Censored

[Paul13073]

I recently had a poor experience at an Airbnb property. The accommodation was basic and appeared neglected, but the biggest issue was the appalling level of cleanliness.

I wrote an honest, professional review and included photographs I had taken as evidence. The review contained no offensive language or unnecessary exaggeration - only an accurate account of my experience.

A few days later, Airbnb removed my review and despite contacting them several times for an explanation, they were unable to provide a clear reason for its removal. Based on my experience, it appears that Airbnb prioritises protecting its business interests over allowing customers to share honest feedback.

[Lorina14]

@Paul13073 

I’m sorry you had a bad experience at your most recent stay. Most hosts appreciate guests leaving honest reviews (privately for sensitive or minor issues) or letting us know what we need to do to improve our listings or a guest’s stay. 

As a guest I would appreciate a honest review publicly so I can choose my accommodations wisely.

Did you reach out to the host during your stay within 24 hours of arrival? Did they offer a cleaner to come by, give a discount or refund your cleaning fee? Those are common practices many good hosts follow. I don’t know why Airbnb customer service won’t tell you why your review was removed.

@Rebecca @Paula @Elisa could you assist Paul in finding out why his review was removed by sending his concern to the appropriate team? Thanks!

[Paul13073]

Thanks for your reply, Lorina.

I have to say that my opinion of Airbnb has changed drastically since this situation began and judging by Airbnb’s Trustpilot rating, it seems I’m far from alone in feeling this way. This can't be helping the many hard-working, professional hosts who genuinely strive to provide a great experience for their guests but without transparency and clarity, confidence in Airbnb will stall.

The problem is that if you lose the trust of a brand it is very difficult to win it back and that’s what is happening at the moment. Censoring the honest reviews of customers is a irreversible race to the bottom.

[Rebecca]

Hi @Paul13073 👋

Sorry to hear about this situation. I wanted to let you know that I've sent you a direct message with some more information. You can access this by heading to the the 3 lines Menu > Messages. 

Thank you @Lorina14 for bringing this to my attention. 😊

[Lorina14]

@Paul13073 

Please let us know what you find out regarding your honest review being removed - what the reason was for it and if you were able to get it reinstated. 

I saw @Rebecca reached out with a direct message and you should be able to help for your situation. 

I and many other guests and hosts agree that Airbnb needs to be mindful and fair in honoring their terms and conditions of their platform or TRUST will be lost and that is very DIFFICULT to earn back. Decades of trust can be lost quickly depending on how you interact and handle issues with customers and clients. How a business deals with problems tells people more about who they are than just the company’s vision, mission and marketing. Showing customers you care about them and their experience is more effective than only telling us that you care. A challenging situation can change a disgruntled customer into a raving fan. Let’s hope they have answers that help resolve your issue for the benefit of all guests and the quality of hosts and listings on the platform. 

[Oksana127]

@Paul13073 That sounds incredibly frustrating. I think most of us, both as hosts and as guests, would expect a review based on a genuine personal experience, written factually and without offensive language, to be treated seriously.

At the same time, I think reviews are a complicated part of the Airbnb system because there are always two sides to every story.

As a host, I have also experienced situations where I felt a review was unfair or contained statements that were simply not true. In those cases, the platform's decision can be equally frustrating when you cannot understand why something was allowed to remain.

So I completely understand your frustration when a review is removed without a clear explanation. Transparency is probably the most important part here. Even if Airbnb decides that a review violates a policy, people should be able to understand which specific part of the policy was involved.

Personally, I think reviews should be based on genuine experiences — good or bad — as long as they are factual, relevant and not abusive.

Some guests will love a property.

Some will find it basic.

Some will be disappointed.

And that is okay. We are not cookies — we cannot be everyone's cup of tea. 🍪😄

But both guests and hosts should be able to share their honest experiences, and the rules should be applied consistently to everyone.

At the end of the day, a review is only one person's experience. I don't expect every guest to love my apartments, and I don't expect every host to be perfect.

For me, the real problem is not necessarily that a review is negative. The real problem is when a review is removed or kept without anyone clearly explaining why.

[Paul13073]

So you can talk to customer service about most things but not about reviews? Why?

Why can't you speak to the specialist team that handles reviews? Clearly Airbnb does not want to provide customers with this option because the truth is they are protecting their business relationships.

Without clarity and transparency a brand can not be trusted. My review is honest, fair and supported by photographic evidence. Customers will only see this as censorship and Airbnb putting their business interests before paying customers.

I suspect my complaint will not be properly addressed and I will not be in a position to recommend Airbnb anymore.

[Lorina14]

@Paul13073 

From what I’ve read on the community center threads here, it appears that reviews are handled through AI mostly with maybe a specialized team that reviews it (many people suspect there many not be a human oversight on the team as much as we’d like to teach the AI or correct issues).

For hosts as well, there have been reviews that are removed that were factual and based on the host’s experience. Other times false retaliatory reviews (when guests asked to pay for a broken or missing item post check out but prior to the review period ending) from guests are allowed to stand even with photographic evidence, documentation in messages and more. It appears there may be a standard we’ve reviewed this and determined it will stand as guests are allowed their opinion default answer the first time. I’m not trying to downplay your experience as I’ve read about other guests having issues with rulings, but hosts have had challenges as well and have began to feel that Airbnb sides with their guests (who rent the spaces) more than the hosts who provide the listings. 

This is an issue that Airbnb should take seriously, if TrustPilot and other forums are saying how Airbnb customer service and their experience is so poor that they will refuse to use the Airbnb platform and go elsewhere. 

@Quincy @Rebecca @Paula is Airbnb aware how their trust as a company is being damaged from poor customer experiences (hosts and guests)?

[Rebecca]

Hi @Lorina14 👋

I just wanted to jump in and share that I have gathered all the details from this thread and passed them directly on to the Airbnb team. It’s always incredibly helpful to hear your experiences, so thank you for sharing.

[Bec3748]

Hi @Paul13073 sorry to hear about your experience 😞 

Already mentioned I think but worth reiterating... it's a good idea to reach out to your Host during your stay to let them know what you found if you have the opportunity to do so. Sometimes a Cleaner may have simply had a day off, or there may even have been a mix up between properties for them to clean.

We had a similar situation when travelling through South Australia last year. I contacted the Host straight away, and they responded immediately. They even sent us money for dinner while arranging for the cleaner to return, and the property was back to standard within a couple of hours. Win-win 😁

[Paul13073]

I'm not entirely sure what the objective is here. There's very little the community can do or say to influence Airbnb's increasingly autocratic policies. I understand that reviews need to be moderated and that hosts should be protected from malicious or deliberately misleading feedback. However, removing reviews without a clear, transparent, and justifiable reason is, in effect, a form of censorship.

[Helen3]

Have you looked at Airbnbs review policy - it's possible you wrote something that went against their T&Cs @Paul13073 

When you contacted the host to send their cleaners back did they not respond? If they didn't you had the option to ask Airbnb to cancel penalty free and for them to help you find alternative accommodation. 

as hosts we are trying to help you - please don't jump down our throats because you're upset with Airbnb. 

[Paul13073]

Read my post properly. My sympathies do lie with hosts and yes I have read the T&Cs.

My review was honest and fair and photographically supported. The property was in a disgusting state and customers should be made aware of it. That is the point of posting reviews.

My problem is not with the hosts - it's Airbnb putting its business interests before paying customers.