The guests asked Airbnb to delete their review on our place

[Bo24]

Hello everyone, 

As airbnb host, we just had this strange incident:

Our guests left us a really good review with comments and 5 star ratings and we reviewed them too. But several days after, I got this email from a case manager saying that she was requested by the guests to remove the review from my account becasue the guest thought the reviews are private and not public. The case manager deleted the review and then let me know.

I understand the guests are not aware that the review is public to everyone, but can the case manager really just go ahead and delete the review even the review is fully complied with the content policy? 

Airbnb hosts are evaulated and measured by the reviews and we constantly try to get guests to review us after their stay, so we can keep up with the requirement,  but the case manager just deleted the review and also the rating, that guests gave us. 

Do any of you have experince in how to handle this?

Cheers, 

Bo

[Bo24]

@Robin4 

Thanks, Robin. Great to know you have worked in ABB support.

Do you also know if there's an option to just delete the review but not the rating from the guest?

I just requested airbnb for deleting my review on one guest ''due to personal reasons'' and got a ''No''.  So it feels like, it's up to the individual case manager how to interprete the content policy. 

Cheers, Bo

[Robin4]

@Bo24 

No Bo, there is no option for you to alter the review in any way, and most CX will say it is not possible for them to tamper with the review system.

You are right, a lot of these decisions boil down to personal judgement on the part of the individual agent and the problem is, once you open a ticket that case will remain open until the support person you have talked to deems it closed, and any further contact by you will be directed straight back to that same agent!.

If you feel you have not received the attention you require thank the agent in the message stream very much for their help and ask them to close the ticket!

Once that has been done open another ticket and preferably via another means! Twitter appears to be a good option. I have no personal experience or statistics regarding this Bo but many users suggest there is a higher level of competence and decision making amongst those staff that man the Twitter feeds.

If you are not sure how to do this, here is the procedure.......

Step 1: Log into Twitter

Step 2: Search for @Airbnbhelp and choose "Follow" them.

Step 3: Send a Direct Message (DM) explaining your issue and wait for their response.  They may ask for information including your listing details and an outline of your issue but always provide it over DM  so it is not public. Their response will be rapid, your message will generally be attended to with 10 minutes.

I cannot tell you that this will achieve the result you are after Bo, but we are lead to believe this is a better option than contacting the phone pool!

Good luck mate, I am sorry you have struck this, you are obviously a quality host and the sort that Airbnb needs to support, and I hope you can get a satisfactory result and put this sorry saga behind you!

Cheers......Rob

[Bo24]

@Robin4  

Thanks, Rob. I had to pickup my long gone Twitter account and sent them a message. I am actually not sure what I want to achieve now. Perhaps to better understand what words to put in the review lines, for example “I and my girlfriend” so it can become personal and private, and then I can have a chance to dail in and request to get my reviews removed afterwards as both a guest and host. 

Have a great day!

Bo

[Robin4]

@Bo24 

Bo, most guests will be easy to pick, and you will be invited to personally name them..."This is my hubby Jake, our kids have given us this couple of days away as an anniversary present"!

No confusion there Bo and you can say to them ..."Kids should be proud of you, I will give you both a good wrap"!

Just because the guests profile might be in two names, don't automatically assume that this couple in front of you are those two named people! He...or she, might be having a 'side order'!

But if there is any doubt and you have not been invited to name the guests partner, just keep the review generic...."Ray was a great guest to host, communication was good, followed the house rules well and I would welcome again"!!  Ray's partner is not going to be offended if they were not mentioned, it is after all Ray's profile that you are reviewing.

I reiterate Bo, you have done nothing wrong here, this guest either mixed up where he put his comments and put the private message in the public review box...... but from what you posted from your email it doesn't look like it. That looked like a pretty public review on the guests part. So the guest should have been entirely aware that whatever he said, others would read. 

I am afraid you just scored a bit of a dic*head here Bo, and you have had to suffer the penalty for having a good guest review of you removed....we need all we can get and I feel for you there!

Cheers.....Rob

[Ina25702]

@Bo24  I'm sure the guest wanted to hide the fact that he was with a girl. In this situation, I would show understanding.

[Susan1028]

Details lol...

[Helen350]

2 thoughts.....

1. Even IF some guest's indescretion should show up on a host's review, the aggrieved spouse would be unlikely to see it, as you can't "search" profiles on Airbnb the way you can on social media.... (Unless the adulterer had been daft enough to book on their own account, which the spouse has access to!)

2. Personally I DO name guests who accompany the named booker.... If I say "Peter & Jane were good guests", then if Jane stays on her own somewhere else, the host knows she's OK (Folks DO stay on their partner's/mother's/sister's account.) Or if Peter subsequently books with anyone other than Jane, well, the host  knows s/he is an unknown quantity.

And, if you write "Peter & partner were good guests" - Well, who's to say Mrs Peter won't read his profile subsequently? My job is to say what kind of guests the guests were, to help them on future bookings, or to encourage/warn other hosts, not to collude in their personal wrongdoings! Of course guests should familiarise themselves with how Airbnb works, before they use it, & if they don't like the transparency.... well, there are hotels & more conventional  accommodation options!

[Sarah977]

@Robin4  Say what? You're accusing Bo of having done something wrong? He wrote a nice review for the guest, the guest wrote a nice one for him. He said they talked about reviews, why would the guest think the review they wrote wasn't going to be public?  Did you not comprehend what Bo wrote? It wasn't his review of the guest that was removed, it was the guest's, at the guest's request.

I've never asked a guest how they feel about leaving and receiving a review. Reviews are an integral part of the system. I've never encountered any guest who wasn't aware of that. 

[Ute42]

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@Sarah977 

After Lizzies visit @Robin4  sounds like an airbnb-CX person himself.

[Robin4]

@Ute42 

Early in my hosting career I was so hell bent on being the nice congenial guy I would write gushing reviews about.....'Jack and Jill' because I wanted the review to look nice and personal.

I was very tersely told in the message stream that some things remain best left un-said, and from that point on my position is the same as @Branka-and-Silvia0 's. I will not mention guests by name unless I am invited to!

Cheers......Rob

[Helen350]

Yes, Sarah, reviews are an integral part, like personal biographies & profile photos! - LOL!

[Sarah977]

@Bo24  So you read the review the guest left before it was removed, right? Do you have any idea what in the review she wouldn't have wanted to be public? Or was it just a typical good review, like that the place was clean and comfy and you were a good host? 

[Bo24]

@Sarah977  Hi, Sarah, I have put the orignal review from the guests on my reply to Robin.  I still have it in my email record. They regreted the review because he mentioned ''My girlfriend and I'' and didn't want to disclosure he was with his friend. 

[Susan1028]

Seems your psychic powers need upgrading lol... @Bo0!

[Alon1]

I find Bo's case & some of the responses observing privacy, very strange, because in principle we are entitled to Review every member of a booking.

Indeed, following all bookings of more than one person,automated request is to Review's 'X's Group'.

Consequently, I don't feel remotely restricted or inhibited to name, refer to or comment on anyone part of the booking. Nor have I ever received a complaint.

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