Airbnb Blatantly violating its own Content and Review policies

[Armaan5]

The issue is simple:

• My listing clearly states the property has queen-sized beds.
• The guest left a 2 star review claiming that the beds are full sized and not queen sized.

Guest had an issue with me because I did not left them cancel the booking after they checked in. Their group had some people bail and they figured they could get a cheaper place so we got into it and I refused to cancel since I'm not bearing cost of their friends bailing. In return they made up issues during the stay to get free $200 from airbnb support and also left me a review that quite literally lies about the listing. 

My problem in all of this is only with Airbnb support. The outsourced Morons at airbnb support are telling me that they will not remove the review since it doesn't break their policy. Airbnb's Content Policy clearly says  "listings and profiles that provide fraudulent, false, misleading, or deceptive information." So I tell them either remove the review or remove my listing altogether since one of those is 'Fraudulent, false and deceptive'. They they simply close my case without a response. 

Why is airbnb hiring 'support' people who can't pass 5th grade english and are clearly unable to communicate with US hosts. In addition, these clueless dim wits are giving guests free money for no reason. AND there is no repurcussions for them for playing with livelihood of hosts whose life may literally depend on this revenue. My listing is rendered unbookable with a 3.5 star rating as this was only my 3rd booking. So there goes thousands of dollars.

I'm collecting emails of corporate executives and board of directors and will be sending them an email highlighting how these untrained and clearly uneducated people who can't follow clearly written Airbnb policies are allowed to play with the lives of host with no channel to escalate.

I apologize for being harsh here but I have been nothing but Polite, Professional and Patient throughout the process for the past week and I am finally venting because this process has been excruciatingly frustrating for me without any result.

[Armaan5]

@Mike-And-Jane0 I respectfully disagree. Instances like mine are fairly common specially seeing the threads on here. Most hosts simply get tired and choose to list on another platform. If a larger number of hosts start chalking this up as irrelevant like yourself, misleading and fraudulent description will continue to explode. 

Either ways, I really hope that you get a guest that lies in their review about your listing that materially impacts your revenue and finances. Every host like yourself deserves to go through the experience that I am going through, specially for your own sake. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Armaan5 what a nasty thing to say - Why on earth would you wish bad things to happen to me? If I were you I would move away from the personal attacks and concentrate on de-risking your business by listing on multiple platforms.

[Zheng49]

It is possible to get a review removed if the wrong bed size is mentioned in the review.

I was able to get one such review removed, ie. my listing advertises a single bed, and the customer complained that it's a bed for kids. 

However, adult and kid size is more clear-cut. The difference between queen and full size may be less clear-cut. As such, it may be harder/impossible to remove this review, if there are indeed different standards to determine bed sizes depending on culture.

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Dispute it under this review policy:

[Quincy]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0 @Guy991, 

It's great to see the passion and dedication in this discussion. It's what makes our Airbnb community so vibrant and insightful! 

We're all here because we share a love for hosting, but that doesn't mean we'll see eye-to-eye on everything. And that's okay.

Keep the conversation going, but remember respect and understanding are just as important as a good debate!

Thanks,

Quincy

[Pete28]

I believe that if your listing isn’t suspended by Airbnb you can create a new listing and remove the old one. It’s vital to avoid getting another 3* or less review, since then you will indeed be suspended and won’t have anyway to restart.

Would be great if Airbnb could publish actual guidance on recreating listings. For a $B company all of the strange rules become hard to understand. For instance no one really knows how many 3* or less reviews you can get in any time period to be suspended and then removed.

[Joelle43]

Hello @Pete28 and @Armaan5 

Sorry Pete but if Armaan does as you suggest, he has every chance of getting his listings permanently suspended.  This is against Airbnb policy :

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3566

Airbnb have invested in AI and there has been a crackdown on duplicated listings where hosts with bad reviews have relisted to try and get around this issue.

AI picks out listings with the same photos, same email etc.

[Armaan5]

@Joelle43  I am in this scenario because Airbnb does not enforce or follow its own policies in the first place so the hosts have no option but to re-list. 

What is my other option? Let a listing with deceptive and fraudulent review stay up, get zero bookings and lose money? No, thanks. 

[Zheng49]

I agree.

I wouldn't delist and relist, since Airbnb actually removes duplicated listings now.

One of my listings was under 4/5 at one point and I was able to bounce back from that. Granted, that was before they implemented the 'Listing Issues' tab. But I don't think it's the death sentence people think it is, especially if it's a new listing. 

Also, no AI is needed, if the address is the same. And I don't see a way you can change the address either (nor should you). 

I would keep trying to get the review removed, but if it turns out impossible, then reply to the review with actual facts to put out your version of the story as well. 

[Pete28]

Non - if you are in the eu I would delete listing, then account, then use my right to be forgotten to make sure everything they have stored on me is removed before I relist :

https://gdpr.eu/right-to-be-forgotten/

If they then find something you can use above to pursue them. Airbnb has had a few difficult cases around this.

[Armaan5]

@Pete28 Thanks, I believe that's the only way. I would give it some time in between deleting and re-uploading the listing but if Airbnb refuses to follow their own policies, hosts have to improvise as well.

[Elaine701]

@Armaan5 

Yes, some guests lie, they write retaliatory reviews, and demand refunds from Airbnb. But they're still the exception rather than the rule. But yes, it's frustrating. And Airbnb is not going to be of much help. It's not their area of expertise.

But if a host is consistently suffering these types of guests, then it may be time to investigate why their listing is attracting this type of guest? And perhaps make some changes that attract a better quality of guest, while making it less attractive to the undesirable guests. And a bit of screening before they book always helps.

Sorry it happened to you. Chalk it up to a learning experience. Good luck and watch your back.

[Armaan5]

@Elaine701 Even one instance of such guests can ruin your listing if you are a new listing. And I believe that verifying listings and reviews for accuracy should be the PRIMARY area of expertise for Airbnb since they are not in the business of real estate but in the business of connecting hosts and guests via a trustworthy platform.

If I can't truly verify the statements in a listing then why would I ever book or list on airbnb.

[Elaine701]

@Armaan5 

Ideally, yes. Unfortunately, that's just not how it is. On Airbnb or any other platform.

You can choose to operate on the basis of how it should be (and suffer the disappointments and consequences), or deal with how it is.

And for me, there's only a few reasons to list on Airbnb:

1) by far they deliver more bookings than any other platform. Hands down.

2) You can actually screen guests to some extent - the double blind review system is helpful for that. 

3) I've always been paid like clockwork. That's not always certain on VRBO or booking.com. Or Airbnb, I've read, but it's always been like clockwork for me. 

Avoiding any involvement of Airbnb or any other platform's support mechanism should be paramount. And that means striving to attract the best quality guests that you can, so that you don't suffer their involvement.

No, it's not fair. But it's how it is. 

[Armaan5]

@Elaine701 Thanks for your comments. But with all due respect, No one should ever take advice from someone who live with the mentality of "No, it's not fair. But it's how it is. ".

Good luck with all your listings.

[Elaine701]

@Armaan5 

Well, you just suffered the consequences of ignoring that reality. 

Good luck with that.