Am I being swindled?

[Guy53]

One of my past guests, a week after he left, wrote to me saying that he would write a very bad review for my Airbnb if I didn't refund more than 70% of his stay. He wrote a long list of things that were wrong with the apartment, but he never contacted me during his stay to let me know of all these problems, other than one problem with the boiler that I solved right away. I am very suspicious because everything he mentioned I could have solved right away if he contacted me. Also, these problems were not apparent with later guests. When they left they thanked me and said they had a great stay. It makes me wonder if I am being conned. I discussed the issue with Airbnb, but despite being a Super-host with excellent reviews they said that they can't do anything, such as stopping the guest from publishing his dubious review. The only thing they did is, as I asked, delete my excellent review of the guest which I wrote prior to the blackmail. What do you suggest I should do? It is not a very large amount since the "guest" stayed only three nights.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

Hi @Guy53 you don't seem to have a listing at present. Has this mess caused you to take it down or has Airbnb suspended you for some bizarre reason?

Please don't bow to blackmail - Hopefully if it is clear the review is retaliatory and based on blackmail even Airbnb might be able to remove it. If not just respond to it carefully.

[Guy53]

Thank you Mike and Jane. I snoozed the apartment as I often do while I am working not to be distracted. 

I feel the same way, I do not want to give in to a blackmailer, but I have everything to lose and he has everything to gain. Airbnb did not make any promise to delete the blackmailer's review and I can lose a lot of bookings if they don't. I have now decided that I will pay the blackmailer because in my experience Airbnb usually takes the side of the guest. The blackmailer promised me a good review, but I told him that I prefer no review at all. I even had to be nice to him and accept as true all his lies because I don't want to anger him which can result in a bad review anyway. 

I just want to point out that hosts are defenceless against dishonest "guests" as it is any other business in a world where unscrupulous people who want to manipulate social media to their own advantage can do so very easily. 

[Colleen253]

@Guy53 It sounds like the review period has already passed.  If you wrote a review of the guest and subsequently had it removed, that means it was published. If the guest is yet to write a review, then that would mean they have lost their opportunity to write one. So no worries there. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/13/reviews-for-stays

What happened to your listing? You don’t appear to have one atm. 

Below are a few policies for your review, so you know where you stand should a similar scenario arise again at some point. Note that review extortion is a violation of the reviews policy. Also note the process a guest must follow to claim a refund. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2868/airbnb-guest-refund-policy

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

[Guy53]

Thank you, Colleen. I wrote a review the same day, but the guest still has 4 days to write his. 

I often snooze the apartment when I work not to be distracted by messages. 

[Colleen253]

@Guy53 If this person does follow through on the review threat, you can contact Airbnb, remind them of the review policy (extortion=violation), direct them to the message stream with the guest, and have them remove the review. Keep in mind that many CS reps are not familiar with Airbnb policy, being outsourced third party contract workers. You may need to be persistent. I would also report this guest for their threats made.

[Guy53]

I did contact Airbnb. The comment the blackmailer made was:

 " I'm an entrepreneur myself and would prefer to get s contact from my client than to receive negative review. You have very good reviews and I don't want to spoil that...." "If you don't want to receive negative review I kindly ask you to make a refound"

Airbnb answer was: "That comment, from the guest, is against our policy. If he will leave an unfair review, please feel free to contact us, in order to help you".

The problem is in the wording: how do I prove that the review is indeed unfair? What if Airbnb does not think that the review is unfair? It is my word against his.  I can't take that risk without Airbnb assuring me that they won't let the guest review me at all. So, I will have to pay. 

P.S. I do not think that renting an apartment is being an entrepreneur. I do not see myself as a business. 

[Colleen253]

@Guy53 It doesn’t matter what the guest writes. The fact that he made the threat is all that matters. 

Airbnb won’t be able to prevent the review from being published, as the process is automated. Once it’s published, you’ll have to contact Airbnb to remove it. 

[Guy53]

Thank you Colleen.

I understand, but then you see my quandary. If I don't give in to the blackmailer I risk that Airbnb decides he was truthful, not delete his review,  and as a consequence, my future losses will be far greater than paying him off. 

I find it surprising that Airbnb is prevented to act by policies and rules that they themselves make. Every time there is a problem they say that it goes against Airbnb's policies, but who wrote the policies in the first place? Why does Airbnb create policies that impede them from helping its users? Policies and rules are usually made for the users to abide by, not to stop the institution from helping its users. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Guy53 For the same reason the UK has a policy of not paying ransoms to hostage takers if you give in to blackmail it will encourage this guest and others to behave like this in the future.

Now the UK government can send in the SAS - All you've got to help you is the fuss we can make on the Community Centre.

Given what Airbnb has said though you have a very good chance of getting an unfair review removed - Based on your previous reviews it should be obvious to Airbnb what the guest is doing.

[Guy53]

I know and I agree with you that I may encourage this guest and others to behave like this in the future. This is the main reason I am upset about giving in, it is not the money that is not that much. 

[Colleen253]

@Guy53 There is nothing to stop this guy from penning a bad review anyway, even if you give in and refund him, and refunding would validate his bogus claim. 

Again, Airbnb won’t make a judgement on whether the review is truth or lies. They will simply remove it, based on the fact that the guest violated the review policy with his documented threat. Read the review policy. 

https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

“Airbnb doesn’t mediate disputes concerning the truth of reviews”.

“You’re not allowed…. to use the threat of a negative review to manipulate a desired outcome…”

[Guy53]

You are absolutely right when you write that "there is nothing to stop this guy from penning a bad review anyway, even if you give in and refund him, and refunding would validate his bogus claim", but I hope that he will have no interest in doing so. After all, I imagine that he simply wants the money. I like to think that I made a big effort to create a cosy apartment and I can't believe that he has any real complaint.

[Robin925]

From my experience, if there is every any question about the guest's satisfaction, I wait to write a review until they have written one. If there is a problem with a guest I usually never write a review until the matter is resolved, or the 14 days is up and I forfeit the right to write a review. In my experience more often, usually the really nice people take time to write a review. The reason I hold off on writing reviews about less than perfect guests, is because if there was anything wrong with what they did during the stay, say they broke one house rule, you might be inclined to let it slide, but a photo of the problem as documented when you first enter the unit always pays when you have a problem with them writing a rude review. Send the CS agent proof the guest did not follow the rules. See if any of the issues they raised are ones that were somehow covered in the listing description. And always be extremely clear about any problems you have with the listing: a squeaky door, a furniture that needs repaired. Put it into the extra information about the listing. Make sure you confirm that the guest is satisfied when they check in. 

The kind of black mail the guy is doing comes back to hurt all hosts and superhosts, because the word gets out that they can do this. I had a similar situation recently a man booked and stayed for three days out of two week booking and he left abruptly, was automatically credited for the remainder of his booking, but he requested a full refund for the days he stayed. I gave him a $25. credit, because only two minor items were not explicitly covered in the listing. Try to break it down to some small amount to credit for each inconvenience and give him a minimal credit, tell him that the amount he is requesting is unacceptable and that you find his behavior to try to extort you as offensive. Set up the narrative for later when the CS agent has to look at the dialog they will read the word extortion and you will be seen as taking fair initiative to protect your listing. Also he may get worried and back down. 

[Sarah977]

@Guy53  Of course you are being scammed. Do not ever refund an extortionist. 

Listen to Colleen. Just wait to see if he leaves a bad review and if so, insist Airbnb remove it, based on their extortion policy.