Underhanded Guest Leaves Great Review - Low Star Rating

[Michelle1588]

So Airbnb allegedly "heard our cries" about retaliatory reviews and the stress and duress it causes some of their most hardworking hosts - so they offered to do something about it, beginning.... who knows, 2023?

Anyway, I've discovered a new more sinister, passive aggressive, covertly - hostile practice by more seasoned users posing as guests (20 to 30 positive reviews or more - and sometimes hosts themselves). 

They are writing excellent front end reviews that do not include any slander or language within that would cause it to be flagged and eligible to be taken down should a host call complaining about it being retaliatory in nature. 

Nope.How cunning. What they are doing now is smiling in your face, telling you how much they loved staying with you - then, on their flight home or somewhere when no one is looking - they add 2 stars to accuracy, 3 stars to value or this or that..... 

If those on the frontend were able to read the star rating created with the review they would be confused, as I was when it happened to me, twice. This is not to say I haven't learned anything about the "pro-type" who would most likely do this sort of thing - because I already read right here on this forum to look out for potential guests who:

1. Live locally

2. Have tens of 5 star reviews

3. Are hosts themselves

4. Don't have a photo

(these 2 guests fit all of these descriptions - except #2 lived out of country so she claimed - One was a baby boomer the other a millennial) 

It's well known that these can be signs or red flags of a difficult guest most hosts want to avoid. 

But what I wasn't prepared for is the contradicting style review and my best guess is - neither are Airbnb support reps, should I point this out. That's why I haven't called in to address this yet. It wasn't mentioned in the updated info to hosts on Airbnb. I am not looking for a solution but if you feel you have one - I'll read. I'm mostly writing this to bring attention to it and to find out if anyone has experienced it yet.

I'm not looking to be scolded or have my experience undermined in any way, so please do not do it. I won't read through replies that are mean-spirited, cold, self-righteous, know it all-ish, or patronizing. If you lack empathy, just skip this post. 

Hosting on Airbnb has afforded me the time to write 2 books, and many other creative aspirations and dreams of mine. I love doing it - no - I used to love doing it, but I've lost hope for it. I have one more book on my list of things to do before it's over for me .... I'm not sure if hosting through Airbnb is going to remain the revenue stream to help me achieve that goal. 

Things have gotten crazy, unpredictable, and there seems to be no way to spot these kind of guests who just to want to impose themselves on hosts, who are inconsiderate, and who will look for 1 reason to shoot your listing down so they can have an excuse to turn a blind eye to the tens of reasons to be appreciative of the space. 

I wonder if there is something in my listing attracting these types. I've thought this over for a while. I've made changes here and there as needed. I read the listing of Superhosts all across the map and studied their writings and listings and compared it to mine, to no avail. Am I saying too much, too little, like what is going on? There are too many variables involved.

Last 5 guest all 5 stars, but one contradicting star rating before and after these 5 almost made me lose my SH status. Airbnb is starting to feel like a job. If I want that exhausting feeling I'd go work for corporate again. But I don't want that feeling so I chose this because it made me feel good and like I was doing good in pleasing and having travelers enjoy their stay at my place. I like to serve. Now it just feels like catering to entitlement & the heavy dreadful feeling that comes with anticipating these undeserved and unpredictable ratings. 

I want to match with guests who are not trouble makers. It's been hard. Keep in mind, I am a live at home host. This is a different ball game and it requires some thought. It may have something to do with the type of mindset that draws a person to NYC. Like I said, so many variables I do not know where to start making it better. Thanks for reading! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Michelle1588 if it is a local host giving you a low star rating there is something in the rules for reviews about reviews from competitors (or there was last time I read them). Perhaps look at the rules and see if you can get the review removed on this basis.

[Michelle1588]

Okay,  will scan for those terms. Thanks so much!! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Michelle1588  the relevant paragraph says

• Reviews may not be used for the purpose of harming competition. For example, Hosts are not allowed to post biased reviews of listings they are affiliated with or directly compete with.

[Michelle1588]

Okay, got it. The issue is they left a great written review and put the low stars in the rating that affects the total number. But I will call tomorrow or tonight about it after I read up on it. Thanks again! 

[Richard531]

@Michelle1588   I'm so happy you wrote this post! 

We had this EXACT SAME thing happen to us for the very first time about a week ago.  The situation was so heartbreaking because it's one of our 5.0 listings and now it's a 4.99.  We are absolutely devastated by it. 

I also would like to say that the discussion above doesn't exactly track on what you're talking about. 

So let's review the crux of your point:

Guest breaks a House Rule.  You tell them about it.  Guest wants to retaliate and screw you over.  They do this by saying your place is awesome (which it is) and then they dropkick you in the ratings so metrically (is that a word?) your listing suffers AND THE REVIEW STICKS.  And you have no recourse because the guest talked about how awesome the place is in their review narrative.  But the reality is that the review is actually RETALITORY - and it says so in the star ratings, NOT in the narrative.  And they get their retaliation using the perverted tactic above and are laughing at you the entire time.  These are bad people.

THIS CAN'T BE ALLOWED TO HAPPEN!  

It's a sinister practice and seasoned guests/hosts using this tactic to whack a good listing metrically while talking about how great it is in their review must be abolished.  

[Michelle1588]

You broke it down perfectly! Thank you for that.... and this tactic is exactly the deed I am referring to; more experienced guests / hosts realize that saying certain things in a review can get the review pulled down. So they do that "dropkick" review by using the star system to cause damage while leaving a great front end written review. Smh. Great choice of a word "dropkick!"

[Helen744]

Michelle1588 the star system is a problem and as you point out can be horribly unpredictable . I think that is why many people attempt to communicate with guests that anything not five stars is bad for the host ,but for those of us who just let people do as they will it is not viable. Losing super host because of simple 'could not care less ' is very upsetting for all hosts who are working terrifically hard and adds stress ,rather than the required effect , which I can only imagine is supposed to be more guests ,but it actually does not work that way . None of it is worth worrying too much about because it is ridicoulous arbitrary and sets guest against host anf if it was organised by hosts ,not airbnb , might be of use to both hosts and guests . It is broken. some peoples stars may be 4.5 and they still continue to get lots of bookings because of other reasons ,like one nighters or having dogs , so the stress is not worth it .     H

[Michelle1588]

Thank you Helen. Yes the SuperHost thing is a trap. I'm not even sure that it does anything, like you mentioned. I've been an SH for so many years, lost it one quarter and got it right back. I'm used to the little award thingy but I'm tired of literally feeling like some guests are aware of it and they come for it. It's hilarious when it's not affecting me, mentally. I was drained from that guest. She lied during the first moment she booked, didn't have a photo on her profile once the booking went through, tried to ask for an alteration the night before her check-in, I said no, she sent the request again, I declined it. She contacted me the day of and said something happened with her flight and could she get a day of the rate back. I asked her to send me her flight info so I could verify it. Then she changed her story and said no it wasn't her flight there was an issue with her ID. She just kept lying. Then when she finally arrived she was cool. I did let her know about the 5 stars and she said "of course, this place is beautiful. You deserve 5 stars." Then a day later I get the review. It's mind boggling. I took instant book off, permanently and closed my calendar for the rest of the winter. I'm over it. I need a break from the lies and so on. 

[Janice551]

@Michelle1588 I try my best to work with guests but I would not have gone as far as you did with her. 
After the lying about the flight, I would have called AirBnB and explained that I would not feel comfortable hosting g her and why. They should cancel her booking without any impact to you. 

[Chris-And-Nicole0]

We are going on our second year of hosting in SC and we have unfortunately dealt with the same issues of other former or current hosts in the nearby areas that are extremely cruel, judgemental, and destroy property. Not to mention, they have been either Karen's, boomers, or racists. They lie about how many guests or animals they are bringing and have been primarily bad or non-existent communicators. It is absolutely absurd that the airbnb allows other hosts to infringe upon someone else's business by behaving this way! We obviously do not see their review until we write one- which is unfair to the host. After seeing their low ratings and review, all you can do is report them and delete your review- they do not allow editing. This is disheartening because no review on that type of guest is not better than an edit, after you realize their evil or envious motive. Now, I am forced to turn off instant booking so that I can do research on them and decide. I do not particularly like hosting other hosts now because of this and have learned my lesson the hard way.

[Frances3408]

@Chris-And-Nicole0. Dont forget you can always respond to their review.

[Michelle1588 · Accepted solution]

Hi @Chris-And-Nicole0 , you have a beautiful listing. I'm so sorry you had to experience the negativity. I feel you though. Something strange has happened with the mindset of a lot of people who book through the platform since the pandemic ended. Like you mentioned, evil and envious and many more things in between that we can't identify. 

Good that you turned instant booking off. I did the same thing until I can get a better grip on who's asking to book. I also did it to work on pulling my score back up without the added risk of all kinds of random people being able to book without speaking with me first. I now have to vet everyone. I am certain that some of these guest leave bad ratings on purpose hoping to sink hosts out of Superhost status. I wouldn't be surprised if this has been happening so at an increased rate because so many people and organizations (hotel) seem to hate airbnb. Perhaps these people are being sent out to frustrate us, who knows. 

There is good news though. I was able to have reviews removed. Be sure to read the updated terms concerning host requests to have reviews removed. There is one rule in particular that can be helpful to report if you have an inclination that the guest may have been trying to do this. It reads something like "no competition or unfair competition' breach. 

That's when a guest doesn't mention any problems while there then suddenly leaves  a review that does not match the experience you believed they had because they told you everything was fine. If this person lives nearby or knows someone who lives nearby, you might have reason to believe they were trying to destroy your listing by writing a bad review or leaving a low star rating so another listing in the area would benefit from your loss. 

I was able to have reviews removed because of these updates. I wrote my argument in line with their new updated terms. (hint) So if this is the case for you, call them up and tell them!! 

I also left a guest a 5 star review for a guest after smiling, talking, and thinking we had a great vibe, but nope, she left a great review and attacked my listing on the stars. I was able to get it removed. People are not as appreciative as they were 6 years ago. They are treating us like hotels and I do not like it at all. Be more picky, write out the type of guest you prefer (have a look at my listing) then vet, vet, vet. There's some great advice on this board as well. Best to you! 

Great article:

https://www.hostaway.com/airbnb-reviews-policy-how-to-remove-reviews-on-airbnb/

The updated terms: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/3055

Read: "Competitor reveiws

ps: maybe you can write in some fines and fees for guests who break certain rules like bringing pets  or more pets than initially agreed upon. Create a huge fee for the second pet, something you know they won't want to pay. That can help deter requests that are burdensome. Same for bringing additional guests. You can let them know that if they do that they will be asked to leave and no refund will be given. The more you write the better for getting customer support to partner with you on your decisions should things go wrong with a guest. I learn what I need to write as I go and I've found this to be very helpful. My house rules are strict and that allows me to extend certain things to guests who are kind but hold back ones who are not. 

[Bhumika]

Hi @Michelle1588 ,

Thank you so much for coming back and updating us! And glad to hear that the review got removed.

[Peter3021]

Hi Chris and Nicole. Many thanks for your story. I run an airbnb in Japan. Having had a run of five star reviews I suddenly was hit by a two star review. The situation was exactly the same as yours. Perfectly nice guest during their stay but after leaving left a string of negative reviews even stating there was an unexpected guest which was myself of course. Have followed your advice and asked for the review to be removed under the guidelines of No competition.

Thank you for posting your experience. 

Much appreciated.

Peter