The public-statement outlet for Airbnb’s authoring hosts to review the consumer, puts the guest in danger and endangers the public.

Matt434
Level 3
Reston, VA

The public-statement outlet for Airbnb’s authoring hosts to review the consumer, puts the guest in danger and endangers the public.

  1. I’m aware of a female traveler guest who was compromised; her safety was put in danger by the Airbnb host, and she did not speak out or protest, in fear of a false public statement review against her by the host.
  2. I know another traveler who did not speak out to the host or Airbnb when there was a violation to her safety, because of her fear of the host's public review retaliation.
  3. I have recently been subjected to a host with no experience in long-term business guest hosting, is an undisclosed do-it-yourself cleaner, charging cleaning fees, who initiated direct contact with me to demand access to the unit for personal conveniences on the 27th day of my 30 day business lease.  We had conflicting beliefs and health practices during the height of the pandemic.  He left a retaliatory public false statement, attacked my character, and complained of having to clean more than his one-nighter guests.  One Airbnb representative removed the slander and attack. Another representative of Airbnb weeks later put the review back and also gave me a warning based on personal assumptions. It caused great emotional pain.
  4. A false, careless, or slanderous accusatory statement put in the public eye against a consumer, from an Airbnb host-representative is dangerous to the public, the consumer, and Airbnb community. It is cyber bullying.
  5. This poker chip held in the host’s hand is used to intimidate and stifle the guest from taking safety precautions; execute wise actions and causes the guest to avoid responsible behavior. 
  6. In addition, the residual effect of false statements against the new, unwarned traveling guest put in public, causes emotional damage, and potential long-term depression.
  7. Airbnb does little to nothing to educate or enforce its current and new hosts regarding professional cleaning and property management practices.
  8. The long-term guest is completely different than the one-nighter guest, and requires different levels of management, communication, and levels of cleaning for turnover. The long-term thirty-night guest is looked on as a tenant and an expense by the inexperienced host, after about 3 nights.
  9. New hosts come on board who have no experience with guest travel themselves, no experience cleaning, no experience running a business, have fragmented, unstable relationships with cleaning companies.
  10. A host ‘s name in the listing is just a brand name but the author behind a host review against the consumer is anyone.  The author is often the host’s cleaning company, neighbor, children, wife, husband, partner, whoever.  The author is usually responsible for having to turn over the property for the next guest, and the one who will vent in public against the consumer.
  11. The host is an absentee landlord living in another zip code, city, state, or country from the space he/she sells. The host might not own their property. The host does not see the guest, know the guest.  There's very little credibility and possibility to review the human-product consumer that the author has no encounter with.
  12. This type of review often defaults to the host complaining, bashing, and authoring against the consumer about having to clean and turn over the property.
  13. Airbnb is lax, lenient and lets anything be posted in the public by the host representative. Airbnb does not know who the author is, what is truth is, they have their own personal opinions in attack on character, and they do and not do what is in their own best interest. Then they let anything else stick.
  14. Airbnb does little to nothing to police the review. Airbnb defaults to some sort of a host volunteer community support system and via email.  They are held prisoner by their own policy maker, confused on how to interpret author’s verbiage and default to leaving something up.  In my incident, the Airbnb rep took down a review, and then another rep put it back up a week later afterwards causing incredible pain, and trauma.
  15. The review system against the consumer must be changed.  As we speak currently there are guests right now in situations in reserved stranger’s space. They are put in compromising positions with their health and safety, and they are not speaking up because they are afraid of the public statements being put against them. Airbnb enables, excuses, and passively supports cyber bullying. 
  16. There is no consumer protection during the stay up and after checkout. After check-out, Airbnb claims the host is private proprietary property indefinitely. After receipt of payment and vacating the property, Airbnb says the consumer may have no further contact with the business owner or else they will intervene and threaten.
  17. There needs to be change and oversight. Airbnb needs to be regulated and the review system needs to be changed.  There can no longer be any open statements by anonymous hosts against consumers.
  18. I'm calling on Airbnb to stop the public comment system in the review against the consumer now.
  19. I'm calling on you to support the consumer guest’s existing and future reservations by contacting your local city, state and federal officials asking for Airbnb to cease its careless activity and business conduct. Take action to protect yourself and other innocent consumer guests. around the world.
9 Replies 9
Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Matt434 Why do you keep using Airbnb if it is so awful?

Johanna394
Level 10
Tampere, Finland

@Matt434 

 

How curious that you should fail to leave out examples of terrible guests hosts on AIRBNB have had to suffer and deal with, as if Airbnb is some paradise for hosts.

 

Once again, for your own sake - move on and find somewhere else to stay. I find it odd even, how you would keep using the platform you so seem to abhor 

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Matt434 What is the purpose of these posts?  You never engage with anyone or answer any questions.  You must be up to almost a dozen? of these posts, always the same thing, always the same points, never any engagement.

 

It is also patently false that a negative review has any meaningful consequences on a guest, most certainly nothing like 'odd requests' or 'not as clean as we expected' level of extremely mild commentary.

 

Why don't you stop using Airbnb if you find it is abridging your rights, and dangerous and everything else you post over and over and over and over again.

 

There is no reason why any host should have to diclose who cleaned the space, as long as it is clean it does not matter if it was the host, the host's son, neighbor, a local cleaning crew, a professional cleaning crew, a CDC hazmat cleaning crew.  The space is either clean or not.  If a guest has questions about the cleanining or expectations they can [drum roll] ask the host before booking.

 

 

M199
Level 10
South Bruce Peninsula, Canada

@Matt434 

 

Look at some of the offensive guest actions against hosts, for example the recent party and shooting of youth in Philadelphia. Where does the responsibility lay. 

 

Airbnb is designed for short term rentals, not long term stays. This has been well noted on this site.

 

Airbnb is a marketing platform for 1 million plus small businesses who are as unique as their guests.

 

It is the guests responsibility to vet the listing by reading everything, asking questions and feeling comfortable, and it's the hosts responsibility to vet the guests, each before confirming a booking.

 

Absentee landlords, be cautious.  Lots of us (either personally or through a Co-host) meet and greet every guest, no matter what and live their lives around satisfying guests.  Please do not lump all hosts as being remote.

 

With regards to the review system, guests are rated on 3 items....Hosts 7.  So, really, you are correct,  it is not fair.

 

Airbnb is a middleman marketer, no more than that.

 

I could say more, but, I will not.

 

I hope that you see the other side.  Rather than complaining, may I  respectfully suggest that you become a host for a year or so.  Even if just a private shared room.

 

I truly believe that at the end, your perpective will be very different.

 

All the best going forward.

 

 

Andrea4731
Level 10
West Palm Beach, FL

@Matt434 😂😂😂 I just can’t anymore. 

as if hosts are not subject to the same review process?! 

I really don’t get why you keep ranting on here…

Kate867
Level 10
Canterbury, United Kingdom

@Matt434   Again?  Seriously?  I just can’t be bothered to read it all.  In all your posts you have been clearly told by people that your review was not that bad.  Not once has anyone supported your point of view and you refuse to engage with anyone here.. so why?  Personally, I think you need to find something better to do with your time rather than constantly assaulting people on this forum with these endless negative complaints about Airbnb and their Hosts, two of which incidentally were posted on Christmas Eve and New Years Day.  After this reply I am no longer going to respond as I suspect that it will just enable you to continue with your attention seeking rants.  Perhaps when people stop responding you will divert your attention to more productive things.

@Kate867 Where does he even find the time? 😅 I too will be ignoring his posts moving forward… hopefully he finds something more productive to do.

Grant19
Level 2
Sydney, Australia

as a long standing host of several of my properties over many years-there are guests who just are not suited to the shared community.  Airbnb are certainly staring to ignore good hosts and stop them from making claims against a false and illegal claim by a guest to get her money back after she vacated a house. not raising any issue while staying of the secret phots she took and sent a coupe to warn me that if i made a claim for tolen items she has many more secret photos taken after she vacated that she will give airbnb. Airbnb dont follow their policy on reviews and booking rights of hosts also--airbnb are contributing to a platform of distrust and false claims by guests. Goldie

Grant19
Level 2
Sydney, Australia

This dude has no idea about hostng and doesnt host so expecting a perfect world in a trust community wont happen. Try being a real host because what you write clearly shows you ahve no idea what hosts do and can actually. Goldie