Yes, this is absolutely true, and many hosts have been using this "workaround" to get negative reviews removed for a very long time now. It's a preposterous situation that Airbnb itself has created, by making it practically impossible for hosts to have even the most libelous or defamatory review taken down, no matter how damaging, dishonest or blatantly untrue the content may be, and regardless of how detrimental or ruinous the false review may be to the host's business.
It's actually gotten to the stage now where some hosts will either open a claim in the resolution centre themselves, requesting damages or repair costs from the guest (even when there are none), or engineer a situation whereby the guest will open a claim, specifically so they can use it to their advantage, when they even suspect that the guest is going to hammer them in the review.
For example, another common use of this "loophole" is for the host to agree (or even offer) to refund a nightmare guest, who they anticipate is going to annihilate them in the review. This is invariably done in person, or on the phone - never by text or via the Airbnb message thread (so there's no paper trail). In reality though, the host has zero intention of refunding the guest at all. They tell the guest to send them a request for refund through the resolution centre, which of course the host will then decline, knowing full well that the guest will be incensed, and will immediately get Airbnb involved. Airbnb may or may not end up refunding the guest, but the guest is guaranteed to mention the dispute and having to involve Airbnb in their review, and hey presto, the host now has the one and only foolproof means of having the guest's nasty review taken down.
I've never used this ploy myself as I've never needed to have a guest review removed, but I can completely understand why even the most honourable host would resort to this, given the irreparable damage that a single spiteful, retaliatory review can cause to their reputation, and to their ability to attract future bookings.
However, this exact loophole is also being exploited and abused on a massive scale by many of the more unscrupulous hosts out there, who actually are providing a shoddy service as standard, and who routinely use this as their go-to method of having all their awful reviews deleted - even though those terrible reviews are very often 100% truthful and well deserved. (It's also the reason why properties from certain "hosts" frequently have a much higher rating on Airbnb, than they have when you see them advertised on other platforms) Many of the more shady professional and commercial operators see it as just another handy tool in their toolbox, to be used as and when needed.
We see posts on groups and forums day in, day out, from people who are shocked to the core that the 5 star place they thought they'd booked on Airbnb, turned out to be an absolute sh*thole in reality. Well now you know how and why that happens...
