New member of the Community Center with a common question.

[Steve4301]

I co-host a ski resort condo with my wife/partner.  Our last booking left a poor review stating mouse dander caused a reaction.  We have never seen any signs of mice and my wife prides herself with the thorough cleaning and laundering she does. Not just our reviews, but the comments from our previous guests reflect the high level of cleanliness our unit has.  Even though our unit is well cleaned and presented with fresh bedding, we acknowledge that we have a pet dog when we stay there. The unit is not suitable for someone with severe allergies to dogs.  We advise this in our listing that if you have pet allergies, this building is not for you.  I feel someone with sensitive allergies should not be able to write a bad review based on their allergic reactions.  How do I get that bad review stricken from our profile?  What motivation does a guest have for leaving a bad review?  Do they get a discount from Airbnb? If so, how do I determine if a discount was provided?  Our guest did not have any reviews prior to our booking.  After reading their review of our unit, I most certainly would not recommend them to another host but our review said that we did recommend them.  Can we strike our own review from the guest's profile?  Unfortunately, the review system is less than perfect.  Our guest did not mention any concerns during their stay.  We just finished our second ski season and my wife has achieved a Superhost status which we are excited about.  Will a drop in rating impact our Superhost status?  Thanks for any advice you can give.

[Paula]

Hello @Steve4301, welcome to our community.

I am reaching out to @Joelle43  and @Joan2709, two of our most experienced Hosts, to ask for their advice on your questions 🙏.

Regards,

[Joan2709]

Hi @Steve4301 

So sorry this happened...

1. You can ask Airbnb to remove a review you wrote for this guest:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/13#section-heading-10-0

"You can remove a review you published if it no longer reflects your experience as a guest or Host."

2. Yes, this negative review will affect Superhost status as you must maintain a 4.8 rating or better to retain Superhost:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/829

3. I would try to get the review removed. Worth a try at least. I would base it on the "72hour rule." Guests are supposed to notify the host and/or Airbnb within 72 hrs of discovery if they have an issue. I'm assuming they didn't notify you within that time frame of the issue.

Guests have 72 Hours to report an issue

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/248

"You have 72 hours to report any issue to your Host or to Airbnb from the time of discovery."

You'll have an uphill battle getting the review by the guest removed, but why not try? 

I'm not sure if you can edit a public response, but it's always best to be short, factual and non-emotional. You are writing it for future guests, not necessarily to the one who wrote the negative review. I always use the phrase, "we're sorry your stay didn't meet all your expectations...we have very high cleanliness standards as evidenced by our (add the number) 5-star reviews." Then if they never reported an issue during the stay I usually say, "we're puzzled as to why you never reported this issue during your stay so we could have addressed your concerns? I would also say something like, "we are equally puzzled as to why you would book an accomodation that states not suitable for those with pet allergies, since you state you do have sensitivities to pet dander 

BTW, I have never heard that mice have dander and that people can be allergic, but I guess that is possible?