defamation

[Nicolien2]

I am new on Air BnB and just had my first guest, which was a Chinese. This guy clearly had no clue from AirBnB and could not read english. He accuses me of not being honest about my listing in several ways and has never read that ‚private room‘ does not mean you get a single appartment with kitchen. He gave me a 2 rating. He accuses me of not saying the room was in the basement and not being clear it was uphill but this was all specifically mentioned in the listing as well as clear from photographs. AirBnB response is, they generally never remove a review, but this really is calling me a fraud ( in Chinese though) This is a punishable act in most countries as well in the US as in Switzerland where I live. As this is the policy by AirBnB I will remove my listing and only serve the guests who already booked! 

[Alexandra316]

@Nicolien2 Sorry that your first hosting experience was so negative. It's really unfortunate that some guests don't take time to read and understand the listing before booking. Your listing seems extremely clear in terms of what the guest can expect if they stay.

I would try contacting Airbnb again, maybe message them on Twitter @airbnbhelp to ask to have the review removed. It may not work, but perhaps worth a try if you haven't already.

Honestly, I wouldn't let one bad guest sour you on Airbnb. You say that you have some other guests booked, and if they review you positively, your reviews will soon be looking up. I thought that your response to the guest was good as well: it painted you in a positive light. You seemed calm and professional, and you drew attention to the fact that they obviously didn't read your listing. If I read what they had written, it would likely not put me off staying with you (although I might ask for a spare heater).

If you want to quit Airbnb, it's your decision, but I wouldn't let one bad guest wreck it for you.

[Emiel1]

@Nicolien2 

Airbnb wil only remove a review if it violates their terms. Your public comment on the review clearly shows the guest did not read the information in the listing. A 2* rating is not a good start and i hope next guests will do better. The guest is not calling you a fraud, but clearly had other expectations. But could have known better by reading the listing. I think you have to move on, potential guests will not take this review very serious.

best regards,

Emiel

[Nicolien2]

Thanks for your support Emiel. I do see your point, but think AirBnB somewhere got off their initial purpose. I listed for social aquintancy, not for the money. Seems they all think a listing is about earning money, which for me it is not. There are other platforms...

[Valerie192]

Hi @Nicolien2  - Also, reviews in other languages typically end up at the very bottom, and someone would have to go through the bother of going through google translate to read it. Of course that doesn't fix the star piece of it, but this ought to fly under the radar for prospective guests more so than if it had  been written in English.

[Nicolien2]

Dear Valerie, At first I thought, this would only mean I would get less guests like him, which I would not mind, but the 2 rating really annoys me. If this is AirBnb policy it is not host friendly and I will not accept this