Dealing with guests false negative feedback

[Tommy135]

Ive been a airbnb superhost for a little over a year now. Always try to make it the best for my guests. So far I've had two bad guests that left me unfair negative reviews.

First guest.

These guests trashed my place. Left food on their plates and their plates all over the coffee table, dining table, and kitchen table. They left the games that I provided them all over the floor. It was absolutely disgusting. The maid sent me pictures, and I sent it back to the guest and requested for additional money for cleaning fees. The guest then left me a bad review saying I was asking for extra money for no reason. **bleep** ridiculous! Luckily when I contacted Airbnb regarding the issue, they stepped in and gave me the $100 out of the companies pocket and removed the guests negative review.

Second guest.

Guest left me a 3 out of 5 star review saying that the downsides was the indoor fireplace couldn't be used, BBQ propane gas wasn't provided (gas tank IS), the maid was still there cleaning when they arrived, and the place wasn't clean.... Its stated in my house rules that the BBQ Propane gas is not provided. Also stated in the house rules is that the indoor fireplace is not to be used because of insurance. I have told the guest to read the house rules right after booking, with a free cancellation if they didn't agree. Also I checked my outdoor security system and saw that they arrived 30 minutes before their booking. I also asked for several pictures of the cottage being 'unclean', with no pictures sent.  I was very flexible with the guest, allowing them to do a 1 day booking instead of the minimum 2 day booking, AND even gave them a 3 hour later checkout time. After their check out, they left me a negative review. I contacted Airbnb and provided them whatever evidence I could come up with to prove that all the things they said in the negative review is a lie.

I'm very glad Airbnb helped me in both situations. I want to know how you guys would've handled this situation. Also how to avoid such situations again. 95% of my guests are awesome. 

[Pete69]

I shoot video of my guest suite before each guest checks in. Also important to have footage of yourself stating the date and who checks in next, all as part of one continuous shot. I do this mainly to prove that if something gets broken then it was the guest(s) who did it, but the video can also help shoot down any false claim about uncleanliness.

[Tommy135]

does this help when a guest says it was unclean and you show airbnb? then they remove the feedback?

[Sarah977]

@Tommy135  You managed to get 2 negative reviews removed and $100 from Airbnb for extra cleaning? Do you know how rare that is? You're a lucky man.

The guests who left the place a pig sty- I don't see anything you could or should have done differently, unless you wanted to blow off the extra cleaning time so as not to get a bad review because you asked them to pay for it. But personally, I hate to see guests get away with stuff like that.

The second ones- most hosts say that once a guest starts asking you to bend your rules for them, that's a huge red flag and they'll turn out to be bad guests. So accommodating their request for a 1 nighter, when you have a 2 night minimum, and a later check-out time was probably not the greatest thing to do, even though we tend to want to be accommodating. When guests ask for things like this, it seems best to just say "I'm sorry, but I don't take 1 night bookings, I'm sorry but my check-out time is firm." Once people start asking for special favors, instead of just booking a place that meets their needs, and you agree, you'd think they'd be appreciative, but they then seem to think they can walk all over you.

[Susan17]

@Sarah977 

"The guest then left me a bad review saying I was asking for extra money for no reason..." 

That's the one violation of Airbnb's terms of service for which they will always remove a review.. 

• Content that provides specific details or outcomes of an Airbnb investigation

And while it was a happy outcome for @Tommy135, Airbnb paying out of their own funds, the penalties that should  be applied to the guests, effectively fails to hold the guests accountable, rewards them for their sh*tty behaviour, and simply emboldens them to treat their next hapless host in a similarly disrespectful (or worse) manner. 

[Sarah977]

@Susan17  I know they'll remove a review which mentions Airbnb involvement, but if the guest just stated it like @Tommy135 wrote it here, "saying I was asking for money for no reason" it seems to me like something Airbnb might not remove, as the guest could mean the host asked for extra money verbally in cash. I  realize Airbnb would know that the money was requested through the system, but I could see them not removing a review unless the Airbnb involvement was specifically mentioned. It could depend on what CS rep you happened to get, no?

[Tommy135]

yeah true. As much as i appreciate airbnb for paying out the money through their own pockets, they really should've held the guest accountable. They TRASHED my place. and will probably trash their next airbnb stay. Just terrible people..

[Kath9]

@Tommy135 there will always be guests who leave negative reviews, and @Sarah977 is absolutely correct - guests who ask for special favours are inevitably those who leave the worst reviews. Big red flag. Be firm with your boundaries, and guests are more likely to respect them.

[Tommy135]

Thanks everyone. I try my best to accommodate my guests. Not anymore! Its always those bad apples that ruins it for everyone

[Linda108]

@Tommy135   I see that you list the indoor fireplace as an amenity.  You should remove that.  If you have any limitations to an amenity, you can list those as well.  You have a great number of rules and you are very clear.  Hopefully you have hard copy available at the house as well.  

Kudos to you for being able to respond to negative guests and to have Air BNB on your side!

[Tommy135]

done thanks for the tips!

[Tommy135]

So airbnb removed the last review and then emailed me saying that they put it back on.. great..

after i proved all the things that the guest said was a lie... what a bummer. really big let down from airbnb when i try my absolutely very best for the guests