Dear community can you assist me

Dear community can you assist me

Hi. I am very upset about the review I received from my Host . My family booked his house for 3 nights at a cost of $ 1995 , this included cleaning cost of $275. My family left the place 75% clean , we made the beds, put house in order, washed the dishes and put them away, took bins out the night before and even emptied the fridge and kitchen bins. My host left a review that my family left the place in a mess and that it took 4 hours to clean after we left. The only thing we did not clean was the shower and toilet and vacuum. 
Airbnb said they can’t remove the bad review that the host has left. We did see the cleaners . They were 2 old people about 80 years old. It is obvious that the host has his parents to clean the place after the visitors leave. They can’t move furniture and their is dust under beds and couches etc. 

My family are people of Colour and I feel that the host left this false review because their parents saw us staying there and do not want people of colour in their home. I am fair skinned and I booked the place so the host wouldn’t know my family is mixed. 
I am upset as well  stressed that this country Australia still has people with this mindset. 
How do I get this review removed. Airbnb is supporting the host which of course they would because they are making money. 
My character is been defamed. Personally I am happy to take this matter to the highest level even if it has to be on current affairs, I will follow this matter through. 
I can’t believe Airbnb is supporting false claims as well as people with racist attitudes. Can anyone give me some advice. Much appreciated Shelley 

17 Replies 17
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Shelley369  I don't know what you mean by "Airbnb is supporting the host". Airbnb doesn't get involved in whether a review is true or not. How could they know which party is telling the truth? They don't remove negative reviews written by guests either, even if the host says the guest is lying. 

 

As far as them writing this for racist reasons, it may be true, but you have no proof of that. 

 

Was the host lying about the furniture being moved around and not put back, too?

 

I'm sorry this happened to you and have no idea why the host would have said you left it a mess if you didn't. Most hosts just expect guests to wash the dishes, bag up the garbage and take it out to the bin, i.e. clean up your personal messes,  and leave the place reasonably clean and tidy. Guests aren't normally expected to clean the bathroom, vacuum, etc, unless they've made a big mess (like kids dropping food all over) and making the beds is pointless, as the bedding is going to be changed anyway.

 

Have you messaged the host about this? 

Dear Sarah 

Thanks for your response. Furniture was is the place it was originally. There was no mess at all not even a piece of paper on the floor. I was asked to do a review on my stay which was positive. Then the host did a negative review on our stay. Once both did their reviews I was unable to contact the host. 
The host lied in the review by no means was the place a mess. 
I have stayed at other places with my family and there was never a problem. These previous stays were under my daughters name. 
The only reason why the host can give such a review is that he doesn’t want people of colour in his home. 
Otherwise why would he give a review like he did. 
I am very confused and upset because this is a first. 

I have learnt a valuable lesson. I will video how I left the place in future. 

Basha0
Level 10
Penngrove, CA

Customer service will probably not do much for you. I’m sorry that your one and only review was not great. Your response was well worded. I think that’s all you can do and I would move on if I were you. 

Thanks for your reply. 
Personally I do not accept lying and people just accepting how others treat each other. How many other people had he done this too. 
Also, if nothing is done then he will continue making negative reviews . 
I am not interested in gaining money , it is just about treating people correctly. Ignoring wrongdoing is not the way we should conduct ourselves in todays world. 

I am aware that customer service does little. They just send generics messages. I do value your response.

 Cheers shelley

 

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

This is a very common issue where host leaves negative review for guest not cleaning as much as host would expect. 

Host are also subjected to unfair reviews. 

Some things that stand out is that first off for an entire house that can hold 2 families 4 hours seems like a very quick turn around. I'm not sure how they can clean everything. 

 

In my experience sometimes kids can leave more of a mess if parents let them. Most are great but sometimes there is juice and stuff all over the floor. But this family also has young kids so maybe that wasn't the issue. 

The response to the review claimed guest vaccmumed. 

"My family even made the beds, washed all dishes , vaccumed." 

But here in first post: 

"The only thing we did not clean was the shower and toilet and vacuum."

Also there are likely many host who may look 80 who maintain all five star reviews for cleanliness so not sure why making assumptions about someone's ability based on age is constructive.

"We did see the cleaners . They were 2 old people about 80 years old. It is obvious that the host has his parents to clean the place after the visitors leave."

In my experience my guest never try and disguise or hide their ethnicity. My guest have to book way in advance so all tend to be very responsible. 

$275 is a lot for cleaning. I could see how two families with kids could assume cleaning fee would cover some extra cleaning. There was no damage so review does seem a bit negative and doesn't say anything good. 

I think this would be a good idea for both parties to just have reviews removed and make improvements moving forward.

If host didn't provide check out instructions, seems like you would have better chance of getting it removed on that. Or just ask the host to have the review removed because this wasn't clear in check out instructions. 

Hope that helps and good luck! 


PS.. From my experience this appears to be more of a misunderstanding and miscommunication. Host can be hyper sensetive about the smallest thing, so could see how that would seem unusual. They also can increase cleaning fee and lower nightly rate as a strategy to promote their listing. Lot of complaints about this. Then expect it to be spotless. My take is that even 4 hours isn't enough time to clean. Guest can make a lot of assumptions as well based on host or cleaners appearance. To have a review removed it would need to violate the TOS policy.   



  

    

Thanks John for your response

this is shelley. Please note that I have tried many times via Airbnb to have the host remove the negative response but they said this is out of their control. This is why I am seeking ideas through this platform. We did have kids with us and I can assure the place was left clean by and tidy. We only didn’t vacuum on the day of departure because I paid $ $275 for the cleaning. However daily we did vacuum. 
my family and I have stayed at many place and have never had a negative review. So on this occasion should this occur. 
I have looked at all possible reasons and the only possible reason left is discrimination. 
It was the cleaners who were in the age bracket of 75 to 80 years old. 
I do agree with you that turning a house around in 4 hrs is a short time. This means to me that if the host can turn a houser around to the next occupants in 4 hours , it serves as proof that there was not much cleaning to be done or they handed the home to the new guests and the house was not properly cleaned. 
This statement made by you had given me some clarity with reference to my experience with this host. So clearly supporting that point that he was lying that my family and I left the house in a mess. 
Much appreciated. Shelley

You are welcome! On second thought for two people cleaning 4 hours would be enough time to clean. 

There a lot of misunderstandings between host and guest involving the cleaning fee and exactly what condition the place should be left. It doesn't help when Airbnb ads have guest running wild with sheets over their head, standing on coffee tables, pets on the bed, etc. 

Some guest can be messy, cleaners can exaggerate, host can be too sensitive, or not leave detailed instructions. Most of the time maybe a little of everything? 

Host don't see who is booking their place until after the reservation. Host can also simply check a box, "Would not want to host again." If they don't want the guest to make another reservation. 

 

So far I've enjoyed more diverse guest.  

You also mentioned that you also book under your sisters photo or account. That is also against Airbnb policy as misunderstandings can happen. 

There also isn't an age at which people are not allowed to host, clean or work for Airbnb, as people with more experience might have more tricks up their sleeves to remove stains and such. 

@Shelley369 The host who reviewed you had only 3 prior reviews, none of them recent. Based on that, it's hard to tell whether he had enough hosting experience to know how much cleaning to expect from guests. But his comments do sound credible and objective - nothing in there sounds defamatory or racist, and the fact that the remarks are unflattering doesn't really merit censorship.

 

I'm not sure what "highest level" you believe there is to take your complaint to. If you want that review to disappear, all you have to do is delete your account.

Thanks Andrew about the suggestion to delete my account. But I feel this is not addressing the actual problem. 
much appreciated. 

@Shelley369 You can see for yourself what the rules for reviews are:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

 

You may disagree with the host's assessment, you may feel it's untrue or unfair, but the fact is that it doesn't break any of the rules. Airbnb was correct to let it stand. You've already posted your response, and future hosts can take that into account to make their own decision about whether they'd like to have you as a guest. 

 

Baselessly accusing a host of racial discrimination and having a huge fit over a review are not qualities I would personally find desirable in someone I'm renting a home to. So if you're trying to make the case here that you deserve an unblemished record on your profile...well, sorry, you've only done exactly the opposite.

Thanks for your reply. I ruled out all factors and can only find that there could be some discrimination. You can make such comments because you have no clear idea of matters. 

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Shelley369 Airbnb do not mediate on the truth of a review. This arguably favours guests as untrue reviews of hosts may cause them to lose their livelihood whereas untrue reports of guests, at worst, may stop them booking another place to stay.