Please look closer Einstein, and thanks for listening and caring. You ought to see behind the scenes...There is a big difference between a review written with words in text, which was the onus of this law you reference, and the "RATINGS" game with NUMBERS and STARS. The "PRODUCT," the name by which airbnb refers to the RATINGS system, involves 6 Categories in which the guest is allowed to give 1 to 5 STARS. When a guest CANCELS or NO-Shows (never appears for Check-In), they are nonetheless encouraged to complete a "Review." In order to move past STEP ONE of the "Review" process, the guest must fill in STARS for items they have NOT experienced, such as CHECK-IN, CLEANLINESS, ACCURACY, VALUE... They would likely have to just make something up, as they must fill in something in order to get to the next step where they can use words and comments and free-form text. For someone who has cancelled and not received a refund because of the Cancellation Policy, this is apparently the token provided by the corporation to demonstrate some semblance of value in having the ability to leave comments, even if the reservation was cancelled.Kind of like, "no, we won't give your money back, but you CAN write a review." Wouldn't it seem hosts are taking the hit and being played on this one?
Ok...so, darn. This becomes the avenue of retaliation for a guest who never shows up and doesn't have the courtesy to write or call, never sees the listing, but not only gets to say whatever they please in the review, they get to fill in however many stars they fancy. Ever had someone act dumb about it? "Is 1 Star good or bad?"
AB&B Support says its just the way the "SYSTEM" is and there's nothing they can do about it. I'm asking and calling for more...actual amendment to the SYSTEM and PRODUCT, so that guests who NO-SHOW or CANCEL are not encouraged, allowed, forced...whatever you call it, to complete RATINGS in Categories they have NOT EXPERIENCED. To do so would be to create a FALSE REVIEW not based on Experience, which obviously VIOLATES the most basic principle of the REVIEW CONTENT POLICY....that a review be based on actual experience.
