Retaliation and extortion review

[BnB-Family-Dubai0]

Hi all,

We are superhosts in Dubai and we have a recent 1 star retaliation review which Airbnb removal form has denied to remove. 

I've included the escalation message we send to Airbnb but they keep closing the threads and sending robotic replies. Has anyone managed to get a human or someone to actually review the policies rather that just say this is the guests experience. We have extensive evidence which is being ignored 

 

We are formally escalating this matter for senior review.

Due to an Airbnb investigation that was initiated during the guest’s stay, and which we were not informed would involve contacting the guest, the guest subsequently left a 1-star retaliatory review and submitted a money request, which we denied.

This sequence of events clearly establishes retaliation. The guest’s review was not left to provide honest feedback for future guests, but rather as a response to Airbnb’s investigation and the rejection of her financial request.

Our review removal request has now been rejected twice by the automated AI system, which unfortunately cannot assess the full context or the evidence provided. We are therefore requesting human review by a senior case manager.

Key points for your consideration:

• The guest’s review was posted after Airbnb contacted her during an investigation
• The guest submitted a money request which we declined
• The review is retaliatory and not reflective of the stay
• The guest left a private note alongside the review that clearly demonstrates intent to harm, not inform
• We have consistent 5-star reviews before and after this guest, confirming this review is an anomaly
• Our communication was clear, polite, and fully documented in Airbnb chat
• Airbnb did not inform us of the investigation process or that the guest would be contacted during her stay

As a result of this process failure, our young family business is now being unfairly penalized by a false and retaliatory review.

Under Airbnb’s Review Policy, retaliatory reviews and reviews left with malicious intent are not permitted. This review meets those criteria and should be removed.

We respectfully request that this case be reviewed by a senior human agent, not an automated system, and that the review be removed accordingly.

We appreciate your urgent assistance and fair reconsideration of this matter.

Kind regards,

[Rachel417]

Hello BnB family 

I’m going through something similar - I’ve tried the two attempts with the specialist team (AKA AI) which took me a good couple of hours to compile/submit - both declined in about 20 minutes. From reading many posts on this forum it appears even though there are policies in place such as honest, respectful interaction publicly and privately and zero tolerance on bullying, and abuse-  their AI system seems unable to detect them.
I’m still unable to find any route to a human exchange on the platform who can overturn the AI badly judged decision. I wish you good luck. 
Best wishes Rachel  

[BnB-Family-Dubai0]

Thank you, Rachel. We are still trying so it we find anything that works we will be sure to let you know. 

[Wendy-May0]

@BnB-Family-Dubai0 

That is a genuinely awful situation, and I am sorry you are dealing with this, especially after achieving Superhost status. You are correct that the automated systems are incapable of understanding the full context of retaliation, particularly when an investigation is involved.

Your escalation message is very strong and clearly lays out the case, but the reason you keep getting robotic replies is likely due to the current escalation path you are using.

How to Get Past the AI and Find a Human.. You need to bypass the standard form submission process and target a different team within Airbnb Support.

1. Stop Using the Removal Form: The official review removal form is almost entirely AI-driven for the first few rejections. Using it repeatedly will just keep triggering the same automated response.

2. Use the Payment/Resolution Centre: Since the retaliation includes a denied money request, try opening a new thread specifically through the Resolution Centre or the payment support line. Frame the issue as a "Guest extortion attempt related to a denied refund" rather than a "Review removal request." This often routes the issue to a higher-tier support agent who deals with financial fraud, who then has to look at the review as part of the evidence.

3. Target the Specific Policy Breach: When you call or open the new chat, do not just mention retaliation. State the exact section of the policy that was violated. Mentioning the specific policy name (e.g., the Review Policy and its section on Extortion or Malicious Intent) often forces the agent to manually look it up instead of relying on templates.

4. Send the Private Note: The most critical piece of evidence is the private note that shows malicious intent. Send that single piece of evidence, unedited, to the new case manager and clearly state: "This private note violates the Content Policy against malicious intent to harm a business."

Be prepared to open a few more threads, but reframing the issue around the extortion/money request is often the most effective way to break the automated cycle.

Feel free to ask me any questions about contacting the financial or Resolution Centre support teams, what was the specific reason the initial investigation was opened during the guest's stay?

[BnB-Family-Dubai0]

Hello, thanks for your reply. This is very interesting and I will try this now. We have a late checkout money request which the guest declined given the reasons as "retaliation".

The guest was rude to the in person check-in and made him carry his bags. The investigation was about racism. Airbnb investigated and said they didn't have enough evidence but we did not know they would contact the guest. She booked for one night orphan gap and was a nightmare guest and this 1 star has his the listing as we are due to get NYE bookings. Had she not left this review it would be guest favourite like all of our other listings.

[Wendy-May0]

This new detail changes everything and makes your case much stronger. I'm sorry to hear about the rude behaviour and the stress of that racism investigation; it's completely unfair that your enforcement of a simple late checkout policy led to this.

You now have the perfect argument to get a human to remove the review:

The guest's action sequence is now: Host enforced Late Checkout Policy followed by Guest denied fee waiver followed by Guest left 1-star review.

This is a textbook case of retaliation against a host for enforcing a policy, which is a clear violation of the Review Policy. Do not let the agent get distracted by the racism complaint.

I’d say focus only on the denied money request and the subsequent malicious review. The private note showing intent is the evidence that guarantees the win.

Hit them with that clean sequence and the specific policy violation, and that review should be removed.

Feel free to reach out to me, if anything and I hope it works out for you 

[BnB-Family-Dubai0]

Thanks for the detail. I will try this now - at the moment the threads keep getting closed as the CS reps keep mentioning we have tried twice and can't escalate further. I have an open thread now asking to escalate to a manager who is well versed with extortion and share the price note from the guest and the open resolution for late checkout 🙏🏽

[Rachel417]

I really hope it goes well for you and please let me know how you get on…For me it’s been a real wake up call dealing with this issue and left me feeling violated by the highly personal and insulting content of her private note. I perhaps naively thought Airbnb clearly stated their policies regarding abuse/slurs on character which would have sorted out the matter quickly and effectively, however,  from my exchange with CS they say they would remove the review due to the insulting personal note.. but the specialist team who have the power will not - so in brief my take on this …insulting and abusive language on Airbnb platform is acceptable as long as it’s not in the public domain …which is wrong on so many levels.