• Set clear expectations about amenities and services
• Provide helpful information about check-in procedures

During-Stay Engagement

• Conduct courtesy check-ins after guest arrival
• Actively monitor and address any concerns in real-time
• Provide prompt responses to guest requests
• Document all guest interactions and resolutions

Post-Stay Follow-Up:

• Send a personalized thank-you message (Immediate Follow-Up)
• Ask for feedback about their experience
• Address any concerns raised during their stay
• Invite them to share their experience on Booking.com

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Leveraging Technology for Great Engagement

A comprehensive reputation management solution can help you:

• Maintain consistent engagement across all touchpoints: Create a seamless guest experience by ensuring consistent communication quality whether guests interact through SMS, in Email, WhatsApp, or via OTA platforms. Each interaction should reflect your property's commitment to service excellence, from the first booking confirmation to the final post-stay follow-up.
• Collect more reviews seamlessly: Integrate hotel reputation software with your PMS to automate review generation, helping you collect more reviews on platforms that matter!
• Manage reviews efficiently: Stay on top of guest feedback by consolidating all reviews into a single dashboard, making it easy to respond accurately and promptly.
• Leverage insights for improvement: Monitor guest sentiment throughout their stay, and identify potential issues before they become negative reviews.
• Respond promptly on Booking.com: Engaging with guest reviews in a timely manner shows that you value feedback, which can encourage more guests to leave positive reviews.
• Handle negative reviews professionally: Streamline response management across platforms. Craft responses with a personal yet professional tone, demonstrating your commitment to guest satisfaction and strengthening your property’s reputation.

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Final Takeaway

Managing your hotel's online reputation requires a balanced, proactive approach. While negative reviews can be challenging, they present opportunities for improvement. 

By focusing on exceptional guest experiences and meaningful engagement, you'll naturally build a strong online reputation that accurately reflects your property's excellence.