Guest threatened bad review - Blackmail

[Desy17]

Hi Community,

We've been superhosts for 4 years, with only one issue with a guest in that time. Sadly, we're facing another problem where we aren't receiving any support from Airbnb.

Last week, we hosted a guest for 2 nights. Prior to check-in, they asked if we knew anywhere to rent scooters during their stay, and we happily assisted in coordinating scooters with a local company (without any commission or earnings).

Unfortunately, the guest had an issue with one of the scooters, resulting in the rental business needing to replace it. This was done in approximately 8 minutes after reporting the issue. However, the guest became furious, threw a tantrum, and kicked and smashed a wooden bucket at the front door, which is used to wash beach sand off feet before entering the property.

The guest's behavior was totally unhinged and immature. They threatened to give us a bad review unless we arranged a refund from the scooter hire business or paid for their scooter ourselves.

Upon investigation, we found that this guest and their friends do not meet our minimum age requirement of over 25 years (listing > guest requirements > minimum age).

The guest followed through on their threat, leaving a 2-star rating which triggered a warning from Airbnb regarding our listing being at risk.

Shocked and concerned, we escalated the matter with Airbnb. They asked if we had any evidence of the threat, such as the guest putting it in writing. We offered to provide an affidavit signed and verified by the local police, which we were told would assist in resolving the matter and getting the review removed.

Despite spending more than 6 hours over Saturday and Sunday waiting to make the report, making the report, and waiting for a senior police officer to sign and legalize the document, we're upset and frustrated that Airbnb has not removed the review, despite the police report clearly stating that the guest threatened us with a bad review.

Airbnb is refusing to acknowledge that the guest should not have been able to book our property due to being too young. This situation could have been avoided if these types of guests were filtered out correctly.

The review is completely out of line in relation to every other review of our property, and the guest's intentions are obvious. For example, giving 1 star for location when we are pure beachfront in the most popular location in our region, which is a hotspot.

The guest complains and rates our property down on house rules items or details that are clearly listed and explained on our listing and available before booking our property.

Our property is a family holiday home with 3 bedrooms and is not suited to a group of six 19-23 year olds who do not wish to share beds and instead break the house rules by sleeping on couches, which now have to be steam cleaned.

We are going in circles with telephone support, who love to send fluffy sympathizing statements of understanding how we feel but are unwilling to assist in removing this first-time Airbnb guest's intentional blackmailing review, which is supported by an official police report. The review even starts with their complaint and continues to rant about the scooter.

I am so tired of what is a small but growing trend of guests who use the review system for obvious personal gain.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on how to get this matter seriously escalated above entry-level support?

I am so disheartened by the lack of support provided that I am considering canceling our account with Airbnb.

Appreciate any help, advice, or recommendations.

Thanks, Desy

[Helen3]

I'm sorry you had this experience. Lessons to be learnt going forward

1. it's up to you as the business owner to check your guests meet any age restrictions you impose. Airbnb is just a marketing channel and their only obligation is to check guests are over 18

2. I would only ever recommend a supplier - let the guest make their own arrangements then they can't try and hold you responsible 

3. I can't believe you left such a glowing review for a guest you said was so rude, threatened to leave a bad review and damaged your property. Why???? @Desy17  this is why guests get away with bad behaviour 

i would suggest you contact Airbnb regularly if your evidence shows that this guests threatened a bad review if you didn't make payment for the bike

[Desy17]

Hi Helen,

Thanks for your reply.

We have a process in place that our onsite staff report any issues to us so that we are able to review appropriately.  Unfortunately last week I took our family on a holiday overseas and I didn't recieve the message from our staff in time and submitted a review which as you would know is not able to be changed.

With regards to the minimum age requirements, this is the first time we have received a booking from Airbnb where a guest doesn't meet our age requirements.  I understand it's our responsibility to check however what is the point of have the minimum age feature if it's not used to filter guests?  This is misleading  as it provides hosts with the assumption that Airbnb is filtering guests to meet host requirements.

We are continually contacting Airbnb who even after requesting a police report don't seem to want to accept a sworn police statement as evidence. Perhaps they don't take the Indonesian police seriously.

Thanks again for your reply. 

[Helen3]

It's you not Airbnb who is putting the minimum age filter on your listing of 25. Therefore you need to have a system in place to verify their age as part of your booking process .  @Desy17 

all Airbnb commits to is that the guest is over 18

actually as you should know you are actually able to edit your review as long as the guest hasn't left theirs within the 14 days after their stay 

Are you saying your staff didn't tell you of any problems with the guest until you returned hence your glowing review? 

[Joan2709]

Hi @Desy17 

So sorry this happened. I agree you should publicly respond to the negative review. Keep it short, factual and non-emotional. You can also request that your "glowing" review of the guest be removed since it doesn't reflect your true experience with the guest:

Remove Your Own Review

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3582

"You can remove a review you published if it no longer reflects your genuine experience as a guest or Host. Just reach out to our customer support team with your request to remove a review you’ve authored."

[Kia272]

@Desy17  One thing you need to realize, is that support will tell you almost anything to get you off the phone. The police report would be a good example. You wasted a bunch of time getting a police report stating that the guest threatened you with a bad review? How do the police even know if that's true? 

I'm sorry you ran into these horrible guests, but to then believe the utter nonsense that support told you is a shame. AirBnB customer service agents are extremely poorly trained. They will tell you anything to get you off the phone. 

FYI, minimum age to register and rent on AirBnB is 18. I understand how frustrating and awful this situation was. It's probably best to not rely on AirBnB to help in any situation, and think of it as a booking platform only. 

Wishing you better luck with your future guests. 

[Jennifer1897]

@Desy17  I am sorry to hear about your situation. Unfortunately, we all get bad guests from time to time.

My first recommendation to you would be to try to get the review removed due to the fact that the guest threatened/blackmailed you. Do you have documentation to support what you wrote here regarding the situation with the scooter and the review? Although it might be a bit tiresome, as Airbnb support is the not the best, they will likely remove the review if you can supply that information. I've had a few guests write retaliatory reviews after they caused significant damage to the home and were reprimanded or refused to pay the claim. I was successful in having their reviews removed.

BTW your place is stunning, it sounds like all your previous guests loved it. Even in the event the review is not removed it should not affect you too harshly. Keep in mind too you can always write a brief clear response to the review. 

That being said, as others have said, Airbnb is basically just the booking platform, they are not verifying every individual's age or information. Moving forward I would kindly ask your guests to verify their age and the number of those in their party.  It sounds like not only was he young, but he also exceeded your maximum guest count. Although pictures can be deceiving, he looks significantly young in his photo, that would have prompted me to dig for a little more information. 

I remember one of the great things about Bali every time I have visited was the house managers or hosts being so helpful in arranging things like rentals, activities etc. I know this is a nice service guest appreciate especially when they are traveling in from other countries or long distance. Just be mindful again with the age of the guest when assisting them with things and make sure any and all rentals or activities are only in the guest's name. In other words, don't provide a scoter in your name to a guest. I am not sure why the guest thinks it's your responsibility to cover his misuse or accident related to the scoter, but you can always inform guests as well that they are liable for any incidents occurring as a result of utilizing third party rentals or services. 

Your place is absolutely stunning, and it appears all your previous guest loved it. Even if this review is not removed it should not hurt your booking significantly. Keep in mind as well you can always write a response to any review. Just keep it brief and factual.