How can it be that Airbnb does nothing about insulting and hateful reviews, especially at a time when cyberbullying should be taken seriously.

[Silvia3030]

Hi, I'm Silvia, 29 years old, from Vienna and I rent out my flat on Airbnb on the side to earn some extra money. I have put all my heart and soul into this flat and try really hard to be a good host. Unfortunately, 2 weeks ago I received a 1-star review, which said, among other things, that I was a ‘terrible, rude hostess who ruined the entire stay’. I was polite at all times, apologised for any inconvenience caused and resolved the issues as quickly as possible. (The cleaning lady forgot to clean that day - she was in the flat within 30 minutes to make up for it) Not only is this review very hurtful to me, damages my reputation and I have not received any more bookings since then - it is above all against Austrian law, as I am being publicly insulted. I have already written to Suport about this several times, but my request is only fobbed off with standard bot messages. I'm really desperate, I've even considered taking my flat off the platform, but I wanted to ask for advice first to see if you've had similar experiences and whether there might be a solution after all. Thank you in advance and best regards from Vienna, Silvia

[Helen3]

Hi @Silvia3030 

The guest complains of two issues 

1. the apartment was not cleaned which you seem to indicate 

2. she says you contacted her a few weeks before arrival to tell her to cancel the booking because you hadn’t charged out the booking at the correct rate and when she (correctly) contact Airbnb about this you called her a coward - is this correct

In your response you admit both of these complaints are true so I don’t believe  you would have grounds to ask for the review to be removed.

[Silvia3030]

Dear Helen,
Thank you for your reply.

1) Yes, unfortunately that is what happened, but the cleaning lady was in the apartment within 30 minutes and I apologized 4 times for it

2) I didn't contact him to cancel but I asked very politely if the new price was ok and just sent him a change request. without warning airbnb then called me and threatened me with a fine, I was in shock. I then just wrote that he could have contacted me if it wasn't ok for him and I found this approach a bit cowardly.

I am also open to constructive criticism, as I am still an inexperienced hostess.

However, I was polite and respectful at all times and that's what i would have liked to see in the review as well instead of insulting me like that..

Kind regards, Silvia

[Robin4]

@Silvia3030 

Silvia, you are young in terms of hosting experience and starting out in the short term renting business but honestly, that review of Alex's is a badge of honour for you! It stands out like a sore thumb! Look at your other 20 reviews........your guests love you, you have the makings of a great host.

We are not blood thirsty fools Silvia, who do you think we are going to believe, that one turkey or the other 20 who felt you are a 5 star host. Alex looks like the one in the military parade......she is the only one in step!.

Silvia that review says far more about her than it says about you. I have never had anything less than a 3 star review in my 800 + but, if I did get one like that I would be quite happy to let it sit there to show the world what a difficult unsavory guest Alex is.....and definitely not one for future hosts to get involved with.

Silvia, you rock girl, you are the sort of host the platform needs, I can only offer one bit of advice!

Don't engage a prickly guest like Alex in the review process, there is nothing to be gained from indulging in 'he said/she said' verbal fisticuffs.

Just keep your review or response short and very professional......."I love my hosting and meeting beautiful guests. Unfortunately this was not one of my better hosting experiences. I thank Alex for her feedback and wish her all the best for the future but would decline the opportunity to host her again". 

Just leave it at that Silvia, you have got your point across and not accused the guest of anything they can get Airbnb to remove.

In a sentence though, keep up the great work, you have learned from a few early mistakes.....we all make them but, put this behind you and get on with what you are doing well.

All the best.

Cheers........Rob.

[Silvia3030]

Dear Rob,

thank you very much for your kind words - they were very encouraging! 🙂

Unfortunately I can't change the answer to the review, but I will keep your advice in mind for the future. (even though I really hope this will not happen again) THANK YOU and all the best!

[Robin4]

@Silvia3030 

Silvia I have said in other answers, there is an art in picking who will be a good guest to host and who you should avoid.

For a start, I place no importance on a guests previous reviews, in fact I never even look at them! They tell me nothing, most of them will be sugar coated because both hosts and guests live in this Lala land where neither wants to get less than a 5 star review, so we pat each other on the back and the written review, in many instances, bares little relationship to the actual experience.

How often have we seen the post......"The guest had a string of 5 star reviews but broke just about every one of our house rules"!!

The review system is good at displaying positive reviews but, is lamentably lacking when it comes to negative reviews.

And, the ones we really do need to know about have been removed because the guest has objected to them, and I am afraid Airbnb shows more loyalty to guests than it does to its hosts, so it's the host that gets left in the dark!

So the review system, for me, is not a workable way of picking poor potential guests, I just dismiss it!

My most valuable tool is that first guest message, be it in the message stream as part of an enquiry, or the message that accompanies an Instant booking.

Silvia, there are two distinct types of guest! Passive/Complimentary or.......Aggressive/Demanding!

If a guest in that initial message names themselves and who will be travelling with them.

Tells me the the reason they are coming to stay and compliments me on my listing and what I offer.

Doesn't ask any questions, just wants to pull out their credit card and stay. There is no more information I need Silvia, I know they will be great respectful guests, and very rarely am I ever let down.

And on the other side of the coin when a potential guest launches into me with....... what off street parking is available? how early can they check-in? can they have some friends for a drink? is the space shared with the main house? can the sofabed be made up in case my cousin wants to stay as well?

Rest assured they are not the guests I want to host Silvia, they are Hagglers, and with each question they ask their intention is to make you the host give ground while strengthening theirs.

Never deal with a haggler.  

I just send back a polite message suggesting my property will not be a good fit for their requirements, I wish them well and suggest they look at other properties in the area that might suit them better.

After a while Silvia, it becomes second nature, you get a feeling immediately for this person. Where messages are concerned, keep your radar turned on, if it doesn't feel good, I can assure you it won't be and it doesn't hurt to decline the odd request/enquiry.....as long as you don't make a habit of it.

Cheers..........Rob.

[Silvia3030]

Thanks a lot Robin for your helpful answer! 🙂

[Jennifer1897]

@Silvia3030 This feedback is meant to be constructive and not rude so I hope it is received that way. I am not seeing at all where he is "cyberbullying" you. The guest (Alex) brought forth two valid concerns/issues in his review. The first being the cleaning issue, and the second being your request to charge him more after booking. You acknowledge that both of these things actually happened. Regarding the cleaning issue, it sounds like you did your best to handle the mistake which is really all we can do as hosts. As for the request for change in price, I feel this should have been avoided. We as hosts are responsible for managing our listings and setting cost to what we believe is accurate or fair. Unfortunately, it was not his fault that you felt your price was too low. I would have chalked it up as a learning experience and honored his booking without saying anything.  While I don't know the entirety of the message you sent him regarding cost and/or cancellation, I can see where it might be reasonable to reach out to support for clarification. Basically, I don't see any reason this review is a violation of policy, so unfortunately it will likely remain. 

All that being said, it sounds like you and this guest just didn't click and started out on a bad note. Aside from his review everyone appears to rave about your property. Looking at his reviews it appears he is overall a well-mannered guest. 

I wouldn't be so hasty in cancelling your entire listing. Your positive reviews speak more to you and your property than the one negative. In our Airbnb careers we are all likely to get a somewhat unfavorable review along the line. It doesn't define us as hosts. 

[Silvia3030]

Thank you so much Jennifer for your reply! I know I shouldn't have changed the prices and never will again. Like I said, I've always been polite and respectful in the messages so I would have appreciated it if Alex had been polite too. But maybe I'm just too sensitive and ‘horrible, rude host ruining the whole stay’ was meant as a constructive feedback, who knows 😅 I'll try to live with it, it's just that I haven't get a single booking since then.. 

All the best!

[Zheng49]

I feel like a lot of good advice has been given out by other hosts already, but I also feel like this whole situation could've been avoided.

1) What's done is done, don't ask the guest to cancel a reservation because the price is set too cheap. That's a disaster in the making.

2) With a screw up that big (cleaning lady forgot to clean, and arrived 30 minutes late), did you give any kind of refund? I would've refunded at the very least the first night, and apologize. 

As you're a new host, this kind of mistakes are bound to happen (or more likely to happen). Look at my profile, I also started off with a 1* review (and a few 2*s) at the beginning. 

I don't wear it like a badge of honor like what @Robin4 said, but I believe it can show growth and add legitimacy to your more recent reviews if you manage to bounce back from that eventually. 

[Silvia3030]

Thanks Zheng for your advice! I won't make them mistakes again and I will try to stop putting all my energy into this one bad review and just try to look past it.