It is outrageous and unfair if a guest does not show up and they get to write a review

[Anthony48]

This is happening to me once a month or so, and I do not understand why Airbnb puts Superhosts and hosts through a real stressful multi step process to remove a review that should never have been allowed in the first place. To be clear:

- No show

- no notification (this is fine)

- no message interaction 

- when contacting them, it’s usually cancelled flights, and not in any way our fault. (We are next to the airport and really convenient,  but it comes with these type problems)

Magically the next day they get to write a review about our home when they never got near it, never checked-in, never in got in the same state. 

There is NO REASON they should be permitted to evaluate a host. If they aren’t entitled to a refund, this can make it even worse, and they can blame us for our clear cancellation policy. We have sometimes been forced to “bribe” a no show, virtually begging them to please not review us in exchange for a partial refund they absolutely do not deserve.

you can contact Airbnb and plead your case, but the answer is always NO at level one. You must demand a case manager, and it is always strongly implied it won’t make a difference. You must further fight to go up higher, and demand the stars and commentary be removed, and it is still discretionary. This is OUTRAGEOUS and TOTALLY UNFAIR. The guests NEVER got anywhere your home or experience or interact with you even by message, yet they get to make up some imaginary review based on your refund policy, which they WILL punish you for.

airbnb reps try EVERYTHING to discourage you and leave the absurd review from someone who cancelled or never showed up. They claim the reviews are not unkind or unreasonable, they say you are “doing well and 3 stars one time is no big deal”. They will say OVER AND OVER THERE IS NOTHING THEY CAN DO. this is infuriating! Why are we forced to fight for something that should not be allowed in the first place!

i have had them removed, but the multi level phone calls always take at least one hour, and this is absurd, unfair, and needs a policy.  NO GUEST SHOULD REVIEW A RESERVATION THAT THEY CANCEL OR DO NOT SHOW UP FOR WITH NO FAULT OF THE HOST.

[Anthony48]

Tagging me for that link has sent me down a rabbit hole of reading hundreds of posts in that thread that has raised my blood pressure ten points. Thank you - but I might blow my stack from the lack of concern or fairness from AirBNB who otherwise - over three years, and always impressed me and helped me in a way that I can say has set very high standards. This single issue is outrageous, right there up front on it's face. I want to fight as much as possible, but can't find people on Twitter or ways to stay involved in this. It also looks all one month old from mid-July and I don't know what has happened since then.

[Susan17]

The thread is actually from July 2018, @Anthony48, so more than a year old now. And despite hosts constantly fighting against it and raising the issue again and again with Airbnb, nothing has changed. Same sh*t, different day...  😞

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Susan17 @Anthony48 

Retaliatory reviews have been a contentious issue since 2017 - and nothing's been done about those either.

@Laura_C has a team on this one so a couple of weeks should have it sorted...

[Dawn81]

@Anthony48 @Ute42 I read the response from Airbnb in the link that you posted ute42. Essentially it's just a combination mish-mosh with no resolution and common sense to any issue of how can a guest who's never seen your listing review it. I'm sure that it would be very easy for Airbnb to have its programmers write code so that at the beginning of the review process the question can be asked whether or not the person actually stayed at the listing. If they cannot answer that question in the affirmative then the review could revert to a review about airbnb's overall performance as a company. This should never be on the host nor should the host be able to review the guests as if they personally met and interacted with a guest who stayed in their home. This is so simple it's Child's Play. Airbnb is playing a game I don't understand what the goal is but none of this should even be an issue and should have been resolved 100 years ago.

[Julia1238]

You are 100% correct Anthony! This is something Airbnb could correct IF they wanted to.

[Kira32]

@Anthony48 

I still don't understand why guests get to write a review when they cancelled or not showing up.

Ridiculous!

[Maria409]

I absolutely agree with Kristina. We try veryhard to have everything done and ready on time and then some guests simply because they did not read our ads and see the pictures when they arrive they leave immediately. It is true if they are unhappy better leave than stay. The Airbnb system knows when it happens ( because they cancel the booking), so no reviews from from sides.

[John1902]

I feel your pain.  My first four star review was from a couple who came for 15 minutes and left as the wife didn't like dogs.  It's plastered on my listing that I have dogs.  It's like the guy who gave me a four star review for accuracy of photos and saying that I didn't make it explicit there was no window in the room described as "underground lit by three skylights " and with photos of all walls available. You're getting penalised for them not reading your listing.  And it can take a while before your average recovers from a four star review.

I guess the theory is that for every review that marks you down unfairly theres 

Ikely at least one that marked you up when you didn't deserve it or one that didn't write and would have had something to criticise. 

But it becomes more important than ever. Worrying tho I just looked at the search  listings and instead of 5 stars against my listing, my average to 2 decimal places is put there now.  We have never had to consider the differences between superhosts and whether 4.95 makes you a significantly better host than one with 4.87.  That's such a ridiculous level of granularity that I don't remember being warned about.  And if fundamentally changes things. Superboy were a set of targets above which you had to stay.  It was 4.8.  Now it's largely irrelevant ifpeopke will just look at the number of stars. It devalues superhost status entirely and now those stupid reviews wiOk become ever more important  

[Tammy208]

@Laura_C 

I am in a similar situation now.  My guest never showed and has not reached out to me.  Air bnb asks me to review my guests in order to see the guests review.  If I do not complete a review on this individual (as I cannot honestly say how he was as a guest) will his review, if he completes one sit idle until I do a review.

Perhaps Airbnb could have a "did you check in?" for guest and for the host "did your guest check in?".  If there is a discrepancy between the two responses then the questionnaire would go further.  "Did you leave for any of the following reasons ..... cleanliness, unsafe etc?"  for guest and for the host "Did they have to leave because they refused to follow the rules?".  As hosts we work hard to provide our guests with outstanding service.  As an Air bnb guest myself, I know I rely on reviews and the information provided to me by Air bnb before I book a place to stay.  I would hate to think that the reviews I see are not based on REAL circumstances.  

[Christine2011]

I think that is an excellent Idea!  You should voice this to AirBNB.  They collect fees from our clients that they add on and "claim" that they are to help us as hosts improve upon our hosting experiences...

[Rosa580]

Don't know how someone who never been to your house should be allowed to write a review. Airbnb need to get this straight. Enough of this nonsense. I'm refusing to write a review until they get this straight. 

[Christine2011]

I am a newbie to this, but I have a STRICT reservation checked..  which means that if the client cancels, they pay a portion of the fee(s) Check just to make sure I am correct.  This may deter the cancellations a bit. 

[Barbara126]

This  has  happened to me too..  Very frustrating!!  Guests booked on the wrong island and blamed me!  Then, they left a horrible review because I kept to my cancellation policy.  It totally threw off my hosting status -  It is really unfair that a guest somehow gives a review on something they never experienced.  It makes NO SENSE.

[David--Bubba0]

Does Airbnb support any Hosts any more? 
They have not helped or even agreed with me on any problem in a long time. I also see situations as ridiculous as a No-Show Guest getting to leave a review happening to other owners. 

Airbnb decided to change the city and zip code for my property location. Guests started leaving me bad reviews and low scores which caused me to lose my Superhost status plus 100% of my Airbnb income ~ no rentals & $0.00 for 8 months. The only item in our profiles Airbnb locks us out of to be able to Edit or make any changes is your address. Their new worthless Call Center who do nothing but say their FAQ out-loud with a Filipino accent and will not budge and are a total waste of time. Airbnb's incorrect info caused me to receive low scores for things like Accuracy, Check-in & Overall Score and I lost my Superhost but also I can not be in their "Work Collection" and their home improvement loan program plus all my rental income. When I asked for suggestions for paying my monthly mortgage, insurance, property taxes, etc. with no income Airbnb never responded.

This week I had a departing Guest who had previously played & squeezed me for 2 discounts Repeat Renter with guy I bought from 5.5 years ago plus a Senior Citizen discount. When she was checking out she threaten me with bad reviews if I did not give her a third discount for all of her complaints. I did not refund her for a third time so she left bad reviews and low scores so I reported her under Airbnb's Extortion clause. When the Philippines contacted me it was quickly clear they weren't going to help me. He kept reciting their SOP handbook. The best he did was agree with me and offer me to write a rebuttal under the Guest's inaccurate (provable) and exaggerated (obviously) review and I told him what will they do about my now false scores. Situations like this they can not explain and eventually seem foolish when their only answer is Airbnb Handbook-101.

Now I have gone from losing my Superhost status and all of my income and receiving daily notifications that I am a bad host and what I need to work on. Highly insulting and not helpful or even accurate in my case. Now their support for reporting being Extorted treating bad reviews and actually leaving one ~ is I am told to leave a response, no answer regarding my unearned low scores and now I get daily notifications from Airbnb that I may not even meet their minimum Host Requirements which could jeapordize my status with them?

My situation is not funny or fair and putting my $700K investment, cash flow, amount of borrowing even my biz and credit at risk has become a serious situation for me. I find it infuriating to not get any answer from a human Airbnb person than I can find on their confusing web site switching over to Host.

Sorry to hijack your question but ours seemed similar and I would sure appreciate any positive advise since it is clear I won't get it from Airbnb. Thank you. 

[Arie6975]

@Catherine-Powellsays she is our partner.  No partner would allow a guest who never stayed at my place, and never met me, leave a review.

Why on earth does someone who canceled their trip for reasons that had nothing to do with me or my space get to leave a review on my listing???.

Its ridiculous at best.  Often  when guests  cancel, or cancel last minute  they have  charges  for a bookings they never used so they want to leave bad reviews due to their own ill feelings about their loss of money.

Hosts are then forced to battle with Airbnb's multi step frustrating process to have the review removed.

Isn't it just better to not let a guest who never dealt with me, and never stayed at my place my place NOT leave a review in the first place?