@Laura_C
You wrote, "There was actually a regulatory requirement around that exact use case I believe that we needed to comply with"
Well, not quite...
Following an intervention by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the summer of 2017, Airbnb agreed to change its online reviews policy, effective worldwide from August 31st of that year.
The main point of contention was that previously, guests who cancelled their stay or left early - because the accommodation was substandard, for example - weren't permitted to leave a review, with the unfortunate result that some of the very worst listings escaped the negative reviews they deserved.
The CMA ruling's primary objective was to redress that imbalance, and to allow guests who had cut short their stay, either on or after day of check-in, to leave honest feedback, so future guests could be forewarned of the listing's deficiencies. Nowhere in the ruling did it decree that guests who had never set foot in a property, should be permitted to review - for whatever unfathomable reasons, that little addendum was thrown in by Airbnb itself.
Obviously, to permit guests who have never so much as entered a space, to leave public commentary on pertinent aspects of a listing/stay, that they couldn't possibly have any first-hand knowledge of (cleanliness, value, accuracy, location etc) makes a mockery of the self-proclaimed "integrity" and "transparency" of the Airbnb review system, and is at best, farcical - and at worst, fraudulent.
An Airbnb spokesperson said at the time, “Open and honest reviews are core to making Airbnb a trusted travel platform for millions of hosts and guests in 191 countries around the world. We are committed to doing all we can to facilitate meaningful and authentic connections across our global community"
To ensure fair and ethical treatment of the host community in relation to the review process, we urgently request that Airbnb duly honours its stated commitment to facilitating openness, honesty, and authenticity in its review system, by removing the ability for guests who have never laid eyes on our homes, to simply fabricate or contrive their appraisals of our listings, based on criteria of which they could have absolutely no personal experience or knowledge.
TIA.
