What can I do about people who ding us in "Positive Reviews" but do it to lower your star rating.

[Kenchy0]

Last month, we had a guest who was difficult to deal with, even from the moment he booked. He wouldn't send copies of his ID which we require, because security in our building requires it in advance for anyone entering the building. We went back and forth with him and even allowed him to change dates, always being polite but insistent that he follow the required rules. We ended up having to speak with Airbnb customer support to prove to this guy that it was indeed required that he needed to send his ID. In the past, we've had issues with scammers who book and then won't send ID, so we are always cautious. 

So, eventually, the day of his check-in in he finally sent his ID and we forwarded it along to building security. However, when he arrived and checked in, they hadn't had time to put him in their system, so it took a few minutes for him to be checked in through security.  Eventually, it was all resolved, and he was VERY happy with the space. 

When he checked out, he left a short but "positive" review, but only gave us four stars, which then lowered our ranking in the area where we're located. It might seem sort of petty to complain about this, but we've seen an immediate downturn in bookings since we're no longer the top listing. When we spoke to customer support before he checked in, they told us that they'd remove any bad review he left. But of course, after he checked out and left this review, they wouldn't since his review didn't "violate" their community standards.  It's pretty frustrating not to be able to do anything about this because his review is technically acceptable to Airbnb.

Has anyone dealt with this or have any advice? I've appealed to Airbnb twice and been rejected. 

Here's our listing in case anyone is curious: airbnb.com/h/pontanegraoceanviewcondo

[Marie8425]

@Kenchy0 

I am sorry, but th negative is you are running a business not giving something away.

  We as a Host have to respect our offering our we need to teach guests to respect us.  Your ID rule is clear other guests gave no issues. 

We all do this instead  trying to hard to accommodate inconsiderate guest you need to say no not a good fit.

[Oksana127 · Accepted solution]

This is definitely frustrating, and you're not alone in dealing with "stealth dings" where a guest leaves a seemingly positive review but low stars, impacting your ranking. Since Airbnb won’t remove the review, here’s what you can do:

 Respond Publicly (But Carefully)

While you can’t change the rating, you can leave a professional response to the review. Keep it short, polite, and informative for future guests. Something like:

"We’re glad you enjoyed your stay! Just to clarify for future guests, building security requires ID in advance, which sometimes leads to a short processing delay at check-in. We always do our best to ensure a smooth arrival!"

This signals to potential guests (and Airbnb) that the issue was procedural and not related to the quality of your stay.

Offset the Impact with More Reviews

The best way to counter a single unfair rating is to gather more five-star reviews. Consider:

Offering a small welcome gift (wine, chocolates, a handwritten note) to encourage positive feelings.

Politely reminding guests at checkout that "a five-star review really helps us continue providing great stays."

Following up with a friendly post-stay message thanking them and subtly nudging them toward five stars.

Adjust Your Pricing Temporarily

If bookings have slowed due to the lowered ranking, consider lowering your rate slightly for the next few guests to bring in more positive reviews quickly. Even a 5–10% drop for a few weeks can get you back on top.

 Keep Pushing Airbnb (if applicable)

You’ve already appealed twice, but if you feel Airbnb misled you by saying they’d remove a "bad review" and then backtracking, try escalating to a senior support agent. Be persistent and cite their initial statement. Sometimes different agents interpret policies differently.

Consider Private Feedback for the Guest

You can leave private feedback for the guest explaining that his rating had an impact. While it won’t change anything now, it might at least make him think twice before doing this to another host.

It’s a tough situation, but don’t let one guest’s passive-aggressive rating throw you off. You’ve built a great listing—just focus on outweighing the damage with more five-star reviews!

[Monica2341]

Hi Kenchy.

Not advice but rather having the same situation on my side.

We had a guest that damaged our property.

I didn’t elaborate about everything they did but did put a claim through for a blind that they damaged.  Off course the client was not happy at all and decided to give me one star and a horrible review stating that there were blood stains on the towels and a whole lot of other bad things which wasn’t true.

I asked air bnb to remove the review which they also replied that it didn’t voilate their comunity standards.

I am so upset because this review is untrue but yet air bnb would rather leave it there.  I feel that they just don’t care even if people are dishonest

[Kenchy0]

@Monica2341 I'm sorry to hear that. If I have any damage issues, I always make the claim after the reviews are submitted. I tend not to give bad reviews of guests for damage, since often, it's accidental.  But even so, Airbnb needs to do better with this. It doesn't help them, the guests or the hosts, to have false or misleading or vindictive reviews, regardless.