Level 3 Escalation

[John5839]

Hello,

I am trying to get a review resolved that has a harassing and defaming nature. Does anyone know how long this will take to get resolved once it has gone to level 3 escalation?

Appreciate any help you can offer. Thank you.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@John5839 you will be lucky to get the review removed as Airbnb do not determine if a review is truthful or not. On a slightly different subject your review complaining that the guest stayed out until 1am is a bit weird......

[Mark116]

@John5839  Read Airbnb's policy on reviews and tailor your request to those items. I haven't pulled up the language, but from memory, I would guess your best strategy is that the review contains numerous personal attacks and conclusions about your character and personality that might get the review removed. You could also maybe make a case that most of the review is a long ranty justification for the various broken house rules, and that therefore, it is irrelevant, e.g. no future Airbnb guest is going to gain anything from knowing that the Nissan guy came by the  house, if that is even true.

Good luck.  It may take a long time to get the review removed and Airbnb may still refuse, but I wouldn't worry too much as its clear the guest was a self entitled self justifying jerk.

ETA..also, after looking at her previous reviews, I wonder why you ever accepted her to begin with, I didn't read all 20+ but there were at least 4 very negative reviews that should have given you the clue that they were loud, messy and damaged items.

Since it looks like she must have given you all 1 stars, you could also consider taking the listing off line and then relisting it to start over, but you would want to make sure it would work to relist it in a few months, I don't know how that actually works but apparently some hosts have done it successfully.

[John5839]

Mark, 

Thank you for reaching out. I think the reason I took it was A, I do really love our military and wanted to help them out. B, we listed our listing and it just went crazy as far as getting busy (which is a good thing).  However it's a learning process and I think my ignorance as a host on how to weed out bad guest is just that. 

I always assume (my mistake) that people are good, our area is very small and mostly government needs here so its not really a party sort of place. Most folks would come here for professional matters, or family visits. 

Its honestly not so much the one star review that bothers me versus her accusations on my character. I dont think it will hurt us as far as score because I can only imagine our current guest as well as our next guest will only give us good reviews just like our first two. 

My largest concern is being de-platformed or something like that. We made a HUGE investment to make our listing the premier listing for this area. This was our plan for future retirement etc. Also any thoughts on what the level 3 escalation department is? That is where it is now which I am thankful for. We can only communicate through email and cant be transferred which is hard because I just want to plead the situation to them in regards to documentation and factual evidence I have. I appreciate all they are doing and their efforts, it's just tough when you cant speak to someone. 

Would appreciate any more wisdom or feedback you have. Thanks again. 

[Mark116]

@John5839  You are going to need to steel yourself for a lot of BS, incompetence and wrong information from Airbnb.  "Level 3" could easily be something a CS rep made up to get rid of you and close the case. People have spent hours and hours of their time on straightforward items because Airbnb CS is at best, random, at worst, actively, aggressively inept.  

Don't even assume that the CS person even knows what Airbnb's actual policies are  or that whatever they tell you is correct.  Always check the policy and rules yourself and have them handy when talking to anyone so you can literally recite back the language.

I would say one thing in your favor in terms of the accusations of discrimination is that she says she's Puerto Rican on her profile, so there would have been zero surprise from any host about her ethnicity, if you really were discriminatory  you would have declined her at the beginning.  

[John5839]

Do you happen to have links to something I can reference. I just find that the entire site seems very overwhelming and often times hard to navigate for me. We had never stayed an an airbnb prior to becoming host, and just sort of dove in (in retrospect that might have not been the best way to start up, but must move forward). 

I have called every day, but every person I do get in touch with says they are level one, it went to level two, and now its is in level 3, they continue to say they cannot transfer me to that department. 

[Helen3]

Have a look at the Airbnb Help Website. It's got FAQs on all the basics of managing your STR business onAirbnb @John5839 

and please don't ignore red flags like multiple bad reviews . 

[Helen3]

Why would you suggest delisting to avoid a bad review . You can  banned from the platform for doing that @Mark116 

[Mark116]

@Helen3  I've seen a lot of hosts give that advice to people with new listings who got a bad review, that's why I mentioned it, with the caveat to make sure it would work.

[Helen3]

Just because some uniformed hosts say that doesn't mean it's a great idea.

i think the OP should be able to argue for removal of the review if they get a CS person who understands their review policy  

[Mark116]

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/546/airbnbs-content-policy

The following content is not allowed on Airbnb:

• Content created solely for the purpose of advertising or other commercial content, including company logos, links, or company names
• Spam, unwanted contact, or content that is shared repeatedly in a disruptive manner
• Content that endorses or promotes illegal or harmful activity, or that is sexually explicit, violent, graphic, threatening, or harassing
• Content that is discriminatory (review our Nondiscrimination Policy for more info)
• Attempts to impersonate another person, account, or entity, including a representative of Airbnb
• Content that is illegal or that violates another person’s or entity’s rights, including intellectual property rights and privacy rights
• Content that includes another person’s private or confidential information, including content that is sufficient to identify a listing’s location

Learn more about Airbnb's Content Policy and the Coronavirus.

Reviews

• Reviews that are biased or exhibit indications of extortion/incentivization, conflicts of interest, or direct competition
• Reviews that contain no relevant information about a host or guest, listing, or experience may be removed. Reviews that contain mostly irrelevant information are also subject to removal, but only where the otherwise relevant information would not be expected to meaningfully inform the booking decisions of other community members.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/548/airbnbs-dispute-moderation-for-reviews

[Sarah977]

@John5839  "I do really love our military and wanted to help them out"

Unless you have signed up for the Open Homes program, offering free or discounted housing to disaster victims or refugees, helping guests out, simply because they are military, or in some other profession you appreciate, isn't in your best interest. 

They will be no different from any other guests- some great, some awful, and all the in-betweens. I have read several posts over time regarding military guests being offered discounts and hosts with the same attitude as you, whose aporeciation for the military was rewarded with total disrespect, trashed houses, etc.

[John5839]

Thank you Sarah. The whole thing has just wrecked me and my wife. We have invested so much to make this dream come true, and now it seems like its going to be over before it even begins. These guest ultimately were just enraged because they had to follow the rules. Huge learning experience for us. I turned off instant book and have learned a lot. I just hope we do not get de-platformed. 

[Sarah977]

@John5839  From what you wrote earlier in this thread, I think you fell into the trap a lot of new hosts do, in that you made a big investment, wanted to get it listed asap to start recouping costs, and assumed that guests would appreciate the beautiful space you created and behave with respect. And it's a real shame when that doesn't necessarily happen. 

I used to be like you- I just trusted people until they proved me wrong, because all the people I associate with normally are trustworthy, good people. But after getting burned several times, not by guests (my listing is a home share, and I get lovely guests), but in other situations, I now don't start off either trusting, nor distrusting those I don't really know, but no longer assume they are trustworthy until they prove themselves to be.

Good luck with this. It can be exhausting, but the key to getting something out of Airbnb seems to be persistence, patience and politeness. Stay firm about what you feel you deserve, but try not to let yourself get emotionally wrapped up in it. While you have a very personal stake in this, it being your future retirement home, not just some investment property, and the review being an attack on your character, your dealings with Airbnb are business, so try not to let it take over your head and life.

[John5839]

I appreciate your kindness Sarah. Hopefully it will get removed. I do continue to be professional and polite with them. I feel like I get on their nerves because I am calling so much. Its just really hard and hopefully all will end well. Thank you again. Merry Christmas to you.