Dishonest guests leave a good review then remove it following an honest review from us. They then focus on bad Google reviews.

[Emmanuel1616]

Hello,

Long story not so short, our guests requested a late checkout in advance. We readjusted the price but did not pay for the late checkout, even though AirBnb tried directly with them to make them pay the amount. We helped them by giving them free 2 more hours for departure and did a search for restaurants in the area to help them pass the time. They said they had activity in the area afterwards. An hour before they left they wrote to us saying they were sick from eating in the area and did not want to eat at the restaurant and would not be able to leave at the agreed time. They asked us to stay until the time previously requested for late checkout. They told us they wanted to pay. I sent them an additional amount to pay via AirBnb. The guest says he did not receive the payment request. 24 hours later, we had not received the money. I contacted AirBnb support who provided me with a link which I pasted directly into the guest's conversation. I also told her that I would file a complaint against her if she did not pay the amount within the next 24 hours. In the meantime, our maintenance team cleaned our chalet. They found hair everywhere, in the dryer, on the floors. I checked the surveillance cameras and saw that they had secretly entered a pet into our chalet. We accept pets, but with an extra charge for cleaning. I mentioned it to her and she started to contradict what I told her. She started calling me directly and making threats to sully our reputation. I hesitated between not giving an opinion and telling the truth. For its part, AirBnb told me that it had left a good review. I still decided to be honest and not recommend these guests. Since that time, she has removed her AirBnb review and continues to work with her acquaintances to give bad reviews on Google. I blocked her on Airbnb, on my phone. They were 2 guests and I now have 3 bad reviews on google. I dispute these reviews on google but it's really unpleasant. Airbnb rules are clear and the rules for each property are clear. When a guest agrees to come, they agree to a contract. I responded to the google reviews saying that I couldn't find their data on file, that customer service was our priority and that they could see our customer reviews directly on our profile, providing our profile address. We are a superhost and our ratings are perfect. I'm an honest person, we are happy to open our door to people, but I don't accept people being dishonest with me and my family's business. 

What would you do? Does Google review really affect business on Airbnb? Thank you for your advice.

[Alex]

Hi @Emmanuel1616! 👋

I'm sorry you had to deal with this situation. If it's ok with you, I'm going to tag some members to see what they think about the situation and what would they do in your place: @Katarzyna87 , @Collin18 , @Kenchy0 and @Kate2192. 

Thank you everyone beforehand. 🙂

Best wishes, 

Alex

[Emmanuel1619]

Thank you Alex. Sure, I’m curious about more experienced host comments. Best regards,

Emmanuel

[Kenchy0]

I don't know how much Google reviews really matter. But if it means a lot to you, one thing you could do is to take down the Google business listing and add a new one. You could change the name of your Airbnb listing to differentiate it and relist it on Google. Again I don't know how much Google reviews matter. Maybe see if you can check analytics to see if you're getting referrals from google or not. 

[Emmanuel1616]

@Kenchy0 

Thank you very much for your advice Kenchy0. Best!

[Inna22]

@Emmanuel1616 so much to unpack here!

1. I recommend having clearly defined late check out and early check in fees that are in your listing. 

2. Do not give anything for free or get to involved with the guest's plans. There is a fine balance between being a welcoming host and taking on someone else's problems. No guest has ever appreciated anything nice I have done for them. Extreme example: one hurt my guest's her foot immediately prior to her arrival, I secured her a crutch and she later complained it was too short and left a bad review

3. I do not know if those requests go to spam or get overlooked but not seeing an invoice is a real issue. After putting one together, I tell send guests the following message. It has eliminated all issues once I have started doing it

"I have sent you an invoice. Please OK it when you get a chance. You should get it the same way you get all Airbnb messages. If you do not see it, you can also go to airbnb.com/resolutions".

4. Too much back and forth. Guest checks out without paying and brings a pet. Facts you can prove. No reason to discuss anything, threaten complaints, etc.  Just open the claim for the two amounts and let airbnb take it from there. Maybe wait for them to leave a good review first 🙂

5. This guest sounds like crazy. I know it is easier said that done, but you have to move on. 

6. No none cares about google reviews. Airbnb reviews do matter but it sounds like yours are great. I would almost be suspicious of someone who has multiple reviews, all five stars. People are just not that happy.

Good luck and do not overthink it!

[Emmanuel1616]

@Inna22 

Thank you very much Inna22. The hard part is to not overthink :). Thank you very much for your advice. I'll build on what your shared me. Best regards!

[Quincy]

Hi @Emmanuel1616  I noticed you attempted to tag some hosts but you missed out the "@" symbol. I tagged the hosts for you in this instance.

Just a quick tip, to tag someone, tap "@" and select the host's username from the dropdown menu or type out their username. This way, they will receive a notification 😊

Have you found the advice shared from some of our hosts to be helpful?