Hair in the bath, and everyone can read it
A cleanliness complaint is the one a stranger can most easily picture happening to them, which is what makes it hard to scroll past. Three drafts that answer with an action rather than an assurance.
Why this one is harder to scroll past than its star rating
Dust on the skirting, a stained towel, rings in the coffee cups, a bathroom somebody would rather not describe. It is frequently paired with praise for the staff, which is the reviewer telling you they know it is not the receptionist's fault.
A reader scanning reviews discounts a lot of things. A slow lunch service is a Tuesday. A cleanliness complaint is a picture in their head that they cannot easily put down, and that is the reason to answer it with something a reader can check. The reply that works is the one that names a corrective action a person could verify, such as a re-check of that floor or a change to how rooms are signed off. The reply that fails is the one that says standards are important to us, which is what everybody says and therefore evidence of nothing.
One stay, three ways of describing it
Three reviews of the same hotel: forensic, disgusted, and carefully fair to the staff. The drafts differ mostly in how much detail they accept before they move to what is being done.
- 2 out of 5Specific, room by room
The room smelled of damp the moment we opened the door. There was hair in the bath, the skirting boards had a layer of dust you could write in, and the coffee cups had rings in them. The view is lovely and the staff were pleasant, which somehow made it worse.
Drafted reply
Marianne, thank you for taking the time to share this, and I'm sorry the room fell so far short. Hair in the bath, dust on the skirting, marked cups, and a damp smell should never be what greets a guest, and I understand why the lovely view and warm welcome only underlined the disappointment. We're reviewing our housekeeping turnover checks and introducing supervisor sign-off on cleans, alongside looking into the damp odour specifically. If you're willing, please reach out to us directly so we can follow up properly.
Voice: Calm Service Recovery, chosen automatically on the needs_apology rule. Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-10 for The Harbour Inn, a hotel.
- 1 out of 5Short and repelled
Filthy bathroom. We changed rooms and the second one was no better.
Drafted reply
Dev, I'm truly sorry the bathrooms in both rooms fell so far short of the standard you should expect. This is being addressed with our housekeeping team directly. Please reach out to us privately so we can look into this properly.
Voice: Calm Service Recovery, chosen automatically on the risk_flag_safety rule. Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-10 for The Harbour Inn, a hotel.
- 2 out of 5Fair to the staff, blunt about housekeeping
I want to be fair because reception could not have been nicer, but somebody needs to look hard at housekeeping. Crumbs under the bed, a stained towel on the rail, and a lift that had not been cleaned in what looked like days.
Drafted reply
Hi Helen, thank you for taking the time to share such balanced feedback. I'm genuinely sorry about the state of the room and the lift. Crumbs under the bed, a stained towel, and a neglected common area are not the standard we aim for, and I'll be reviewing our housekeeping checks closely. I'm glad our reception team made you feel welcome. If you'd be willing to reach out privately, I'd very much like to follow up with you directly.
Voice: Calm Service Recovery, chosen automatically on the needs_apology rule. Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-10 for The Harbour Inn, a hotel.
Every reply marked as drafted below is verbatim output of the same engine a customer's account uses, produced by claude-opus-4-7 and frozen on the date its own card carries, the registry itself last rewritten on 2026-09-13. The wording is the engine's throughout, and the only thing the freeze script changes is the shape of the placeholder, which is why a few of them read [contact] where a contact route belongs: the engine was given a business and a review and no way to reach anybody, so it left the slot for you. Filling that in, and deciding whether you agree with the rest, is the part you do before you post it.
AI Personalities
One review, two voices
Every draft is written in a voice, and the voice is yours to pick. Below is the first review on this page answered twice, in two of the AI Personalities that come with every plan, with nothing changed between them but the voice.
The room smelled of damp the moment we opened the door. There was hair in the bath, the skirting boards had a layer of dust you could write in, and the coffee cups had rings in them. The view is lovely and the staff were pleasant, which somehow made it worse.
Professional
Polished, formal, and diplomatic. Uses measured language and handles all situations with composure. Ideal for healthcare, legal, financial, and corporate businesses.
Marianne, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. The cleanliness issues you describe, from the damp odour to the state of the bath and cups, fall well short of the standard we expect, and I am sorry your stay was affected in this way. Please do reach out to us directly so we can discuss your experience further. We are grateful you noted the view and our team warmly, and hope to have the opportunity to welcome you back.
Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-12, in this voice because it was asked for.
Calm Service Recovery
Empathetic, accountable, and steady. Acknowledges issues directly, apologizes when appropriate, and guides the conversation toward resolution. Ideal for handling complaints and mixed feedback.
Marianne, thank you for taking the time to share this, and I'm truly sorry the room fell so far short. The damp smell, the hair in the bath, the dust, and the marked cups are not standards we accept, and your feedback is being taken straight to our housekeeping team for a thorough review. I'm glad the view and the welcome from our team offered some redeeming moments, though I understand that only sharpened the disappointment. If you'd be willing to reach out to us directly, I'd very much like to discuss your stay further.
Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-12, in this voice because it was asked for.
Set a voice for the account and every draft arrives in it, or leave it on Auto and each review gets the one its own analysis calls for. Either way the draft waits for you: GetSetReply writes it, you post it.
What happens to a review before you see a draft
The review is read before anything is written
Every review is analyzed first: the rating, the sentiment, the themes a reader would pick out, and a closed set of risk flags (possible legal issue, safety concern, harassment or abusive language, worth checking this reviewer). The draft is written from that reading, and a review nothing usable could be read from does not get drafted at all.
The voice is a setting, not a house style
Pick an AI Personality for the account or let Auto choose one per review from what the analysis found. Change it on any draft and it is rewritten in the new voice, from the same reading.
One inbox instead of a login for each
Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, DoorDash, Trustpilot, Etsy and Facebook arrive in one list, already analyzed and already drafted. GetSetReply writes the draft and you post it, so nothing reaches a review page until you send it.
You can try the drafting half on a review of your own without an account. Paste it into the free review response generator and read what comes back.
Action beats assurance
One verifiable thing you have done is worth six sentences about your standards.
Do
- Name the specific items the reviewer listed. Generality reads as not having read it.
- State a corrective action with a subject and a verb: the floor was re-checked, the sign off changed, the room taken out of service.
- Separate the housekeeping issue from the staff the reviewer praised, since they took care to.
- Invite them to contact you if they are still in the building, when the review lands during a stay.
Do not
- Do not say that cleanliness is a top priority. It is the phrase every one of these replies uses and it persuades nobody.
- Do not suggest the room was cleaned and the reviewer did not notice.
- Do not describe the reviewer's account as unusual or a one off unless you have checked and it is.
- Do not bury the action at the end. A scanner reads two lines.
Questions about cleanliness reviews
Why does this complaint feel heavier than the star rating suggests?
Because it is concrete and visual, and a prospective customer can picture it happening to them. A slow check in is an inconvenience a reader imagines surviving; a stained towel is an image they cannot put down. That is a claim about how the sentence reads rather than a measurement of anybody's bookings, and it is why the reply has to offer an action instead of an assurance.
Should I explain that we had a staffing problem that week?
Only in one short clause, and only if the sentence after it says what changed. A reason without a change is an excuse with extra steps.
Is it worth offering a refund or a future stay?
Not in the reply. Invite them to contact you and settle it there. Publishing a remedy turns your reviews page into a menu.
The photos they posted are not of our room. What then?
Report the review through the platform's process and reply calmly in the meantime without accusing anybody. Two sentences saying you cannot match this to any stay is enough for a reader.
Something a reader can check
Answer with a change, not a value
The draft names the items the reviewer listed and puts a corrective action where the reassurance usually goes.