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Listing Review Policy

1. Purpose

To ensure reviews posted on Sofaree are trustworthy, helpful, accurate, and safe. Reviews help future guests make great decisions and help hosts maintain high quality. This policy defines guidelines for:

  • Who can leave a review

  • What content is allowed or prohibited

  • Moderation and removal of reviews

  • Dispute resolution

2. Who Can Leave a Review

  • Only guests who have completed a stay (i.e. check-in and check-out) through Sofaree may leave a review of the property.

  • Hosts may review guests, but guest reviews are not public (or visible to other hosts), unless otherwise agreed/displayed.

  • Owners/managers of a property may not review their own listings.

3. Review Submission Timing

  • Reviews must be submitted within six (6) months of the checkout date. Submissions after that period will not be accepted.

  • Once either the guest or the host submits a review, the other party has 14 calendar days to submit theirs.

  • Reviews will remain hidden/public only after both reviews are submitted, or after the 14-day window has elapsed, whichever comes first.

4. What Reviews Should Include

Reviews should be focused on the stay experience (for guests) or guest behavior (for hosts) and include:

  • Star rating (1 to 5 stars)

  • Written comments about key elements such as cleanliness, accuracy of the listing, communication, check-in process, amenities, security/safety, neighborhood suitability, etc.

  • Photos are encouraged, if the stay was recent and the photos depict the actual condition of the listing (no stock photos).

5. Prohibited Content

Reviews will be rejected or removed if they contain:

  • Fake or misleading content — reviews about stays that didn’t happen, false claims, or content submitted in exchange for money or other incentives without disclosure.

  • Personal identifying information — last names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, identity numbers, license plates, etc.

  • Offensive or discriminatory speech — language that is harassing, hateful, obscene, or discriminatory against protected classes.

  • Advertisements, URLs, phone/email promotions or contact details pointing outside Sofaree.

  • Pricing or fee information beyond what was part of the official booking (cannot be used to advertise alternative cheaper arrangements).

  • Copyrighted materials or plagiarized content that the reviewer does not own the rights to.

  • Irrelevant content — political messages, unrelated content (e.g. content about other people’s stays or other properties), or content not reflecting the reviewer’s direct experience.

6. Moderation & Publication

  • All submitted reviews are subject to moderation — using both automated tools (for spam, offensive content) and human review.

  • When a review is submitted, it will not be published immediately. It will only go live when both host and guest have submitted their reviews, or when the 14-day review window closes.

  • Reviews found to violate content rules will be rejected. 

  • Once published, reviews cannot be edited by the reviewer. Only removal via request and moderation is possible.

7. Removal of Reviews

A review may be removed if:

  • It contains content that violates policy (e.g. prohibited content).

  • It is proven to be fake or fraudulent.

  • The reviewer deceives or misrepresents their stay.

  • A legal requirement demands removal (e.g. defamation, court order).

  • In cases of ownership change: with sufficient documentation, previous reviews may be transferred but must be clearly labelled to distinguish former ownership from current.

Negative reviews won’t be removed simply because they are negative, provided they comply with the content policy.

8. Incentivised Reviews

If Sofaree offers incentives (discounts, coupons, loyalty points) to guests for submitting reviews:

  • The incentive must be offered irrespective of whether the review is positive or negative.

  • Reviews that are incentivised must be clearly labelled/displayed as “Incentivised” to maintain transparency.

9. Ratings & Scoring System

  • Reviews use a 1 to 5 star overall rating scale.

  • Optional sub-ratings for specific categories (e.g. cleanliness, communication, accuracy, amenities).

  • Overall rating for a listing is calculated as the average of all published reviews.

10. Partner / Host Responses

  • Hosts may respond publicly to guest reviews. Responses must follow the same content rules as reviews (no private info, no offensive language, etc.).

  • Responses are moderated similarly; they must not attempt to directly solicit removal or revision of the guest’s review.

11. Dispute Process

If a host or guest believes a review does not comply with this policy:

  1. They can submit a dispute via Sofaree’s support chat.

  2. Sofaree’s Trust & Safety team will review: check booking history, communications, evidence submitted.

  3. If found valid, Sofaree may remove or modify the review’s visibility.

12. Transparency & Accountability

  • Reviews that are removed or rejected will be counted for visibility into review health but not included in average scoring for guests or listings.

 

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