Review on Airbnb went AWOL

[Mohmed1]

Hi all, 

Not sure if anyone had a similar issue before. 

I have recently left a review on a property I rented through Airbnb. A few days later when it was reviewed and published by Airbnb I found it was changed by Airbnb and all the details were left out. Although the review was very professional and included  nothing abusive but only stated facts about the property itself. 

I came to know later that the host is an agent with lots of properties listed on Airbnb which makes it understandable why Airbnb would side with them. but when I challenged Airbnb they claimed they never change customer reviews. 

They have asked me to provide evidence of the posted review, knowing very well that once you click send the review disappears into their system / website with no track of it. The site doesn't even send a copy via email as far as I know, so I find it fishy Airbnb (knowing their own system very well) are still asking for such an evidence. 

I have luckily kept a copy of my review in my MS Onenote including date and time track (which cannot be changed by the user) so to me this is enough evidence. But I am not getting anywhere with Airbnb customer support. They just keep sending me the same message again and again with their terms and conditions and how they are not supposed to change reviews. 

This post is  also related to a previous issue I have faced with this host which again I got nowhere with, considering airbnb support to their host - despite all my claims are backed up by photos and messages. 

I just wanted to know if anyone faced a similar issue and how they resolved it. where I am now is that the host is allowed to post a bad review on my account (full of blatant lies) while my review was modified by airbnb. 

I do not personally think I will be booking again through airbnb, but it just feels unfair what they are doing. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mohmed1 Interesting... Perhaps publish the review here and people will see if it breaks any of the rules.

[Mohmed1]

@Mike-And-Jane0 Thanks for the quick response. I am not sure if I have broken any rules, maybe people here can check and advise. Anyway even so, I would have expected Airbnb to either reject it and let me know the reasons or post it as it is. not to cut details out by themselves. 

Here is the original review: 

pros: location is good.

cons: I don't go out of my way to write bad reviews but due to the below our honeymoon break in London was spoiled so I wanted to warn others. I'll split these into facts and subjective personal opinions.

Facts: 1. the flat in is in a basement (below ground level), this was not evident from the photos or description and was only shared with us a few minutes before check in. 2. damp odor particularly in the master bedroom (master bedroom window could be opened but I couldn't open other windows in the flat - I shared photos with the landlord showing the windows painted over and haven't been opened for a while but they still insisted one of the windows in the living room can be opened (the smaller one, but I couldn't open it and I left weights!). 3. coffee machine advertised but not provided. 4. the flat was cold at night and the landlord said building management hasn't started central heating yet. electric heaters are provided but they are small and too noisy and have only one fan speed on high. 5. lights in the second bathroom is not working properly and there is only hot water that can't be adjusted. 6. fridge in the kitchen is small and doesn't cool properly, however there is a bigger fridge freezer in the storage room in the corridor (inconveniently far but manageable). 7 there are no toiletries as mentioned in the listed. 8. there is some new furniture in the flat that is different from the pictures, looks new but all dark colours and not as per the photos.

personal opinion: the flat felt claustrophobic and lacked natural light. noise from cars above our heads wasn't great. there is also a single lock on the door which made us feel a bit unsafe but that's just a personal view.

don't get me wrong the flat is not too bad but we thought dropping the basement location from the description mislead us and even after informing the landlord it is for our honeymoon we would have appreciated if this was highlighted to us. as soon as we checked in we asked for our money back and after a lot of arguments and a few hours and lots of fighting the landlord agreed to charge only the first night. this was too late for us to find a new place, even at double our budget. we were forced to stay the 4 nighys but we felt our honeymoon was ruined by this.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mohmed1 I can't see anything wrong with that. I do wonder if professional landlords get a different service to the rest of us.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mohmed1 I don't know what is going on but your host's listings seem to be suspended.

[Mohmed1]

@Mike-And-Jane0 yes I have noticed. But I can still see the listing and see my modified review there. The host review on my account is still there too. I'm still following up with airbnb so let's see what thry say! I've never had any issues with other booking websites.

One more thing that really disappointed me in airbnb is their deposite policy. They make it look like the deposite we pay goes to what they call airbnb resolution center where it actually goes straight to the host bank account. Although my deposite was clearly requested for noise or additional guests with a promise to get it paid within 2 days, it took me over 2 weeks fighting with the host and airbnb washed their hands from the whole thing saying it is a matter between me and the host.

I know you could get a good deal on airbnb but considering all the hassle I'd prefer to pay a bit more and book through a reputable platform in future. As said by another advisor on here Airbnb is still the wild west in many aspects. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mohmed1 Was the deposit mentioned in the listing? Most listings do not have such a deposit (the damage deposit is not actually collected). I think you picked a bad listing and I don't believe this is indicative of the vast majority on Airbnb.

[Mohmed1]

@Mike-And-Jane0 I managed to get my deposite back after two weeks of daily messages and fighting. The host justification was that they are waiting for the cleaner to go to the property, which makes no sense as thry clearly stated at the beginning that the deposite is for noise and additional guests not for damages. 

I'm sure if you are lucky enough to have a good host airbnb is a good deal, but just be careful if anything goes wrong you are on your own as airbnb is just a website interface with zero customer support. Hopefully in future it will be more regulated like other booking platforms. 

For now if I have to use it ever I'll stick to hosts with 100% positive reviews to avoid any surprises.

[Mohmed1]

The final verdict from airbnb is that they didn't rewrite my review which is a blatant lie. I know exactly what I wrote and I know what they published on my behalf.

My take from this case is that never to trust reviews on airbnb.