The RepGuardian
Reputation Damage Cost Calculator
See how much bad reviews are really costing your business.
This free calculator from The RepGuardian estimates the monthly revenue you’re losing from negative Google, Airbnb or online reviews — and how many new 5★ reviews you’ll need to offset the damage.
- ✔Input your 1★, 2★ and 3★ review counts
- ✔Use your average job or booking value
- ✔Get a simple estimate of monthly revenue at risk
How this Reputation Damage Cost Calculator works
Online reviews influence whether new customers choose you or your competitors. A handful of 1★ and 2★ reviews on Google or Airbnb can quietly reduce your conversion rate, even if you’re doing great work today.
This calculator from The RepGuardian turns those negative reviews into a simple revenue estimate so you can see what’s at stake and justify investing in review clean-up, response strategy and reputation management.
Inputs we use
- Number of 1★, 2★ and 3★ reviews — the obvious red flags for new customers.
- Total review count — to understand how visible those negatives are.
- Industry type — different industries have different typical booking patterns.
- Average job / booking value — what a new customer is worth to you.
Simple assumptions behind the scenes
To keep this tool fast and free, we use a rule-of-thumb model based on public research and our experience monitoring local businesses:
- Each 1★ review scares away roughly 0.3 customers per month.
- Each 2★ review scares away roughly 0.2 customers per month.
- Each 3★ review scares away roughly 0.1 customers per month.
- Each lost customer is worth your average job / booking value in revenue.
- To “offset” the reputational damage, we recommend roughly 3 new 5★ reviews for each 1★, 2 for each 2★ and 1 for each 3★ review.
The goal isn’t to be perfect down to the dollar — it’s to give you a realistic sense of scale so you can see that bad reviews aren’t just annoying; they’re a measurable cost to your business.
What to do if your numbers are scary
If this calculator shows a meaningful monthly loss, you have a few levers to pull:
- Clean up fake, unfair or policy-violating reviews where possible.
- Respond professionally to genuine complaints to rebuild trust.
- Launch a simple system to consistently collect more 5★ reviews.
- Audit your listings to make sure your best work is what people see first.
Disclaimer: This tool provides an educational estimate only, based on broad assumptions. It should not be treated as financial advice. For a deeper audit of your Google, Airbnb or industry-specific reviews, you may want to speak with a reputation management specialist.