Filing a complaint against a host

[Dora441]

I have run into a huge issue with a host.  I stayed at their cottage over the weekend in Saratoga Springs.  It was a lovely cottage but I ran into a problem with the owner of the cottage within 24 hours of my stay.   She accused me (yes accuse is the perfect word for this) of bringing my dog on property.  I DID NOT BRING MY DOG.  My dog was with my ex husband.  She almost kicked us out and I had to convince her that I DID NOT BRING MY DOG.  At the end of my stay, I sent her a private email asking her to explain why she was so unprofessional.  She did not respond for 3 days.  I then posted my review on the site again stating that I DID NOT BRING MY DOG. She responded me by telling me I was a liar and DID BRING MY DOG.

I need to escalate this.  Can someone help? 

Thank you.

Dora

[Nanxing0]

If I didn't misread, you didn't have any loss in this case other than being verbally abused at most, which you already addressed by posting the review. If that's the case you don't need to "escalate" this at all. If the owner feels you brought in a dog and caused any damage she needs to claim it on Airbnb and submit appropriate evidence. If you didn't bring a dog in then there should not be evidence she could find. Just keep an eye on your email. If she submits a claim for damage reimbursement you will receive notice.

[Dora441]

@Nanxing0 Thanks for your comment.  The point here is that she is publicly calling me a liar and I really don't appreciate that. I didn't  ask her for money back.  All I wanted was an explanation for her behavior and an apology would have gone a long way.  But as you can see in her review of my stay, she already made up her mind.  I  was not even a party to her "confirming with the neighbor" what she saw. Whatever pet she saw was not mine and would have not recognized me. 

[Nanxing0]

@Dora441 I be very honest with you, as a professional host that deal with multiple guests every day we don't have time and need to play game with guests. If the host communicated with you about a potential violation of house rule then it means HE/SHE SAW SOMETHING. The way that guests respond to the host would have different consequences. I can imagine that you probably responded to the host in a very impolite way which made the host feel you were not being honest. Think about the way you responded to the host and imagine if you were the host what you were going to think. 

And I have to say, the host dealed with the incident VERY PROFESSIONALLY. He/she tried to make everything private by not saying anything on the review, and if you ever behaved like a normal guest then nobody else would even know the issue. Actually I guess if you had the gut to explain and discuss with the host he/she probably would have trusted your words.

[Dora441]

@Nanxing0  After 5 hours on the phone trying to reach Airbnb her accusation was proven invalid by them. Case number and all. I did not put myself out there to get bashed by everyone if I was lying and breaking rules. 

She did not see anything it was all hearsay from a neighbor. I did not bring my dog. My dog cannot be in Fishkill NY and Saratoga Springs at the same time  I DID NOT bring my dog. 

And that review of me was not how she felt about me. She just didn’t want to ruin her sparkling review. I chose to state the facts. 

Thank you for your feedback though. 

[Nanxing0]

@Dora441 Glad to see your problem solved. Again neighbor report is equivalent to what I said "saw something". My point is that hosts don't take actions unless there's anything that draw attention. At least for myself, I wouldn't want to bother my guests unless there's reports from my neighbors that the guest is misbehaving to the extent that might put myself in trouble. The argument is NEVER about whether you brought your dog or not -- from my perspect of view neither you nor the host could ever prove that. My feeling/suggestion is that when the host asked you for the pet problem, if you had communicated in a positive manner I doubt if the host would have the accusation against you. I personally have a lot of experience like this. Most of time when host communicates with guest regarding a house rule violation, all the host could do is to remind the guest about the rule. We cannot force into the house to check if the guest actually violated the rule most of time. So in this case the way the guest responds to the inquiry is very important.

As for the review, I don't think you really know what you are talking about. Airbnb set up the review system in the way that you can't see her review before you post yours. That means no matter she posted the review positively or negatively, you won't be seeing it until your review is posted and cannot be changed. While I myself occasionally post negative reviews to guests who breach my house rule, I know that most hosts choose to NOT POST REVIEW if the experience with a specific guest turns negative. That she posted a positive review for you basically means she considered you a good guest and your stay was problem free. 

[Dora441]

@Nanxing0 You were not sitting in the car when I received her phone call.  She was rude. She was unprofessional. She asked me 3 times and still did not believe me. She had already made up her mind without seeing an actual dog. 

The point IS that I did not bring my dog. And had she approached me differently this would be a different story. 

You are free to say and think what you want. My story will never change.  

[Anonymous]

The lady doth protest too much, methinks. 

[Sarah977]

@Dora441  The host's accusation couldn't possibly have been "proven invalid" by Airbnb, because they have zero way of knowing if you brought your dog or not- it's just your word against the host's. It seems quite odd that the neighbor would have phoned the host to say there was a small white dog in the yard and you just happen to have a small white dog with you in your profile photo. The neighbor would never have seen your profile photo, and I'm sure they have better things to do with their time than make something up and phone the host.

Your ranting review doesn't do you any favors- you could have said what you had to say much more briefly. And receiving what you considered a nasty phone call is hardly worth so much fuss. 

[Mark116]

@Dora441  So, what did airbnb do for you?  The reviews and responses are still up.  I'm not sure what you mean by saying that airbnb proved the accusation was invalid?  How did they do that, and what action is airbnb going to take on your behalf?

It will be interesting for you going forward with airbnb in terms of whether any hosts are put off by the review and responses.

[Dora441]

@Mark116 they opened a case and then contacted the guest upon my request.  I wanted to know how this neighbor came up with this idea.  No concrete evidence.  And if she saw a dog well it was not mine.  I never even asked for any money back.  I just wanted an explanation and an opportunity to get in front of the neighbor.  I got zip.

Funny, I put myself out here on this community page that is mainly Air BnB hosts.  I'm not very liked here but I really don't care.  What I don't like to be accused of something I did not do.  

Time to move on!  Thank you your feedback!

[Mark116]

@Dora441  Thanks for the update.  I'm not sure how you thought airbnb was ever going to compel a total stranger unaffiliated with the platform to 'get in front of you' for questioning, especially since no one asked for damages or a refund.  

[Dora441]

@Mark116 About the neighbor, I didn't expect Air BNB to talk to the neighbor.  What I was trying to say is that I never had the chance to meet the neighbor and see what they were talking about and what they possibly saw.  It would have been nice to have been give a chance to talk to the neighbor as I was close to getting asked to leave within 24 hours of my arrival.  

[Helen3]

It does seem strange that a host would insist a guest had brought a dog when there was no evidence that this was the case.

@Dora441 in your situation, if you were truly unhappy, I would have asked Airbnb to help me find an alternative listing. 

It's a shame that you sent this host a follow up email  calling the host unprofessional and left your rather strange review in response to the hosts very decent one. . If you had left well alone and left a neutral review likely this wouldn't have happened.

Sadly if I had you as a potential guest and saw your response, I wouldn't want to host you, not because of what

 the host said, but because of what you did.

I would move on.

[Dora441]

@Helen3 thank you for your feedback.  My review was honest and factual.  I did not bring my dog.  I will die saying that.  😀