Irresponsible parents accuse me of not liking young children in the review. Airbnb refuses removal.

[Samuel-And-Chiara0]

Without going too much into detail during the check-in, here’s what happened:

• I arrived 10 minutes late, despite having spent the previous 40 minutes keeping the guests informed of my progress every 10 minutes. So, they were fully aware I would not be exactly on time.

• We apply a €5 penalty for every 30 minutes of delay that is not communicated in advance — this is mainly to address guests who mysteriously take 3 hours to arrive at the apartment after landing, usually around lunch or dinner time, or those who don’t provide any transport information and show up late without notice.

• Despite being kept updated, the guest sarcastically remarked that I should now reimburse her for being late.

• We started the check-in, and from the beginning, her child was extremely restless: running around non-stop, opening kitchen cupboards and doors, pulling things out and spreading them all over the floor.

• He then moved into the living room and started doing the same with decorative objects.

• It was clear that he was a highly energetic young child — which on its own is fine — but the problem was the total lack of discipline. He ignored the few attempts from the mother to calm him, and the father did absolutely nothing to help manage the situation.

• I asked if this was normal behaviour, because honestly, if this was how the child was acting with me right there, how would it be once they were alone in the apartment? Would he start damaging things?

• The mother, quite bluntly, replied: “Yes, and it can get even worse.”

• I was stunned, and asked, “But can’t you do anything? Is this behaviour going to continue?” She replied, “There’s not much I can do. He’s just like this. You have to let him calm down.”

• I was speechless. At that point, I began removing smaller and more fragile objects from around the apartment and putting them away safely.

• I finished the check-in while keeping an eye on the child at all times to see what else I might need to hide or protect. It was an unusually stressful check-in, made worse by a total lack of empathy or concern from the parents.

Regarding check-out:

• On the night before their departure — and I believe only because I messaged them first — they informed me that they were planning to check out at 16:00 and asked if that would be okay.

• Our check-out time at this apartment is strictly 10:00. I asked the guest if she was aware of this, and her answer was: “That’s why I was asking if it was okay…”
  But she never actually asked — this is what she wrote:

  "Bonjour,
  Tout se passe bien et nous apprécions Lisbonne.
  Nous prévoyons de faire le checkout vers 16h.
  Est-ce ok pour vous?"

• And again, this only came up because I proactively reached out to confirm their check-out time.

• Naturally, we did not allow a 16:00 check-out, and I have no doubt that this further affected her mood when it came time to leave a review:

The review...

"Hôte un peu trop envahissant et n'aime pas trop les enfants en bas age apparemment. Se permet de réclamer des frais en cas de retard alors qu'il s'est lui même présenté en retard."

The guest wrote "n’aime pas trop les enfants en bas âge apparemment", and the use of the word "apparemment" clearly indicates that this is a speculative and subjective remark, not a factual statement. According to Airbnb's own policy, this qualifies as "speculative content not directly related to the stay", and therefore should be grounds for removing the review.

I believe the guest’s comment represents a malicious and unfounded misinterpretation of the situation and that it violates Airbnb’s policies on honest, relevant, and respectful reviews, by suggesting prejudice where none existed.

Am I wrong for thinking this way?

[Guy991]

Hello @Samuel-And-Chiara0 ,

Before I share my thoughts, I have two questions about some missing information:

1. I see that you have several listings. Are they all in-person check ins? Do you have any listings with self check in, or are you personally going around to check in guests?
2. On the day they wanted a late check out, did you have another guest arriving after them?

[Samuel-And-Chiara0]

Olá @Guy991,

I'm curious to understand how the requested information might change the response, but here it is anyway.

1. All our check-ins are done in person. Guests are informed of this when they make their reservation, and by confirming it, we assume it’s because they prefer to be welcomed by someone — not by a phone or a box with buttons.
On our side, we (check-in team) also enjoy welcoming our guests — always with a smile and ready to help however we can.

2. Regardless of whether or not there was another check-in on the same day as the guest’s check-out, the cleaning schedule (which in this case would have started around 10 AM) had already been arranged. As you may have noticed, we manage, own, and clean several apartments, and good cleaning — detailed and thorough, the kind you rarely find in the city — takes time and effort and that requires careful coordination.

When someone needs something that we know from the outset is not standard, the best approach is to plan ahead — not to wait until the last moment to make a request that, in reality, is asking for a favour.

Regardless, what really matters here is that we now have a review claiming that the host doesn't like children — unfairly damaging our reputation — based solely on the opinion of a mother and father who were unable to control their child’s behaviour, as he simply did whatever he wanted.

In the end, during the cleaning, we found clear evidence of this: objects under the bed and sofa, scribbles on the walls, and missing remote control covers that were never seen again.

We didn’t file a complaint with Airbnb because, honestly, I’m tired of constantly having to fight with them — and they would probably ask me for an invoice from a painter. But I had to do it myself, with a small can of paint, because we’re not a construction company and obviously don’t have an invoice for that kind of work.