Hi,
I've never posted on here before but wanted to ask for some outside input as I've had an experience which I find stressful and disappointing.
I have been with Airbnb and another big platform for a few years and received mainly very positive reviews.... The house isn't perfect - it is big and old and there is always something to do - but we do our best and always deal with any issues that arise during a rental.
A first time user of Airbnb stayed in August for a week, arrived and said the house was "perfect". At the end of the week they left and I received an angry message with a long list of things that the guest felt weren't right with the house (I would say 2 were reasonable, they were things that needing seeing to, he was right) and demanding "at least 500 euros." I entered into an exchange with the man explaining that whilst 2 of the things were reasonable observations, most of it wasn't and whilst I was willing to make a gesture, 500 euros was excessive.
The man called me on Sunday 5th and went crazy, shouting, swearing, threatening to get his money by whatever means necessary, even if it took years, that he had his methods, that he would never give up, that he would write negative things about the house online every year until I gave him 500 euros. He didn't let me speak, said he was not interested and that I'd better give him his 500 euros.
Without wanting to sound paranoid, our house is very isolated in the countryside and I did not know what he meant by "I have my methods" - does he mean stealing/causing damage? The man was completely out of control.
I went back on my account after the call and wote to him and said that I was shaken by his call and threats to get his money "one way or another" and could he only communicate via Airbnb now and contact them immediately, as I would as well.
I immediately called Airbnb. By the end of Sunday afternoon, I was speaking to an Airbnb mediator who said I did not need to pay the man anything because he had waited too long to make the complaint (over 24 hours) to them (instead he had been harassing and threatening me) but that I could offer him something to calm the situation if I wanted to. To be honest, this man made me nervous, the house is very isolated and I believed him when he said he wouldn't let it drop.
I asked the mediator what I should offer to resolve the situation and he said 10% and I said OK. But I said I felt like I was being blackmailed and giving in to threats and intimidation and that I did not think it was right that someone on Airbnb could behave like this. The mediator agreed and said several times, reassuringly, that Airbnb was going to take action on the guest's account. He said he couldn't tell me what Airbnb were going to do becasue of privacy, but he repeated several times that Airbnb agreed his behaviour doesn't fit with the community. So, perhaps a bit naively, I thought they were going to kick him off the platform!! The guy made threats and was abusive and intimidating. It was really pretty shocking. It says on the Airbnb web site that they don't put up with that.
I was very surprised that the next day, the man posted a review on my house and the web site is now waiting for me to write a review on him.
I have contacted Airbnb repeatedly and they are saying much about it other than that I should flag the user, which of course I did right at the start.
I want Airbnb to enforce it's rules against intimidation, threats and aggression. In some circumstances, the review system does not work. I am nervous about writing an honest review about this man. In that review, I would say that I have worked with Airbnb for years and I have never been called and threatened before as I was on Sunday. I would say that no one should rent to this person and, according to Airbnb's own rules, he should not be on this platform.
But I do not feel I should even have to write that review. I have reported this behaviour to Airbnb and he shouldn't even be on the platform. Why is Airbnb allowing him to review a host he aggressively threatened? How do I know how the guest will respond to this review? When he did not like what I wrote in private messages, he called me and shouted, insulted, threatened, intimidated and blackmailed, threatening to never let it drop. If I write an honest public review, how do I know that he is not going to contact me again, repeatedly? I do not know, therefore I am not encouraged to write an honest review, and therefore I am not protecting future hosts from the kind of experience I had and that is not fair on future hosts.
Am I missing something here? How have I mis-managed the situation to get here?
This is not just about getting a positive or negative review - things can always be better, I know that. But for the first time in my interactions with Airbnb, this has made all the talk of "community" and "family" appear like just marketing and I feel let down.
I feel that in certain situations, Airbnb has to take responsibility, police their own rules and provide more support.
Thanks,
Tim
Tim Cook
