Retaliatory reviews are allowed. Interesting.

[Jennie131]

Why are guests allowed to write a review when the host asks them to pay for damages they have caused? Of course they are going to write a retaliatory review! When they do, Customer Service will not remove the review. Is this policy meant to discourage hosts from using the resolution center for collecting money from guests for damages caused by the guest? Not only did the guest refuse to pay the entire amount, only choosing to pay a portion, but then left an inaccurate review. Seems like guests are allowed to do whatever they want, and hosts are punished. Why doesn't Airbnb stand up for their hosts?

[Anonymous]

@Jennie131  Enter "retaliatory" or "revenge review" in that little search field at the top of the screen, and you'll instantly find thousands of previous discussions on the same topic. 

It's unpopular with hosts that Airbnb doesn't protect them from negative reviews; the platform is a better fit for hosts who are prepared to stand up for themselves than those who want their listing service to be a helicopter parent. Anyway, you seem to belong to the former category:  thanks to the review feature not being deactivated for this stay, you were able to publish an honest review about your bad guest, while the guest's review (and your response) make it clear that you are not someone to be messed with. Hopefully that will deter future seekers of party venues more effectively than an unblemished roster of perfect reviews.

I might be going against the grain here, but I don't believe a damage claim merits censorship of either party; they both had a valid experience that can help others make an informed decision. And the less scrupulous hosts out there shouldn't have carte blanche to make frivolous Resolution claims.

What I would change - and I've suggested it many times to no avail - is that the star ratings be disabled when a stay ends in a cancellation or a declined resolution request, and only the text feedback and "would you recommend" features kept. That way, everybody has the freedom to speak the truth about their experience, but the needless anxiety about those stupid, arbitrary numbers is taken away.

(If it were up to me, the star ratings wouldn't exist at all, but at least I'd like to see them not being used by misbehaving guests for leverage against status-anxious hosts).

[Jennie131]

Interesting that you mentioned how popular this discussion is. One would think that the platform would pay attention to this as it seems to be a a big problem. 
I agree the star rating should be disabled for both guest and host under those circumstances. That would help a lot. 
My big issue here is that hosts are actively penalized for attempting to collect for destructive guests. Not to mention the whole issue of a damage deposit not actually existing, and the host guarantee is anything but. 
The entire system, with the sole exception of fee structures, and now that's changing too, is geared to benefit the guest, and penalize the host. 
With traditional long term rentals, I at least have recourse when the tenant damages the stove. With Airbnb, I don't, and insult to injury, I am penalized for trying to collect on the promised recourse. 

Hosts are better off taking their lumps on this platform. 

[Sarah977]

@Jennie131 What it seems to me would solve this issue, in addition to what Andrew mentioned, is to change the time frame on damage claims so they are made after the review period is over.

There could still be a requirement to start the process within 24 hrs or before the next guest arrives, but it wouldn't be presented to the guest until 14 days after check out.

Of course, the guest would be apt to refuse to pay if you give them a bad review, but it seems that guests who do damage and don't bother to mention it to the host and offer payment on their own initiative most often refuse to pay anyway.

[Anonymous]

@Jennie131   They've definitely noticed. But they're really oversupplied with hosts at the moment, whereas the pandemic has severely cut into the demand side of the equation, so as long as that's the reality of this economy, most hosts have to live with the fact that they're a totally expendable resource.

But when you say "penalized," do you mean that your listing was suspended due to the low rating? Or that you were denied your claim because of the review?  Either of those would be an outrage, but otherwise I don't know if this language really applies. I don't see getting a negative review as a punishment, it's just a mundane consequence of putting a good or service on the public market. 

If AIrbnb bugs you with performance warnings, ignore them - that's an algorithm toying with your emotions to make you more submissive. As long as you stay up to date with your calendar and guest correspondence, there's no reason you should even have to think about all the manipulative stuff.

p.s.: I love the easter egg in your House Rules! 🦒

[Jennie131]

Low ratings can get a host delisted. This is not yet what happened to me, but it certainly is a possibility. It doesn't take many one star ratings to drop a host's rating low enough to get suspended, especially if they have fewer than 100 reviews. The entire review system is faulty. Four stars looks great to the guest, but it's clear to the platform that it's a failing grade. 
So yes, I'm being punished for following through on a claim. It's really no skin off the guest's back. It's not their income, and they can just make a new account and continue their poor behavior. 

[Anonymous]

@Jennie131  The fear that hosts have that getting low ratings will result in having their listings suspended, or losing Superhost, is a feature and not a bug. It's in Airbnb's interests for hosts to be obsessed with their scores, afraid to confront guests about rules, reluctant to claim for damage. This aspect of the rating system is not a flaw from their perspective - it's the sharpest tool they have to make you feel subservient to them, when in reality you are an independent operator who can make your own decisions about how to run your business and how to clean your own **bleep** house. 

Unfortunately, these psychological tactics are working on far too many people for Airbnb to have any will to change them. Every time a new discussion about ratings and Superhost pops up on here, and every time you click on your Progress tab, what the data analytics catch is how effective rating anxiety is as an emotional trigger. 

Every major online product, especially in social media, is using the same tactics, so I'm not suggesting that Airbnb is doing something uniquely nefarious. But any company or person you do business with, you want to stay aware of where their interests diverge from your own, and keep your guard up against any measures to bend you to their purposes. 

[Jennie131]

Yes, noted. Thank you. 🙂 I appreciate the reassurance. 

[Sarah977]

@Anonymous Hosting forums would likely have at least 50% fewer postings if hosts stopped fretting about their ratings and reviews 🙂

[Tom2861]

A couple of ways I've used to combat this situation is to first and foremost engage with your guests.  If they think of you as an actual person who has concern for them, they will more likely have concern for you.  So go beyond the basics with the people you are renting to.  I also upgrade my property every chance I can.  The more updated and nice your property is, the more likely they will treat it like an updated and nice property.  These are just some things I've found that helped me. 

[Susan1188]

Ab-so-lutely agree with everything you said!
Even if you do all that, you might still get a bad guest - I've had maybe 2-3 in 100;
It's then up to you to decide: whatever occasional damage, is it cost of doing business?  Or was it severe and intolerable and you really need to go after the guest for compensation?
In any case, be sure you use your first right which is leaving a factual review to at least deter the guest from being able to do it again.

[Sarah977]

@Tom2861  I concur. There's a lot of truth in that. My home share listing isn't some luxury accommodation, but that guests share my kitchen ( not now, closed due to virus) and we usually have a lot of interaction during their stay, often chatting over coffee, or a bottle of wine in the evening, creates a relationship where all the guests have been super respectful and left lovely reviews.

Much easier, psychologically, to be critical, disrespectful of the property, and leave less favorable reviews if the guests IB, self-check in, and the host is some faceless entity they have only exchanged basic informational messages with.

[Tom2861]

As things would be, my guests IB and self check-in!  But it's the last part, engagement with only basic information that is the kicker.  I make a point to engage with them, even if it's just with messaging, when they first book so they instantly see me as a person.  I offer them some tidbits about me, the history of the house, the area.. in real time.  Not just some random form email.  And they, generally, respond back in kind and thus questions are asked and information given back and forth in conversational format.  Every guest is different and the interaction needs to be tailored for each guest.  I can see how this can become more challenging as properties are not managed by owners but by large property management companies or have a property where it is just a side gig they think is easy money.  Of course there will always be bad apples.  That just comes with the territory when you are in the hospitality industry and there have been a few times where I've had to balance the cost of an incident to the possibility of a bad review.  That's pretty normal even for large scale hotel chains.  Like... what exactly do people use my terry for anyway?  LOL   I don't want to know and I don't make a stink.  It's built into my cost per occupied night.  

[Sarah977]

@Tom2861 Haha. Well I was just giving IB and self-check in as examples of impersonal aspects of a booking.

Communication is definitely key. Some of my guests have messaged questions after booking and before their booked dates, like would it be useful for them to rent a car, and if so, where would be the best place to do that, and I've sent them pertinent info on that, which they sincerely thanked me for, saying that was so nice of me to go to the trouble of getting the phone number and email of the rental place for them. So we've already established a rapport before they even arrive. 

With some guests we've hit it off from the first message, end up joking around, being goofy in our messages, etc. It's important that guests get a sense of the host as a person, not just some stranger with a house for rent who's only interested in the money it brings in.

[John5097]

@Jennie131 @I read the review he left you. Hopefully you could have it removed as he only said “host will charge $50 for breaking any rule in your rule book.” So not sure if that violates their policy. Maybe message one of the mods here who apparently part of the support team but likely don’t read reviews. Have policy in hand also when contacting ABB. Thanks for posting this also.