REVIEWS

[Karen1926]

   I'm a new host on Airbnb. I've had a very bad experience hosting..  It concerns a bad review. Most was due to construction on adjacent property (disclosed in my listing in terms of both days and hours expected).  

  A guest named Kara checked in for 28 days. I live in the condo complex where she rented.

   I checked her in and  contacted her on the Airbnb message system a few days afterward  to make sure that the condo met her expectations. I received a message back from her on that system saying everything was fine.

   I saw her several times during her stay.  Each time I was told everything was fine.

  After she checked out, she left me a horrible review. Literally the worst review I have ever seen on the site. I called Airbnb and the representative told me that because I gave the hours and days of expected construction on adjoining land, and because Kara had time to message me or Airbnb to express dissatisfaction anytime during the 28 days, Airbnb would remove the review.

  Kara had stated in her review that she was unaware of the construction.  There were a lot of other odd complaints in her review like a single bug crawled in and the knives weren't sharp enough.  The initial rep I spoke with said my listing was clear and noted that i even priced the unit way below market rate, due to the construction.  Additionally, the rep said the guest had ample chances to contact me about any issue given that I live onsite.

   I thought the problem was settled. Unfortunately a different representative of Airbnb decided to reverse the decision.  In her email to me she states  "the decision is final."

   Due to the timing of the removal of the review and then the replacement of the negative review, I am not even allowed to respond .  Worse, the Airbnb representative will not call me to explain this. Any suggestions from the community ? 

[Andrea2893]

Try requesting a new case manager or even their supervisor review the case again to ensure a correct solution is provided.

[Karen1926]

Thank you I'll try that tomorrow.   

[Pete69]

Try and fix the things she complained about. Is there a door sweep under the front door?

Is the mattress really lumpy? The mattress is one of THE most important things for your stay. You can stick flattened cardboard boxes under a mattress to make it flat again if over time it has become concave. Consider adding a mattress topper.

As far as the construction I guess all you can do is let people know what hours they are at work.

Dull knives? I hardly think that is at the top of anyone's list of deal breakers.

Don't sweat it. There's an Extended Stay America hotel in Woodland Hills, CA with tons of 1 star reviews on Yelp. People just continue to stay there because it's cheap....

[Karen1926]

The mattress and everything in the condo is about 6 months old. the mattress is on a bedframe with wood slats added for additional support. There is both a waterproof liner and a mattress pad.  There is a security door. Knives were purchased new and are 6 months old. If the review didn't get removed and then put back by Airbnb, at least I could write a short response.