Defamatory Review after guest threatened to smash my windows! Airbnb say this is ok!!

[Mike186]

Hi folks, I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced similar and what Airbnb did to support you?

A few weeks ago i received a phone call from a guest who was due to arrive and stay at my property. They were abusive from the start and complained that they could not find where i stayed despite the address being shared with them and me offering phone support to help them from well before the date of the stay.

I tried to calm them down over the phone and say i would come to where they were and show them how to check in.

They continued to be belligerent, abusive towards me and then threatened to smash my windows to get in to the house.

At that point I drew the line and told them they would no longer be able to stay due to them threatening me. I was worried for my own and my family's safety so i immediately escalated it to Airbnb support.

To their credit, Airbnb were very supportive at the time and fully backed up my decision to refuse entry to the guest as they had broken the Airbnb guest code.

However, to my dismay, a few weeks after - a 1 star review from the guest appeared on my page with untrue allegations about the incident posted for future guests to see.

I have contacted Airbnb asking for the post to be removed as it is untrue. I also do not believe that they should be able to post a review for a trip that did not happen due to their behaviour.

Unfortunately, up until now - Airbnb are taking the stance that the 'guest review does not violate the review code'.

I find this extremely hard to understand or agree with given the circumstances described above and the fact Airbnb supported my decision to refuse entry to the guest.

[Anonymous]

@Mike186   All bookings that weren't cancelled before the arrival date are eligible for reviews, even if the guest didn't stay. This has been Airbnb's policy globally since 2017, but actually it was UK regulations that first forced them to allow this: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jul/27/airbnb-agrees-reviews-loophole-intervention-cma-r...

Unfortunately, the agent you spoke to was correct:  the review from M**c does not appear to violate the terms of the Review Policy, which I hope you already familiarized yourself with. Note:

While we encourage and expect all community members to post reviews that contain objective and accurate information, Airbnb doesn’t mediate disputes concerning the truth of reviews.

It's a shame that you already missed the opportunity to review the guests, as future hosts would appreciate being warned about this violent temperament. You can still post a Public Response directed at your own prospective guests, if you feel something needs correcting or clarifying. Honestly, though, I don't think it's worth bothering. Anyone considering your listing can see that hundreds of other guests have found your lockbox and had excellent stays with no problems, and you already have several more recent reviews, so this one stinker is not going to impact your bookings. These are the kind of things we just have to let go and move on from.

[Mike186]

Thanks for your response Andrew.

I understand the rules and the policy.

However I do feel it is a cop-out for Airbnb to say they don't mediate disputes concerning the truth of reviews.

Also, the fact that the abusive guest is left unchallenged or penalised is wrong.

Airbnb support are also unwilling to discuss this, they simply keep re-posting the policy in the message thread.

 I will know better next time than to rely on Airbnb for support as a host.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mike186 I dread to think what the platform fees would be if Airbnb mediated disputes concerning the truth of reviews. In most cases I am afraid it is very much 'he said, she said' and any attempt to determine the truth would be near impossible.

I would however think it might be fair for hosts (and guests) to have one review per year removed provided this doesn't reduce the number of reviews by more than say 5%........