BAD REVIEW (Deliberate Lies) FROM GUEST (Who did not stay).

[John2178]

I had this happen last month. A local 22 yr old male. 3-night booking. Seemed all ok until the first evening when he texts me to say he's staying with a friend as they are going out drinking. This is after a number of back and forth texts from him saying that he's on his way up to the "How late can I check in?" message to which I replied "11 PM would be great" and "I'll leave a key under the mat". Both of which were declined politely. He never showed. Ever! In fact, that was the last I heard from him.

I called his mobile the next day but no answer and no call-back.

I then messaged the following day (check-out day) asking (in a nice way) about getting a good review. He replied with a sort of "something came up" followed by "can I have ALL my money back?". I wasn't all that surprised given some of my recent experiences.

In a nutshell, I said it was foolish for him to expect that and that he should read the cancellation policy for his booking. he then asked for the cleaning fee (I was in two minds but before I could answer he went off about taking his money etc etc.

No surprise when I then saw that he had written a review. I was under the mistaken belief that if I did not write a review then his would not be posted. Silly me. Just as I expected a rant from an immature child with his version of the truth. Various lies etc with a slur about a man who "LIVES WITH A DOG" at the end. WTF!

As much as most people will see his bad behaviour etc there is no response from me (as much as Airbnb has suggested that I reply with my version) I see no benefit in making this bigger by responding. It fully lacks any class but the main problem is that I now believe that anyone considering booking will go elsewhere as there is always that doubt in peoples' minds.

I currently have a booking in that room for 2-3 months so I took the listing down.

Get this. Airbnb refuses to remove the offending (pack of lies) review as it does not contravene policy in any way (and I have fought this one). They could not care less and were not even interested in my input or really discussing it with me. Tough **bleep**!

So, I have done nothing wrong but this lying idiot can say whatever he likes severely affecting my potential business and they do nothing. It seems policy is there to let them avoid the hard decisions. Great support of a good Host.

I should add that he got a poor review a week or so earlier (or later) than mine which said he left one room strewn with uncooked rice.

I am going to redo the profile (losing all my previous reviews as well as the bad one). It will look much the same but with some updated pics etc.

Does anyone have comments on any of this incl other option/s for the rewriting of the listing and/or their good/bad experiences with Airbnb's policy? All comments welcome.

Cheers.

John D.

Sydney,

Australia.

[Susan17]

Hi @John2178 

I'd love to tell you that this type of scenario is rare but unfortunately, due to Airbnb's policy of rewarding troublesome guests, and growing reputation as the easiest scam in town, the calibre of guest booking through the platform has deteriorated rapidly. 

The information you received from the customer service agent(s) you spoke with was incorrect. While Airbnb will happily allow your guest to insult and badmouth you in his review, they're not so blasè about having their own business discussed in public, and expressly forbid any mention of a dispute in which they were involved. 

https://www.airbnb.ie/help/article/546/what-is-airbnb-s-content-policy

The following content is never allowed:

• Content created solely for the purpose of advertising or other commercial content, including company logos, links, or company names
• Spam, unwanted contact, or content that is shared repeatedly in a disruptive manner
• Content that endorses or promotes illegal or harmful activity, or that is profane, vulgar, obscene, threatening, or harassing
• Content that is discriminatory (review our Nondiscrimination Policy for more info)
• Attempts to impersonate another person, account, or entity, including a representative of Airbnb
• Content that is illegal or that violates another person’s or entity’s rights, including intellectual property rights and privacy rights
• Content that provides specific details or outcomes of an Airbnb investigation
• Content that is sufficient to identify a listing’s location or other content that may pose a personal safety risk to an Airbnb community member

Your guest's review, of course, does violate other terms of the content policy, but the only clause Airbnb will act on, is the clause that applies to itself. So get back on the phone and read out their own content policy to them, and that nasty review will be removed. Good luck! 

[Yadira22]

I agree with Susan as it’s very rude and demeaning- have checked out the review myself.

If for what ever reason the review itself is not taken down please consider responding to it- stating facts and no opinions would allow people to see what happened and should not move people away from booking with you. Having the review there without response makes it seem worse than it actually is. Either way I wish you the best of luck and have a beautiful day! 

[John2178]

Thanks Yadira.

But how were you able to view the listing and post if I have taken the listing down?

JD

[Yadira22]

The listing  May have been taken down but as mentioned before by someone else, the review remains on your profile. Hope this answers your question- thanks. 🙂

[Susan17]

@John2178 

Or you could always follow this host's lead, and take your case to the small claims court. The host in question is (was) a long-term superhost, very well known in the old host forums, and she sued a guest who left her a false, defamatory review, which not only torpedoed her chances of future bookings, but led to Airbnb terminating her account. So she stood up for herself - and won. It's about time everyone realised that just because Airbnb says something is so, doesn't necessarily make it so. 

https://youtu.be/WgGngGlCBnw

[Mark-And-Jamie0]

That is awesome.

[Ute42]

.

@John2178 

"I am going to redo the profile (losing all my previous reviews as well as the bad one)."

Guest reviews are stored in 2 spots in the airbnb-system:

- with the listing

- with the host profile

You will lose all reviews for Your old listing when You take it down, but all the reviews You've ever gotten will still remain with Your airbnb host profile.

[Ben551]

@Ute42 Thanks for posting this bit. I was just about to then scrolled down... cheers 🙂 

[Gordon0]

@Ute42  Is absolutely spot-on. You and your address are intrinsically linked, and unless you change your address and personal details, you ain't creating a new account! 

[Ben551]

@John2178  This is one of the simplest cases of slander I have seen, which means Airbnb legal will remove it once they have reviewed. 

Your guest has has actually been helpful because he has ended his review with a straight up insult that says “No wonder he lives alone with his dog. You’re a tool John.”

Now, the law in Australia (similar to NZ and UK) says making a public statement about a persons personal circumstances or character must be supported by evidence. The responsibility for providing that evidence is the publishers. Since Airbnb are the “publisher” they, not your guest, are required to supply to you the evidence (paperwork and photographs) that you indeed do live alone with your dog and are a “tool”. They in turn are required to obtain it from the guest. If Airbnb cannot obtain or produce that evidence, they are required to remove it. You are also entitled to damages (from the publisher) if they do not.

The law doesn’t work the other way around. You do not have to prove you are not a tool or don’t live with your dog to have slander removed. Airbnb are publishing the statement so they must supply evidence to verify the claim is not slander. The burden of proof is on them not you.

Airbnb Legal know all this and have no interest in going to bat to defend their right to publicly slander their hosts... on this basis, I’d say get the review to the legal dept and get it gone.

[John2178]

Ben & others,

How are you able to see Ben's review if, as I said, it's taken down with the listing?

I'm missing something I assume?

Thanks.

JD

[Ben551]

@John2178 your host profile shows all reviews you have ever received as a host, including those associated with listings you have set to offline. They are attached not just to your listing, but to you as a host. 

The link to to your profile is here:

https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/94914338

That bad bad review will remain in your profile, whether you close the listing or not.

[Paul154]

Sorry @John2178 , but I can see the guest's point and believe his review is fine.

Exaggerated, yes. But he shows his dissappointment in his financial dealings with you. You admit you called him a fool. Not diplomatic.

If you kept my cleaning fee. I too would be upset. If you had returned his cleaning fee, you would have suffered NO financial loss. You just chose to keep a windfall. No utility usage, No maintainence and no extra cleaning for the next guest. 

In the end, he did pay for his right to complain and he did complain.

[John2178]

Paul,

I wrote quite a long reply thanking you but, ultimately disagreeing on a number of points. Then managed to lose it. **bleep**!

I may do it again later but I've done enough two-fingered typing for now

One thing though... you say "In the end, he did pay for his right to complain and he did complain" which I don't agree with as Ben told a pack of lies which I am paying for.

Cheers.

JD