Urgent Help Needed: Unfair Suspension and Review - Host of Several Years

[David8835]

Hello Airbnb Community,

I have been a dedicated host for several years, with 116 reviews and a current rating of 4.7. For most of this time, I have been a Superhost. I’ve invested a lot into hosting and deeply care about providing exceptional experiences for my guests. Hosting on Airbnb is not just a passion; it is my livelihood.

Unfortunately, I am currently facing a suspension of my account due to a couple of issues that I believe are unfair and have been mishandled by Airbnb support. Here are the main issues that led to my suspension:

1. Unfair 2-Star Rating Due to Location:

•Positive Comments: The guest left positive comments such as “Great stay,” “the apartment is very nice,” and “the terrace is nice.” However, despite this, they gave a 2-star rating due to the location, claiming they didn’t want to stay in the area they booked. Additionally, they stated there were no curtains, which is completely false. The guest was very communicative during their stay and never brought up any issues. I even accommodated their early check-in and late checkout requests. A guest has to take responsibility for the area they select to book, especially when provided with adequate information in advance.

2. Miscommunication Leading to Check-In Issues:

•Another guest struggled with check-in because they didn’t read the messages I sent. This is baffling since I have hosted over 100 guests before him with the same instructions, and none had any trouble.

3. Last-Minute Booking Cancellation:

•A guest made a last-minute booking, and after a discussion, I agreed to refund them in full as my cleaner could not prepare the room in time. Despite never canceling a booking in my hosting history, Airbnb fined me and imposed a 5-day suspension when I sought their support in this matter.

These issues combined have led to the suspension of my account. I have followed the appeal instructions that were sent via email. According to the email, I had a week to respond with supporting evidence. I followed up the next day with two emails and sent a further email two days later. Despite following all instructions and providing the necessary evidence within the requested time frame, I received no response for 9 days. Eventually, I was informed that my emails had not been received, and my account was suspended.

Since then, I have contacted Airbnb support multiple times, each time explaining the situation anew, resending all the supporting documents and screenshots of the emails sent, only to be told not to worry and that the case would be resolved. They assured me that they had forwarded all the details to people higher up the chain and that I would be contacted. Instead, I received a copy-paste email stating that my emails were not received, and my account is now suspended due to not receiving the information for the appeal.

I feel I am being passed around from one support staff member to another, with chat sessions ending abruptly. As a long-term host with a good track record, I am frustrated and feel that I am not being treated with the proper respect and attention my case deserves due to the lack of proper attention and the copy-paste replies.

I am not sure how it even got to this! I should not be suspended because the issues reported by the guests are either based on false information or misunderstandings, which are not valid reasons for suspension according to Airbnb’s policies. Airbnb’s Review Policy states that reviews containing false information can be removed. For example, the claim about the lack of curtains is factually incorrect, as evidenced by the photos on my listing. Additionally, the policy emphasizes that reviews should reflect genuine experiences and not contain biased or irrelevant content. The review, which includes contradictory statements like “Great stay” and “the apartment is very nice,” yet leaves a 2-star rating, is misleading and does not accurately represent the experience. Moreover, as a host with a long history of positive reviews and with previous Superhost status, it is unfair to impose a severe suspension based on a few isolated incidents, especially when I have proactively addressed and resolved these issues with Airbnb support. According to Airbnb’s Community Standards, maintaining a fair and respectful environment for both hosts and guests is crucial, and my suspension under these circumstances contradicts this principle.

For reference to Airbnb’s Review Policy, please see: Airbnb Review Policy

And for their Community Standards, you can refer to: Airbnb Community Standards

It’s worth noting that I have many 5-star ratings from years of hosting. How can a couple of bad reviews lead to such a severe result?

I am seeking advice and support from the community on how to navigate this situation and get my account reinstated. Has anyone faced similar issues? How did you resolve them? Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Best regards,

David

[Zheng49]

Regarding 1), I feel like if you contested the review right after it was posted, you have a decent chance of getting it removed for non-factual information.

Regarding 2), can't really comment too much without further information, but it is true that once in awhile you get a guest that have difficulties with check-in whereas everyone else has no issues. There is no easy fix for this, and depends on the specific situation, and it is true that some guests don't read messages/check-in instructions or can't. I've had a few guests tell me that they didn't see their messages due to not having mobile data. 

While I'm sure the check-in process you have in place is fine, there is always room for improvement to deal with unexpected situations.  

Regarding 3), I think it is your fault in this case. A particular day should not be opened at all until it is fully ready.  It is better to refund them the cleaning fee in this case, and have them wait for awhile until their room(s) is ready. Last minute cancellation is really really bad from Airbnb's point of view and it should be avoided at all costs. 

Overall, the reason you got suspended is because Airbnb changed their policies over the years. One of the recent changes they did is that if you get 2-3 low reviews/listing issues in a row it could lead to suspension. They don't really care how many reviews you've had and if you're Superhost etc.

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I don't really have anything to contribute regarding how to navigate the current situation , but I just wanted to share my input on the issues leading to the suspension and the change in Airbnb policies that lead to this suspension. Hopefully it helps somehow. 

[Paula]

Hello @David8835, I am so sorry about this situation.

Since you have a guest profile in our community with no listing attached, I wanted to check in and see if this situation has been resolved for you. Has your listing been relisted?

Please keep us posted.