Table of contents:
What is a Rating Topic?
It's a special type of topic (called Star rating in the new Hub) that allows you to collect a star rating and contact details from people using your guide. This could be used for guests to rate your place, their experience of staying with you or any services that you provide.
An example Rating Topic and how it appears in the guest view is shown here:
When a guest completes the rating and submits the form, an email with the details of the submission is sent to the notification address(es) you've added.
ℹ️ The Rating Topic is included on some plans only. In the new Hub, if your plan doesn't include it, it shows a lock icon in the widget list.
Add a Rating Topic in the new Hub
Open your guidebook's Guidebook Content tab and expand the subcategory where you want the topic to appear.
Click Add Topic to [your subcategory name].
Under Widgets, click Browse widgets, select Star rating and click Add.
On the Content tab, give the topic a name (e.g. "Please rate this"), add the message guests will see before leaving a rating, and optionally change the Rating system label and Rating title.
On the Settings tab, under Contact collection:
Set E-mail address field is: and Phone number field is: to Mandatory or Optional.
Answer the marketing question: Yes if you want to collect contact details for marketing (you'll then need a privacy policy link), or No if you only want to collect feedback.
Add the email address(es) where you want to receive ratings and comments.
Save the topic.
Add a Rating Topic in the legacy Hub
Go to the Content Hub
Open the subcategory where you want the topic to appear
Click the three dots or use the + Add Topic option at the bottom of the subcategory level
Select Special Topics
Choose Rating Topic
Set up your Rating topic: it works just like any other topic. You can customise:
Topic name: This is what guests will see (e.g. "Please rate this")
Add email recipients
Enter the email address(es) where you want to receive ratings and comments
Click Add Email if you want to include more than one recipient
Choose marketing settings
Select Yes if you want to collect emails for marketing → you'll need to add a Privacy Policy link (see Collecting contact details (marketing settings) below)
Select No if you only want to collect feedback
Advanced options (optional)
You can customise how the rating appears:
Edit the rating button text (e.g. "Leave your rating")
Edit the rating stars label (e.g. "Your rating")
You can also choose which fields are required:
Phone number
Email
Add your topic content (the message guests will see before leaving a rating)
Activate the All guides tag if you want this topic to appear in every guide
Click Submit
Collecting contact details (marketing settings) ⚠️
When using a Rating Topic, you can choose whether to collect guest contact details for marketing purposes.
Select Yes if you plan to use guest details for marketing
Select No if you only want to collect feedback
If marketing is enabled, you'll need a Privacy Policy link to stay GDPR-compliant.
How can I create a Privacy Policy link?
If you don't already have one, you can:
Create your policy using a free generator like Termly, PrivacyPolicies.com, Iubenda or ChatGPT
Publish it on your website or social page.
Add the link in your Rating topic settings so guests can view it before sharing their details.
Include these key points:
What personal data do you collect (e.g. name, email)
Why do you collect it (for guide access, marketing updates, etc)
How you store and protect the data
How users can unsubscribe or request their data
ℹ️ Note: Check the data protection rules for your country, as requirements may vary
💡 Important for Airbnb bookings
Airbnb has rules around:
Promoting direct bookings outside the OTA
Collecting guest contact details for marketing purposes
Asking guests to leave reviews on other platforms
If you are sharing your guide with Airbnb guests, we recommend using OTA Compliance Setting
👉 This helps ensure your setup remains aligned by adjusting what guests see and how their data is handled.
💬 Tip: Join our Rockstar Community on Facebook to see how other hosts handle their Privacy Policies.
How to share the rating topic with guests
To get the best results, it's important to share this clearly with your guests.
💡 Sending the message shortly after check-out usually works best.
Option 1 — Use your own messaging system
Send a message after the stay with a direct link to leave a rating
👉 Learn how to get a direct link to any section of your guide
Option 2 — Use Message Hub
Send your message using Message Hub
Include a deep link to the rating topic in your message template so guests can open it directly
Keep the message short and easy to read
Option 3 — Use a QR code
Create a QR code linking to the rating topic
Place it in your property so guests can scan it
👉 Learn how to create QR codes
Example messages to send to guests
If sending via email:
Hello Jane,
We hope you've had a great stay with us 😊
If you have a moment, we'd really appreciate it if you could leave a quick rating about your experience (5 means everything was as expected).
👉 Click here to leave your rating
Your feedback helps us maintain the best possible standards.
Thank you,
If sending via text/sms:
Hello Jane, hope you enjoyed your stay! 😊
We'd really appreciate a quick 1–5 rating here (5 means all was as expected):
👉 [insert link]
Thank you,
Downloading guest responses
Guest responses are stored securely in your account.
New Hub: go to General settings → Downloads and use Rating/Email Capture Topic responses.
Legacy Hub: go to Guides → Downloads, select Rating / Email Capture Topic responses, use the filters to choose the topics, guides and time period, and download the data as a CSV file.
The download will indicate if permission was given by the user for their details to be used for marketing purposes.
VIDEO: The Rating Topic explained
🤝 Need help?
Our Fin AI assistant is available 24/7 and typically responds in under 10 seconds. If Fin isn't able to solve your issue, our support team will take ownership of your case from there.
You can also reach out to our team at [email protected], and we'll be happy to help.