Guest review of homeless people

[Elizabeth2787]

We have a listing for a house in central downtown. It is in the middle of the most popular area in the city. However, there is also a salvation army shelter two blocks west. We note this very clearly in the listing. 

A recent guest gave us a 2 star location rating because a homeless person decided to sleep on the sidewalk outside the fence to the house. 

1: I cannot control this, nor would I try to. 

2: We clearly state that there is a shelter nearby, this is a downtown, and there are homeless people around. 

Is this a review I can have removed? This is basically no different than if a guest complained and left 2 stars for the location because they went to downtown Portland and it rained the entire time. 

It's completely out of my control where that person chose to sleep. 

Am I wrong here?

[Christina163]

I don't see the review. but you're renting houses out for $90 a night & letting 10 people stay there? You can't even go to a Motel 6 for, $9 a night per person? You're lucky the only bad thing that happened was an unfavorable review. 

[Elizabeth2787]

You don't understand our market and honestly don't know what you're talking about. 

This is a 500sqft house in the slowest month of the year. 

It's also a home on a different profile from our other LLC. So, it isn't one you'll find attached to this account. 

I've been doing this successfully for 13 years. My question was if anyone has ever had a review removed over complaints about homeless people, which is entirely out of the host's control. 

If your comment is unrelated to that question, save your breath.

[Helen744]

Elizabeth2787, We are all hosts here and some will answer your question as you see it and some will make another comment if they think its relavant.So no claws please. to answer your question ,bearing in mind that I am not Airbnb. I do not think a homeless person sleeping anywhere but in your garden has any bearing on anything that you could be responsible for. So the answer is no . A host on here did have a homeless person sleeping under the house at one stage. This did unsettle the other tenants as I remember but the issue was that originally the person had been invited to the house by someone else.It is tempting to consider that homeless people are immovable objects but in fact they are not ,so maybe a word to the shelter as to why this person was obviously 'unsheltered' on that evening or why they chose your property.We all have odd little issues that are random so lets hope the weather stays warm for the homeless.Talk to a rep about both removing the review completly as a homeless person is not a fixture or fitting but generally just a passer by and not something that you did,as such ,to unsettle anyone. Peoples tolerances and it seems compassion is variable.. H

[Elizabeth2787]

Hey, I appreciate the suggestion of talking to the shelter. That is probably the best route to go. 

If you've ever been to a city, you understand that encounters with homelessness are common. It does say there is a shelter and they you will likely encounter folks living on the street. They aren't dangerous. So, complaining about the fact that you see them from the rental seems a bit ridiculous. 

As for Christina's comment, it was needlessly snide without understanding anything about the market or the home. Added to which, this question has nothing to do with that house. So, I answered in kind. 

Not trying to be rude but if someone goes off topic, I will reply accordingly. 

[Ann72]

@Elizabeth2787  I don't think @Christina163's comment was rude.  She was offering her opinion on your pricing as she saw it.  None of us know at first glance whether you're an experienced host or not, so comments like this are made to instruct and educate.  Don't let it bother you.  You know you're doing a good job.

[Elizabeth2787]

That's fair. I apologize if I read it wrong. 

[Fred13]

@Elizabeth2787  Unfortunately, the mere mention (intending to serve as an insinuation) that there is a Salvation Army shelter 2 blocks away doesn't explicitly convey the possibility of a guest maybe having to 'step' over a homeless person to get to your place.  Granted that guest's over reaction comes across shortsighted and unfair considering you can't control that.

The point brought up by@Christina163 is perhaps from the subconscious, brings up a different but related point - a listing offering 10 guest for a total of $91 a night is maybe a potential recipe for a dreaded party occurrence, and if that occurs it does have a bearing on every other hosts; what hurts the Airbnb brand influences everyone of us.

@Helen744  Thoughtful and kind point of calling the shelter and try to help. \

[Elizabeth2787]

The house is not actually $91 per night for 10 people. It scales by occupancy. In the off season, we see a lot of contract workers. So, if you are a traveling nurse coming here with 2 people and want to rent the house for a month or more, the lowest rate is $91 dollars per night. There is no recipe for disaster in that marketing strategy. Additionally, having that option and using that pricing model attracts more views because your published minimum listing price is low this propelling you in the search results. 

Subconscious or not, it wasn't what I was asking about. 

[Elizabeth2787]

...and we do more than make a mere mention of a salvation army. We explain the area, the construction happening, the likelihood to encounter people living on the streets. 

Yes, we spell out what an urban area is for people who have never been to a real city. 

So, if you read all of that and then still choose to book, should you really be allowed to leave a negative review after being made entirely aware of the situation?

If I listed my house and said it didn't have a washer or dryer, would it be okay for a guest to then complain that they couldn't clean their clothes during their stay?

[Ann72]

Your logic is impeccable @Elizabeth2787, but I don't know whether you can have the review removed or not.  You might be able to argue that the 2-star rating for location isn't relevant (reviews are supposed to be relevant), but then again, someone else may see it as relevant.  

It sounds like you've done a lot to get ahead of this potential issue.  I might do a little more, something like guilting people in advance.  Like when someone asks if they can bring their dog to my no-pet listing:  "Oh, I wish I could, but then people with severe pet allergies wouldn't be able to stay!"  Or about leaving outdoor lights on:  "Please be mindful of our treasured Dark Sky and turn outdoor lights off when you turn in for the night."  You kind of give guests ownership of the issue in this way.  Think of some wording that would get guests to feel good about the fact that there's a shelter nearby.  Even the ones who don't will feel like jerks for complaining about it.

[Elizabeth2787]

This is great idea and I will definitely be putting a sign in my listing that explains that while Airbnb may be perfectly fine with discrimination against the homeless, we are not. The folks who are passing by our listing going to and from the shelter have never caused any issues for us and have always been perfectly pleasant. I will suggest that they contact us if there are any issues and explain that we cannot control who uses the sidewalks outside the house. I'll probably also post the section of the law that states their right to exist with being discriminated against. 

[Fred13]

@Elizabeth2787  Can you link the place in which is indeed the subject at hand, since your contention is - ''Because of how I am describing it shouldn't ever merit a 2* star review' be interesting to see how how you did describe it.

We encounter this phenomenon ourselves, no matter how we try to drive the point we are not a 'resort', still some (5/700) bookings over 8 years have expected to be one and have been harshly reviewed as a direct result, but at least got 3/5 of those reviews removed.

[Helen744]

Elizabeth2787 , as we all can tell you and there are many many comments, the review system is flawed and no more so than in the area of'Location'. Guests will often misinterpret that to mean ,could they have been in a better location?, like the TAj Mahal for instance, of course they could.Further to your comments about 'urban ' areas, they do not all contain shelters or homeless , but one thing I do know is that nightly accomadation in them is aproximately the price you have listed apparently on one of your houses, and the overwhelming need of people in crisis of homlessness is cheap overnight stays. I think this may be the issue the other host was speaking toward.It is a relatively unique situation but the shelter needs to be aware that it needs extra beds to cater for people who either have stayed for their maximum number of nights . I guess being human beings , possibly flawed they may have expected to stay at the nearby Airbnb at 90 per night.?In Australia the going rate recently for overnight stays was 89.00. We do not all have to live in a city to be aware of homlessness and some say that aAirbnb owners are causing it . What is your opinion on that ?

[Elizabeth2787]

Where I live, the shelters are never full because they require sobriety. I'm not trying to judge. I truly feel for the folks living on the streets here, but the fact remains that our shelters are adequate. The problem is convincing people to use them. 

Still, my issue is two part.

First, the review system is flawed, and remains flawed, and really hasn't improved much in the many years I've been hosting. If anything it has gotten worse. 

Second, this guest was a heartless POS in my opinion. Sure, I can handle a bad review. Honestly, who cares? It's just one review. But, to be unhappy that there was a homeless person sleeping outside the fence on the sidewalk is insane. They didn't harass her. They didn't insult her. She is complaining simply because she had to "see" them on her vacation. 

I have little tolerance for people like this. 

And no, I don't believe AirBnBs are the catalyst for homelessness. It existed long before home rentals.