Malicious and false safety report by guest

[Franco237]

Hi I have been a super host with Airbnb for over a decade with stellar reviews and no incident. Unfortunately, I hosted a tenant that was unaccountably malicious and rude and filed a false safety report after she vacated. This has disrupted my ability to host (her intended sabotage) it has been over a week and Airbnb has shut down my listing and say they are investigating, but have not contacted me with questions.  Is there anything I can do to reverse this damage done? 

[Matt4914]

@Franco237 Can you provide any information with regard to the content of your guest's complaint?

[Franco237]

@Matt4914 All Airbnb will tell me is that it is under investigation. They said they would contact me in 72 hours, and it has now been a week. The only thing I can glean is that the housekeeper came on the appointed day and time, knocked on the door but got no answer, and let herself in to clean. (This is normal because she has a schedule to keep) The guest was there asleep and did not answer the door. The guest never contacted me to complain or ask the housekeeper to leave.  I am genuinely bewildered. Meanwhile, Airbnb has canceled all my future bookings, suspended my listing, and has not answered me. 

[Bonnie566]

Wow! We are in the same boat! 
a guest complained and wanted discounts from the moment she arrived.  I told her if she was unhappy with the beach construction ( 3blocks away) I would exchange for another weekend. Well she stayed, had a party, messed up my 6000ft oceanfront home and told Airbnb I promised her another weekend.  
I told them I have videos at front door and saw SUVs dropping off people.  She reserved for 3, sent fake video of construction and said it was in front of my house. 
I told Airbnb no free weekend. 
They have been investigating for two weeks and told me I’m suspended and no longer part of the community!! 

[Franco237]

Sorry to hear that Bonnie! It sounds like you have, at least,  been talking to people at Airbnb. I have had no communication from them other than “it is under investigation” and I am suspended. They have not even told me what the complaint is! Safety is a big topic! Suspending my rental is  serious. What could have happened to warrant this kind of protocol?

[Matt4914]

Do you disclose any information about housekeeping schedules or procedures for host/agent access in your listing description or house rules?

Was there advance notice for the housekeeper accessing the premises at that time that’s clearly recorded in your message history and agreed to by the guest?

[Franco237]

Yes to all of the above! Not only do I have it clearly in my Airbnb house rules ( I require the housekeeper to come bi-weekly on Wednesdays), But I also have it printed on a framed information sheet in the unit. I also message the guest

a reminder the day before she comes! All this (minus the physically framed info sheet)  is apparent to Airbnb support. 

That said, Airbnb has not mentioned what the safety violation was.

[Matt4914]

If the issue is indeed about the housekeeper entering the premises, it sounds like you've documented enough information to have a strong case! It's likely going to be difficult for you to make that case and I wouldn't be surprised if you need to communicate with multiple Airbnb Support Ambassadors before you can even get any further information, but it sounds like you have a chance! Just keep trying and don't give up! Wishing the best for you and your listing!!

[Lorina14]

@Franco237 

It seems like it may be the fact that the housekeeper entered while the guest was sleeping. That would feel like a violation of privacy. Like others have mentioned, do you arrange a time/date when the cleaning occurs and is this documented that the guest agreed to this?

Do you have security cameras on your perimeter and is this disclosed in the listing description and on the safety tab on the listing? This is a reason why listings get suspended as it is in violation of Airbnb guidelines (it must be mentioned in the listing the locations of the cameras and in the security section).

@Rebecca can you assist Franco in anyway? For some reason I can’t tag any other community support manager. Community support managers can direct your concern to the right team but they are not customer service.

[Marie8425]

@Franco237 

I am   just trying to  understand.    Your  rental  includes a regularly  scheduled  house   cleaning   during a guests  stay?

If  the  Guest  was  told   if  no   answer  the  housekeeper would enter  at a specific  time.then  I  would regularly  keep  submitting to  Airbnb   Guest  was  aware

If you  didn't  make it  clear  then I would approach with a new process that ;prevents the  problem

[Franco237]

Hi Marie -

The guest was aware that she had a cleaning that day, and I reminded her via message the day before. It is stipulated in the house rules and the info sheet in the unit. 

Just like any hotel, the housekeeping protocol is to knock several times and, if there is no answer, to come in. They have a schedule. 

That said, I am not even sure what the complaint is because Airbnb will not tell me what the safety violation is. 

I don't believe this is a matter of clarity. This guest's behavior was quite odd, and the tone of her messages was appallingly rude.

[Tatyana96]

  I sympathize all hosts whose accounts were suspended, it seems many had gone through it.
  I was  in similar  situation, guest made up false safety claims & All My listings were suspended without notice, explanation as to why. Same response- specialized team is investigating. I finally got phone call from safety team on day 16, still no explanation as to why my account suspended. As I guessed what it could had possibly been, I explained my side of the story & was told in less than 24hrs they’ll give me response. Not till 8days later, On a day 24 finally safety team unsuspended my Account. I was relived but prior agony & stress … 

[Lorina14]

@Tatyana96 
Do you have security cameras on your property? Do you disclose in the safety tab in your listing and in your description that you have outside cameras in (location) for security ont he property? I heard some people got suspended because they didn’t list the locations to the security cameras/doorbell cameras. Other reasons for a security investigation is if the host entered the space without prior approval, or if the guest felt unsafe (threats from a neighbor, the host or an aggressive dog toward their pet). These are all reasons I have read on past threads. Unfortunately the security team takes a long time to investigate and during this time all hosts listings are suspended. I’ve also read that they only communicate via email and don’t get back to you in a timely manner. It’s frustrating for hosts and being a Superhost doesn’t seem to help according to others.

[Tatyana96]

Lorina

I appreciate your response No, none of your mentioned safety concerns applicable to me. It’s a condo in a condominium. I dont have any security cameras at all. Guest messaged me to cancel prior check in, reason- it was out of his budget. Agreed to meet for check in, to accomodate I offered to lower my payout but he kept lowering his initial offer to impossibly low. To resolve I offered to keep only 1 mo & refund remaining 1.5mo. He wanted 100% refund. I take monthly there. He refused to even check in, left & threatened to delist me. Next thing - all my listings were suspended. And unsuspended on day 24. But I still don’t know why they were suspended 

[Franco237]

Thank you, Tatyana. While I am sorry this also happened to you, it gives me hope that I might get my listing back