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

[Susan1028]

@Bo0

I'd protest this.

Guests are told in writing thier reviews will be public and that the private comments sections is private, just for the host.  Neither you or Airbnb is responsible for the guest not reading, and who would have a problem with leaving a good review?

I'd go to a supervisor and ask that it be reinstated.

[Susan17]

The only surprise, is that anyone is surprised. 

[Alon1]

@Susan 

... Or maybe CS are concerned that CC is running out of topics....

[Ben551]

@Bo24 I think you are exactly right about the reason the guest wanted their own review removed...

The guest wrote this:

“Bo and XXX are really good hosts. My girlfriend and I were happy to stay at their place. Because They welcome us warmy and advised such nice places&restaurants in Copenhagen during our vacation for 2 days. Our room was clean and bright also it has a lot of possibilities including tv, free internet, Apple TV, towels, free drink, garden and welcome message like 5 stars hotel. We really enjoyed and had quality time at garden with lovely lights and wine. Thank for your kind hospitalty guys.”

See the underlined bit? There is nothing else particularly personal about the review, apart from that one line. So if the guest felt compelled to remove those words “from the internet” then my money is on him not wanting people to know he had 2 days away with his girlfriend.

I wonder what we would find if we looked him up... married? with children? Recently told his wife he was on a “business trip” ? Lol... I’m guessing one of these.

[Susan1028]

@Ben551 and @Bo24

One would think that if it were an issue, he would not have incriminated...himself.  He also could have asked that that passage been removed.

[Ben551]

@Susan1028  aha, but therein lies the problem.  The Airbnb review system is not editable, in any way.  All Airbnb CS can do is remove a review entirely.  This issue comes up a lot. They don't have the power to edit, only to delete.

[Sarah977]

@Ben551 @Ben551   My guess would be that it is her that is having the affair, not him. And that she freaked when she saw what he'd written. If he thought the review was going to be private, to the host, he wouldn't have been referring to his hosts as "they", would he? 

[Ben551]

@Sarah977  very good point.  It is written like... like it's to a third party.  So clearly the guest thought that someone other than just the host would be receiving the review.  The plot thickens...

[Robin4]

@Susan17  and @Branka & Silvia are the only other ones here who have got it right....the surprise is that everyone is surprised!

I come back to my original point, which you @Sarah977  criticised me for. Mentioning names in reviews is a dangerous thing! Bo's guest made mention of someone he should not have, and needed to get it removed. CX agreed that the guests public comments would be a personal embarrassment and removed the review.

The only one who acted inappropriately was Bo's guest!

Cheers.....Rob

[Alon1]

@Robin

I fail to see any 'danger' on two counts:

1) All names are supposed to be included as part of a Booking.

2) Request to Review in the case of more than one guest is 'GROUP'

Consequently, as mentioned in my post yesterday, I don't feel any restriction or inhibition to name anyone in Review. I've been doing it for 6 years and never a problem.

[Lisa723]

@Bo24 @Ben551 @Robin4 @Susan1028 @Sarah977 I remember a similar case when the problem was that the guest's girlfriend did not want her parents to know she stayed overnight with him. Maybe it's something like that... if were an illicit affair on either side I doubt he would have referred to her at all.

[Helen350]

The GF's parents would be unlikely to see the review... unless perchance they perused the listing in question... Unlikely unless they wanted to book too... What are the chances of that?

[Lisa723]

Sure, but paranoia doesn't listen to statistics.

[Ute42]

.

I'm getting mad about this thread. I'm not sure if everyone understands what's happening here. We have 2 completely different issues:

Bo's case

A guest mentioned a person who didn't want to be mentioned

The general airbnb policy

Customer service wrote to Bo:

• …... if the review author contacted us and requested to
  remove the review, we need to remove it as per request.

There is no condition mentioned for such a removal. The author wants it removed, it will be removed.

By the way, we are just having a similar case here in Germany. A host got a negative review. Airbnb tells the host to „ask“ the guest to advise airbnb to remove it.

This, to me so far unknown policy, opens up all doors for extortion: A guest leaves a 1* review and calls the host a couple of days later: „Pay me $200 and I will advise airbnb to remove my review.“ And in order to make sure this will work 100%, the guest could mention the name of an additional guest who then is „uncomfortable“ being mentioned.

This could be an new and interesting business model for guests: Guest books a place for one night = $30. Then calls the host and demands $200 to have the review removed. The guest doesn't even have to travel to the place, bc a review can be left „even if the guest didn't stay in or enter the listing“.

We've learned this from airbnb last summer, this was the so called „Clara Liang misspeach case“

See post No 14 by Kristie on page 15 of this thread:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/To-Clara-Liang-Product-Director-Last-min-cancellation-be...

Removing guest reviews in combination with not having to stay at a place, is unbelievable.

@Bo24, @Alon1 , @Helen350 , @Lisa723 , @Ben551 ,

[Sarah977]

@Ute42  Right on. Definitely 2 separate issues. 

@Robin  Yes, I can see your point about not mentioning people by name- I've never had to consider this, as I only host one guest at a time. 

But well-meaning guests who've accidentally, either by a slip of the finger or because they didn't understand which star they were supposed to click on to give a 5* review have contacted Airbnb begging them to let them either alter of remove the review, so it doesn't hurt the host they intended to praise, only to be told every time that it's "impossible". Yet Bo's guest, who simply wasn't attentive to which part of the reviews are private and which are public, when it's really quite clear, can simply call and get the review removed. 

This is just another case of CS arbitrarily, with zero consistency, interpreting policy on the wing.