CS sees violation in review but claims that review has to stay up

[Michael915]

Hello community,

I just got a review today and went to CS to dispute it.

CS acknowledged that there is a violation of the AIRBNB guidelines, but its not enough, even though she stated that most what she writes is about the one violation. Yet the review, by the guidelines, can not be taken down.

Later on she elaborated that they have a "point system" for violations and this review, even though having a violation, doesnt violate enough to be taken down...

I mean WTF, what does it need nowadays to be removed.

Asked for escalation and so she said she will send it to her superior but superior wont be in for a while.

I should go, right  ? Close shop and leave AIRBNB

[Sarah977]

@Michael915  Dealing with Airbnb CS is an exercise in frustration. If you are persistent, you may eventually get a rep who is helpful.

But leave because of one bad guest? Why? Most hosts get some from time to time. Her review is not damaging to you because it is so obviously an outlier among your other great reviews. 

It did require a response, but keep in mind when you write responses that they are for the benefit of  future guests, to correct misleading statements or lies. Never write a response when you are angry- they should be brief, not go into detail (future guests have no interest in whatever drama you went through with previous guests), and not be directed at the guest who wrote the review. 

All you needed to say was something like "This guest was extremely problematic as she did not respond to messages pre-arrival requesting needed information, nor did she apparently bother to read  the listing information provided. 

The hot water works fine, as does the AC. The listing description makes it clear that there is AC only in the bedrooms. 

I do not do a 2 hour orientation and the booking guest who left this review was not present at check-in. 

Please refer to our other reviews for an accurate account of what to expect when booking with us."

[Michael915]

Hi @Sarah977

my question was first and foremost about the system what makes a review to be removed!

Trust me, I had my fair share of bad guests already, so this is not the first.  But my frustration lies with @Airbnb in the sense that they acknowledge a violation but it seems not to be enough violation. This is the new part.

And of course that fact that they side with the guests, how bad they are, and dont bother at first for the hosts unless you get perhaps one different one on the phone or the chat. This is why I am thinking to leave @Airbnb 

Thank you for your advice how to write an answer. I will keep it in mind when I get those lies the next time .

[Kate867]

@Michael915 , I totally agree with @Sarah977  with regards to leaving a short response to negative reviews.  It is incredibly frustrating when a guest leaves a review which is totally inaccurate and Airbnb refuse to remove it.  Fortunately I have only had this happen once.  When it happens, your natural instinct is to respond in detail to ensure your point gets across.  You may also be tempted to leave a bad review for a guest at times when you are so outraged at their behaviour (one of my recent guests ignored safe hot ash disposal instructions and threw the hot ashes and coals next to the timber log store, she also demanded a two night refund via Airbnb because the refrigerator broke a few hours prior to departure.. and this was after I had already voluntarily given a £50 refund for this minor inconvenience).   An honest review for a bad guest will warn future hosts and an honest reply to a guests review will not be seen by them but by future guests who may be a bit put off.  Far better to keep it short, calm, professional and polite.  You have two weeks, so you can take your time.  On both my bad review for a guest and my response to a bad review, I wrote down what I really wanted to say (you will actually find this quite therapeutic) then waited for at least a week until I had calmed down, severely edited it,  and then posted.  

[Michael915]

@Kate867 

thank you for all your help with answers but I am still looking for what I originally asked for! How many violations is being regarded sufficient to have it taken down as CS has already acknowledged that there is a violation, thats more of the burning question here. Not how to write an answer to a review.

[John5097]

@Michael915

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/546/airbnbs-content-policy

Content policy states. 

• Reviews that contain no relevant information about a host or guest, listing, or experience may be removed. Reviews that contain mostly irrelevant information are also subject to removal, but only where the otherwise relevant information would not be expected to meaningfully inform the booking decisions of other community members.

......

So you would need to convince the supervisor that the review violated the review policy. For example that the review was mostly irrelevent and provided very little useful info for future guest. 

Its very difficult to have a review removed. So far I've only tried to have one removed and was unsuccessful. Guest stated it took much longer to get to the city, twice as long. I provided links to news articles where it flooded on their dates, something out of my control and not even in my location, and they took Uber, so also not my fault if he took them on a longer route, but not enough and no big deal. 

You can call and have your response removed. 

You can also read over more of the review policy here. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

It also appears that you removed your listing. If you want you could start another topic and ask for suggestions. One outlier review isn't a deal breaker. But a lot of same complaints or low ratings, customer support may be less inclined to intervene, as reviews are part of the process, and it is a review based platform.   The next guest usually  are eager to correct any inaccurate information from previous reviews. 

[Michael915]

@John5097refreshing someone gets my question. Indeed, I have removed my listings  as I think that even being superhost and such and such, @Airbnb  does not have my back when situations like this arise. Why should I work with a partner that does not support me? 

I told them that I will be leaving, just finishing off the last bookings that are still in the system.

 The picture I posted is the answer from CS for the said review. They state that they see one violation and that the review is mostly about that. Yet no reason to remove. I appealed but still no success. I just cant deal with lying and revenge type of people when they dont get their way...

[Michael915]

and I disagree about the "outlier review".....yes, 50+ 5 star versus that one 1star are surely something ppl would catch on, but @Airbnb immediately gets my rating down and you know the rest ( removal, delisting etc.)

[John5097]

@Michael915 You are just now mentioning that it was a one star review. Also as I said we can't see your listing. 

I would suggest being very concise about exactly how the review violated the review policy. 

Reading both of your reviews. One of the main complaints by the guest was that there wasn't hot water. In your review of them you stated they tried to sneak in a 5th person and only during check in did they add the person to the total number. To me it sounds like you're trying to accomodate them but maybe should just have max of 4 guest. It almost sounds if if they ran out of hot water. You also had to go over and turn on an additional heater and get air mattress ready for them. But we can't see your listing so who knows how clear it is? I don't think its a good idea to let guest sleep on a couch or air mattress. Seems like you could include that in why the review is irrelevant. They tried to sneak in a 5th person and you didn't have time to prepare. But thats completely lost in your main point of wanting to host anymore. An 80 gallon tank is very large, but with 5 people its possible the simply ran out, and you stated that you had to go over and turn on an auxiliary heater, so not exactly a lie, just something that should be expected even with 80 gallon tank. 

The response could have read. "The guest brought along an additional person, a total of 5. I tried to accomodate them. There is an 80 gallon water heater tank. If guest need more than that, they may need need to wait 15 minutes between showers." 

You seem like a good guy, and all we can do is the best we can. There are other hosting sites, and most of the host list on both. As soon as I get unfair review I'll likely be listing elsewhere as well, but that wouldn't be my primary point when addressing specific violation of Airbnb policy guidelines. 



 

 

[Michael915]

@John5097yes, they called me over for fact that they were missing hot water...however, when I got there, there was hot water, but IN A PRECAUTION, out of the said reasons, I turned on the electrical water heater in ADDITION to prevent the 80 GAL running out in the night f.e.

KING SIZE BED and sofa bed were in the listing before I deactivated them. There is plenty of room for even 6 persons. The suites are double size of a standard hotel room. I just do not pull out another KING SIZE bed in addition, especially not when they arrive with more people than they booked for. She complained also with total different issues to @Airbnb the moment she wanted to be refunded. I responded and made her aware that all of what she had said was mentioned in the listing. She even signs a contract that states that if any of the utilities would go away, its no reason for refund. Unfortunately we have a lot of power outs, water cuts, Internet blackouts in Jamaica at times, so I have that in my contract and house rules, but I also have always a plan B to help them in that moment.

and there were more false depictions like: there are security cameras everywhere....its completely false, they are according to AIRBNB and law, only outside on the street. Nowhere else, so thats misleading.

She said the paperwork and the housetour takes 2 hours which is wrong again. Etc. etc.

not really want to discuss her review here....I posted merely about the fact that @AIRBNB found and stated a violation but not enough apparently. So this is my only point to see other experiences with that exact point. I have been hosting for close to 6 years, so I know how hard it is to deal with CS of @AIRBNB and etc. etc. thats really not the point or my reason for posting here...

Neither do I really want to discuss my reviews or her review, I think noone can really add significantly to it.

All I am about is the problem with the CS of @Airbnb 

[Michael915]

[Michael915]

[Michael915]

I am realizing now that the picture wasnt uploaded previously and I am sorry that I didnt see that earlier. Done now, the pic is a partial screenshot of the answer from CS from @Airbnb 

[Helen3]

Difficult to comment as you seem to have removed your listing from Airbnb so I can't see the review you complain about. @Michael915 

All I can see is the rather interesting reviews you have left for other hosts during your stays 🙂

[Michael915]

again, I dont want the review discussed itself, its about the answer from CS that they recognize a violation and that the review is mostly about it, so my question: how many violations does it have to be to be removed, one, two, three, four, five? See the screenshot attached again.

In terms of my reviews - they are honest and depicting what I experienced here with them.