Does Airbnb send undercover quality control?

[Maria11831]

I think that Airbnb send these quality control people  at least once a year -they are really similar  and you could tell that there is something off and that  they will downgrade and undermine your rating but it is too late once he is in  your property. The platform actually exploits your efforts and hard work by undermining your rating thorough such undercover guests because then you have to compensate these negative scores with much more bookings and positive reviews - you drop prices, you add extras but nothing is enough. There is no conspiracy here- pure capitalism. I am furious because this happened to me last year but now my last guest made even more damage to my rating without any explanation or complain. I was always available and was waiting for him an hour before the official check -in -then he gives me 3* check-in rating; he used a 30% off promotion in a 160sq. m downtown apartment and put 4* on value and location. He gives me 4* communication, when I was always available.This has never happened to me before (except of a similar but not so brutal case last year) and I am sure that this guy was a profecional saboteur. I recognized the trouble once I layed eyes on him. I wrote to the airbnb support but surprise, surprise - nothing happened. I am truly disgusted. 

[Anna9170]

ups, repeat

[Nikki4]

I'm pretty sure Airbnb doesn't have the budget for covert ops 🙂

[Maria11831]

Thank God!  There ara only jerks flying around 🙂

[Laura2592]

I honestly think the OP is giving Airbnb too much organizational credit. There is no way this company is together enough to marshall a world wide force of "hotel inspectors" with the express purpose of secret shopping your spare bedroom or bungalow. They can barely put together a customer support team and have well documented financial issues. They can't figure out how to stop parties (we have all come up with ideas) or ensure guests who book are really who they say they are. They can't figure out how to pay out hosts when there is a glitch or respond timely to serious damage claims. This is the most hands off organization I have ever seen.

So no, I just don't think they have the administrative skills to implement this spy team. Sorry. Its unlikely.

[Maria11831]

Haha, I agree that my theory is far-fetched, I wrote to airbnb support for the first time and already know that I can`t rely on them at all. That`s why I am furious, because with several clicks they can check everything and withdraw this untruthful review, but these bots don`t care)) The problem is that if there is no objective criteria and every crazy person can do/write whaterever they want/ how are we as hosts protected? I read some other host complain that a totally unstable person was a guest, then he wrote some crazy review and she could not do anything.. 

[Laura2592]

@Maria11831 yes, there is no objectivity nor any judge who will look at a review and say "that is unfair. I will remove it." We are all on our own as hosts. It can be a rude awakening. 

I will say though that I am honestly very surprised at how many people are decent and reasonable. The bad ones stick out in our memories, but the vast majority of my guests are fair to great. They don't do tons of damage. They communicate well. They follow the house rules to an acceptable degree. I even allow pets and kids in my listing.  Its heartening to see how most people are pleasant. 

I have said that I like to keep my stays short because there is always a chance you run into someone whiny, entitled, unrealistic, with poor boundaries, etc. Letting that person come and go just makes room for the next guest who, odds are, won't be that way. But NEVER expect that Airbnb will do anything to help unless you have ironclad proof that a guest did something egregious (and maybe then even not.) We are expected to work out issues on our own. Sometimes that takes a bit of emotional labor and tongue biting.

[Maria11831]

@Laura2592  I agree 100% ! The rotten apples are really rare, most of the people are great which is comforting, considering the fact that the hosts and their interests are not protected at all.. I poured out my soul here to lick my wounds since I knew that there is nothing more to do.. well, except to suggest a more excentric explanation for these flying around jerks  and see what happens 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Maria11831  If you really think it's some conspiracy scam by Airbnb to hurt your listing, then why would you bother writing to Airbnb about it? 

If your theory were true, what do you think they'd say? "Oh, gee, I guess you caught us and figured out our 'mystery guest' scam. We'll remove those scam star ratings right this minute. Just don't tell anyone else about our scam, okay?"???

Your thinking process on this isn't logical. You got guests who were the entitled types who are critical of everyone else, but not themselves. They don't appreciate anything. They're just jerks. There's lots of them out there in the world, you can find them in all walks of life, and most hosts encounter them at some point, it's nothing special.

[Maria11831]

@Sarah977  I wrote to the support about my issues concerning the totally untruthful review, of course I didn`t mention anything about my theories :)) Anyway, I convinced myself that  the supoort bots are unreliable for almost any problem concerning a bad guest, the only thing that we can do is to compain here and lick our wounds... I know that these problems are hilarious and not the end of the world, especially that I even don`t rely so much on the airbnb earnings but stil I was furious of the unfairness of some jerk hah.. thank God that I have these jerks once a year, but here the market is so small and practically dead after Covid **bleep**, that one such person can do a lot of damage.. 

[Robin4]

@Ann72  @Laura2592  @Maria11831  @Denice0

I am with @Anonymous on this one.....there is no way Airbnb would go to the trouble and expense of a one on one with their personnel!.......particularly now they have got rid of 1,200 of them!

It's far cheaper and easier to just send out an email to 30,000 hosts telling them,  'x number of guests looked at your property but chose somewhere else in the area that was $x  cheaper'! 

They did for a short time when the introduced 'Select' and 'Plus' do sample random testing, but that was only to iron out potential bugs in the format presentation, not something they routinely did to rank and file hosts!

A couple of years ago following an Adelaide Airbnb get together I was speaking with the Airbnb company liaison officer for Australia, Kate Hannan, after I had what I thought was a similar experience she said Airbnb would never do it, complete waste of time and resources!

Sure Airbnb employees will take trips just like all of us do, and it would be logical that they would support the company and use Airbnb listings where possible ......but that doesn't make them company moles!

I have hosted a number of guests who have 50+ reviews, but they were not 'Mystery shoppers' 

What I have found Maria, guests with lots of Airbnb reviews and guests who are also hosts tend to be more critical in the review process and harder to please than newcomers to the platform!

Back in the cold war days we used to call this 'Reds under Beds'.......looking or problems that did not exist!

Cheers.......Rob

[Maria11831]

@Robin4  Thanks for the insight and the inside info 🙂 Here, with my case, the irony was that my guests with many reviews were very contented, and this is the only guy that trashed 4 from 6 criteria, most of them for the first time since I started two years ago. I have only 36 reviews, because I am caring for the whole process and want everything to be perfect and I personally am greeting and dealing with all the guests.  Anyway, I just have to get used to the fact that life is unfair.. but even the smallest and silly things like this one still makes me mad hah

[Robin4]

@Maria11831 

Maria, people are all different....I have had guests who say, "I never give a 5 star review, 5 stars is that ultimate that does not exist"!

You can't blame them for their perception. But, the important thing is Maria, you have a whole string of reviews to die for, 37 of them....you obviously have the makings of a great host. Most prospective guests are not going to pick out one review in isolation and base a decision on that. 

I host in a humble converted 1950's garage in the back-blocks of nowhere.....and yet my last 39 Airbnb reviews have been 5 star. Overall across two platforms my last 52 reviews have been 5 star. Of my 334 Airbnb reviews only 21 have been less than 5 star and only 1 less than 4 star! Guests look at your reviews in general, they don't pick one out in isolation.

You have to take it on the chin Maria, and realise that most guests are not fools. they can tell from your past reviews what sort of host you are....I would stay with you in a heartbeat, your reviews read like gold to me.

When this odd poor review comes along just say to yourself that, to others that review will say more about them than it will about you.....and just keep doing what you obviously do so well!

Cheers.......Rob

[Maria11831]

@Robin4  Thank you for the warming  words, Rod 🙂 I complain and whine in this community center for the first time and I would say that I already feel a little bit better haha 

It is really remarkable  that you have 300+ reviews with such a good rating! Thumbs up!

[Dimitar27]

Some hotels are doing this, because they are franchising companies and must keep control over the franchisees. ABB is completely the opposite thing-every listing is unique, every guest and every host is unique. You don't have a franchisor. But anyway, you are working for the worst boss ever - Yourself. That's why there is no need of "secret client". Being on the host's side, it will make the things easier, if you have a model to follow, concrete expectance to cover. But...there is not. You are alone against the unknown.

[Kelly149]

@Maria11831 ABB can barely manage to keep afloat their actual aboveboard CS, no way could they manage an elite traveling crew of spies... you just got a bad guest... sorry