Reviews not showing

Lawrence23
Level 1
London, United Kingdom

Reviews not showing

Hi everyone,

 

This is my first time using the community center so I hope I have come to the right place.

 

I recently concluded my second stay in two months, and for the second time, my review has not appeared on my host's page, nor have I received any feedback. In the past, I have written up my review within 24 hours of vacating the rental, and hosts tend to have provided their reviews (all positive, incidentally) within a further 24 hours.

 

As I am not a host, can someone tell me whether hosts can choose to 'block' guest reviews? That would not seem appropriate as they would then only publicy publish positive reviews of their own place. In which case, does this seem like a glitch: perhaps my review is somehow getting lost in the ether (though it is on my REVIEWS page) and therefore not triggering the response from a host?

 

Any help much appreciated... seeing as I treat each stay as a means of building my credibility for future stays, and so to miss two reviews when I have been a considerate, clean and otherwise excellent guest is frustrating!

 

Thank you.

66 Replies 66
Deborah953
Level 2
Fox Island, WA

Go to Consumer affairs and let your host have it!

https://www.consumeraffairs.com/review/write/upload/

Paula1563
Level 2
Boca Raton, FL

I had a review in an apartment in Paris  and it was not published. I wrote that the apartment was not in a safe area.... I guess that was not allowed to put in an review?  I guess saying anything negative is not allowed. I will not do Airbnb again! See the reply BS I got from Airbnb: Aug 4, 2020

 

Airbnb Support9:22 AM
Hello Paula,

My name is Loredana, I'm a Support Ambasador for Airbnb's Resolutions Department. I hope my message finds you well.

Apologies for the delay in getting back to you. We are currently experiencing an unusually high volume of requests.

I've checked and indeed, your review it's not public anymore because it's violating our review policy – specifically the section on relevancy.

It's out of the host's control how the surroundings looks like.

Reviews are at the heart of the Airbnb community and we have a policy in place to help guide hosts and guests in writing reviews which are relevant and will help our community to make informed booking decisions.

Kind wishes,
Loredana

@Paula1563  Usually when a guest says that a listing is in an unsafe neighborhood,  it is based on the guest's perception, rather than fact. I have no idea what made you feel it was unsafe, but often it is that the guest saw some drug-dealing or prostitution going on out on the street, or even that it is a neighborhood that is largely populated by a racial or ethnic group that the guest perceives as "dangerous". 

 

The "unsafe area" statement from guest usually doesn't have to do with the guest's actual experience of being harassed somehow, but simply their own beliefs, which is why such statements are irrelevant to the listing and the host, which is what a review is supposed to be about.

 

The guest also bears some responsibility to research the area of a listing to see what information there is on it. This is similar to guests booking a vacation in the tropics and then complaining that were lots of insects. Of course tropical areas are rife with insects- that isn't the host's fault or anything they have control over.

 

My daughter once lived in a part of the city where she had to pass through an area quite populated with drug addicts and prostitutes when walking home from work. I expressed concern about this and her response was "Mom, they're just crackheads, they don't bother or even pay attention to people who are just walking by."

My concern was due to my own ideas, rather than the reality. It's one thing to state how you felt, but another to state your feelings as fact.

Unfortunately, in my case it was a fact!  And, I was not able to cancel. 

Next time I will book a hotel, where Hotels have a reputation to follow. Airbnb is not for me and my family anymore. I rather pay more and go through a real state agent on another country to get a nice place  than trust the reviews on airbnb. I am sure the host must love their policy. They protect the host, but unfortunately not the guest, on my case. The facts and reality can not be changed, only by airbnb policy!

Ramesh27
Level 2
West Drayton, United Kingdom

I also looked for my bad review since I was not happy at all about the place I chose. Why is Airbnb not posting my review?? Can the owner block this or Airbnb does not like to post bad reviews?? I am not happy about this. 

@Ramesh27 The review system is blind so that you and the host will be able to leave an honest review. It would be problematic if your host could read your bad review and then leave you a revenge review. Both you and the host got 14 days after check-out to leave a review. Your review will get posted 1) the second the host submits a review or 2) when the review period of 14 days is over. 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Ramesh27  Also reviews are not published in chronological order. When you look at the host's reviews for a property, the reviews from other guests from your country or in your profile language will appear first, so sometimes you have to scroll down quite a ways to find yours.

 

No, Airbnb doesn't delete bad reviews unless they violate their review policy, i.e. something like profanity, discriminatory comments, or irrelevancy, like complaining about something the host has no control over.

 

It's like pulling teeth for a host to get a bad review removed, even if the guest has totally lied.