Airbnb lack of support in removing a false guest review

[Rachel1620]

I had a guest leave a review that violated Airbnb's code of conduct, and contained a false and slanderous statement.  I contacted Airbnb support immediately after the review was made, and after 4 days I have still not been able to resolve this issue.  I have messaged Airbnb support every day through their chat, and I have called every day for the last three days.  Each day I was on hold for over 1.5 hours, and today I have had to call three separate times because I keep getting disconnected after 45 minutes on hold.  Yesterday I was told that the case was being referred to their Legal team, and that I should hear back from someone within 24 hours.  I still have not heard back from anyone, and the review is still posted.  I am so utterly frustrated at this point, and don't feel that I have received any support, urgency or any decent level of customer service from Airbnb support. Does anyone know of another way to get help with this issue?  

[Rachel1620]

@Helen3that's a great idea to post on FB - I hadn't thought of that, but will definitely do that right away.  I'll be sure to update you on my (hopeful) success.  Thanks!

Unfortunately they were not polite guests.  They were upset that they were sharing the boat with my husband, Gino, even though I was extremely careful to stress in the listing that he lives in the owners cabin on one side of the boat, and that the rental is for private use of the 2 cabins on the other side of the boat plus shared use of the kitchen, galley and deck area.  They tried to tell him to leave the galley area, and he calmly reminded them that he lives on the boat, and the galley area is shared.  They also did not take care of their 4-year-old son - he started standing on top of the tables (which would have broken them), took all of the covers off of our navigation instruments at the helm, and was starting to kick the navigation instruments (which would cost thousands of dollars to repair or replace).  That's actually why Gino was staying up in the galley was to make sure their son was supervised, and didn't break anything on the boat.  The steaks that they mention were actually Gino's dinner for the next evening, but when he went to bed they took the steaks and cooked them, plus went through all of our storage areas and helped themselves to a bottle of wine, I don't know how many beers, and a ton of other food.  None of that was included in the Airbnb, which Gino stressed when he went through the house rules also shared with them at the beginning of their stay.  After they left the next day, they messaged me to request a refund, but before I could reply to them they started calling Gino on his cell phone (they must have called at least a dozen times) and then berated him over the phone.  When we both politely refused to refund them, that's when they left this review.  We left just a very short review, said they were OK guests, and were just going to chalk it up as a learning experience and make a mental note to try and screen guests a little better next time, but now I have to deal with getting this false review taken down. 

[Sarah977]

@Rachel1620  Sorry you had these awful guests. But you didn't say they were OK guests, as you just wrote, you said "We enjoyed having Ariadna and her family as guests, and look forward to hosting them again any time in the future.".

You didn't just leave a non-committal, so-so review- you completely lied. She lied and you lied. And now all hosts who get a booking request from them will think they were fine guests.

You might as well not have written a review at all.

What is "confrontational" about leaving a review which documents bad behavior? The guests are gone by the time you leave a review. You aren't confronting them at all. 

[Rachel1620]

@Sarah977You are right - this was my opportunity to warn future hosts, and I missed that opportunity.  This has been a tremendous learning experience, and I won't side-step around a guest situation like this in the future.

[Robbie54]

 @Rachel1620 To be honest your response to their review should have been more descriptive. Personally I would have gone in to detail why your guest was wrong with facts of my own, to counter argue their nonsense. That way future guests would would be more confident in making a booking, rather than reading a sentence about getting a lawyer involved. Seems like a wasted opportunity to me.

[Rachel1620]

@Robbie54 You are right as well - my review was my opportunity to warn future hosts and to counter their statements and I missed the mark.  I haven't left a response yet to their review, I guess that would still be an avenue to counter their statement.  Maybe it's being a new host and my naïveté, but I expected Airbnb to enforce their code of conduct.  Like I've mentioned, this has been a significant learning experience. 

[Helen350]

Hi @Rachel1620 - You DID leave a response to their review already.. in the box where you said about a lawyer.... So I don't think you can change that, nor add to it.... I think you only get one shot... (Go back to the review form where you originally posted, & see if you can edit, - but I don't think so!)

[Anonymous]

@Rachel1620 Thanks for the entertaining story, but if you want to talk about "false" reviews, take a look at yours. Based on your account, the review you wrote is a total lie.

You had one opportunity to warn the host community about these allegedly irresponsible and destructive guests, and possibly prevent them from wreaking more havoc, and you wasted it on a lie. So what makes you think you deserve the support of the hosting community now? 

[Rachel1620]

@Anonymous You are right as well - my review is my opportunity to warn future hosts, and I did not use that opportunity in this situation.  I won't make that mistake again.  

I'm a very new host, and by coming to the hosting community, I was looking for guidance from more seasoned hosts.  Now whether that guidance is how to work with Airbnb support, or how my own review did not meet the mark, I'll take all of it and use it to improve the way I work.  

[Anonymous]

@Helen3 @Helen350  My apologies to @Rachel1620  if my bluntness caused any hurt feelings. I don't want to discourage any host from seeking advice just because they made a mistake, so I really should have worded that differently.

But it's worth considering that if one of this guests' previous hosts had similarly negative experiences and depicted them honestly, you would have been spared a drama that has cost you a lot of time and potential earnings. As you've gathered from this experience, Airbnb does not vet its clientele or enforce a code of conduct, so hosts have to be their own gatekeepers. Being misled by a falsely positive review can ultimately have results as ruinous as the negative review has been for you.

Anyway, you and Captain Gino sound like the life of the party, so do get in touch if your boat ever comes up the Spree! Steak's on me.

[Helen3]

@Anonymous  I normally agree with the sensible, direct advice you offer but that was rather harsh...

I too cannot understand why a host in this situation would offer the guest who behaved in the manner they described not just a neutral but a rather glowing review. But we all make mistakes as new hosts. That doesn't mean that we are not deserving of support from the wider host community here.

[Helen350]

@Helen3 - Wot I was thinking but didn't like to say....! 🙂

[Mary1710]

@Rachel1620 
I am a new host as well, the advice on here is often harsh but worth listening to, @Helen3  is my favorite for sensible and fair advice.

I have learned the hard way too. When you have to give a review, or even a reply to an inquiry, I have found it helpful to wait, think, and seek advice if necessary before I post or reply to anything. One of many lessons of course. Good luck, and things will get better and a little easier with each new experience.

[Sarah977]

@Mary1710 You are quite right- it's always a good idea, unless the review is an easy one to write, to sit on it for awhile (we have 14 days so why rush? ). I've suggested to hosts who've had horrid guests who left them angry and shaken to write a review that gets all that emotion out, be as nasty as you want, but don't post it- just write it on paper or on your computer-let it all out, insult them and all their ancestors, if that helps. 

Then, when you've had a chance to calm down, write the real review, keeping it brief, honest and unemotional. 

Yes, some of us can be harsh here, but you know what? Sometimes when advice is offered and it's too soft, it doesn't really make an impact. 

@Rachel1620  You're a trooper- a lot of hosts would have pushed back against so many of us calling you out for lying in the review. Some lessons are hard , but it's good you got this early in your hosting career- I doubt you'll be caught out again.

And you did leave a public response to the review- I suspect you thought you were sending them a private message? 

[Mark116]

@Rachel1620  You gave them not a neutral, or even okay review but a glowing review where you went one step further and said you would want to have them back....so, while I think that their review violates airbnb's TOS, I can't feel that much sympathy for you. 

[Martin3128]

I was wondering if you ever got this resolved? I'm having a similar situation at the moment and am so frustrated. In my case the review was not even that terrible, but it was the four stars that I oppose and the fact that the guest stated something that was 100% false about the location of the property which is very confusing to anyone who might read it. "You have to travel through a commercial stone and soil yard" to access the property. UMMMM -- NO YOU DON'T. Never did. Never will. The nearest commercial stone and soil yard is 10+ miles away ..... 

The customer support simply says it doesn't violate their review policy. I asked if it said you need to drive through a graveyard to get to the house, would that also be fine? No answer yet.