How to deal with retaliation review?

[David6]

Another nightmare weekend. Saturday I fell asleep at 12 midnight, as horrendous personal situation  (is this wrong!? Do I need to be 24/7 *woke*)

woke up at 5am to see dozens of calls - around 1am / 2am time - from guest who had ‘left keys in uber’ .

i can’t understsnd why the guest didn’t recall her driver - his number would be listed in app - and get keys back. 

Anyway, at 5am I wake up - message and tell guest how to get emergency set of keys. Bingo! She acknowledges she’s back in flat! 

She messages next day, to say ‘sorry, don’t worry, chatted to driver, I’ll get keys back, before I check out.’ 

So today Monday. Guest checks out. Sends message. ‘Not able to get keys back, I had to rush to catch my train’

I phoned Airbnb to log issue and commenced resolution claim. I just charged  the ‘labour’ to Change barrel on 3 locks. Not whole new locks. No charge for all extra keys I had to cut for me, cleaner, my new guests, arriving this same day at 3pm! I tried to be reasonable. 

Weekend guest accepts the charge, but of course leaves retaliatory review. 

Nearly 6 years of hosting Airbnb? How do I feel? Defeated, unsupported, guests can ruin hosts, no fairness, a platform hosts built and  pay for with fees , yet treated with utter contempt! Superhosts lost because of guests like this! 

And *supposed* voice of hosts (the biggest joke of this century)  @laurachambers 

you ignored me last time when a guest literally sh*t all over my apartment! But when  are you going to step up to your role - supporting hosts? -  stop guests who are charged via resolution centre, from leaving reataliority  reviews????  I appreciate this is rude, but apart from staying with superhosts all around the world - utterly  pountless as so biased- and documenting how amazing it all is. What is your response to hosts like me, who are totally hacked off with Airbnb? A totally disillusioned host worn down by Airbnb policies? 

[Kelly149]

@David6   My Vrbo listing has softened my bad attitude about ABB nonsense (bc 80% of my business now comes from Vrbo)

[David6]

So great to hear @Kelly149 

I’m 99.9% at capacity until September with Airbnb. It’s so easy for them as the location of my listing ensures it’s constantly booked. But for Autumn and next year I need to be on other platforms . I’ll look into Vrbo. Thank you 

[Kelly149]

@David6 @Grain of salt and all since I’m not you BUT if you’re fully booked from now til September doesn’t that mean you’re priced too low??

[David6]

Really good point, but we are next to huge exhibition hall (actually the closest Airbnb. to it) and guests book months ahead. 

And we keep rate competitive but guests constantly mark value as 4*; I just give up... haha 

you know that good feeling when you are happy with the ‘pot’ at end of month. That’s how I feel, regardless of the fact Airbnb is an ongoing nightmare :)))) 

[Cherilyn4]

@Kelly149 @David6 I also have my properties listed on VRBO.  I like that they consistently charge the security deposit before the stay... I feel this promotes better behavior in our crazy party town setting.  However, they charge both guest and host so much more than Airbnb does  in service fees and also charge me credit card processing fees, too.  

After a season of booking on VRBO, I decided to try the prepaid subscription... I found that after they took my money, they hardly gave me any bookings compared to what we were bringing in on the pay per booking platform the season before!  It was like after they had my money, others who were pay for booing were higher in the search.  This left a bad taste in my mouth.  

Now, I keep my VRBO listing just so I don’t have all my eggs in one basket, so to speak, but I keep the higher rate weekends blocked and only available through Airbnb, so I don’t lose as much in fees.  I also went back to pay per booking platform, especially after they even raised the price of the subscription for this season.  

Have you had any of these issues with VRBO?  

[Yolanda8]

https://www.amazon.ca/Angel-Electronic-Combination-Apartment-warehouse/dp/B0786K7679/ref=sr_1_2?keyw...

Invest in digital door locks [use on individual bedroom doors when renting shared spaces] 

Place the code in the "Guest Resources" section of the website; AirBnb automatically sends the "Access Info" in the "Itinerary" to the Guest on "Check-In" day [include AirBnb's toll-free # in this section for any Guest unfamiliar with digital locks; so that AirBnb gets the 1am phone call & you can remain sleeping]

You can change the # codes remotely [with your mobile]

Under "Extra Fees" on the website; charge a "Technical Support" fee for any Guest who calls for your assistance with the digital code.....

Invest in light & fan timers to reduce power costs for Guests who don't turn them off....

[Rebecca181]

Airbnb could easily solve this by allowing both guest and host to submit a written review ONLY in such situations - But NOT allow guest or host to participate in the star rating system, which can unfairly harm hosts (and perhaps even guests) when retaliatory in nature. They can simply make this their policy when a claims situation presents itself - Given these often are emotional situations and retaliatory, harmful reviews are common as a result.

Why allow hosts to be harmed when there is such an easy 'fix', Airbnb?

[Kelly149]

@Rebecca181   I know ABB can do this bc CS once removed a retaliatory review (entirely) but told me that CS would still be able to see it. Just in case. 

[Rebecca181]

@Kelly149 Indeed. I also had a blatantly retaliatory review removed. An Airbnb support person who was extraordinarily competent emphasized that such obviously malicious and harmful reviews could and SHOULD be removed by the support staff and that we should settle for nothing less. She was a rare one, though.

[David6]

@Kelly149 

Rare for sure. Had horrendous run of agents and then last week the guy was so incredibly helpful & competent; I honestly thought I’d phoned the wrong company... 

[Rebecca181]

@Kelly149 Indeed. I also had a blatantly retaliatory review removed. An Airbnb support person who was extraordinarily competent emphasized that such obviously malicious and harmful reviews could and SHOULD be removed by the support staff and that we should settle for nothing less. She was a rare one, though.

[Cherilyn4]

I need to vent.  We rent two homes on an island known being a party spot.  It’s not easy... we deal with drunk slobs, big messes, and situations that arise that are difficult to address quickly because of the location.  But we try our best.   This isn’t our day job and we live an hour away plus a 20 minute ferry ride to the island.  We care.  We try hard.  We are responsive hosts, we are constantly making repairs and little updates (all new mattresses this year.)  But no matter what we do... some people are not going to leave a 5 star review.  They treat it like they are comparing us to a ritzy hotel and we are a manufactured home built in the 90’s.  That is very clear in my description of the property, by the way.  

So, we’ve had mostly 5 star reviews, but a few 4 stars plummets your score.  It’s very hard to raise it to a 4.8 after that.  We lost SuperHost.  We have worked hard this whole tourist season to please our guest.  We’ve had mostly 5 star reviews.  Finally, a few days ago, we hit 4.8 again and I was so excited.  The SuperHost review is in just a few days.  Now, today, we had a guest give us 5 stars in every category and then a 4 overall.  Seriously, what’s that?!?!   Now, we are back to a 4.7 and no SuperHost.  Something seems wrong with this system.   It’s just really frustrating... that’s all.  😞

[David6]

Sorry to hear @Cherilyn4 

Yes, it’s extremely disheartening and frustrating. Airbnb use ‘superhost’ like a whipping stick... 

[Marc-and-MJ0]

As property managers we find that it is increasingly less and less important that you are a superhost. As long as your location and pricing meet their requirements they will usually read a couple of reviews and book without hesitation. 

It is a bit like Airbnb Plus which hasn't worked out as well for hosts as was promised.  We manage both Plus and non-Plus properties and find that in many instances the non-Plus properties earn more than the Plus properties, as there are many restrictions with Plus listings even about what goes into the listing title, order of pictures etc. etc.

Don't stress too much about not being a superhost, instead concentrate on providing good amenities like quality linen, comfortable mattresses, a smart TV and maybe a coffee machine. Guests will appreciate these and this will be reflected in their comments.

Marc & MJ

Short Stay Property Management

www.sspm.com.au

[Anne1055]

Airbnb developers just added the feature of ALL reviews on BOTH the Host and the Guest profile, so that we can see what the Guests say about other places. 

I would still like all STAR RATINGS on both profiles too. That would clear up much confusion as to who to host and who not to.