Ref: My property - JOSHUA TREE HACIENDA, LISTING #14409394, available again after over a year of personal use and refurbishment. This was the first new rental. Previous history: 6 out of 6 5-star reviews in 2016/7.
ISSUE#1: My visitors - party of 6 - booked by Ms. S, from feedback received from trusted sources, seemed to have some personal issues going on that were nothing to do with my property - already in bad mood when she arrived and very abrupt with my "Greeter". She had previously received a 50-page Visitor's Manual to the House, not likely that it was the property as an issue. She did have multiple 5-star reviews when she made the booking. She and her party left it a mess, throw-up in the master bathroom, 2 broken special glasses, etc., without saying. I am now in Europe for an extended period, and didn't know the extent of the mess until later and had already left a 5-star review (my fault - I will be more careful next time, but I have only had great guest experiences until now). Question 1: Can I amend the review after the fact and also claim for the broken things after 14 days (it has been 23 days)?
ISSUE #2: She gave me a 5-star rating for all aspects, except "Value" 4-star. But the overall rating was 4-star. Why is the Overall Rating not a computer-compiled rating based on the average of all the sub-category ratings? This seems very unfair and not very rational. It has consequences. My overall scores were previously 4.9. The 4.0 is the only new review in oast 12 months, so causes me to not quaify as a business property (target 4.7) even though it is set-up for business (laser printer, desk, supplies, lockbox etc.). And it certainly makes me as a host/my property appear less appealing. Her only stated complaint in the review (private comment only) was that she complained about a broken blind - an internal door blind system in a French door - that I had checked personally before they arrived and was working perfectly (and is guaranteed for life). She stated that, as it was broken, too much outside light (security lights) disturbed sleep. BUT - (a) the lights have a simple internal lightswitch and (b) more importantly, she gave me no chance to take care of it. She had multiple communiations with me by email, text and phone before arrival and also was greeted by my nextdoor neighbor with keys on their arrival and he also stated to contact him in the case of any problems as he is a talented handyman who maintains the house for me (when we heard of the issue, he fixed the blind in less than an hour). I also followed up by text and email while they were there to check if all OK and if they needed anything - but no response. The first I knew of the problem was the private message section of her review. So, Question 2: is there an AirBnB "appeal process" for reviews? Thank you in advance for reading this long entry. Happy Holidays to all. Best. Michael.
