How to get airbn to limit 'bad' reviews from vindictive guests.

[Gene793]

Been hosting for a bit less than a year.

In a VERY desired area; fair to say I am booked 95% of the time.

Mostly 5 star reviews.

I am dedicated to exceeding peoples expectations.

And most guests are appreciative.

Getting 5 star reviews is not an accident.

That said, some people cant be pleased.

Worse yet - some people have unrealistic unreasonable expectations and when these are not met will leave bad reviews.

I start to see a trend in that as a host one is constantly in danger of getting the short end of the stick.

Point in case: Most recent guests.

On the second day of their 10-day stay, got a message they wanted to move to a different airbnb further South  because of 'red tide' (im in Sarasota).

Howabout a refund.

Explained that my policy is set (Sorry No) and as per airbnb that is just not a reason to issue 'refund'.

Told them local beaches arent the only show in town, proceeded giving them a long and extended list of areas and location with little or no 'red tide' issues.

OK fine all is well. They happy. (Riiiiight.....).

This is where it gets fun.

Had to go unexpected out of town for a few days, family issues.

In general the apartment is autopilot, all is in A+ working order well maintained. Housekeeper living on premises.

Stayed in contact through out ensuring all was well. Which is was. Faaaabulously so......

All of a sudden wouldn't you know....got a text, 'toilet is backed up'.

Thinking that is impossible.

This toilet has been in place for 12+ years and NEVER has backed up.

EVER.

Suggested using the plunger you can find outside by the laundry area.

(thinking hmmmmmmm).

Yaey, toilet fixed but...... the shower wont drain.

WTF you kidding me?

Not being there to fix it myself... (another hmmmmm)   housekeeper gets a plumber - next thing I know I am looking at a $300 plumbing bill.

(Which I will address with 'corporate' - stay tuned....)

As per plumber, due to VERY RECENTLY flushed baby wipes and tampons. BAD move.

Thinking wait - we're dealing with semi intelligent people here right? So wtf possesses you to flush that kinda stuff down the toilet? Riiiiight.

So.

How does one recoup this kinda thing.

Because as we speak - based on observed metrics (checking my reviews and changed 'rating'.....) - I can tell they must have left a scathing less than 3 star review.

Which REALLY pisses me off.

Because besides the obvious, I know that contacting airbnb wont be much help.

So HOW:

- Do we cover our asses with help from airbnb from 'guests' that are just plain vindictive ,

- Get airbnb to do some real world due diligence and check obvious unreasonable reviews/ratings.

Because EVERY time I have contacted airbnb with major issues all I got was some call center drone offering rote speak from some obscure playbook not to be deviated from, ever, not a single piece of constructive advice or helpful solutions.

It seems all we get is a really well greased, very efficient booking and payment infrastructure, but thats where it stops.

Anything else we're on our own - with a clear bias towards the 'guests'.

Looking forward to getting some input.

[Anonymous]

@Gene793   Airbnb knows that hosts fear and loathe retaliatory reviews, but that's largely by design. They know that keeping hosts fixated on ratings makes them hesitant to pursue damage claims and  submissive to guest demands. That's where they want you, and they're not going to change it.

Your best defense against bad reviews is twofold:  dial down the tone in your listing to keep expectations in check (words like "heaven" and "perfect" are best avoided) and engage some dialogue before accepting requests to make sure the expectations are a suitable fit. People with entitled and selfish attitudes tend to reveal themselves pretty quickly in their communication.

On rare occasions, a review might get removed if it violates the Content Policy, but you can't possibly know whether the content is unreasonable until you read it.  You will have the opportunity to post a public response if you feel the review is misleading. And if it's any comfort, try to have a little faith in prospective guests' intelligence - most people are more than capable of distinguishing a revenge review from a legit complaint, especially when it's an outlier.

[Gene793]

Hey Andrew,

thanks for taking the time to reply.

As i expected the review was as expected.

In fact it pissed me off so much I decided to take the time to reply.

Mostly because 'guest' leaving horrible feedback after being completely off the rails should be exposed and pushed back against.

While the **bleep**ty rating stands, no help from airbnb there...what a bunch of toads...At least I was able to positively refute everything they wrote.

I think as hosts we really need to be a lot more assertive in replying to bad reviews.

Of course operating from the position said bad reviews are genuinely undeserved.

My main argument remains  -if i consistently get 5 star reviews, getting a 2- or 3 star review should be highly suspect. (Anyone not seeing that one probably would not want as a guest anyways.)

Keeping with full disclosure, let me share this.

Their 3 star review:

"Our stay was uncomfortable. We found the photos to be misleading and we were pretty disappointed. We looked forward to enjoying the patio because it looked so bright and clean in the photo but it’s dimly lit and has mosquitoes. We found out the host does allow pets even though the listing says no pets, this made my allergies pretty bad the whole stay. There were bugs that continued to pop up which made us not want to stay during the day, we left the host a message about this too for future guests. Overall an uncomfortable stay."

My reply:

This review is an absolute travesty.
I refrained from leaving a review for you following the "if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing" rule.

However I can not submit to this apparent trend where 'guests' think they can keep hosts hostage with the threat of bad reviews when unreasonable demands are not met.
I am all for due diligence and speaking truth, but getting a review so horribly skewed deserves a detailed reply.
So without any further ado:

REVIEW of Lauren and her husband Curtis.

1. On the second day of your stay you asked about a refund because of ongoing red tide in the area. I declined for obvious reasons, even offered you future credit for days 'unused' if choosing to check out earlier. Moving further South would have made no difference, but hey.....

Here is the actual verbatim request/message:
".......Hi Gene,
We are enjoying our stay in your beautiful home. We are however very discouraged and sad about the Red Tide and came to Sarasota specifically from KC to enjoy the beach. We’re devastated for the marine wildlife in your hometown. We are thinking about moving down the coast to enjoy the next week where there isn't the affects of Red Tide.
Given the pending state of emergency from the governor, is there an extenuating circumstances cancelation policy? And of course we would pay for the night we stayed....."
End message

My reply:
......"If airbnb wont ‘allow’ (refund) for red tide the best i can do is offer you credit for any nights you end up not staying,
I hope you understand, and it helps.
This clearly is out of our control...."
End message,

Anyone besides me detect the incongruity with whats being said so far???
Like.... the 'Beautiful home' part?

2. You checked out leaving an ab-so-lu-tely trashed apartment. Showing a complete lack of care.
You left wet towels, bed linen and dirty laundry in 3 different piles randomly through out the apartment.
You used every towel you could find and left them piled up wet. PLUS the ones stored in the closet for future guests.
ALL of them.
Not once using the washer/dryer available to you.
Piles and bags of trash everywhere. Counters were left dirty and stained, dirty dishes filled the sink.
Never before did anyone trash my place like this.

3. On day 5 of your stay you completely clogged my plumbing which resulted in a $300 plumbing bill! According to the plumber someone had been flushing loads of baby wipes and tampons.
And I say you clogged because we can all agree that if there is no issue whatsoever with the plumbing for the first five days whatever problem arises is clearly of your doing. And for the record - I never have had any draining issues before. Ever.
(Apparently i missed the deadline for filing a claim. Guess I am stuck with it. Live and learn.)

4. In my listing it states CLEARLY I do not allow pets other than actual service animals - to date none have been there.
While i do have pets; a full grown 'Mountain Cur' and a 6 month puppy 'mutt'...they NEVER have access to any of the airbnb properties.
EVER.
And you seemed just fine greeting them outside.....

5. As with all guests, I inquired (by message and in person) numerous times if all was OK, which always was answered as "everything is great'.
I went out of my way to ensure all was well, showed you 'off the radar' places to visit etc....so please..... enlighten me Where again did I fail????

6. I don't get consistent 5-star reviews by accident.
Makes me wonder why is it the ONLY 2 'bad' reviews on my 'record' is both from guests who somehow felt they were entitled to a refund (even though all was well with my service or the apartment) and did not get it.
You share that dubious honor with one other guest.
Its cheap, malicious and petty.

Regarding the rest of your review?
Please again let all the other reviews speak in answer to your perceived issues.

This apartment has a lot of natural light and a well designed lighting set up.
As a rule everything is kept meticulously clean and spotless and everything works flawlessly.

I pride myself on ensuring my guests well-being.

The images shown are EXACTLY whats there.
No one is ever served showing anything less than the truth.

Mosquitos...Its Florida, They come out at night. Its a fact of life. While we constantly do our best to control them, nothing can and will stop this.

And those other pesky bugs? Those were 'Millipedes'. Utterly harmless and they will pop up anywhere any time, no matter what. Of course I could come by 3-4 times a day and do a preventive sweep? (just kidding)
Another fact of life.

As are squirrels in the trees, snakes in the bushes, birds all over and the occasional raccoon, possum and gator. Its Florida. Embrace it.
I could of course pave everything over and make a nice concrete sterile bunker but where's the fun in that?

Bottom line:
Clearly this is all about you not getting your refund so this is how you will get your pound of flesh.
You should be ashamed.

And for the record - No I will not host you again.

Nor can I possibly recommend you to anyone else.

I think I'm done here.

I hope this helps someone facing identical issues.

Best - Gene.