How many of your Google reviews do you answer?

Couples and event planners read your reviews before they send an inquiry. They also read your replies. A listing where every review has a short, personal answer tells them someone is paying attention. A listing full of unanswered reviews tells them the opposite, even when the reviews are good.

Replies matter most on the hard reviews. A calm, specific answer to a 2-star review often does more for your reputation than another 5-star review, because it shows how you act when something goes wrong. Google’s own help pages say replies show customers you value their feedback and that you’re responsive.

In 2026 we collected a sample of recent Google reviews for more than 4,300 wedding and event venues in 44 US metros, up to 40 reviews per venue. Owners replied to 29.7% of those reviews.

That average hides a big split. A small group of venues replies to nearly everything, and many never reply at all: 40.5% of venues with 10 or more sampled reviews had not replied to a single one. The typical (median) venue replies to fewer than 1 in 10 reviews. Reply rates also vary a lot by city, which is why the checker compares you with venues near you first.

• 80% or more: you are answering almost everyone. This is the goal.
• Above your city’s typical venue: you are ahead of most competitors, but some reviewers still get silence.
• Under 30%: you are below the average across all the venue reviews we sampled. Start with your newest reviews and any review under 4 stars.
• 0%: the easiest fix on your Google listing. Start with your last 10 reviews and use a reply generator to draft them.

• Catch up first: reply to every review from the last 3 months, newest first.
• Answer every review under 4 stars within a day or two, before anything else.
• Turn on Google Business Profile notifications so new reviews reach your phone.
• Pick one person to own replies, and give them 10 minutes twice a week.
• Keep replies short and specific: use the reviewer’s name and mention one detail they wrote.
• Never argue in public or share private booking details. Offer to talk offline instead.

For each venue we look at a sample of up to 40 of its most recent Google reviews and count how many show a “Response from the owner”. We only show a result when we have at least 5 reviews for your venue, and city medians use venues with 10 or more.

The numbers are a snapshot from when we collected the reviews in 2026, so replies you post after that won’t show here. If your business isn’t a venue, or it’s outside our 44 metros, use the manual check: count your last 20 Google reviews and how many have an owner reply.