This is a message for Airbnb Development teams as I think there is something seriously wrong with your product. Ideally, I would prefer a product owner reads this message. If you are a host who is reading this, please thumb up on this so we can get some attention.
Dear Airbnb,
I am certain this is not the first time you have received any survey feedback that hosts are not feeling being appreciated.
You have a review policy that is intentional retaliate against the hosts of the community for the following reason:
1. When a guest cancels last minute, you allow angry guests who do not follow cancellation policy to write angry reviews against hosts. Yet, when a host cancels last minute, you allow an automated review on the host's dashboard.
2. When a guest cause destructive damage and host decided to report the issue and go after the security deposit, you choose not to disable the reviews and allowing the guest to write untruthful reviews against the host. This has lead to the fact that the host is now scared and insecure when their property is being damaged.
Here is what you can improve:
Instead of allowing all bad reviews to retaliate against the host, what you could do is to allow an automated review to be in place of angry reviews. When a guest cancels, you could leave an automated review on "how many hours/days when the guest cancels the trip", and "how much refund the guest received in return" with no star rating. The same review should be posted on both the host's and the guest's review board. This will serve justice in whether the host is being extremely generous and refund the guest, and it will tell future host how frequent this guest likes to cancel.
This should also apply when a host decided to go after a guest's deposit. You should post an automated message on both the host and the guest's review board of how much security deposit was being charged. This will allow guests to see whether a host is frequently going after a guest's deposit, and it will allow the future host to see if the guest likes to do destructive damage to the property.
The options above are just for you to consider. If you could fix your problems with a different solution, I am happy to accept it. But I personally think this solution is fair for both the host and the guest.
You have failed to fulfill your promise and treats hosts as a valued member. We are an essential part of your business, so please take serious consideration on improving your product. Meanwhile, I refuse to refer to anyone else that I know to join as a host. With your unfair review policy in place, I, too, as soon as I achieve my financial goal, would also quit as a host.
