GIVING UP on hosting after 2yr. Guests left defamatory and lying review, Airbnb DONT care!

[Piper-And-Andrew0]

We had 2 first-timer guests staying with us for 1 week and it was not pleasant. They broke our houserules and did not respect our home. Made us scared to come back to our own home... I tried to suck it up for days but couldnt handle and was going to cancel but the case manager was not there and never called me back, so they stayed the night then left us a horrible review.

So here's their review translated in English as their review is in another language:

Communication with the hosts was no more than basic, showing no interest in giving us information about the region. They only spoke to us when we asked something or to impose rules. Also we were not comfortable to use the sofa as there were seats for only two people. Although we are clean and organized people, we feel a lot of pressure in this regard. As examples we can mention the concern so that our shoes did not touch, at any moment, the floor of the house, not even to leave them in the room. The cat (which is very cute, by the way) jumped all the time about our food while we were cooking or eating and we could not pick it up with our hands because we would be getting the cat dirty. Also the cat could not possibly eat human food, but as he jumped all the time on the table and the stove, we were left with various concerns about it. At one point the hostess was very angry because the cat stole food while I cooked, screamed at us and locked herself in the bedroom, slamming the door. But the responsibility for the cat is definitely not of the guests. The ad also said that cooking is allowed, but every time we cook (even turning on the cooker hood) they are clearly bothered. Anyway, it was a complicated week, we spent the whole time in the room laughing about how our breathing could contaminate their environment! We did not feel comfortable

I cried when i saw it.... just so much false info, hiding details and lying. We were chatting happily until the accident when 'our cat stole food while they cooked', they were cooking raw chicken and she told me Koko licked the packaging, im like are you sure coz raw chicken could be dangerous, he could get samonella, then she started giggling...?!??!?! I pick the cat up and said its not funny, she kept giggling as i walked away into the bedroom, not slamming the door. She did not talk to us after that day. She seemed happy while playing with the cat all night in their bedroom but thought the cat was annoying when they wanted to cook one day at 5pm another day at 9:30pm. We had to tell them to turn the exhaust fan on 3 or 4 time as they would cook stir-fly dishes at early morning and late night, which they did not mention in their review. 

But we chatted plenty before, we know they lost their jobs, their dog jumped over high fences and they locked their house up to come here to study English in order to get a high level job in their own country. We showed them where our swimming pool and gym are... told them where to get this and that.

I dont know what he means by the shoes. We said he could put his shoes next to the front door or in the laundry, he asked if he could leave them in the bedroom, we said yes. Also the sofa part???? it has been used by 4 people plenty times (IKEA Friheten sofa-bed). They never said anything about it during their stay...

They failed to mention that they locked our cat in the bedroom without telling us because they needed to cook. Left our cat in a room with no light and scratching the carpet under door wanting to get out... Their response 'But the responsibility for the cat is definitely not of the guests', I dont know what to say. 

What shocked me more was their following part: 'we spent the whole time in the room laughing about how our breathing could contaminate their environment!', I cannot possibly imagine anyone saying anything like this.... it was not their breathing, it was their attitude, their lack of respect, their treating our place like a motel, their breaking of our houserules, their thinking they can do whatever whenever they want. 

Airbnb will not take it down whatsoever. Clearly lying is ok, defamatory comments is ok. Done hosting.

[Allison44]

Hello Mira,

I agree with you. As part of the ‘Airbnb ethos’ good communicate, objective reviews by both owners towards guests, and guests towards AirBnb owners, are a necessary evil.

the ONLY advice I would offer in framing the words for a Guest review - go about in a sublime or less-direct fashion. Words can be woven together to express displeasure with a guest ( viz. dirty guests, your house/apartment left in chaotic order, loud noise which is disruptive to you & neighbours and so on) without resorting to a full blast!  Other owners will be warned about the dubious nature of intending guests.

i absolutely believe that a nasty/lying in  reviews/ rude guest - is better NOT to accept in the first place!   A bad Review (attached to your Listing) is very off-putting to intending guests!

That said - most transactions on AirBnb are happy ones and do not cause ructions. Thank goodness.

regards,

allison

Level 2

Australia

[Helga0]

@Piper-And-Andrew0, you can and should post a public reply. Short and answering only a frew points. 

We are very sorry, that this stay was so difficult for both sides, even if we had no idea that you despised us so much. Common sense dictates, that cats are not fed with raw industrial chicken and that you cannot lock your host’s pet in a dark room, where it has normally no access. I did not even scream at you, when you thought it hilarious, that Kiki could suffocate at the plastic, as I was to busy saving it. We will replace the damaged carpet. 

[Willow3]

I must once again - be the odd one. 

I dont read any defammatory statements in the review. I read a guest who didn’t enjoy their stay and wrote about their experience. 

Look, I’m a cat person. But there is no excuse for a cat being on the counters/workspace in a kitchen. And as cute as a Cat may be, it shouldn’t be the guests responsibility to control it during normal cooking activities. 

And a three seater sofa MAY seat four people, but those people had better be good friends. I don’t want to sit, smashed in with virtual strangers, and conversation is hard when you’re all sitting in a line. 

[Willow3]

Based solely on what’s written here - and you’re controlling the dialog - my sympathies are with the guests. I can see you were a super host, so I’m am assuming that this is an anomaly. 

[Piper-And-Andrew0]

No you are not the odd one. I do not think a cat should be in the kitchen either. They cooked multiple times daily, I couldn’t always keep an eye on my cat. Thats why we went into our bedroom every time they cooked after that day. No matter if it’s 5pm or 9pm. Stopped what we were doing and went straight into the bedroom. 

[Piper-And-Andrew0]

Maybe that’s why they said we were clearly bothered by their cooking? Coz we went into our bedroom shortly after they started. 

[Ange2]

@Piper-And-Andrew0   If I were a potential guest I would ignore that review, most people see a rant for what it is whether warranted or not and you have a ton of stellar reviews,  you are a superhost.

[Piper-And-Andrew0]

Really nice of you! Thanks for the comfort! Its great to get out of the negative energy and have some love and support. 

[Helga0]

@Piper-And-Andrew0, in the system it does not really matter, if they give four stars or two. The  calculation is in percentage how many give five stars. It’s not an average of the values. But evidently it hurts to get such a rating. (Just got a crazy one like that and posted it). 

You have 60 reviews, so that one will not bring you down notably. 

As you saw in some comments, it’s a rant, but gives you credibly part of the fault for an unruly cat. Therefore you need to answer it. 

[Douglas52]

That doesn't seem true in my case.  Airbnb has stated that they suspend properties for a low "average" rating, which seems to be around 4 stars. One-star ratings counteract a bunch of fives; you could have mostly 5 star ratings and still be suspended  Not to mention the impact on prospective guests, and the discouragement of having a false, malicious public review after all your hard work.

[Piper-And-Andrew0]

Thanks a lot Helga. Will def be drafting some words. 

Just found out our shampoo, conditioner and body wash were completely empty lol + aircon every night.  Good value out of this stay!

[Helga0]

lol, @Piper-And-Andrew0, I had such a strange guest too, recently. The shampoo bottle lost a few inches, but not a single hair in the shower drain (she cleaned nothing else) and four packages of cat food disappeared. A single portion left. (Cheap, but it was Saturday evening, normal shops closed on Sunday) Some people take random things. She put Chinese food rests including salad out for the neighbourhood cats, so I don't think she even owns a cat. 

You should write a reply, which makes clear, that the cat is not normally allowed on tables and was in danger by the interaction.

On that note: I don't let guests touch my parrot. A glass door or cage bars between them is as close as they get to each other. It stresses the bird, if people touch him or act hysterically (for fear or exitement). I changed the rules on that, after the vet told me, that he suffered from a serious stress induced infection, without stress he would not fall prey to the infection. 

The way your guests described the cat jumping everywhere makes me think that your pet was hyper exited or nearly in panic. Some people do not understand animals at all and the animals feel that and are nervous. 

If I have no good feeling, that a guest will respect the "don't open the door to my room", I lock it, to protect the bird. 

[Fred13]

@Piper-And-Andrew0When you think about it, don't you learn MORE from occational criticism (fair or not) than from constant praise? If it is fair - it is a golden opportunity to improve something, if it is not it is still valuable for it prompts one to take greater precautions or safeguards in the future; i.e. in our selection of guests. Even the occational ogre do teach us to develop a thicker skin, an ultimate must in this business. 😉

[Douglas52]

Yes this is so discouraging.  I just had a property suspended after guests wrote a clearly fictional review. I guess it was their attempt at trying some dark humor; they said the place was good but stated rather colorfully that there were creepy people around making them feel like they were in a David Lynch movie or the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  The fact is, there are people out there whose idea of fun can include trashing a business for no reason. A small percentage, but a huge problem for unlucky hosts.  Airbnb offers no recourse I can find - or if they do, I'd like to know about it.

[Helga0]

@Douglas52, you might have a chance to get your review removed, if the remarks are not dark humour but racist. If they creepy people are creepy because of their origin, not because they acted creepy to the guest. 

I had one review removed, because the guest made racist remarks (I'm a foreigner in the country I host, he was a local). It took six weeks, but it was removed.