Sham

[Divya32]

We’ve just returned from the worst experience staying in the following place in Nottingham. The house was dirty, it smelled and just not what was advertised. We decided to leave early (next day) of our four day holiday. When we spoke to the host - he simply said ok please cancel on the app. BIG MISTAKE!! Little did we know once you cancel on Airbnb you are unable to leave a review!! So now the host maintains his 5 star rating (a super host mind you). I’m sure this is not the first time this has happened at this property. This is a complete sham! Airbnb needs to change its policy and allow guests to leave a review even when they leave early. If anything this is when a review becomes important- what has happened to make someone leave early! I booked this property solely based on the amazing reviews - now I don’t feel confident on my next Airbnb booking and how much I can trust the reviews. NEVER CANCEL YOUR BOOKING. SPEAK TO AIRBNB FIRST

https://abnb.me/xWKfaOl1Kgb

[Anonymous]

@Divya32  Stays cancelled on or after the check-in date are eligible for reviews from both sides. The notification tends to come on the scheduled check-out date, but the system is imperfect and doesn't always perform as you'd expect. If you do intend to use Airbnb again, you might actually have better results if this host doesn't review you, as he probably has nothing nice to say either.

The listing that you linked has an average rating of  4.52* , which is actually pretty low for an Airbnb.  The marks for Cleanliness are the weak spot in the category ratings, and a few recent guests had some critical points despite being overall satisfied. The lead photo is blurry and most of the images are not of the property itself. If you're a guest who finds the issues you described intolerable enough to cancel a stay mid-holiday, you might have better luck with higher-rated listings. 

[Divya32]

Thanks @Anonymous  for your response. I spoke to Airbnb and they said since the stay has been cancelled there is no way to write a review. Which I think it’s a huge flaw in the system. I have personal experience to speak of and should be able to review the property despite checking out early. This is the first time something like this has happened to me to be honest. My biggest issue is that I’m unable to leave a review to alert future travellers of the conditions. The host has claimed on the listing that its professionally cleaned which was certainly not the case. But I take your point - in future only stay at higher rated places. The disappointment of cancelling a holiday after almost a year of not being able to take any holidays has been the most frustrating part and zero communication from the host - it was almost as if he expected it and was not surprised when we said we will be leaving early. Until that point communication had been amazing

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Divya32 Assume @Anonymous is right and Customer Services are wrong. Hopefully you will be able to leave a review.

I am stunned at how expensive the place was. I fear we need to bling our place up a bit!

[Divya32]

That’s what’s bugging me the most - the place wasn’t cheap. Based on its state..I don’t think it was worth half of the listing price !! And the effort and excitement of finally going on a holiday only for it to be cut short with something like this. I have a very disappointed 6 year old!!! And not even one question from the host asking for further details or if he could do anything to make it better for us to change our mind. Almost as if he didnt care - he got the money! Feels like this is not the first time this has happened to him. I do hope I get a chance to review otherwise it feels like a sever loophole that a guest can’t do anything about

[Emilia42]

@Divya32 You will get a notification to review on the originally scheduled check-out day. So if you were supposed to check-out on Thursday until you canceled, wait until Thursday afternoon-ish and then you will have the option to leave a review. 

[Divya32]

Thanks for your message! Fingers crossed customer service was wrong about it and I will get a chance to review! As I feel cheated at the moment..

[Cathie19]

At @Divya32, what’s important is that when you review, stay objective with the main points, cleanliness, communication and house rules.

- Communication:

If the host showed good communication until things went wrong, you can express this objectively.

House Rules:

- You could also say that the house rules were all reasonable & acceptable (if they were)

Cleanliness: be objective.

You can state you left early as it felt it was not cleaned to a standard you would expect, especially during Covid19. That it had an underlying unpleasant smell - though, that may have been cooking odours or lack of ventilation from previous guests, but that this wasn’t clear nor something you would have expected......

You may even want to comment that when you contacted the host, his communication became limited.

Would you stay there or recommend? you could not.

🙌🏼Keep it simple, objective and concise AND don’t get personal about the host. Otherwise, your review could be removed.
🙌🏼Be the bigger person because your review will be viewed by other hosts, who will want to understand that you are in fact a fair minded guest, not just being picky. This matters for future AIrbnb bookings.

Does that make sense to you?

🙂

Cathie

[Divya32]

Yes thanks Cathie. Even when I wrote to the host that we intend to leave I did not get personal and was very polite. I thought the host was great in terms of communication and I intend to write this in the review (hopefully will be given the chance to do so). But thanks for your tips - I will keep this in mind when posting my review

[Cathie19]

Good to know you stayed objective and will continue to do so.....

Remember that how you review says more about you, than the host. 🌻

[Anonymous]

@Divya32 It's not just a matter  of policy that Airbnb allows reviews for stays cancelled in progress - it's required by law in the UK:  https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/27/airbnb-agrees-reviews-loophole-intervention-cma-r...

Once again, if your original checkout date hasn't elapsed yet, this is the reason you haven't been able to review. When the chance arises, you'll have a window of 14 days, so you might want to give yourself a cooling-off period. Remember, if there's a negative reciprocal review on your profile, you might lose the ability to Instant Book listings in the future, and hosts will cross-check to see what kind of reviews you have left for others. What you write will influence their decision about whether to decline or accept your request.

[Divya32]

Got it! I left the property in the same state as we found it and did all the things I would normally do when checking out in terms of cleaning. So if I get a negative reciprocal review it will be solely be on the basis that the host will be trying to “get back” at me. Anyway I don’t think that’s the reason not to write a negative review and share my experience. But yes I will need to be objective as others have mentioned

[Sarah977]

@Divya32  As others have said, the CS rep gave you incorrect info. So it wasn't a mistake for you to cancel- the host instructing you to cancel is exactly the correct procedure for a guest if they arrive to find the place unacceptable in some way. (Actually a lot of hosts, maybe most, wouldn't have responded to your complaint by asking you to cancel, they would have sincerely apologized and sent a cleaning crew in)

If you don't cancel when you leave a place, you still have an active reservation- to Airbnb it looks like you are still there and no way to prove you have left. When you cancel, this kicks in the refund process for you as well. And it unblocks the host's calendar for those dates so they can rebook it (in this case to someone who doesn't mind a dirty house 🙂  ). If those dates remain blocked because you didn't cancel, the host is likely to fight a refund and would have legitimate reason to do so.