ABNB Will not remove a review that is directly against policy!

[Bailey152]

Hey all — I’m hoping someone here has been through something like this because I genuinely don’t know what else to do.

I had a guest who stayed at my place recently and completely ignored the clearly posted checkout instructions — they left trash in the unit, dirty dishes in the sink, food in the fridge, indoor pillows were taken outside and left in the rain, and furniture was moved throughout the condo. All of this cost extra time and money to reset and clean, so I submitted a reasonable $75 AirCover claim.

That’s when the tone shifted.

The guest replied to the AirCover request with this exact message:

“We had loved the place and wanted to return. But we’ll have to mention this AirCover case in the reviews to warn other guests about the scam you are pulling.”

The review isn’t about the stay... it’s punishment for me using a tool Airbnb gives to hosts.

Even more frustrating: I called Airbnb Support about this right after the message. The agent I spoke with told me on a recorded line that this kind of review would clearly violate the policy, and that they were notating my account. I thought it was being handled.

But now Airbnb is saying the review doesn’t qualify for removal... even though the guest’s own words prove they’re leaving it out of spite, not based on their stay.

I’ve submitted:

• Screenshots of the guest message

• Photos of the condition they left the unit in

• A full explanation of how they ignored checkout rules

• The support agent’s previous response

Still, no resolution. I am a super host and this would affect our stadning.

Has anyone here successfully gotten a retaliatory review removed like this? I feel like I’m doing everything right and being penalized for holding a guest accountable.

Any help or escalation advice would be seriously appreciated.
— Bailey

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/671486642524302103/reviews?adults=1&check_in=2025-08-20&check_out=2025-...

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Bailey152 I've has a quick look at the review the guest left and feel it is essential that it is NOT removed. As a guest I would find it very important to know which hosts try to charge for any slight indiscretion as I would not want to stay with them (even though we try to obey all rules and leave places  clean). 

[Joan2709]

@Bailey152 

Not sure a $75 dollar Aircover claim was worth the fallout, since these days since Airbnb is not removing retaliatory reviews. Prevention is the name of the game now.

Noise

I would be more concerned about all the negative comments about construction noise to be honest. You don't indicate that anywhere on the listing and have not disclosed that in the Guest Safety/Property Info under Potential for Noise? I would even message the guests about it and mention what hours the construction noise can be heard and if they feel that will be a problem, then they cancel for a full refund instead of leaving a negative review because they weren't warned. Some guests don't care, but some wouldn't want to be woken up by construction noise at 8am while on vacation:

Cushions

If the guest is taking indoor cushions outside, how can you mitigate that? Do you have outdoor cushions? If not, then suggest you get some and that might prevent guests from ruining your indoor cushions by taking them outside. Again, the fallout from the Aircover claim of $75 probably not worth it. 

Dishes/Trash

If the guest had left tons of dirty dishes I might have marked them down in the review for cleanliness and let that go. Guests sometimes don't take out the trash as they are rushing around to check-out. Again, wouldn't file an Aircover claim over that, but you can mark them down on House Rules.

House Rules

Your listing is missing a few of the new standard House Rules? New standard Rules were added awhile ago by Airbnb. 

Suspension - Multiple Reviews Less Than 4 stars

I believe Airbnb is suspending listings with reviews close together that are less than 4 stars. I suggest doing everything you can to prevent another 3-4 star review.