Host left a scathing review of me and mentioned my religion

[Barbara1213]

Host left a scathing review of me and mentioned my religion.  He didn't denigrate my religion but the rest of review was a scathing indictment that puts people of my religion in a bad light.  Of course, he has no proof of the things he accused me of.  His review is filled with lies and twisted logic.

Host also mentioned that I asked for a refund.  

Isn't mentioning a resolution case (request for refund) go against the rules of reviews?  And is it ever okay to mentions someone's religion?  I would like that to remain private mainly because people from my religion are the number one target of violence in NY state where I travel mostly, and I am afraid of being targeted.

Thanks for any input.

[Mark116]

@Kia272  I agree.  This is not a good outcome and I do not see 'numerous' violations in the host's review. 

I am beginning to think that Airbnb may 'hide' a lot more negative host reviews than I imagined, perhaps this is why your worst guests have all 5 stars, because those 3 star reviews were deleted by Airbnb.

[Huma0]

@Kia272 

I agree with you. I don't think it's a good outcome at all. What's the point in the review system if a guest can get a review removed simply because she doesn't like it? The CS rep only needs to read the reviews she has left for other hosts to see that she had the same issues elsewhere. It just so happens that the other hosts were generous in their reviews and got blindsided when she left nitpicking reviews for them (and probably lower ratings to boot). Meanwhile, the review from the host who was brave enough to leave an honest one, gets removed. Not helpful.

[Fred13]

Where you all seeing these reviews, how do you find them? I thought this was an outlier in her part, guess not.

[Huma0]

@Fred13 

I use AirReview to see the reviews a guest has left for former hosts (much quicker than clicking on each host profile and having to scroll through all their reviews). However, AirReview is a bit glitchy and I find that it only loads the reviews that appear on the first page of the guest's profile. 

Still, just those few =most recent reviews were enough to see that this guest has a pattern of mentioning air conditioning and noise (noise related to the air con is),  so seems to have particular sensitivities around those, as well as being nit-picking in general. It therefore seems unlikely that the latest host made this up and is crazy and telling a pack of lies...

[Huma0]

@Fred13 

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@Fred13 wrote:

everyone learned something and no one got hurt in the process.

---

Also, what did the host learn? That there was no point leaving an honest review? And we do not know if the host did not get hurt, seeing as the OP is flinging all sorts of allegations at him and Airbnb seems to have taken her side.

[Fred13]

Ok @Huma0  we got enough watchdogs of social justice., besides I am way passed the scolding age.

   Like I said myself right off the bat, she threw all kinds of things in the hope something sticks and get a refund, and that gets the Pope nervous. I assumed by the reaction of everyone she surely will learn something, maybe not. Some are that obtuse. If Airbnb was so flaky to remove the helpful host review and side once more with the constantly whining guest, well that is a problem they have had for ages and one I just went through two supervisors to point out.

   Any host able to see the reviews you all talking about won't rent to her anyway since one case could be a fluke, but a few are definitely a pattern.

[Huma0]

@Fred13 

It's not a question of being a watchdog of social justice! Neither am I trying to scold you. That was the furthest thing from my mind. I was just asking a question.

My comments are to do with how Airbnb operates and not some moral dilemma. A lot of hosts (and maybe guests too) are reluctant/fearful to leave an honest review, which makes the whole review system a bit pointless. So, when a CS rep believes one party over another without actually taking a few minutes to examine what is under their nose if they care to look, it doesn't really help.

Sure, if a future host bothers to read the previous reviews a guest has left and spots red flags, they might not accept that guest, but I suspect most hosts do not actually do this (I certainly didn't for a very long time). Instead, they just read the reviews the guest has received. So, by removing the one review that brought up issues that reoccur in the reviews the guest left for previous hosts, Airbnb has just hidden some potentially valuable information.

Some people might be 100% happy to host this guest. I would not and would have been grateful for the heads up.

[Fred13]

A good teaching moment has arisen, to educate hosts how to see the posts an applicant has left in the past, to this day I had no clue how to do so, now having a 'ball' reading them.

You bet the review system is like a hostage situation, if you dare combat an injustice with the guests, the inevitable outcome is the 'scathing review'. And then, once again, the burden of proof is on the host. This is nuts. In fact, if Airbnb continues to allow its system to be so abused, then they and only they have ruined what was a good idea with good intentions.

Addedly, there is a certain calm oftentimes that I have heard many hosts express when not  having an Airbnb booking., because of the review phase.

Needless to say, we are really in accord. /

[Huma0]

@Fred13 

Sometimes when I am busy or distracted, or a requesting guest has a lot of questions, I forget to read the reviews they have left for other hosts. Mostly though, I do try to make a point of it.

Yep, I can imagine you are having a ball reading some of them now! They can often be very telling... I am pretty sure I have dodged a few bullets that way.

See: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/A-Narrow-Escape/m-p/881786#M217165

[Fred13]

I didn't know what I was missing; fascinating. Thanks for turning this rookie on to this entertaining.

[Clara116 · Accepted solution]

@Barbara1213 Having read this post, before the review was taken down and reading all the comments - I'm also on the side of : Why do you insist on calling the host crazy? Why must you find something negative to write in most all your reviews?? Your hosts write such lovely things how clean and quiet you are - but you must surely surprise them after the stay with your "go to" complaints, seems you have a super sensitivity to noise, A/C and must at all times have circulating air - in summer in Fl. we do indeed have fans to help cool us, but winter?? Now Barbara that seems a big stretch to me....since I am in north Florida and you in the south Florida.  

Its unfortunate that the review was removed. Because I think, when someone shows you who they are- Believe them.  Other hosts need and want to see the type of guests they are booking and if problems are on the way. Your review history proves this to be the case when accepting your booking request. 

Its my hope you have noticed the responses from hosts here and taken a look at your style of being a guest. 

Just a note: In review writing, it is NOT necessary for you to find something wrong. I'd be very curious to know-  how many of your stays have resulted in refunds, or monies back on your stays. Perhaps its just your style. And you don't like paying the amount and have found ways to try and get money back during and after....unfortunate if that's the case. Just know you will not get booked by those hosts/crazy hosts that read and see how you seem to work what you do. We will avoid drama and guests with an action plan in place - cause the money is much less important. 

[John5097]

There is a lot going on with this ordeal. I would expect any review that mentions religion to be subject to removal. Conversely, I think any guest should send an inquiry to each prospective host and ask if they don't want to use a keypad lock, and give the host option to accept or decline. With a key pad each guest has their own individual access code that improves security and safety for all guest. Host should also be able to cancel any guest who books a place then ask for a key instead of using a keypad. This situation has come up before and its not a common practice among any religion. I personally would only issue an key if there was something wrong with the lock. It would be too easy for someone to use this as a scam and claim they need a key. Airbnb is a tech based platform, where reservations, communication, locks, and even AC is all done with an app. 

Otherwise when both host and guest leave scathing reviews usually lots of room for improvement on all sides. 

[Anonymous]

@John5097   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_on_Shabbat

Some people of the Jewish faith believe that they must refrain from using electric devices during the Shabbat. In the US, it's only common among the Orthodox community, which is a small but still sizable minority and largely protected under anti-discrimination policies. So while I don't think guests have a fundamental right to have their religious beliefs accommodated with services or features that aren't offered in a listing, I can also understand how the host might have been wary of being accused of discrimination if they declined.

This particular guest has a history of choosing listings whose offered amenities clearly don't match her needs and wishes, then blasting the hosts for it in her reviews. A scathing review of her behavior was richly deserved.

[John5097]

@Anonymous 

Based on my friends and my experience, I suspect this still wouldn't be common. Even the AC is connected and controlled by an app.

And while I don't think there was any intent here to use a key as a scam, I would feel uneasy about giving a key to any guest. So far no guest has asked for a key instead of using the keypad. I also don't think Ive had a single guest with bad intentions and haven't had anything stolen, except a USB charger. 

Even in Charleston I was at a family get together and my cousins who live in London said their friends in Charleston were robbed by guest who used a Uhaul truck to steal everything in the house using a fake name. So just think this could open up more risk by someone saying they need a key for religious purposes. 

Finally, to be totally honest, in my opinion, from a host point of view, there were some potential red flags with this guest past reviews that have been mentioned from a host point of view, but nothing to the extent that would warrant any harsh accusations. There were only a few reviews that mentioned the AC or noise outside the bedroom window. Also no AC in a bedroom with no fan is a legitimate concern. This was something I considered with my listing and installed two ceiling fans, one in the bedroom, also a barn door that has a lager opening to let air transfer from the living room where the auxiliary AC is located (that is also an electronic device, with a remote, batteries and connected to the internet)

However its impossible to know as some guest turn the AC down to 64 that causes so much condensation that it gets the inside of the keypad wet, and the guest use an extra blanket! But if the bedroom was too hot that is a legitimate complaint and if the AC unit was right outside the bedroom window that's also a legitimate complaint. It really depends on how much the rental cost.

In short there are all situations that can go either way and open to interpretation. I think its too easy to get carried away and read too much in to a review and not enough info here to know exactly what the situation was.

I did read the review and while mentioning specific religion was in context to the lock, it was a scathing review and ranted about her husband that made no sense.

Her review also mentioned a lot of roaches. This is another topic that is subjective. Was it just one that got in through an open door or was the place infested?

All in all, I think if the host had posed here and shared his review here, other host would have had lots of criticism and suggestions to improve it and make it more professional. If he had left out religion and vague comments about the husband, the review wouldn't have been removed. That made no sense that it was somehow the husbands fault there was no AC in the bedroom and got too hot. Customer service also didn't grant a refund. And as I mentioned there were some red flags with  a pattern of mentioning something negative that could be an indicator of some other strategy but could also be legitimate experiences. If guest don't like the place they should just cancel the reservation, refund for nights unused, and go somewhere else.   

[John5097]

@Anonymous While I think you have a very keen intuition and these could all be red flags to justify declining a booking, the things mentioned are all  issues that crop up here at the CC. 

One host from Ukraine said to put AC in the bedrooms if not guest will complain. This was a topic about where to locate the AC units. I suggested in the living room but other host have different experiences and different set ups. So far my set up works fine as its only 1 degree difference from the bedroom front the living room, and there is a ceiling fan, but its easy to get too hot in the bed, as the added mattress protectors retain heat also., 

Its just the nature of hosting,  where host have limited information. If there isn't enough information, I require a message with each booking, I might decline, but more often I worry about something and guest turns out to be perfect. I don't think there was enough info here to know the exact situation. My experince as a guest, the AC was off with no instructions and the host seemed kind of put out that I would even bother her. It was also just in the living room but was fine when she gave me the operating instructions. The next night it was perfect. So host in Florida should just leave the AC on and let the entire place cool down. It saves electricity and would have avoided all of these problems. 

I'm glad we all can have a diffenent opinion and that's all it is. Most people aren't going to care about one review and know if its exaggerated. A lot of host also won't make any improvements until they get negative reviews.