Guest didn't stay but left a bad review

[Jarrah0]

I had a guest book for a few nights that said they would check in after hours around 9pm.

I said this was no problem as I leave the key out for my guests in a locked mailbox with a three digit code. I explained this to her and gave her the address, number and code. My last message was "Let me know if you have any troubles and I hope you enjoy your stay!" 

On the on night the guest was due to check in I messaged just after 9pm to make sure everything was fine and they had check-in okay. This is something I do with all my guests. I live in the building but want to give my guests the freedom to check in when they want, especially after hours.

I received no reply until close to midnight, with my guest saying they had booked a hotel instead because they could not access my apartment when they arrived at 9pm. Saying "I’m happy to not leave feedback as it can happen".

When asked what the issue was that was stopping her from getting in, she said the mailbox did not open.

I went and checked the box, it opened without any friction or trouble, just as it always has for the last three years. It is a simple three digit code. Over two hundred people have used that mailbox lock, never have i ever had anyone mention it being any trouble to open.

I apologised for her troubles and asked why she did not tell me when this was an issue for her. Asked why she did not reply to my messages until hours after, when it was too late.

To this she said she "did not want to bother me" and "Oh well. I’m not really a fussy human. I think we should never sweat the small stuff."

I explained to her that I could not see any issue with access and it was unfortunate that she did not reply to my messages and tell me about her trouble as I was only a few meters away and could have solved the situation in seconds.

She then asked for a refund but said "I’ll leave that up to you as I understand you may have your own policies."

I told her I could refund the cleaning fee as I would not need to do that now for the next guest, but I have Airbnb's strict cancelation policy so the booking would not be refunded as it was her decision to not reply to my messages and "not want to bother me".

This guest then wrote a review that was fairly vague but still a little negative, telling other guests to "watch out for the lock".

But her rating is what really got to me, she gave 1 star for everything. How could she review something she never stayed in. 1 star for cleanliness, value, accuracy... etc. That is not right. What else could I have done?

I have now lost my superhost status because this guest "did not want to bother me"

I have tried to get her review removed and reported her profile weeks ago but nothing has happened.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jarrah0  call Airbnb again, as far as I know, they will remove the review from the guest who never checked in and stayed.

[Kaylee18]

@Jarrah0   I had a guest not show up and he also left all 1 stars with no review. I called ABB customer support and they immediately removed the review. They should definitely do the same thing for you and if you already spoke with them, try calling again and talking to another rep. 

[Jarrah0]

Thanks for your response. I hadn't called Airbnb as I find it a little tedious to get on to them. 

Airbnb make it quite hard to do this, in Australia at least.

If there is a phone number for Airbnb on the site or app, it is impossible to find and I have never had any luck. I have found a few number from googling that I will try tomorrow. 

[Hunter49]

they have not done so for me on many occasions where guests never showed up

[Flavia195]

@Jarrah0 hi. We understood that Airbnb keep almost 90% the guests side. 

[Cormac0]

@Jarrah0 

What you can you do, is come to terms with the fact that the super host status has lost all creditability and is a tyranny imposed on us by Airbnb, and forget about it.

Any reasonable organisation would alter a system that allowed such a circumstance evolve and react very judicially to rectify it, not so Airbnb! so please do not buy into the Airbnb propaganda about community they don’t give a nmaD.

Money, Money, Money must be funny it’s a rich man’s world.

I work all night, I work all day, to pay the bills I have to pay
Ain't it sad.