Guest left retaliatory review and AirBnB won't help

[Brad-and-Amanda1]

Hi everyone, 

Brad & Amanda here. We are Superhosts (9 years) in Big Bear Lake, California, and have only received 5-star reviews... until this month. We had a guest stay, and then extend their stay twice (they said the absolutely loved our cabin). We gave them a super-discounted rate on the extra nights.

Then our cleaner got there and had a meltdown. They had used every dish in the house and left them all dirty on the counters and in the sink, left bags of garbage, burned a towel with a curling iron, and destroyed a brand-new pan. Our cleaner said she would charge us an extra cleaning fee, and I passed this on to the guest. Then, we received a 3-star retaliatory review. 

I called Superhost support and told them to review the message thread with the guest (with pictures of the damage), and they removed the review. A day later, a "supervisor" reinstated the review. I called again and explained that AirBnB's own guidelines (https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-to-handle-a-retaliatory-review-552) state that a review will be removed if a guest damages property or violates house rules (this guest violated 3 of 5, one of which is a city ordnance that guests take STR trash to the local dump - we can have our license revoked for that). AirBnB removed the review again. A day later, they re-instated the review. 

We are appalled to be treated like this by AirBnB as Superhosts. How can they flip-flop on their own policies like this? 

    -Brad & Amanda 

[Joan2709]

@Brad-and-Amanda1 

So sorry this happened. The reason Airbnb keeps reversing themselves depends on who you talk to on any given day. Sadly, this is the norm. I would keep trying to get the review removed. That said, Airbnb has carefully crafted their wording for removing a retaliatory review:

"You should feel comfortable hosting guests without worrying about the possibility of receiving a retaliatory review. You can dispute a retaliatory review—no matter when it was posted—from guests who commit a serious violation of policies, such as: 

• Damaging your property
• Overstaying their reservation
• Violating your standard house rules (italics, bold, underline added)
• Having an unauthorized party or event at your place "

They quietly changed the wording of this Help article. They state "violating standard house rules" which does NOT include your addl House Rules. That said, these guests did damage your property (towels, pan ruined). I would stick with that as grounds for removal. I'm guessing they added the coyotes as just another dig to you, but that comment doesn't violate Airbnb's review guidelines.

While you continue to attempt to get the review removed, I would immediately post a short, factual, non-emotional public response to this guests comments. Just the facts. Otherwise future guests might think this guest's claims have substance. Something like:

"Thank you for your feedback. We always strive to provide a welcoming and comfortable environment for all our guests, and we take pride in maintaining our property to a high standard as all our previous 5-star reviews indicate.  Unfortunately, during this guest’s stay, there were damages to household items and additional cleaning required to prepare for incoming guests. These issues were noted and clearly communicated to the guest at the time. The guest wrote their review in response to our request to cover the damages they caused. We also noticed that some important House Rules, which are outlined in our listing and reiterated before booking, were not followed. These rules are simple and designed to ensure a pleasant stay for everyone, and we kindly ask guests to respect them. Our checkout tasks are minimal and typical of any Airbnb. They are also clearly outlined in our listing.

After careful consideration, we would decline the opportunity to host these guests again. We believe that a different type of accommodation (a hotel perhaps) may be better suited to their needs. We wish them the best in their future travels."

Future Situations

Some suggestions for future situations....

Never let on to the guest you will be filing a resolution claim until after they write their review. You have 14days to submit a claim. Collect all the evidence (photos/video) and quietly wait. If they don't write a review, file your resolution claim and then write your honest review right before the 14-day cutoff. This prevents the guest from writing a retaliatory review in response to your resolution claim for damages.

Wildlife Disclaimer

I would add something to your listing regarding potentially dangerous wildlife in the area (coyotes) and that guests should supervise their pets when outside. You need to add the potentially dangerous wildlife in the area to the Guest Safety Section and I would add to the Other Details Section and Addl House Rules as well:

[Joan2709]

@Brad-and-Amanda1 

***just a side note...

I looked up the average weight of a male coyote and they average about 45lbs. The guest says they saw 100+lb coyotes? Really? 🙄

"...please be aware that large (100+ lb) coyotes roam the back of the property and come right up to the low fence. This was an unsettling and potentially dangerous situation we experienced and is something to keep in mind when allowing your pets in the backyard."

Responsible pet owners should be aware of potential predators in rural areas and monitor pets at all times when outside. They probably should keep them on a leash. This is not only for their protection, but also to prevent them from chasing other wildlife (like deer or rabbits) in the area.

[Helen3]

Hi @Brad-and-Amanda1 

sorry you had such awful guests.,

I know you are experienced hosts but personally I would never extend a guests stay without sending my cleaners in, inbetween bookings to check on how the guests have left the property. 

This minimises your risk of extending to badly behaved guests... particularly at a discount.