Some guests recently stole from one of our properties. This is not a matter of opinion, AirBnB actually paid us a settlement for the stolen items. She and her husband then had the nerve to yell at us about damaging their reputation online saying that "reputation is all that matters!" WHILE they were standing at our door and handing back some of the items they'd taken! It was a surreal experience. The guest was allowed to post a review which was clearly spiteful, it was a 1-star review that was clearly written out of mallice. (We have been SuperHosts for a decade and the property was good enough that the guest extended their stay by two nights, so it clearly isn't a 1-star place. We've hosted over a hundred thousand people over the last ten years at our properties, because we are honest and offer fair vlaue and GREAT service to our guests.) The review also insulted me personally, calling me desperate, it told people where we live and it also disclosed my personal financial information.
That's right, this review tells people that we are millionaires AND tells people where we live! And somehow the braintrust at AirBnB don't see this as a problem. Despite a 3-HOUR long phone call with AirBnB, they have refused to remove the review, saying that there is no violation. "It doesn't have your actual address." Well, it says that we live "right next door to Unit A." How much more exact does it need to be?
Last year other guests opened an illegal restaurant in one of our apartments and had to be escorted from the property by police. We have video! And AirBnB let those people post a 1-star review of us as well.
THE FINAL INSULT IS THAT THIS MORNING WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL FROM AIRBNB THAT THEY WERE CONSIDERING DE-LISTING THE PROPERTY WHICH HAD BEEN STOLEN FROM FOR POOR REVIEW PERFORMANCE! What do these geniuses think is going to happen? That people who are escorted out by police are going to leave honest reviews? It's an obscenity. AirBnB doesn't care about its own rules, certainly not about protecting its hosts. The message from AirBnB here seems to be VERY clear; they DO NOT want hosts to claim for losses caused by bad guests! AirBnB clearly wants property owners to put up with anything from anyone, including theft, damage and even in the case of the illegal restaurant, potential catastrophic legal repercussions should we have been sued. A guest did something so bad in one of our properties that we could have lost the whole complex, and AirBnB STILL let them post a 1-star review about us! It's madness.