Listing is being suspended and removed without enough review of appeal request

[Yong253]

Airbnb sent me email yesterday with title “Your listing has been permanently suspended”. 

Looks like Airbnb suddenly detected my previous tenant’s listing that contained pictures of my house. The listing was not accessible anymore at the time. 

Basically, My tenant used the house for Airbnb from 2023/01 to 2023/08. On 2023/08 we had terminated the lease. After that I and my cohost renovated the house and started a brand new listing which gets nearly all 5 star previews. 

Airbnb confused and thought my current listing is closely related to the previous listing by my former tenant and decided to remove my current listing. Airbnb support could not understand the matter and refused to reactivate my listing.

[Yong253]

That is pretty good. I suggest you to provide enough supporting documents and explain clearly in your initial appeal.

[Pete28]

With the new bottom 10% tag a lot of listings are going to restart. They will either try to block this or face chaos as the bottom 10% expands as listings disappear…

[Pete28]

I believe Airbnb caches everything, even if they delete the listing it still holds the old pics, address etc. One approach if all else fails is to use data protection laws  in some states to force Airbnb to delete everything - although you would need the previous tenant to do the same as well.

Its interesting the Airbnb mail explicitly  can’t relist because previous had bad reviews etc - this suggests that if your listing is heading toward problems (1* review, bottom 10% etc) it’s vital to shut it down and relist before suspension.

airbnb is becoming a very difficult partner to worth with 😞

[Christian4066]

I had a similar situation happen and I've been trying to get it sorted out for months now! Consider yourself lucky!

[Paula]

Hello @Christian4066,  I am sorry about this. 

As you have commented on an older thread, can you please share more details about your situation by starting a new conversation with our members? This way, we will get to know more about the issue and may be our members can help with some insights into your situation.

Thank you.

[Austin527]

This is currently happening to me. I did a full appeal and provided all necessary information. Yet they still are "upholding their decision". I have tried to get ahold of ANYONE, with no luck. So frustrating, especially for a Super host who has never gone against any rules/policies. 

[Charles2058]

Hi @Yong253 can you please advice what type of documentation to show you have no affiliation with the previous host?

We are in a similar situation but the difference is we are brand new homeowners to this property. We’ve sent in our closing disclosures, deed of the property and homeowners insurance policy showing our information but they keep denying our appeal and upholding their original decision of removing our listing, saying it’s not allowed to be reactivated. 

Please, someone help. We are feeling so defeated and discouraged as this is our first month hosting and we’ve had one guest stay with us and even gave us a 6-star review. 

[Joan2709]

@Charles2058 

I am sending you a DM...

[Tai786]

I am also on the same situation and have found no way ends and feel very defeated being a self-managed host for 3 months now. The home I purchase is specifically for short term rental and this has caused me so much stress. Any advice to help with the situation.

[Joan2709]

@Tai786 

Unfortunately, Airbnb has let AI run amok when it comes to this. Yes, there were Hosts trying to circumvent negative reviews by deleting a property and creating a new one. Airbnb instituted the Circumvention policy to prevent that. However, in allowing AI full reign over final decisions, they are removing listings that were legitimately purchased by a different owner, with no affiliation with the previous one. This is happening even when the previous listing had good reviews, so obviously no attempt to hide negative reviews on a previous listing. To be fair, it could be difficult to determine if the previous owner and new owner are not affiliated in any way. However, if the previous listing didn't have negative reviews, then why is the new listing suspended?

This requires a human being to make final decisions. The AI can only search for duplicate listings. It can't review documentation provided or understand the nuances. This is a big fail on Airbnb's part IMHO. 

Hopefully you have listed on other platforms and possibly consider a Direct Booking site as well.

I have sent you a DM.

[Joelle43]

Totally agree @Joan2709  and can’t understand that no-one within Airbnb is doing anything to remedy this shocking AI failure. It seems that Airbnb is nearly 100% AI driven now and hosts are very much on their own

Great way to drive loyal hosts elsewhere

[Tai786]

Agreed. It's not just loyal hosts who are leaving—new hosts, too, who are hoping to break free from the 9–5 grind and start something of their own and be a "business owner", are quickly exposed to the harsh reality of this business that Airbnb takes advantage of. What should be empowering ends up feeling disheartening and mentally draining on a daily basis. If I could time travel back, I would have avoided this whole mess. 

[Joan2709]

@Tai786 

The illogical thing is that Airbnb is removing listings that don't violate their policies and could be making them money? 

[Tai786]

100% agree Joan and the backbone of Airbnb has always been the host offering their homes. Without hosts offering their home, their wouldn’t be any Airbnb

[Tai786]

I had the same experience, @Charles2058. Airbnb let me keep one guest and even gave me a 5-star review, yet they still upheld the removal. It’s incredibly discouraging. I used to feel proud to tell people I was a host and that I ran an Airbnb as a small business owner—it felt like a privilege. Now, it’s just stressful. Imagine putting everything into purchasing a property, only to be locked out of the platform unexpectedly.