Negative review was taken down and do not allow me to write a new review

[Hari1724]

Hi this is very frustrating experience.

recently I moved to San Antonio from Seattle for a job and I rented a Airbnb for a month before I rent an apartment. The place says Mel’s place near Pearl district/entire house.

first of all it is a 4plex, not the entire house but the entire 1/4 of the house.

secondly it was very hard to find it since there are 2 houses next to each other that look identical and no front lights. When texted the owner from the app message he responded 2 hours later. He is curt, and can only respond 2-3 hours later. 
the place was ok inside but there is no dishwasher, no bath tub. Couch has shallow back support and wasps inside the house. I wanted to move out on day 3. Their refund policy is partial refund minus 30 days of rent. So they don’t refund my rent because I was there for exactly 30 days. In the end I wrote a bad review and gave a 1 star rating. Airbnb took my review down stating I had violated the policy and I was biased. No further information and I tried at least 5 times asking to allow me to review by editing portions of my review that are biased (assuming they are correct) . All I get is we are deeply sorry. Our heart breaks etc. I don’t know what to do!

[Helen3]

Unfortunately if you wrote something in your review and it's removed because you didn't meet the terms of their review policy - you can't then edit the review or else hosts and guests could just change their review at any point in the process .

the whole point of the review process is that reviews are left blind @Hari1724 

[Hari1724]

@Helen3 ,

I didn’t put anything in the review that is pointed out as the bias. They think I’m being negative because the host charged $250 for pet deposit and I asked what is this used for during my stay.

review it self doesn’t have any evidence of bias.

[Helen3]

Sorry I can't comment on this as I haven't seen your review . Did you check it against their review policy . @Hari1724 

[Hari1724]

So you guys are recommending that I call the city officials and complain about the situation and report?

thanks I’ll try that. 

[Hari1724]

This is the outside of the property from the ground floor. My unit sat above it and me and my girlfriend heard critters in the crawl space and we see that there is this hole and someone has been there trying to block it and I complained to Airbnb to no use. I paid $2,500 including the pet deposit which apparently was non refundable? He doesn’t want me to bring pets because he already have some of his pets hiding in the crawl space. Come on at minimum let me review the place! 

[Jennifer1897]

As Helen said, it's difficult to discern whether the content of your review violated any policies which warranted removal, as we can no longer view it. I am assuming however that the one review you have is from the same host you wrote this question about. 

A few things after reading that review and your post

-Entire house does not literally mean a "whole sperate standing house" it means the unit you are renting is not shared with any other guest or the host. Unless you were sharing common areas with other tenants/renters/owner the space was just for you. If you put this in your review, I can see grounds for the host challenging it, as it would be false. 

-As far as the hosts response time. As hosts we all try to respond in a timely manner, however I know there have been times when I am at work and can't view the platform for an hour or two. If there is ever an urgent situation, I advise guest to call me. I am not sure what this hosts prefers but it may be something to note moving forward if you ever face an issue. As for rudeness, I totally understand that being unacceptable. 

-The bathtub and dishwasher. In a listing all available amenities are typically identified. Additionally, a lot of hosts will provide pictures of each area of the home which includes the kitchen and bathroom. If these items were listed as amenities or components of the home and not there, then you have grounds for a complaint. If these things were never offered, you have no grounds to knock the host. Unfortunately, you cannot knock a host for things you simply "wish" they had vs what the advertised.  Again, if this was listed in your review, it could have been another point for removal.

-Wasp. This would a big one for me, but more so because I am allergic. Did you notify the host immediately of the wasps in the home? As host, most of us hope guest will bring something to our attention so we have the opportunity to correct it vs waiting till the review. If it was on ongoing problem the host failed to address this, it would a valid reason for complaint and concern

- Hosts have a right to uphold their refund policy when a guest elects to cancel. If the guest is cancelling due to major issues with the accommodation, they can try to illicit a refund, however if the host is not agreeing to a refund, it would be ultimately up to Airbnb if they felt the reasons for leaving were justified money being retuned. 

-The mention of your dog- Unless the animal is a service dog, you are required to abide by the pet policy in the listing. Based on her review, it sounds like you brought a pet unannounced despite her no pet policy. Since she allowed you to stay with the pet it is not unreasonable to ask for a deposit. A lot of accommodations that allow pets do ask for a pet deposit as there is more likelihood of things being damaged or extra cleaning being required. 

At the end of the day, I wouldn't be so concerned about your review being removed and I wouldn't exhaust my energy on trying to get it put back up. Just chalk it up as a bad experience and move on. There are thousands of wonderful properties and hosts on Airbnb and I am sure you will have better experiences moving forward. 

[Karen114]

Very well said @Jennifer1897  🙂

[Hari1724]

Jennifer,

thanks for taking time to write this. So wasps are a problem and there was a wasp net outside the door on the porch and some wasps are starting to come in through the door crack. When I contacted Mel that there is a wasp net outside and a wasp came in showed pictures his response was curt and rude stating something like “are you asking me to come over and kill it?” 
this sums up the problem with this host. He has no empathy or sympathy and doesn’t care about his guests. 
fundamental reason why hosts get negative reviews is their lack of compassion. 
sure the advertisement of the place can say what appliances are there but without a dishwasher staying there 30 days was not easy. I was working pretty much every day. 
Bottom line is this place is not recommended for longer stays. That’s my main point of my review.

there is a reason why places like this won’t allow cancellation under 30 days because they know their place is terrible and once someone pays they won’t let them go. 
I paid well over $2,500 and my girlfriend and my cousins all agreed that that place is not good for a long period stay.

in the end I left with more than a week to spare. There were safety issues and police car showing up every other day. I took videos and photos.

in the end a pulling my review down is the ultimate insult to the injury.

Good customer service or at least being courteous by the host and Airbnb staff could help.

complaining to the city council and better business Bureau and letting the future tenants know are basic things to do by any responsible user. Got to bring down malpractices like this one step at a time is your best advice for me. Thanks