Retaliatory, offensive review removal denied

[Ludo431]

Dear community,

Can somebody please explain how is this review allowed?

All 1 star, naturally, even though the guest never set foot into the apartment and got the full refund for the cancellation.

Listing:
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1061951580003885431?guests=1&adults=1&s=67&unique_share_id=d608c78a-acb...

Your replies are much appreciated.

Ludo

[Ania-and-Greg0]

This should not be allowed, this CLEARLY violates terms of service and review policy. Offensive/vulgar language review, which this one is to extreme, also violates content policy.

It also sounds like hte guest never arrived, nor stepped a foot in your actual home, so this review is also irrelevant

you can try calling  the offshore call center and tell them scumbag is a curse word on par with the word like sh*thead and a**hole. Tell them they must remove it due to profanity/vulgar language; not allowed per content policy.

DONT FILE THE FORM. YOU MUST CALL and ask for a senior case manager.

These days AI makes the decisions and no one looks at it. There is a reason why they tell you "another secret department you cant contact, nor will it contact you" is in charge. Their AI bot CLEARLY cant communicate with the outside world, otherwise hosts would break it in a split second.

Its completely untrained and guided to NOT  remove reviews, even if violations occur. you may have to take it to arbitration, or in front of a judge. If this is illegal in your country then communicate it to the guest as well as airbnb as libel and slander. I had luck with the call center with a reservation i had in Spain (our vacation home) where i told them this kind of language (slander/libel) can land someone in jail (part of Spanish Constitution). In Spain accusing someone publicly of a criminal offense (stealing) while fully aware that theft never happened is a criminal offense punishable up to two years in jail for slander.

Currently fighting my own battle with a retaliatory review left after i filed a damages claim where a guests dog damaged items in my home, guest left three stars in retaliation, though the language was not as offensive as this. 

hope this helps

[Marie8425]

@Ludo431 

Try this approach.  Don't say why it really doesn't matter.

This review personally insults me, the Host calling me vile names.  It is not a review of the property I list.  It is just a paragraph insulting me personally.

[Joelle43]

Hello @Ludo431 

This is another case of AI mishandling a request for the removal of a slanderous review😡 Totally unacceptable and shocking that this type of comment is being read by other guests - does not look good on Airbnb.

@Rebecca @Bhumika @Quincy - sorry don't know who is on holiday at the moment but please could we have your take on this?

Many thanks

Joëlle

[Magy6]

I am in the same exact situation! This is automated response that you got ! The policy is clear about irrelevant content ! The person who never shows up the stay or experience should not be allowed to leave review !

I am so sick of this new system and no one is listening to us ! Are they saving money by making review check automated?

[Ania-and-Greg0]

Can you all post your own responses/denials from Airbnb in the same format as Ludo in a separate post (collecting screenshots and links) and link to here please?

I am compiling a list of systemic, deliberate violations of Airbnb’s review/content policy and Terms of Service to demonstrate that Airbnb purposely denies valid review removal requests and knowingly allowing libel, slander, vulgar language, and other unlawful content to remain publicly visible on their platform."

[Jay1724]

Can we start a class action lawsuit?

[Ania-and-Greg0]

Any luck with your review removal process?

[Ludo431]

Thank you @Joelle43 , @Ania-and-Greg0 and everyone else for your kind replies and effort to help - it meant a lot and made me question my sanity a bit less.

Update:

I spoke with two people: one was a Senior Case Manager from Airbnb Community Support, and the other confirmed that a separate team reviewed the decision twice. The verdict? 

The review will stay and there's nothing I can do about it (and any further attempts to dispute will be dismissed automatically). 

Reasoning:

- The review doesn't violate the Review policy

- The content is still relevant to the Guest’s experience

Consequences for the guest:

- "Appropriate action" taken

-  Reminder of the "importance of respectful communication"

The guest called me names and threatened me with a lawsuit. Despite that, I've rated their "Cleanliness" and "House rules" 5/5, as they never entered the apartment, despite assuming the guest won't be nearly as honest.

You know why? Because I'm apparently a naive ******, thinking that a retaliatory review will be taken down.

Lesson learned.

And this is a speculation on my end, but considering how many people were involved and how different this feels from my previous experience with similar issues, which was overwhelmingly positive, I suspect this might be the result of a broader company policy shift, not just a support mishap.

I also felt the support genuinely tried to help, but couldn't, regardless of seniority.

PS:

Calling myself dumb is automatically flagged here. Hilarious.

[Ania-and-Greg0]

thats not appropriate, escalate this to a safety team, tell them the guest is threatening you and this kind of language has no place on the platform. also keep calling to talk to senior case managers and tell them that vulgar language and accusations of theft (when none occurred) are illegal and violate content policy.

they want you to give up, dont

[Ania-and-Greg0]

report it to the police and send Airbnb a copy of the report stating that by allowing this on their platform breaks the law in your country and they will be help accountable, as they allow illegal content to be displayed in a public forum under Article 49(1)(a) of the Simple Offenses Act. 

[Ania-and-Greg0]

it is also a crime under defamation law to accuse someone of the crime knowing the crime has never been committed:

[Ludo431]

Thank you, I will look into it.

[Joelle43]

@Ludo431 - I am shocked by this dreadful outcome.  So Airbnb are now saying that guests can call us all names under the sun and it's OK because it's relevant to their experience😱 Seriously?? 

So this is a clear shift from earlier policies and it would be good of Airbnb to let us know that their new policy is "anything goes" in terms of guests calling hosts vile names or using vulgar and sexual connotations in their public reviews.  I'm thinking of a case recently on the French community forum here. Shocking too but it did get removed after the intervention of our lovely community manager @Lisa.  Here's the link in question (in French though)

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Accueillir-vos-voyageurs/Lorsque-airbnb-cautionne-la-grossièreté...

What is happening to Airbnb lately?  Please @Bhumika @Rebecca - is this the new norm now in 2025 that hosts have to accept being slandered in public and guests get away with it??  Surely this is not right and not worthy of such a company as Airbnb?  Do the top managers at Airbnb know that this is being allowed?  How can this not affect the reputation of Airbnb or the sentiment that hosts are feeling more and more abandoned?

This crappy (hopefully this won't get flagged) guest does not deserve your 5* review so please know that you can at least withdraw it. Read the link below - it's easy and doesn't involve customer service.  It's a very small win but one nevertheless and will hopefully give you a little satisfaction

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/3582

In complete solidarity with you Ludo and am very sorry you are being so let down by Airbnb.

Joëlle

@Ania-and-Greg0 

[Ania-and-Greg0]

due to the language used this guest does not deserve to remain on the platform, if you ask me.

The AI looking at these review removal requests is clearly broken and requires human oversight. this experiment is over if vulgarity towards guests and retaliation clearly documented is allowed. 

This type of comments and language are illegal most place, yet airbnb's AI allows peddling of such vile language and bullying. 

This has crossed many lines and Airbnb management needs to be made aware that host community will not stand for systemic Terms of Services violations from within Airbnb's outsourced call center, and the company itself.

@Lisa , @Bhumika, @Rebecca, Please address this before it turns the tide of hosts leaving en masse if this kind of abuse is allowed to continue.