A review clearly violating Airbnb review policy was removed and reinstated.

[Regina1106]

A retaliatory 1 star review posted by a guest who also attempted extortion was initially removed by Airbnb and then reinstated twice. It is now a permanent review and Airbnb refuses to take it down because it was disputed twice. This review should never have been allowed to be posted in the first place in accordance with Airbnb policy. 

As Superhosts, we take pride in providing exceptional service to every guest, ensuring they feel valued and cared for, as reflected in our over 400 consecutive five-star reviews.

Unfortunately, a recent incident with a guest has significantly impacted our perfect record and caused immediate financial harm to us, our cleaners, handymen, maintenance personnel, and the community we support through the jobs we provide.

Last week a guest checked into one of our most luxurious properties and promptly informed us that the house had no power. We immediately contacted the electric company, who confirmed that power outages in the entire region were caused by Hurricane Debby. We communicated this to the guest and offered them a full refund if they wished to check out. They chose to stay. To assist, we sent ice to help preserve their food and had our head of maintenance visit the next morning. He again offered them a full refund if they wanted to leave. However, the guests decided to stay and spent the day on a rafting trip.

We maintained consistent communication with the guests, keeping them updated on power restoration efforts. When they returned to the property that evening, the power was restored shortly after their arrival, and all amenities were fully functional. Despite this, the guests decided to check out late that night and seek a full refund. A recording from our Ring doorbell captured the guest stating that they were leaving to obtain a refund, in response to a friend asking why they were leaving.

After checking out past 9 PM, the guest contacted Airbnb, seeking a full refund. Airbnb declined the request after reviewing the evidence we provided, and informed the guest we are sticking to our firm cancellation policy. The guest then began repeatedly calling and texting our personal phones, demanding a refund in exchange for not leaving a negative review—a clear act of extortion.

The guest ultimately left a one-star review. While an Airbnb representative initially removed the review due to our evidence of extortion and its retaliatory nature, it was inexplicably reinstated two days later. Another Airbnb representative removed the review based on our evidence, but it was again reinstated within hours.

Since this time, we have been unable to get any response from Airbnb. We have repeatedly requested to speak with a supervisor or manager, but have yet to receive any acknowledgment or support.

The impact that guest reviews have on hosts carries far more weight and consequence than reviews hosts leave for guests, yet Airbnb seems to treat them as equivalent.

It appears that Airbnb ambassadors are hesitant to address our case or make any new decisions, effectively silencing us. There have clearly been several improper decisions, along with clerical errors, and it now seems efforts are being made to cover these mistakes rather than correct them.

[Regina1106]

@Bhumika @Paula any thoughts on why customer service is refusing to call and talk to us on the phone? 

I also want to know why the guest's message extorting a refund isn't considered a violation of your review policy. Your help is greatly appreciated.

[Regina1106]

Hello again @Paula @Bhumika , when can we expect to get any help about this matter? The Appeals specialist handling our dispute case only messaged me to say that she's going on a 2-days off. I'm seeing a lot of posts about Superhosts and hosts like us who were also victimized by Airbnb Customer Support's unfair enforcement of your review policies and the daunting host bias displayed by your support ambassadors against hosts who put so much blood, sweat and tears to make sure we are able to give our guests the stay that they deserve. But one review from a guest who blatantly told us that he will not leave a bad review in exchange for a full refund has put a significant impact on our mental health and our livelihood. We'd really appreciate it very much if for once, Airbnb will show support to it's host community instead of treating us like we're the enemy in cases where guests decide to leave an unfair and retaliatory review.

[Paula]

Hi @Regina1106. This sounds strange and we've shared your case internally for further investigation.

Please remember this isn't Community Support and we have no access to Hosts accounts or cases – the Community Center is a place for Hosts to connect and help each other.

All the best.

[Regina1106]

Thank you, appreciate your support and help with this urgent matter.

[Zheng49]

I feel like the 1* review could be prevented in this case, if you bended your rules a little bit and gave them a full refund in this case. 

I would try to offer some goodwill in this case, and talk to the guest, asking if they'd be willing to take down their review in exchange for a full refund (over the phone though because..). It depends on how much you value the income versus the negative review, I guess.

Since I'm on a flexible cancellation policy, I pretty much always go with full refund (for any kind of issues - for me loss of power is a real issue, and I'd give 100% refund just because), just because...the amount of damage even a 4* review does is just too significant, and I can deal with 1 or 2 days of lost income in the worse case scenario if the day(s) don't end up getting rebooked. 

That 4* review, if it's the most recent review, does a LOT of damage. Speaking from 1st hand experience. 

[Regina1106]

Thanks so much for your response! We absolutely go above and beyond for every single guest and have most definitely refunded when needed and have been able to maintain over 400 consecutive 5* reviews.

This particular guest ended up receiving a refund from Aircover almost immediately after Airbnb fully sided with us and respected our decision to uphold our firm cancellation policy.

Not sure what else I can offer him if we do call him directly to take down his retaliatory review? Any suggestions? 

[Zheng49]

@Regina1106

Judging from the review the guest wrote, it seems he/she got a partial refund? Perhaps you could offer a full refund to make it right. 

Disclaimer: I cannot claim that the guest will 100% take down their review even if you gave them a full refund (do so at your own risk). However, the refund amount seems to be their main and only gripe in the review that I saw. That and the renege you did. 

[Regina1106]

@Bhumika     @Paula  Still no one has reached out to us. We just want to know on what basis was the review reinstated twice after your own ambassadors removed it? Just give us facts directly siting the Airbnb policy please. Because we are easily able to site the policy and provide concrete evidence of guest violating several of them: 

Based on the facts at hand, the guest's conduct constitutes a blatant violation of Airbnb's review policy, specifically within the framework of coercion and manipulation. The sequence of events is clear and well-documented.

After the guest's request for a full refund was declined, they proceeded to communicate via text message that they would prefer to resolve the matter directly rather than escalate it further with Airbnb Support. The guest explicitly stated that prolonging the refund dispute could lead to a negative review, thus leveraging the threat of reputational harm to coerce a favorable outcome. Furthermore, they suggested through the Airbnb platform that withholding a refund would result in heavy cancellation fees and complications for the host, despite the power outage being an uncontrollable event.

This conduct aligns directly with Airbnb’s review policy on prohibited actions:

1. Coercion and Extortion: The guest's implication that a negative review would follow if the refund was not granted is a textbook example of extortion, violating Airbnb's stipulation that reviews must remain free from coercion or manipulation. This is made clear in the first clause of the policy: "Members of the Airbnb community may not coerce, intimidate, extort, threaten, incentivize or manipulate another person in an attempt to influence a review."
2. Exchange for Value: The guest’s proposal essentially makes the review contingent upon the issuance of a refund, which constitutes a violation of the second clause of Airbnb's policy, which prohibits withholding or providing reviews in exchange for compensation, refunds, or other incentives.

The guest's communication is not only in direct conflict with Airbnb’s policy but also serves to undermine the integrity of the review system by attempting to exert undue influence over the outcome of their review based on a financial or transactional expectation. The power outage, being outside the host's control, does not warrant the demands placed on the host, nor should it justify a negative review predicated upon unsubstantiated threats.

The host's position is further strengthened by the fact that all communications demonstrating this extortion have been documented. Despite these facts, Airbnb has, to date, failed to adequately address the clear policy violations committed by the guest, instead favoring the guest's version of events without proper consideration of the documented evidence. This oversight is not only unfair but runs counter to the platform's stated policy of impartiality and fairness in the review process.

In conclusion, there is an unequivocal violation of Airbnb's unbiased review policy in this instance, and this matter warrants immediate re-examination in light of the documented evidence.