Unjustified negative review

[Joe2803]

Good afternoon everybody

Myself and my partner received a negative review from a host which has really upset us.

The host said:

’dog came with no mention it coming and it foul sitting room carpet what smell to go into’

In relation to not mentioning the dog was coming…her page mentions that furry friends are welcome at her place. From what I can see there is only an option to book humans and not dogs.  

However, that comment is pedantic and really our bone of contention is that she has written that our dog fouled her place and we left her place smelling badly.

This is categorically not true. Our dog has never fouled our place, not even when she was a puppy!  My partner advised that a guest of the host’s had a dog who came into our rented accommodation (just when we were packing and left the door open), and was running around in all the rooms just prior to our departure.  It could well have fouled the place.

We fear that leaving an unsubstantiated claim on my public profile will have a detrimental impact on future bookings. 

We left the property in the same condition as we found it. This has always been the case with any property I have rented.

We are wondering what options are open to us to challenge this unfair written statement. Can anyone please help? 

Regards

Joe

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Joe2803 Provided the review meets the criteria set by Airbnb (it does) then the only person who can remove it is it's author. If you can persuade the host to ask Airbnb to remove it then you will be fine. Otherwise all you can do is add your own comment to their review.

[Brian2036]

@Joe2803 

It is considered to be a common courtesy to inform the host that you are bringing pets even if they advertise their space as “pet friendly.”

The host states that there is a £20 fee for dogs so apparently she wants to be informed.

You are absolutely correct about the lack of a way to formally note animals as guests. There should be and hosts have been asking for this for years with no response from Airbnb.

 I strongly suggest that you respond to the host’s vague, ungrammatical review with something polite and easily understandable by future hosts who are fluent in the English language.

Apparently someone left a deposit on the host’s carpet. It wasn’t you or your well-behaved dog. If it had been your dog you would certainly have cleaned it up before you left.

If you were requesting a booking at my house I would ignore this peculiar review.

[Colleen253]

@Joe2803 The host does mention in her extended house rules that there is a fee for pets, so presumably you would have disclosed the pet and paid the fee as requested. If not, this may be why the host was upset. Am I right in suspecting you did not see the extended rules?  It's very unfortunate, but Airbnb insists on doing a good job of hiding them. 

You have many good reviews otherwise. You can briefly and calmly respond to the review. Future hosts are not likely to be put off by that one review.

[Sarah977]

@Joe2803  Regardless of whether a place is listed as pet-friendly or not, hosts will want to be informed that you are travelling with a dog, and this should be obvious if they state they charge a pet fee. How would they add the fee to your booking if you don't tell them about the dog? 

Also, many hosts want to know because they will prepare the space differently if you are bringing a dog. They may remove some rugs so they don't get covered in pet hair, they may provide you with some clean, but worn sheets or towels to put on the furniture if your dog sleeps on the sofa or bed, if they are dog lovers, they may set out dog bowls, and leave some dog treats.

And some hosts, even though it says pet-friendly, have restrictions on the size of dogs they accept or how many.  It's just respectful to let the host know beforehand. Hosts generally like some information as to the make up of your traveling group- whether it's a couple with kids, two couples travelling together, a gals or guys get-away, dogs, cats, whatever.

As Colleen advised, just leave a brief factual response to the review making it clear what happened. You have a bunch of good reviews- hosts don't believe every word of every review if they see it differs from your other reviews, anymore than guests would believe some review claiming the place was filthy, when the host has a dozen or pages of reviews saying it was lovely and immaculate.

[Joe2803]

Hello everyone, many thanks for taking the time to read over, and comment on my post. You have all eased our concerns over future bookings with Airbnb hosts and also provided us with guidance on how to respond to the Host’s review. In addition, we shall look at the extended house rules going forward and will notify future hosts if and when we are bringing our wee dog.

Had we known about the extra rules and the need to pay £20 for our dog we would have done so. The host met us at the start of the visit and never mentioned it.

Thanks once again for all of your inputs.

Regards

Joe

[Linda108]

Because of your past positive reviews, other hosts on this forum seem to accept your explanation and urge you to move on.   More than likely that is correct but I am puzzled how you would notice another dog coming into the place and not notice a foul smelling deposit.  Just wondering...

[Sarah977]

@Joe2803  "Had we known about the extra rules and the need to pay £20 for our dog we would have done so"

This information is stated in the host's listing. It's really important for guests to read thoroughly through all the info in the ad. This entails clicking through everywhere that it says "Read more", etc.

Hosts are actually distressed at how Airbnb displays info, hiding it behind clicks and burying the House Rules section at the very bottom of the listing page, which often leads to guests not reading all they need to be aware of. 

But despite complaints about this from hosts, Airbnb refuses to change the format.

And as an aside, a "wee dog" isn't any different from a large dog in that most dogs shed, smell like dog, and in my experience, are much more likely to be allowed on the furniture and the bed by its owner than large dogs.

[Pat271]

Wait…what? “The host met you at the start of the visit and never mentioned it”? That seems very odd. The plot thickens…