Should a guest who has a property damage case against them be able to leave a review?

Anna2027
Level 2
Miami, FL

Should a guest who has a property damage case against them be able to leave a review?

What do you guys think? 

 

I just went thought a horrible experience. A guest damaged my property and then went and left me a 1 star review with details of the damage and mentioning the case and also saying untruthful things about the property smeling like mildew and mold. I wasnt able to have the review removed. I've never recieved anything less than 4.5 stars as an Airbnb super host of 5 years!!! I went ahead and submitted a suggestion to them because I don't think a guest who has a property damage case againts them should be able to leave you a review until that case is resolved. Its simply not fair to the host.

 

Has anyone else had any similar experiences? Im a little shaken up by the whole thing to be honest.

26 Replies 26
Tony134
Level 10
Sarasota, FL

As an Airbnb host, it's good to always remember the clear hierarchy that Airbnb operates under.

Airbnb profit > Guest Satisfaction > Host Well Being.

Im just coming to this understanding now - the host is last in this hierarchy and that's very unfotunate. 

Mark1128
Level 3
Steamboat Springs, CO

I've been lucky over the last ten years, not to have any major damage to any of my properties!  (knock on wood...)

 

I just posted on another thread that the secret to my process has been creating connection with my guests prior to their arrival and during their stay.

 

Having a phone conversation with them after they book, then again before they arrive has made a major difference in how guests treat my properties.  I also talk to them while they are in house.  The phone calls are in addition to all of the other communication pieces, like pre-arrival emails, etc.

 

Basically, establishing a connection with the guest has had a huge impact!

 

However, not everyone is going to conduct themselves as respectable human beings!  I wouldn't wait on Airbnb to resolve any problem like this.  You have to deal with the guest directly.  That may include a small claims filing.  

I usually do the same thing Mark, however this was a very last minute two night booking and the guest was not friendly. He didn't even check in or check out properly! As I mentioned above, this my first property damage after being a super host with multiple properties on Airbnb for the last 5 years. Sometimes you get a bad one I guess... 

Isn't that how it goes?  When we stray from our process, things go wrong.  And you're right, there's going to be a bad one or two in the mix, no matter how diligent your process is...

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Anna2027  When you have hosted as long as you and I have, the odds are that we will host THAT guest who either causes significant damage or blames you for their own misunderstanding of the listing and rates you poorly.  Since the last Q&A, I understood Air BNB to be considering disgarding one outlier review a year in determing the host rating.  Don't know if that has gone into effect as yet but at least it will protect hosts that have that one-off review.

VERY true Linda. I will reach out to them and see if that outlier review policy is in fact a thing. Thank you.

Ben551
Level 10
Wellington, New Zealand

@Anna2027  If the guest mentioned the case in their review then they have broken the terms of service and you can have their review removed entirely. There are lots of posts on the forum explaining how to do this. The easiest way is to send a tweet to Airbnb Help and call them out for letting guests break the terms of service in their spite review.

I tried to do this, but Airbnb says that there's not enough info there about our case to matter. 

Ben551
Level 10
Wellington, New Zealand

@Anna2027 That’s absolute nonsense. They state that you are claiming for damage, they state the amount of the claim, then they call you an extortionist. That right there is illegal slander. Honestly, tweet Airbnb publicly and you’ll get a different answer. You must have got a muppet the first time.

 

PS: I have also reported the review on the Airbnb system, which anyone can do. Recruit other hosts to do the same.

I know Ben!  Im completly beside myslef that Airbnb doesn't see it that way. I really don't get it. Trully! I talked to 2 support people and also a manager who said this: 

 

Hi, Anna. 

My name is Pedro and I'm Alex's supervisor.

First of all, I'm really sorry for the whole experience with your previous guest Michael Perretti.
Your damage claim is now with the right department and I hope you get the outcome desired.

I've read your guest's review with attention, however, it's as our agents explained. We have to treat this separately to the damages claim, and given that the review does not violate our Content Policy or Terms of Service, we are unable to remove it.

I hope you understand.

Best wishes,
 
Ben551
Level 10
Wellington, New Zealand

@Anna2027 No problem at all. The response from Airbnb CS is wildly incorrect and negligent. Clearly the CS rep hasn’t done any training yet.

 

See here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/546/what-is-airbnb-s-content-policy

 

The content policy prohibits either guest or host from mentioning an ongoing case. This is worded as “Content that provides specific details or outcomes of an Airbnb investigation.” Without a doubt that is what you have.

 

Your guest also calls you an Extortionist. Airbnb have an Extortion policy here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/548/what-is-airbnb-s-extortion-policy

I would point out to them that by leaving this guest review, they are allowing a guest to imply that Airbnb allow extortion.

 

Honestly, you just need to get a competent CS person to look at this. The way to find competent CS folk is through twitter, not the message system or phone.

Once again TY @Ben87! Im on Twitter  waiting for a reply. 

Thank you for your support @Ben551 ! I really apreciate it. 

Happy to see that the Airbnb community is strong and has each other's backs.