Hello Airbnb Community,
I wanted to share a recent experience I had that I feel highlights a gap in how hosts, superhosts included, are protected—especially when trying to handle emergency situations responsibly and transparently.
A guest left a 1-star review filled with false claims, after I declined to issue a second full refund following a carbon monoxide (CO) alarm incident. Here's the full context:
During their stay, the guest initially said everything was great, other than mentioning there was animal poop in the non-fenced yard. Three days into their stay, the CO alarm went off and the fire department responded. I was in direct contact with both the guest and the fire services within minutes. Out of caution, the guest decided not to stay, and I fully supported their decision. I offered to find alternative accommodations, opened a liability case with Airbnb, and the platform appropriately delisted my property until I could provide documentation showing everything was safe. I appreciated Airbnb taking safety seriously.
The very next day, I had the fire department, HVAC specialists, and the energy company out—all of whom confirmed there was no CO present. I refunded the guest from the night of the incident through the rest of their stay, along with 50% of the cleaning fee. They accepted it.
However, after speaking with Airbnb liability, the guest's tone changed dramatically. They began demanding a full refund, including for nights they stayed and the full cleaning fee. They also claimed (falsely) that CO had been present throughout their stay and threatened legal action. At this point, liability advised me to stop communicating directly with the guest. Airbnb support confirmed that the guest had contacted both liability and support asking for more compensation, but both declined their request.
Shortly after, the guest left a harsh 1-star review, accusing me of endangering their life, stating things like, "Horrible to work with even in a tragedy. Got charged for Saturday night and didn't even stay that night fore department had us evacuate. ", claiming I charged them for the night of the alarm (which is untrue—I explained the refund breakdown in full detail). She even used the rating system incorrectly, giving 1 star for communication and location based on unrelated or exaggerated complaints (like poop in a yard and refund disagreements).
In her private review she wrote: "But they got their money so they could care less. And charged for the Saturday we got told to leave property by firefighters."—again, false. The fire department documents confirm she was not forced to leave; it was her decision.
To make things worse, after her stay I found that her dog had urinated all over the carpet and a bed, they broke a blind, and removed and broke the gas fireplace logs.
I contacted Airbnb about the review, explaining it was clearly retaliatory. The response I got was generic, and support refused to remove it. I asked them plainly:
"I just want to be clear—Airbnb is determining that her private review statement, 'they got their money so they could care less,' is not considered retaliatory, even though it directly references not receiving an additional refund?"
No one ever answered me.
I followed all protocols, worked with Airbnb and emergency services, refunded fairly, and treated the guest with empathy. I feel I did everything right—and yet I’m left with a review that’s both inaccurate and retaliatory, and no support from the platform.
If this kind of situation doesn’t qualify for Airbnb’s review protection policy, I’d really love advice on how to protect myself as a host in the future. I’m feeling disheartened and hope Airbnb can do better in supporting those of us who do everything we can to keep guests safe.
Thank you for reading.
