Removing a bad review after Guest throws a party and breaks rules

[Paige12]

We are besides ourselves in disappointment and frustration after having tried over and over again to get Airbnb to remove a bad review which was posted by a recent guest who was upset about us having intervened after he threw a party with approximately 25 people breaking both Airbnb's own No Party Rules and our own. We get passed from one Airbnb rep to another with no success and regardless of getting turned down we get no explanation as to why they are ignoring their own policy for reviews by guests who do either of those things to be subject for removal.   It's really outrageous.

[Laura2592]

@Paige12 you clearly say you allow parties?! No wonder your guests are confused. SO much wiggle room here between what someone would call a "family" and "hardcore" celebration. WOW. No wonder you are having issues. Perhaps you should read up on what ABB allows....I might delete your documents that you posted  as they are not in compliance with the strict "No Party" policy. Just a thought. 

[Paige12]

Intentionally deleted

[Paige12]

Then if we know that it's a "Bachelor party" group or even Spring Breakers, knowing what their intent to visit Miami is, we question and lecture until we are confident they are clear about our rules and expectations. It's the others, who don't identify themselves that way and intentionally misrepresent their intentions that we sometimes have issues with.

[Sarah977]

@Paige12  I'm not sure why you are refusing to acknowledge what @Laura2592  has pointed out.

Of course good guests who read through all the info and are responsive to your messages and accurately describe their intentions aren't a problem. The ones who don't are your problem and you will continue to have these issues if you don't change things.

Advertising that you allow parties and events, no matter what the details of that are is what is causing your issues and will also get you delisted by Airbnb. And you can't say you allow parties and then complain that guests threw a party.

[Laura2592]

And complain that you want a review removed from a guest who threw a party when you said you were okay with certain kinds of parties! Yikes. I am sure that guest would argue that they complied with your rules.  Both of you are frankly on the wrong side of what is allowable on ABB.

[Mark116]

@Paige12  I very strongly advise you to completely rewrite that letter.  The first paragraph is fine.  There is no reason to get into all of this subjective language about parties, partiers, recovering from partying.  You're probably opening yourself up for liability, and it is not necessary.  ALL you care about is the behavior of the guests and that they adhere to your rules, recovering from partying elsewhere and being a 'bachelor party' group but not having the bachelor party at your place simply muddies the water.

You should stick to the facts, and I would also recommend that you change the listing to not allow anyone but the registered guests, that means no informal 'get togethers' which is again a completely subjective category.

If you really want to allow small events, then you should do as some other hosts do, and make the unit available on a different platform than Airbnb.  Quite frankly, that letter might actually get you delisted from Airbnb because it is explicitly allowing some types of party.

[Laura2592]

@Mark116 absolutely. Reading those documents I am frightened for this host. WOW. 

[Paige12]

Documents modified and all of them and our main Reservation agreement clearly state that no only other than registered guests are allowed within the property at any time.  Thanks for your constructive comments though.

[Paige12]

Although I appreciate all of your comments and concerns, I think what your hung up on is the word "Party" which we are referring to gathering besides they have to be cleared by us in advance and it clearly states the allowance of one is only after it is incorporated into the agreement with a clear definition of the number of people who may be invited. We cater to a lot of families and to preclude them from inviting other family members over for a Thanksgiving, Christmas dinner, etc. would be foolish. I think it's pretty clear that we don't allow anything that is not first discussed and agreed to with us in advance but the issue with the subject review was someone who clearly stated they had no intention of having any kind of party, gathering, etc. and did anyway.

[Laura2592]

@Paige12 sorry but you are in danger of being delisted based on what you have shared. I have no more advice to offer as you clearly want others to agree with your efforts to get your review removed. Your listing is not in compliance for what is currently allowable on ABB, and your homemade docs are likely to get you in deep trouble. Several experienced superhosts have taken the time to provide sound guidance but you seem not to be interested. So I will again, wish you good luck offer nothing further. I do strongly urge you (again) to delete your published docs as you may be flagged. This forum is searchable and ABB has a habit of shutting down listings to "investigate" without notice. But you clearly do not want any guidance beyond that which agrees with your initial concern. 

[Sarah977]

@Paige12  "We" are not getting "hung up" on the word "party". 

You specifically say that you accept parties. Then you complain that guests threw party. It doesn't matter that it  is supposedly strictly controlled, because it isn't- you've had groups of guests defy those rules, so your controls are obviously not working.

And what part of "Airbnb can delist you for advertising the place being suitable for parties, events and gatherings" don't you understand?

Also, it is not made even the slightest bit clear, in the way, way too long description (I won't read through such a lengthy description, and you can bet that most guests won't, either), that the owner lives upstairs.

[Paige12]

But considering everyone's comments and the way Airbnb's policy reads, we will change the word "party" to "Gathering" in respect to what we allow and the types we will consider.

[Colleen253]

@Paige12 I just noticed that you don’t have the ‘no parties’ rule checked on your larger listing (didn’t look at the other one) and you actually mention that you allow  parties. You are indeed at risk of being delisted. I’m not sure changing it to ‘gatherings’ will

help.

“Note: As of August 20, 2020, Airbnb has announced a global ban on all parties and events at Airbnb listings, including a cap on occupancy at 16. This party ban applies to all future bookings on Airbnb and it will remain in effect indefinitely, until further notice. Read our Party and Events Policyfor more info.”

(https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2839/health-and-safety-requirements-for-airbnb-stays)

[Paige12]

I'll take care of that. Like I mentioned, if a family requests being able to invite a few other family/ friends over for a quite dinner, we have no problem with that and would not consider that a "Party" as long as they stay true to how it is represented.

[Mark116]

@Paige12  If you want to allow guests to invite over 1 or 2 people for the day then all you have to do is put in the listing that only registered guests are allowed without prior permission from the host, then you can take it on a case by case basis.  The more you stick to basic facts of behavior/numbers  without getting into any interpretation the safer you will be.