Retaliatory Review After Enforcing Cancellation Policy – What Are My Options?

[Carl10693]

Hi everyone,

I’m reaching out to see if other hosts have encountered a similar issue. Recently, we had a guest who decided not to stay at our property because they didn’t like the area. We upheld our cancellation policy, but the guest left a review falsely stating they had stayed for one night, along with other inaccurate information.

Despite providing Airbnb with evidence that the guest did not stay and that the review was misleading, the review was not removed. According to Airbnb’s own review policy, reviews should be unbiased, and guests are not allowed to leave retaliatory reviews when a host enforces a policy or rule.

Additionally, the guest sent us threatening messages through the Airbnb platform, which we reported. We later discovered that this guest is also a host. It seems unfair that another host could leave a retaliatory review, despite not staying, and damage our reputation simply because we enforced our cancellation policy.

Has anyone else experienced something like this, and what steps would you recommend for handling the situation? We feel stuck, especially with the challenges we’ve faced in getting support.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

[Marie8425]

@Carl10693 

I read the review  Guest states they did not stay, they asked for a refund, you refused,  All true.  The guest left a negative review biased on their opinion,  You are protected from a "Retaliatory" review, you are nor protected from a negative review.  As Hosts we can not enforce our cancellation policy and keep the funds but now we have to accept that though the Guest might be wrong he is allowed to have an opinion.

[Joelle43 · Accepted solution]

Hello @Carl10693 

In response to @Marie8425 reply, I would definitely contest this review on the basis that it cannot be considered relevant since the guest never set foot in your place which is on top of the fact that this is a retaliatory review, not to mention the threatening messages you speak of.  The Airbnb policy on reviews states:

Reviews should be relevant

• Reviews must provide relevant information about the reviewer’s experience with the Host, guest, stay, or Experience that would help other community members make informed booking and hosting decisions.
• If a guest never arrived for their stay or Experience, or had to cancel due to circumstances unrelated to that stay or Experience, their review may be removed.

In an other link there is an official way to contest a review to have it removed supplying the necessary information

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/32

Good luck Carl and please let us know how you get on so that other hosts may learn from your experience 🤞

Joëlle

[Zheng49]

According to the review, the guest DID step foot in his place. @Joelle43 

This will be tricky if not impossible to remove, because most likely everything the guest has written down is true, because the guest is ALSO a host which means she knows how the review system works. 

In order for this to qualify as a retaliatory review, the guest must have committed one of the following:

It doesn't seem like the guest has committed any of these. 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Zheng49 

You're quite right, it is going to be difficult to remove this review now that I've read the review under @Carl10693 profile - I hadn't read the review before replying only reading what had been written on the subject here.

Thanks for putting me straight

Joëlle

[Helen3]

I'm a little confused as to why you neither left her a review yourself to warn future hosts or responded to her review. .

personally I would call Airbnb out about this on their socials and keep contact CS about getting it removed @Carl10693 

[Rebecca]

Hi @Carl10693 👋

I just popped by to let you know that you've got some support here from other members of the Community Center. @Helen3, @Joelle43, @Zheng49 & @Marie8425 have left comments below. Did you have an opportunity to read their advice and support? 

It would be great to know how you got on and what you decided to do going forward?