Guest Violated House Rules, Airbnb Reimbursed Us—But Still Refuses to Remove Retaliatory Review

[Mary-and-Kristiaan0]

Hi everyone,

Has anyone had success removing obviously retaliatory reviews by a guest? 

I wanted to share a frustrating experience we recently had with a guest—and how Airbnb’s inconsistent enforcement of its review policy has left us, as longtime superhosts, feeling unprotected.

On July 19, a guest requested a late checkout for July 20 at 2:00 PM—three hours past our standard 11:00 AM checkout. We clearly and politely declined the request twice in writing, explaining we had a same-day check-in and that our cleaning team needs 4–5 hours to turn over the home. Guest again requested late checkout of 1.5 hours over, which we again politely declined. The guest expressed disappointment but said nothing more that evening. 

The next day, the guest intentionally overstayed, remaining on the property until 11:40 AM, which blocked our cleaning crew from accessing the home. The guest also left trash and messes throughout the property—all of which was documented in real time and sent to Airbnb immediately.

We immediately recognized what the guest was doing (retaliating the first time by trashing the house) and consulted with AirBnB on what to do. AirBnB support ambassadors agreed that was retaliatory behavior and assured us that they would help us remove any retaliatory reviews the guest posted if it occurred. 

Airbnb reviewed the situation and ultimately reimbursed us directly for the overstay after the guest refused to pay. This clearly showed that Airbnb agreed the guest violated our house rules. They did so 3 days after check-out, until which time, no review from the guest. 

However, after Airbnb contacted the guest (not us) regarding the overstay, the guest retaliated by posting a 1-star review. It contained false claims—including that we had “broken windows” (we did not), and that we were “uncooperative” for not allowing a late checkout. The guest was never entitled to one, and we were enforcing clearly stated policies.

Despite providing photo evidence, message history, and even referencing Airbnb’s own Review Policy (which prohibits retaliatory reviews), Airbnb has twice refused to remove the review. 

What’s more troubling: after we followed up, multiple Airbnb support ambassadors reviewed the case, read our full submission, and apologized, stating it was obvious the review team had gotten it wrong. Yet the decision stands.

This is incredibly disheartening. Airbnb acknowledged the guest’s rule violation, reimbursed us for it, but continues to allow a retaliatory and false review to remain on our listing. It damages our reputation and impacts future bookings.

We followed the rules, communicated clearly, and escalated promptly. If Airbnb won't protect hosts from retaliation, how are we supposed to enforce our own policies at all?  Would love to hear from other hosts who’ve experienced similar situations—and we hope Airbnb hears us. Policies must be more than promises—they must be enforced. 

[Dawn241]

@Mary-and-Kristiaan0 I’ve had two retaliatory reviews removed. Both had too many guests and damaged plumbing.

1. As soon as a guest breaks a rule I confront them in the Airbnb messaging app and immediately contact Airbnb host support.

2. As soon as a guest writes a retaliatory review I immediately request Airbnb host support review it for removal based on the communication that has been documented with both the guest and the Airbnb host support. 

3. I formulate a response to the guests retaliatory review which starts with  “this review is in the process of being removed under the Airbnb retaliatory review policy”. I write a professional, albeit, firm response and post it only after cooling off for 24 hours during which time it undergoes several revisions. 

the key is to always communicate thru the Airbnb messaging app. 

[Darren-and-Sarah0]

I completely understand your frustration. We've been there, and the system IS flawed.

But here's what we've learned about protecting ourselves:

We recently hosted guests who threw an unauthorized party, blasted music until 4am disturbing neighbors, brought unapproved guests, and urinated on our fence line instead of using the toilet. We documented everything and rated them 1-star for house rules. Airbnb's algorithm gave them 5-stars overall anyway.

That guest now looks pristine to other hosts. We failed to protect the community despite doing everything "right."

Here's the hard truth: If we violated guest expectations at even 10% of this level, we'd be suspended.
But guests can violate house rules, local laws, and basic decency, and hosts get to submit evidence packets that go nowhere.

So here's what we actually DO now instead of fighting the system:

1. Review at the 14-day deadline, always

• Guests can't retaliate if they've already reviewed or the window closed
• Yes, it eliminates authentic dialogue. That ship has sailed.
• Set a calendar reminder the day of checkout

2. Document EVERYTHING in real-time through the Airbnb messaging system

• Photos, timestamps, messages, all within the platform
• Don't rely on text or phone calls (they don't count as evidence)
• Send yourself a message thread summary if needed

3. Report violations immediately while guest is still on property

• Don't wait until checkout
• Use phrases like "safety concern" and "house rule violation"
• Reference specific policy numbers when possible

4. For your specific case, keep escalating, but strategically:

• Request the case goes to the "Content Policy Specialist Team" (use that exact phrase)
• Cite the specific review policy clause: retaliatory reviews posted after Airbnb enforcement action
• Point out Airbnb's own financial decision (reimbursing you) proves they agreed the guest violated rules
• Ask: "If Airbnb determined the guest violated policy enough to reimburse me, how can their review about that same policy violation be considered valid?"
• Request a supervisor callback, not chat/email
• If denied again, ask for the case to be reviewed by a different team member

5. What we tell guests upfront now (in house rules and pre-arrival message):

• "Checkout time is 11am. Late checkout requests require approval from our cleaning team and may incur additional fees."
• "Unauthorized late checkout may impact same-day guests and will be charged at hourly rates."
• This makes it a booking agreement issue, not just a "house rule"

6. Consider: If you have same-day turnovers regularly, build buffer time into your checkout/checkin times

• We shifted to 11am checkout, 4pm checkin minimum
• Yes, it's less convenient. But it removes the leverage guests have over us

The bigger picture:

The power imbalance is structural, not accidental. Airbnb prioritizes growth and booking volume over host protection. We're working to change that by documenting every case, escalating consistently, and making noise in this community. But while we push for systemic change, we also need to protect ourselves day-to-day by stopping operating as if the current system will protect us when it repeatedly proves it won't.

Every host who learns to review at day 14, document obsessively, and build protection into their processes makes it slightly harder for problem guests to operate.

Every case we escalate creates a paper trail that builds toward accountability - even the ones we end up bending over on.

For your situation: I hope escalation works. Frame it as Airbnb's own enforcement action (the reimbursement) proving the review is retaliatory. That's your strongest angle. But also prepare for it not to work, and decide now what boundaries you'll set going forward to protect yourself.

The community needs hosts who'll keep pushing back on unfair policies AND who'll share practical strategies for navigating the current reality. We can do both: fight for change while protecting ourselves in the meantime.