Abuse reviews, here we go again!

[Robin4]

Airbnb have stated they are going to take affirmative action against abuse reviews in relation to their party ban policy!

Well there you go, a bit more 'froth and bubble'! Why on earth did they stop there?

The reason they stopped there is because it addresses the only review abuse option that could impact on Airbnb itself, it does nothing to address review abuse options which could affect nearly all of us hosts on a day to day basis. 

1/......The guest stay has commenced, the guest cancels and wants a full refund which the host does not want to grant......Bingo, a 1 star revenge review!

2/.....The host lodges a damage claim which the guest disputes.......Bingo, a 1 star revenge review!

3/.....The host requests the guest leave due to house rules violations......Bingo, a 1 star revenge review!

4/.....The guest tries to blackmail the host over some misconception which the host won't accept.......Bingo, a 1 star revenge review!

We have to fight every one of those scenarios and in most instances we will be told the review must stand. The only scenario that Airbnb are now prepared to take action is the revenge review that is subject to a party booking! Once again they are protecting themselves from outside scrutiny while throwing their hosts out to dry!

Every host has to deal with a revenge review at some point in their hosting career. Most hosts like me will never have to deal with a party issue because our listings do not attract party bookings so, we are never going to have to address that issue.

If Airbnb are going to act on 'abuse' reviews, for Chr*st sake act on them for the benefit of the hosting community, not just single out the one thing that will make Airbnb look as though they are doing something positive when in actual fact they are still leaving hosts at the mercy of rogue guests!

Cheers........Rob

[Dora466]

You were lucky, airBnb did not rule in my favor one cent. After my guest did over two thousand in damages, I had prove, witnesses, etc. Also another guest reserved for 3 and 7 came, they were supposed to pay extra, I took drivers license pictures,  after months airBnb denied the payment  because guest said I okayed the 7. Witness also said they partied which I do not allowed

[Anonymous]

@Robin4   As all regular readers here probably know, my position has always been that Airbnb should unconditionally allow both parties in every booking to publish a written review, but bilaterally remove the star ratings for stays that ended in an early termination or legitimate damage claim. 

I do not stand with any people who believe they're entitled to protection from unkind words, or that censorship is the solution to retaliatory reviews. But the aggregate star rating can't be an accurate reflection of the arc of experiences if it can be artificially skewed by a non-representative dispute. This is not about shielding hosts' fragile egos from "abuse," it's about data integrity!

[Roxanne77]

This is a GREAT idea! Then people can rant away on both sides. I love it!

[Fred13]

  A noble idea, separate (at times) the star rating from the potential revenge scenarios, though it certainly lends itself once again to constant judgment on Airbnb's part.

   I am of the school of thought however that anyone that resorts to an obvious revengeful (aka fraudulent) review with the clear intent to harm, doesn't do any favor to the economic welfare of a host nor to the Airbnb brand; when doing so the culprit forfeits certain 'rights', like even to be heard in the first place. Hosting is a business based around private domains, not a public square.

   Let's get real - hosting is a chancy business for oftentimes subjects us all to come into contact with people that we would never come closer than a country mile in real life and our social paths wouldn't naturally cross in a million years. 

[Sarah977]

@Fred13  Maybe that should be the question at the end of the review, rather than "Would you host this guest again?"

"Would you ever in your lifetime willingly have anything to do with this person if they hadn't landed on your doorstep as a guest?"

[Fred13]

What juicy question @Sarah977 , imagine..:)

[Anonymous]

@Fred13   I don't think a customer-service operator is qualified to litigate the intrinsically problematic question of whether a person has a "right to be heard" on the platform based on their actions. And in several countries in the EU as well as the UK, consumer protection laws actually do consider it a right for customers to be heard on platforms that publish reviews of their inventory. See here, for example:   https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/27/airbnb-agrees-reviews-loophole-intervention-cma-r...

What I propose would not need the intervention of CX, because the computer automatically "knows" when a booking is terminated early or has an active damage claim. And as long as the text review is allowed, it doesn't run afoul of regulations like the one described in that article, because no country requires any platform to use star ratings at all.

Anyway, a prospective guest reading the text reviews can easily recognize a revenge review as an anomaly. But when a rating distorts the average star rating, it's impossible for a viewer to know whether that's the result of one outlier rating or several middling ones. 

[Jillian115]

I can't see them acting on this unless its in the guests favor.  It's just more smoke and mirrors. As you know Al in CS told me recently "we don't change our review policy for anybody." Guest was breaking the rules by having a party and my option was to kick them out and take the bad review or deal with it. I opted to deal with the party and the extra cleaning and additional 3 bags of garbage to avoid the bad review. Because airbnb said he would still be able to leave me one event though he as not only breaking my rules but airbnb's rules. 

[Nikky0]

If you accept a reservation that you know is going to violate the rules & confront the guest about this during their stay. They give you a bad review & low ratings. Not so long ago, we had some guys who were very unhappy about not being able to bring girl’s for each of them, back to the property as the maximum number of persons had already been reached. They were respectful of this & behaved perfectly. They even gave a great review. HOWEVER, they gave me an overall rating of 4, because they could not invite additional unregistered guests! This is HUGE for me & I am sure for other host’s as well. Other than my beautiful home being trashed by additional unregistered drunken, partying guests. I am HUGELY concerned about my reviews & ratings as these are the most vital aspects of my listing. The reviews & ratings is the main factor that ensure bookings!!! There must be a better way to deal with this problem!!!

On the flip side. After 6 years of being with AirBnB, I can see a trouble booking a mile away. I immediately contact these guests to ensure that they are fully aware of the NO PARTY & NO UNREGISTERED GUEST POLICY!!!

If I am lucky, the guest understands that we are not suitable for his intentions & cancels via the AirBnB contact center with a full refund which I freely give!!! HOWEVER, my stats are showing a high rate of cancellations because if this & reflects very badly on my performance, as it is not possible to see the reasons for the cancellations.

In a normal world. Cancellations would be because guests are not happy with the accommodation!! My concern is that this is the impression that the AirBnB stats & agents looking at my profile, automatically perceive the reason to be!!!!

HOW CAN THIS BE RECTIFIED TO GIVE A TRUE REFLECTION OF THE STATS & BE MORE FAIR TO THE HOST!!!

[Anonymous]

@Nikky0  Why would you accept a booking that you know will cause problems or break rules? In this case it seems like the best way to improve your overall results is to be more selective with your guests and verify that a group is a good fit for your home and rules before accepting a request. 

[Nikky0]

Unfortunately, to get your listing in the front few pages. Instant booking is one of the criteria, which is why I contact the guest straight away & offer a full refund!!! As a Superhost, if I cancel the booking from my side. I LOOSE MY HARD EARNED SUPERHOST STATUS INSTANTLY!!!

[Anonymous]

@Nikky0 The "front few pages" thing is mostly a myth, but it seems to be powerful enough to trick a lot of hosts into acting against their own interests. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Anonymous I am not sure its a myth. When we took Instant Book off to be able to better control booking due to covid lockdown we disappeared from the first pages. Switching it back on seems to have helped.

[Nikky0]

My point EXACTLY! When speaking with AirBnB representatives, I was told that this was one of the criteria!!!. So I know it to be FACT!!

[Anonymous]

@Mike-And-Jane0   I think what's most frequently mythologized is this idea that if you're not showing up in the first pages of a generic unfiltered test search, guests aren't going to find your listing. Sure it might help if you're in a low-demand location, but you have to weigh the benefits of higher exposure against the higher likelihood of problem guests, lower ratings, refunds, and damage. 

If you're not using all the tools available to you to keep your home under control and screen your guests, it seems rather counterproductive to complain about the inevitable bad results.