Airbnb recently denied my request to remove a biased, retaliatory review after a guest, even by her own admissions, caused significant damage to my property. This is my situation and analysis regarding Airbnb's procedure for disputing retaliatory reviews and the Review Policy, which contradicts how Airbnb exercised its own dispute procedures.
Relevant Facts. Guest's reservation was for 2 adults and 2 children. During Guest's stay, through Airbnb's message portal, Guest expressly states, "[W]e are LOVING our stay and would love to book this unit for the following month if possible and if it's not too late" and "[T]his place is a hidden gem. I'm gonna to leave the most excellent review regarding our stay." Upon checkout, Guest refused to vacate property and I had to block off the next day since there was no time to clean and prepare it for potential next guests. I also discovered 2 additional unauthorized guests who stayed for the duration of the reservation (minors) when I repeatedly knocked at the door and respectfully requested that they vacate in accordance to house rules. Once Guest vacated, I discovered significant property damage and missing property, i.e., the worst busted pipes under kitchen sink and flooded kitchen, which ruined 3/4 of the baseboards of my custom cabinets and pulled up the sealant on the floor, several damaged walls from Guest hanging makeshift curtains (attempting to cover it with paint that doesn't match) or markers/crayons/pens/dirt, a pungent odor that I could not remove (which caused the next guest to cancel and I fully refunded), etc.
Thereafter, I submitted a claim / requested reimbursement from Guest and uploaded verifiable evidence in support thereof. Guest retaliated with a biased, false review. By Guest's own admission in the retaliatory review, Guest hung "a sheet with duct tape for privacy!" In the private message, Guest further states, "The duct tape on the wall is your fault for not having a curtain on the window & I STILL was gracious enough to purchase paint & go over the tape marks!" Guest's response to my public review of Guest states, "So we accidentally took [property] from [Host's] home, ACCIDENTALLY . . . mix ups happen."
On the same day as the review, I submitted a dispute to remove the retaliatory review. In roughly three hours, without questions or requests for evidence, Airbnb summarily denied my dispute, without explanation, and only a template-style reference to the same policies that encouraged me to submit a dispute under the circumstances.
Airbnb Review Policy & Analysis. Pursuant to “A Simpler Way to Dispute Retaliatory Reviews,” found in the New features & policies section in the Resource Center, “[Hosts] should feel comfortable hosting guests without worrying about the possibility of receiving a retaliatory review. You can dispute a retaliatory review . . . from guests who commit a serious violation of policies[.]” To be considered for removal, the Host must "demonstrate a serious policy violation and that [Host's] enforcement of a policy led to the retaliatory review." Serious violations of policies, according to Airbnb, include guests that (1) damage property, (2) overstay their reservation, and/or (3) violate house rules.
The above article refers Hosts to Airbnb's Review Policy for more information. According to the Review Policy, "Reviews must be unbiased, contain relevant information reflecting the actual experience of the reviewer during the stay or Experience, and follow our Content Policy." Under the requirement that reviews must be unbiased, Airbnb explains that "guests s...
Contrary to the ambiguous explanation for denial by Airbnb, the Guest’s retaliatory review unequivocally violates Airbnb’s Review Policy. Guest, by Guest's own admission, damaged my property. Guest overstayed their reservation, as verified in Guest's message indicating departure, which was over 2.5 hours past check out time. Guest violated my house rules by misrepresenting the number guests staying at the property, exceeding the max capacity by two people. The property is not equipped for that many people, which subjected it the damages eventually caused by Guest's violation. Guest committed "serious violations of policy," as specifically defined by Airbnb. I enforced Guest's liability for damages caused as a result of Guest's serious violations of policy, and in response, Guest wrote a biased, inauthentic review as a form of retaliation against me. Guest loved my property during Guest's stay, never mentioned a single issue throughout the entire stay, but was suddenly aggrieved by it once held accountable for serious policy violations.
Conclusion. Airbnb failed to follow its own policy when it denied my dispute to remove Guest's retaliatory review. Pursuant to Airbnb's Review Policy, Guest's review is biased because it's a retaliation against me for enforcing policy and house rules. Airbnb continues to respond with ambiguous templates that appear to be automated. Failure to remove the review is damaging my reputation and turning potential guests away from my listing. For the reasons stated above, Airbnb should immediately remove Guest's retaliatory review.
