Guest revised review after I requested damages

Robert1572
Level 1
Calgary, Canada

Guest revised review after I requested damages

Hi everyone, 

I have been a host on AirBNB for a few years now. For the most part, I rent to people who are looking to stay long-term and my experience has been good up until recently.

 

Back in December, I rented to a guy who was doing some renovations on his house, he mentioned he wanted to stay in my house with his GF and her dog. He also happened to be an AirBNB host so I thought he was trustworthy. 

 

A few days after he left I noticed some major damage on my kitchen table and chairs. His dog had chewed off the corner and he glued it back on and painted over it.

 

"...dog chipped the edge of the table and that she glued the cornerback and that there wasn't much damage. Im sorry I didn't know and let me know if you need anything else." 


I then provided him with pictures of the damage and he got really upset when I showed him the value of the table ($150). He then offered about half the price for the table. Having had proof I figured that AirBNB support would help me out in this situation.   

 

I am not too upset about the table but what really bothers me is that after bringing this incident forward my user review from this guest has been edited and reduced. It was previously a 5-star review but he somehow managed to have to reduce after my rightful attempt to get my table replaced. I now have an overall rating that falls short of the 4.7 target. 

 

Being that someone damaged my house and didn't report it I feel this is very unfair. How is it fair that he can reduce his review after damaging items and not telling me? How could have I handled this situation differently?

 

8 Replies 8
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Robert1572  I've never heard of either a host or a guest being able to change their review ratings once they've been submitted. In fact, Airbnb tells guests and hosts this over and over- if they say they made a mistake, accidentally hit 3 stars when they meant to leave 5, etc.

Are you sure it was this guest's star rating that brought you down? You actually saw that he'd rated 5*s and now you see it's been changed?

Yes, it was previously rated 5-stars. 

 

I had a long-term guest staying in my house so it had been a few months since I checked. I saw that this review how now been downgraded to 4 stars and that the Cleanliness and Value stars were reduced to 4. 

 

I would like the option to reduce his review as well since he tried to hide damage from me. 

 

I think the worst part is now they say there is a basic requirement that needs my attention. They want me to strive for an overall rating of 4.7, it used to be 4.8 and now it is down to 4.5. 

 

I feel like this is a harsh way to punish a guest when you consider that my house was damaged and the review was only downgraded after we the guest took offence to the small claim I requested.

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Robert1572 

it is not possible to do this, unless the guest was still within the 48 hours given to edit a review (when host did not wrote a review yet), and you submitted the claim just withinin this period of time, so an unlucky coincedence for you.

BTW I also do not see a negative review in your profile.

Best regards,

Emiel

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Emiel1  But if the guest edited the review before it was published, I don't see how the host could see the star rating on a pre-edited review, as it hadn't been published yet?

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Sarah977 

Yes, you are right, then @Robert1572  could not have known what the guest initially wrote / rated.So the only option left is Airbnb took some action, but as you mentioned allready: it is very unlikely they did this.

There were no changes to what the guest had wrote but my review was downgraded from 5 stars to 4 stars. 

 

My overall rating went from a 4.8 to a 4.5. I am now below the target. This is particularly harmful to me because I do long-term rentals so it takes me some time to get a larger quantity of reviews.

 

Thanks for your thoughts, I get that you think it is unlikely but it is the facts.

i have the same problem with you just not the same damages at home,and i dont know why airbnb gives the opportunity to this people to lying in the reviews and gives us bad reviews only we requested the money that they damage our home,and not only this but i can not reply to her review. I know how are you feeling,believe me!if the airbnb gives you any solution about this problem please let me know,it will help me a lot!

i Hope all the best for you!

Best regards,

Klara

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

This post is really confusing me and I don't think it is possible for the star rating to ‘change.' @Robert1572, please call Airbnb and ask them what is going on!