Guest revenge review

[Geri26]

Both my listings in my home have been flagged as 'basic requirements need work' and a minus star review.  I believe it is  because of one person who posted a revenge review.  How do I check that it is not just the rating/review (details following) or if he also reported me as I have reported him?

Altough this  person (I refuse to call him a guest) arrived at my home clearly smelling of cigarette smoke - I've ticked the no smoking box, I only asked that he smoke outside as I was trying to do the right thing.
The booking was from Tues to Tues so 7 nights as the person was looking for permanent accomodation in the area.  When I was chatting to the person on Sunday, I asked how his search was going.  He said he hadnt found anything and mentioned he would extend his stay with me.  I told him that was not possible as another guest had booked for the day of his departure.  That is where the nastiness began....

About 3 o'clock in the afternoon on the Monday, ie the last night of the stay, the person sent a message that he had left my premises and taken his belongings as he had found somewhere else to go.  His message also said 'I still have the key with me' and then proceeded to ask for a refund of the last night.

I  felt intimidated and that he was holding my key for ransom until his refund was approved so I rang Customer Support quite distressed as soon as I got home telling them I did not want to have anything further to do with this person.  I am a single mother and did not ever really feel comfortable with this person in my home (another victim of the facesless IB proces).  I also sent a message to the person asking why he felt the need to keep my key and for him to return it by 7.30pm (I didnt want to face him in the dark) and that I had referred his refund request to Airbnb.  Reading his reviews of other guests, I suspected this person would rate low because he just had that vibe about him and he had use of my home for the better part of the day which is why I did not thiink his refund request was resonable.

The person then made the reservation change to his booking request so he could get a refund.  By this time I was in the middle of an online conversation with Customer Support as I wanted to know how to block him from futher messages as  his intimidation tactics were scaring me.  All they would say was that a refund was up to me and that I had to accept or decline the change request, which I did not want to do as I felt that any decline from me rather than Airbnb would inflame the situation - I was right.

I then left a review giving the person 3 stars on everything (he did not communicate his intention to leave early; he broke house rules with his smoking and left 3 half full coffee cups in the room) I also said that as a a single mother the guest was not a good fit for our family - nothing defamatory but a warning I hope to other women.

Within an hour he had also left his review - 'stinky house' were his only words, an overall rating of 1star and ticked every single box on cleanliness - clearly revenge rating because I didn't accept his refund nor extend his stay.  I have been in a war of words with Customer Service all week who said they would only remove the review if it violated content policy.  Because he didnt explictly say he was holding my key until he got his refund (no-one is that stupid), Airbnb does not consider it a violation of policy - the review and rating are still there 3 days later and now both of my listings are under threat, even though he only stayed in one room, hence my suspicion he has reported me.  All of my other ratings and reviews are 4 & 5 star and I have been a superhost for the better part of my 12months hosting.

I have reluctantly changed my listing to females preferred but am shattered that Airbnb did not take my safety concerns seriously and are allowing this person to get away with this.

I am shattered and really want to name and shame this person to warn other hosts but suspect it is agains the rules.

[Lisa723]

@Geri26 if you browse recent posts on this forum you will see that Airbnb currently has a technical problem that is affecting most or all listings this way.

[Geri26]

Ah. Found the negative star issue  - thanks Lisa.  Doesn't solve my revenge problem but nice to know they are not related.   I feel so sick about this whole incident however and how it has been handled. Even if there are issues, they should at least hide such reviews until they have been confirmed or canned.

[Ute42]

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@Geri26 

You should have told Your "guest" that he can get a refund, but first he has to return the key.

And than later reject the refund.

People like this need special treatment.

[Geri26]

"guest's' will always do what they want Ute and he would have reviewed badly anyway based on his others, it is how ABB manage the fallout that I'm finding so distressing but thanks for connecting 🙂

[Elizabeth610]

Please call Airbnb asap.  They have a bug in their system.  I called them today. All my recents guests have left 5 Star reviews and I review all my guests , so this rating is not acurate and false. That is all I know. 

[Elizabeth610]

I hope that we can please take the personal attacks out of the reviews.. when we write them and when we read them.. there should be no personal comments or observations outside of the Communication, Following House Rules and Cleanliness etc  If hosts or guests have an issue, it should be a private comment and dealt directly with Airbnb. 

[Geri26]

I am more than happy to take all feedback on board however it is provided and to act on it if it is valid, but this person first tried intimidation to get his unwarrented refund and then reviewed the worst he could because he didn't get it.

I did not dignify his review with a tirade, just commented that  given his behaviour I expcted nothing less from him. My review of him was also not defamatory - I just wanted other single women to be aware I did not feel comfortable with him in our home.  Guests will say and do whatever they want under the current system - it is the way revenge reviews are managed by ABB that I have concerns with as his behaviour has left me feeling concerned about my safety both with him still in my area and future males guests.

[Yadira22]

Hi @Geri26 

Hope you are well and thank you for being honest regarding this guest. As you must have seen already the majority of guests are truly lovely people- this person seems to be an exception.

Your stats seem to be able to absorb the poor rating and as he only mentions “stinky house” in the review it truly does not violate Airbnb’s Rules but yes- Airbnb should definitely have a more precise way of dealing with revenge reviews.

One thing you can say is that as you refused to refund his money for the last night then it could be considered one related to extortion- Airbnb does take this seriously especially if you mention the fact that he took the keys as backed by your conversation with this guest. 

A small suggestion would be to also Update your house rules to state 

“Any antisocial behaviour expressed by the guest(s) including but not limited to bullying, intimatidation, racial slurs, etc exhibited towards any member of this household (living or passing by) or our neighbours  under no circumstance would be tolerated. In fact this would be automatically reported to Airbnb and subsequently you will be asked to leave the premises and never to return, without refund for any remainder nights of your stay.”

We have this in our listing and since then people have been more respectful and we have had no Issues! Anything that takes away from your peace is usually not worth it- and he is most definitely not. 

I really do wish you a lovely day! 

Kidnest regards,

Yadira 🙂

[Geri26]

Thanks for reaching out Yadira.  I agree that I can absorb his comment which is why I gave a limited response.  The one star rating is a different issue as I thought this was why my superhost status was in question - its since been pointed out this is likely to be unrelated but it still irks me.  As does this person being able to get away with it unscathed.
Its the intimidation tactic that scared me the most and ABB lack of interest in my safety.  I have been arguing with them all week about this person but they dont consider still having my keys in the same sentence as asking for a refund as extortion.  I did get the keys back after they rang him but he does know where I live now.
Thanks for your additional words - I'll look at adding them 🙂  In the meantime I've made this space unavailble until May and indicated females only are preferrred - not my ideal position but all I can think of at the moment.

[Yadira22]

@Geri26 

also maybe remove the instant booking function of your listing and add to the title “females only”. Hang tight and things will work out. 

Given your passes experience with him you can also flag his account or at block him. Given the negative review people will think twice before hosting him. 

I wish you all the best and I have also heard that Airbnb is really responsive on Twitter- might be another avenue worth looking at as to get what you want from the situation.  😊

[Geri26]

Thanks Yadira.  Have both reported and blocked him so just need to move on now 🙂 No guests in house until tomorrow so having a pyjama day to lift my spirits before the revolving door starts again tomorrow.  Thanks for the ear all. It has been good to vent...

[Sarah977]

@Geri26   I second Yadira's suggestion to take yourself off Instant Book. I'm also a single woman who hosts in my home and I've never used Instant Book. I don't limit to females, and all my male guests have been nice, respectful guys. 

Not using IB can of course lower your search ranking, and you may not get as many bookings, but for me, the peace of mind in being able to communicate with guests before approving a booking is worth the trade-off. I can't imagine feeling comfortable with total strangers being allowed to book my place without some message contact first. Plus I want to read their reviews and see what kind of reviews they've left for past hosts.

[Geri26]

I have done IB in the past and have still declined guests I had a bad gut feel about but have now turned if off for this room.

[Geri26]

I just received notification that ABB do not consider that  this person violated content policy and the review/rating stand.  I have snoozed my bookings and will delist my property as soon as  the 13 pending reservations  are fulfilled.  I refuse to be associated with any company  who wilfully and deliberately hide behind policy's to avoid doing the right thing.