Airbnb closed my account

[Antonio703]

A guest accused me of something that I never did and airbnb decided to close my account.

This guest and his group stayed at my place for 7 days and never complained about anything. A few days after he checked-out he sent me a direct message complaining about everything (all of a sudden) during his past stay at my apt. He was looking for some refund, he said. Since he did not get any money. He decided to accuse me of having entered one of the rooms to "watch her female friend sleep" while he was out of the apt. He mentions that she woke up and found me there in the middle of the room. The saddest part is that airbnb believed him and not me and, even though I gave them all types of expanations, decided to close my account and cancel all my future reservations, based on a lie completely made up by a guest. A total disaster. 

Is there any way of getting my account back? A place I could place a claim? Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks, Javier.

BTW, the guest's name is **** a documentary filmmaker (can be found online), just in case he books your place. I would never recommend this person to anybody!

**[Personal information hidden for privacy reasons–in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Mike340]

@Antonio703

Wow..that is some story. I would approach Airbnb and tell them that you would like to make a formal complaint, and suggest that they take you seriously. If you cant get through to them, make it via Facebook. Suggest that you preparing legal action against the guests and Airbnb for reputational damage and lost earnings.Be firm about your intention to take the matter further,but dont be rude, in any way..sound professional and serious. You should hopefully get someone listen to your story.It is often only those that SHOUT that get heard. Keep an eye on the guest profile and watch for any further guest comments etc.

[Antonio703]

That is of a great help Mike.

I appreciate it.

[Antonio703]

Morning Mike,

That is the answer from Airbnb. 

"I understand that this is not the outcome you were hoping for. Our priority is to protect the privacy, trust, and safety of our community as a whole. We have a zero-tolerance policy for this issue and must act in compliance for the safety of the community.

This decision was made after carefully gathering and reviewing all related documentation and communication from all parties involved, and in alignment with our policies, procedures, and Community Standards & Expectations.

If you decide to pursue legal action, any inquiries for information from the law enforcement officer can be directed to: ** This communication channel is strictly reserved for legal inquiries from law enforcement agencies only.

We cannot reconsider this determination or respond further regarding your account. We wish you the best in your future endeavors.

Kind regards,

Jessie"

[Javier372]

An today I got this from Airbnb. "Careful review" he says.  Review of what? They never provided with any proofs. They just got rid of the problem closing my account right away. 

.....

I am Greg, a senior case manager of Trust and Safety team.

I hope you to understand our goal is not to question your integrity as a host but to make a determination that is in compliance with the terms and policies that govern our platform. With that said, we would like to stress again that this decision was made after careful review of our terms and is irreversible.

I understand that this determination caused great inconvenience to you and that you wish to continue with your appeal through different channels. However, as further communication will not be fruitful, we will disengage from this topic moving on. This will be our last email to you.

Best regards,

Greg

[Lawrene0]

This direct message he sent, @Antonio703, was it in the Airbnb messaging system? If so, that might be enough proof of his angling for a refund to help your case. If not, can you screenshot it? 

[Antonio703]

Thanks Lawrene.

The direct message was in the Airbnb messaging system. I told them to read it and I even I included it on my reply to Airbnb when they asked me about my version of the case. I provided much more explanations but nothing was enough for them and they decided to close my account with no further expanations. Nothing was proved in fact. A guest invented that, he just decided to accuse me of something that I did not do and Airbnb decided to close my account. We, hosts, do not have any protection. A guest can ruin you in a sec and Airbnb is not going to do anything to protect you, they are not going to give you any chance. Sad.

[Christine615]

I understand privacy but this doesn't make sense. Why would Airbnb block a guest name so we can't see it?  We can see bad reviews of guests in the regular review space so why not here?

Airbnb should NOT have allowed this to happen if the guest filed a complaint only after finishing their stay.

There are so many scam artists out there, where is the host protection on this?

Did the guest have their profile banned too?

[Antonio703]

**Images removed** 

[Personal information hidden as per the community guidelines] 

[Antonio703]

His profile is still on airbnb eventhough I reported him some time ago. 

I do not think they are going to ban it. As I said, they believed him right away.

It seems, a guest can accuse you of anything that Airbnb is going to believe him or her regardless your clarifications or explanations as a host. They do not care about what you have to say. To believe his story is really crazy, but they did. I had been a host for 2.5 years with 100 positives reviews, 4.7 stars.

Why I am going to do that and destroy my  reputation? But as I said, they believe the guests whatever they say. It is scary. Thank god he did not accuse me of anything even worse...

I have been contacting airbnb regularly but nothing. They might not believe anything I say because they do not move their position an inch. They support him 100%. They do not care about me the host. I just say this group of guests during their check in and check out.

This guy[Personal information hidden as per the community guidelines] 
, was the only one I met during the check-out, the girl and the other guy already had left, according to him. He was late during the check-out but I allowed him to stay longer packing. I tild him no rush. We had a friendly check out, even we shook hands... I even sent him to his phone a message with the number of a car service, since he had a lot of luggage. We smile each other and he left.

A few days latter he sent me a message complaining about everything and letting me know that getting a refund would be great for them. ( He never mentioned anything about me entering the room to watch her friend sleep). Since he did not get any refund, there was no reason for that, he left a review complaining about the same things he complained on that direct message plus the room episode, that he decided to include it at the end of his review. If that would have happend you include that sort of things at the very beginning, since it is something grave. Terrible the damage a " human being" can cause.

There is no host protection at all. A guest can call the police while he or she is at your place accusing you of anything (whatever) and ruin your life completely.

I contacted the guest a few times, on his cell phone, facebook etc but he does not get back to me.  I told him the damaged he has caused and I asked him to clarify the situation contacting airbnb. Nothing. 

[Mike340]

@Antonio703

"We have a zero-tolerance policy for this issue and must act in compliance for the safety of the community.

This decision was made after carefully gathering and reviewing all related documentation and communication from all parties involved, and in alignment with our policies, procedures, and Community Standards & Expectations."

I think most hosts reading that will ask themselves why you were not considered a part of the Community as well,and that there is zero-tolerance against the damage of reputation against hosts in their own home. 

I think your only option is to write directly to the the CEO, in San Fransisco, in detail, about the entire episode, with all the guest contact details, and state your strong levels of concern 

However, given the experience, it does make you think twice whether letting members of the public into your home is really worth the bother.

[Antonio703]

Thank you so much for your help!

[Jeff158]

@Antonio703

If all this is in the message system, I would write to the head of customer experience. You're certainly not having a good experience.

Click the link for Company contacts

[Javier372]

Thank you so much!!

[Joaida-Joy-0]

Guys, Airbnb in not the only way you can rent your space. there are a lot better version depends on the country you live in.