I was gobsmacked to see that a guest that cancelled upon arrival could leave a review.
I contacted Airbnb immediately to convey that this is not fair. They did not like the place, so are obviously going to leave a bad review.
I was told:
"Please do not be worried as the Guest did not stay the review will be taken care of.
Just give us a call once the Guest writes a review."
My prediction was correct: they left a 1-star review. So I did call Airbnb but was then sent through two cycles of form submission. Despite there being 2 blatant lies in the review which is in contravention of the review policies, Airbnb refused to remove it.
My mistakes -
#1 - believing that because the guest didn't actually stay here, we wouldn't be able to leave reviews for each other. That would make sense, right? Well wrong - they can, and will leave a nasty review.
#2 - giving the guest a refund on a strict booking. I was asleep when they arrived, but got out of bed to greet them and help them with their luggage. Despite language barriers, I could hear they had issues with the space. The booker did not read the listing and had not realised it is a basement with stairs. Feeling bad for them, and because I felt pressured because I wanted them to leave so I could go back to bed, I said I would give them a full refund if they leave immediately. NEVER do that. From now on I will say - "I can't even consider a refund unless you leave immediately. Then we will resolve this through the resolution center." That way, when they slander your reputation (which they will), at least you can still collect the booking fee.
#3 - thinking Airbnb would support me. They won't. They promised they would remove the review (see above) and then refused.
See my reviews to see which guest to avoid!! Hint - it's the only 1-star review.
