1 star review revenge after a claim.

[Sarah6440]

Dear everyone, I have been a host for many years, welcoming people from all around the world and navigating various situations and personalities. However, this time, I am experiencing something that terrifies me the most. It makes me wonder if this is what leads to humanity's downfall—proving that life can never truly be fair.

I had a booking before new year 2025, the booker came with a woman and a small baby (2 months old, I think)

The guest provided a false review as retaliation for a claim I filed with the Airbnb Host Community. They left my property in a severely damaged condition, which I documented with evidence after their check-out. The damages included over eight bags of garbage left in the room (not counting trash outside the room), leftover food, cigarette burns, a pervasive cigarette odor, over 35 bottles of beer, five wine bottles, dirty diapers, and more. Despite my clear house rules, they smoked inside the room while staying with a small baby.

The guest's complaints in their review were baseless. They claimed the room smelled bad and was cold like a funeral home, even though we adjusted the temperature to their requests (first 20°C, then 22°C). Throughout their stay, both my co-host and I maintained friendly and professional communication, assisting them as needed. The guest even requested to extend their stay and expressed gratitude for our help, with no prior complaints.

Despite all this, Airbnb supervisor Victoria stated she could not remove the review, claiming it reflected the guest’s experience and didn’t violate content policy. However, the evidence—including photos of the damages and trash, as well as the chat history—proves otherwise. This review is clearly retaliatory and dishonest.

I urgently need assistance to have this unjust 1-star review removed. Any advice or support would be greatly appreciated.

[Joan2709]

@Sarah6440 

This is clearly a retaliatory review. I would keep trying to get it removed, but I would concentrate on the fact you have evidence the guest broke your House Rules by Smoking in the Listing. Did the guest threaten to leave a negative review if you made a claim for damages?

Remove A Retaliatory Review

https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/how-to-dispute-retaliatory-reviews-552

"...You should feel comfortable hosting guests without worrying about the possibility of receiving a retaliatory review. You can dispute a retaliatory review—no matter when it was posted—from guests who commit a serious violation of policies, such as: 

• Damaging your property
• Overstaying their reservation
• Violating your standard house rules 
• Having an unauthorized party or event at your place..."

Post A Public Reply to Their Review

While you are working on getting the review removed, I would post a public reply to her review so future guests will understand she posted it in retaliation for a damages claim. Be factual, non-emotional and keep it short. Don't say anything in your reply that you can't prove:

"We work very hard to provide a 5-star stay for all our guests as evidenced by out previous reviews. This guest unfortunately broke several important House Rules and also damaged the unit requiring repairs and additional cleaning. She posted this review after receiving the damages  claim." 

Future Timing of Future Aircover Claims and Reviews

Handling these scenarios is all about timing of your Air Cover claim and your review of the guest:

3 important dates to remember:

- 14 days to file the Aircover claim 

- 14 days to write/submit a review (Host & Guest)

- 30 days to submit any addl proof if asked (video/photos/receipts)

I suggest Hosts not let on to a guest they will be filing an Aircover claim until the guest writes their review, or the 14day window is about to close. I suggest to my Host clients they wait for the guest involved to post their review first. Gather all your proof (video/photos/receipts/Police Report, etc.). Do not post your Host review and file your claim until the guest posts their review. If the guest doesn't post a review, wait unit just before the 14day cutoff and post your honest review and file your claim. Give yourself enough time to enter the information on Airbnb just before the cutoff. If Airbnb asks for more information on your Aircover claim, you have 30days to provide it, so don't miss that deadline either.

If the guest writes their review, then no need to wait until the 14-day deadline. Post your honest review, file the Airbnb claim and some Hosts also message the guest AFTER the 14day window has expired that damages were discovered after their stay and can they shed some light on that? Guests cannot change their review once it is posted...they only thing they can do is ask Airbnb to remove their review. This usually prevents "revenge" reviews from guests. 

[Guy991]

Hello @Sarah6440 ,

It's truly unfortunate to hear about your experience, and it’s great that you shared it here in the community. I couldn’t see the guest review—was it removed already?