The Reference Market: Genoa in a Time of Growing Demand
Before delving into the rating-price mechanism, it is useful to frame the context in which this mechanism operates. The Genoa short-term rental market is not static: it is moving on a growth trajectory that makes online reputation management increasingly relevant, and increasingly rewarding if managed well.
2024 marked a new tourism record for Liguria: according to data provided by the Regional Tourism Observatory, 16,164,878 stays were recorded, surpassing the previous 2023 record by 0.48%. At the provincial level, Genoa registered a growth in stays of 0.62%. These figures, taken in isolation, may seem modest — but should be read together with the performance of the non-hotel sector.
The most significant data for apartment owners comes from the Genoa Municipality’s Tourist Tax figures: it went from approximately 2.67 million nights recorded in 2023 to 2,804,624 in 2024, a growth of about 5%; in particular, tourist-use apartments reached 935,872 nights, an increase of 18.89% compared to the previous year. This is an unequivocal signal: demand for non-hotel accommodation not only is growing, but is growing faster than the traditional hotel sector.
The trend continued in 2025. According to data released by the Interior Ministry, which accounts for all accommodation facilities including tourist apartments (AAUT), in October 2025 alone there was a +10% increase in tourist stays in Liguria compared to the same month in 2024; over the full year 2025, total stays in Liguria rose to approximately 20.8 million, a +3.75% increase compared to 2024.
In this scenario of expanding demand, competition between properties increases in step. And it is precisely when competition grows that online reputation stops being an “accessory” and becomes a direct pricing factor.
Psychological Thresholds: 4.8 on Airbnb and 8.5 on Booking
The two main booking platforms — Airbnb and Booking.com — use different rating scales, but both have critical thresholds beyond which user behavior changes in a measurable way.
Image generated with AI (Google Gemini)
The Airbnb System: 5-Star Scale and Superhost Status
On Airbnb, the scale ranges from 1 to 5 stars. Listings with high ratings tend to rank better in search results. Conversely, an average below 4 stars can reduce visibility and, in some cases, lead to restrictions, making it more difficult to get new bookings. But the real turning point is not at 4 stars: it is at 4.8.
To become a Superhost and maintain this status over time, you must have a minimum overall average rating of 4.8 stars, based on guest reviews from the previous year. Superhost status provides owners with certain advantages, both in terms of visibility and recognition. In practice, a listing with a Superhost badge appears more frequently in search results, all other parameters being equal, and enjoys greater trust from users who filter their results.
The 4.8/5 threshold is therefore the first “pricing barrier” that a host should aim to cross: below it, the listing competes in a more crowded market segment, where the only lever available to increase bookings is often a reduction in the nightly rate. Above it, a different space opens up.
Airbnb’s internal algorithm prioritizes listings with high ratings, recent reviews, and consistent guest satisfaction. It is not merely about profile aesthetics: listings with higher ratings enjoy greater visibility and higher booking rates; guests often filter results based on rating, making reviews an important conversion factor.
Booking.com: The 1 to 10 Scale and the 8.5 Threshold
On Booking.com the scale is 1 to 10. The platform pairs the score with qualitative labels: roughly, 6 to 7 is “Pleasant”, 7 to 8 is “Good”, 8 to 9 is “Very Good”, 9 to 9.5 is “Wonderful” and above 9.5 is “Exceptional” (the thresholds are not officially published and may vary). The psychological threshold recognized by industry professionals is 8.5/10: it is the filter that most travelers activate when they want to exclude properties perceived as “not good enough”. An apartment at 8.4 disappears from a significant portion of filtered searches; one at 8.6 remains.
The second relevant threshold is 9.0/10: above this score, the property is qualified as “exceptional” with a dedicated badge and appears in the “top-rated” lists on the platform. In competitive markets like Genoa’s historic center — where the non-hotel supply has grown significantly — this badge can translate into noticeably superior visibility at no additional distribution cost.
It is worth noting that, according to data from the Regional Tourism Observatory, the non-hotel segment in Liguria registered significant structural growth in 2024 compared to both the previous year and the pre-pandemic period. This expansion means more listings competing on the same platforms: with the same location and size, rating becomes the primary differentiator.
Academic Research: What Is a Good Review Worth in Terms of Occupancy
There is now an established body of academic literature on the impact of reviews on short-term rental performance. The data that emerges is useful for understanding the real economic dimension of the phenomenon — not only as a qualitative trend, but as a measurable variable.
Research on this topic consistently shows that reviews influence demand in a direct and measurable way. The effect is particularly pronounced for listings without prior reviews, where the absence of feedback constitutes a significant barrier to booking — the so-called “cold-start problem” — compared to established listings with a history of positive ratings.
Price remains a sensitive factor for travelers, but a listing with a high rating can sustain higher rates without proportionally losing bookings, because the trust generated by reviews reduces the traveler’s price sensitivity.
Industry literature has confirmed the same phenomenon across short-term rental markets with different characteristics: the models used highlight the importance of digital reputation metrics — such as number of reviews and average ratings — in influencing occupancy rates; properties with higher ratings and more reviews consistently maintained superior occupancy.
Regarding the structure of factors determining the price of a short-term rental, industry literature indicates that the physical characteristics of the property — size, capacity, amenities — form the basis of intrinsic value, while reviews act as a multiplier of perceived price: they do not change the intrinsic value of the property, but amplify or dampen the traveler’s willingness to pay.
In summary, properties with higher ratings and more reviews consistently maintain superior occupancy. This data is not just about visibility: it concerns the ability to fill the calendar even during weeks of average demand, when listings with low ratings are discarded first.
Responding to reviews: an often overlooked revenue lever
Active management of reviews does not end with obtaining good scores: it includes responding to reviews already received — both positive and negative. This activity is still undervalued by many owners who manage their listing independently.
The logic is simple. Those who read reviews do not just read them: they also see how the manager responds. A professional response communicates seriousness, attention to the customer, and the ability to handle any problems. The potential guest who reads an objection well managed — a problem reported and resolved with transparency — does not see an imperfect listing: they see a reliable manager.
From an algorithmic standpoint, responding to reviews is a signal of activity that platforms take into consideration. Low average response time improves positioning in search results. More than that: responding thoughtfully to reviews, especially negative ones, demonstrates to potential guests that you are attentive, professional, and care about their experience.
In the case of negative reviews, the response performs a direct economic function. Guests will appreciate the effort to improve their experience: a quick resolution of a problem during their stay can even convert a negative review into a future positive review. In the long term, in the short-term rental sector, online reputation is decisive: a high average rating means more visibility on platforms, more bookings, and greater profitability of the property. Conversely, a series of negative ratings can cause visibility to collapse and interrupt bookings.
A practical element that often goes unnoticed: a few negative reviews on Airbnb or Booking can lower the visibility of your listing, reducing bookings. You don’t need to accumulate many negative reviews to suffer damage: just a few in rapid succession are enough, especially if they are not managed.
“A high average rating means more visibility on platforms, more bookings, and greater profitability of the property.”
— RealKasa Affitti Brevi, How to Avoid Negative Reviews in Your Rental Home, December 2025
Practical implications for property owners in Genoa
What does all this mean for an owner who owns an apartment in the historic center of Genoa — in the Caruggi, in the Castelletto district, in San Vincenzo or in the Porto Antico area — and is considering whether and how to generate income from it?
First implication: rating is a pricing lever, not just a quality indicator. An apartment with a 4.9/5 rating on Airbnb or 9.2/10 on Booking can sustain a structurally higher average daily rate (ADR) compared to a comparable apartment with a 4.3/5 or 7.8/10 rating. Not because the apartment is different — it may have the same square footage and location — but because the trust accumulated in reviews reduces the purchase barrier and reduces the traveler’s price sensitivity.
Second implication: professional profile management is continuous work. Unmanaged or negative reviews can harm positioning and discourage potential guests; as 2025 approaches, the importance of online reputation continues to grow, with reviews directly affecting platform status, guest trust, and long-term success. An abandoned listing, with no responses to reviews and no updates, is not neutral: it is a listing in decline.
Third implication: the Genoa context is favorable, but competition is increasing. Apartments for tourist use in Genoa achieved 935,872 overnight stays in 2024, an increase of 18.89% compared to the previous year. This data implies that new listings continuously enter the market. In a market with expanding supply, online reputation is the factor that separates listings that grow over time from those that stabilize downward.
Fourth implication: response time and review management are measurable and require no structural investment. Unlike a renovation or furniture upgrade, responding to reviews within 24 hours with a professional tone is a zero-cost action that directly impacts algorithmic positioning. The speed with which you respond to inquiries and booking requests affects your positioning on Airbnb: the platform calculates the response rate as the percentage of new inquiry and booking requests that the host has responded to within 24 hours in the last 30 days.
To better understand the Genoa short-term rental market and see how properties in Genoa’s historic center are managed operatively, it is useful to compare your property’s parameters with those of the professional segment. The gap between an actively managed listing and one managed occasionally — in terms of ADR, occupancy, and positioning — tends to widen over time, not narrow.
In summary: in a market where demand grows but supply grows even more, online reputation stops being a “soft” variable and becomes a structural component of performance. Ignoring it is not a neutral choice: it is a quantifiable loss of revenue, distributed over time and difficult to recover once accumulated.
If you’re considering renting out your apartment in Genoa and want to understand what ADR and occupancy potential is realistically achievable in your area, we’re available for a commitment-free analysis.
Processing of public data and sources. genovabb.it is not a news outlet. The data reported has been collected from sources believed to be reliable but accuracy is not guaranteed.
