Who needs another story about retaliatory / revenge reviews?

[Becky88]

No one, right?

However I'd like to highlight to @Catherine-Powell that after 7 years of Superhost status without a single miss, I just lost this status in the period ending 3/31/21 due to a single 1-star revenge review from a guest who was charged for damage and extra cleaning for a party she threw against House Rules.  Normally there would be enough total reviews that the occasional revenge review wouldn't matter, but not so last period with bookings way down due to the pandemic.

Total average rating:  4.73

Average rating without revenge review:  4.88

Some here may say...

"It's a feature, not a bug, to dissuade hosts from enforcing House Rules or making damage claims."

"Stop obsessing about ratings and Superhost status, it's just control psychology and status will bounce back quickly anyway."

"If you don't like it, leave the platform."

"In fact, Airbnb wants you to leave because they have a glut of hosts; now more than ever, their biz depends on driving demand (guests), not supply (hosts)."

Maybe so, but I wanna BELIEVE!  C'mon Airbnb, don't crush my naive host dreams.  Please fix this issue!

[Mark-and-Carin0]

Maybe a solution could be using the super host bonus to "buy a star". From Airbnb's standpoint, they don't spend money.  From a hosts standpoint, they don't get too close to the edge of dropping off their ratings. 

[Mary996]

Hi Mark @Mark-and-Carin0 

I don't quite understand your point. Would you explain further?

Welcome, by the way, to the CC. 

[Mark-and-Carin0]

Hi Mary @Mary996 ,

My idea would be to allow super hosts to have the option of either taking the $100 travel credit OR bumping up (removing?) a past rating  ("buy a star") in order for a hosts overall rating to increase.  

From my perspective as a host, it would allow me to get my overall rating up when I get hit with the dreaded 4 star review. (like the last guy that said his stay was great, but doesn't believe a 5 star is possible, because "nobody is perfect".)

From Airbnb's perspective, they will not be crediting the $100 travel credit.  They may want to make it more difficult to "buy a star" by making it only available to apply to ratings over a year old, or $100 only gets you a 1/2 of a star.  It would also be a nice gesture that would go along way for hosts.

Doubt anything will change with airbnb, but someday someone will "eat their lunch" and things will change.

[Fred13]

    I think Airbnb has a tough time separating personal wishes from real-world reality. They remind me of social college warriors still hanging around a college campus. 

   The best way they can get out of their nonsensical policy of allowing a review even when the guest never saw the place or there is going to be a lot of lying between guest & host when there is conflict is to limit the opportunity to leave one in the first place. This spares them to have to get embroiled in absurd situations they constantly find themselves in, but feel their arrogant-selves are capable of handling.

Airbnb Headquaters:

https://qz.com/work/1637368/airbnb-experience-listing-a-tour-of-the-companys-san-francisco-headquart...

[Mark116]

@Fred13  I think @Ute42 is correct, the unfair review process isn't a bug, its a feature, otherwise they would have made the easy tweaks that have been discussed here for years.  Preventing a review from someone who never arrived is easy.  Preventing a star review from a guest when there is a damage claim against them is easy.  

[Fred13]

Oh yeah, no, I don't think is a technical bug, it is a mental deficiency. 

[Mary996]

@Fred13    I appreciate your thoughts and agree that more care over the review invitation process might unstick some unnecessary problems #HAB.

Also thanks for the link. If I was in SF I would defo do the tour xx

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ute42  you asked

• If airbnb would delete Your review, what would their benefit be?

well, if we look at the bigger picture it is obvious - Airbnb would send guests a message that such behavior is not acceptable. Of course, just deleting revenge reviews is not enough - guests who break the rules, make damages, disturb neighborhoods etc.. should not be refunded for the rest of their terminated stay, should be charged for damages and removed from Airbnb forever. By not doing so Airbnb has become a playground for bad guests and short-term rental is now forbidden in so many cities. It could be avoided, but now is too late, the damage is done to the whole short-term rental industry, to hosts and to all guests.

Airbnb didn't invent private home hosting. It existed before Airbnb and before the internet, but Airbnb managed to expand it and then destroy it within just a few years thanks to its unreasonable pro-guests policies.

[Deborah331]

I agree!!! I will continue to believe that airbnb values it superhost & great hosts as much as it does it’s guests. We are a perfect senbient match. 
airbnb needs both to be successful. It just takes every ones voice & productive public posts. To keep the ship steering in the right direction. 
don’t give up. 
also you should be able to dispute a bad review if it unwarranted. 

[Ute42]

.

@Mark116 @Colleen253 @Fred13 @Branka-and-Silvia0 @Sarah977

I am convinced that airbnb reviews in conjuction with the Superhost Program is a finetuned system

designed to keep hosts in fear of loosing their SH badge.

@Becky88  just lost her badge, she will now do everything to get it back, she will bend over backwards, fulfill the wildest guest demands and she won't complain about anything. She will now become more guest centric than airbnb. Her guests will like that, book again through the platform and airbnb's service fee revenue goes up.

That's the real reason for not deleting retaliatory / revenge reviews: To push hosts to try harder and harder all the time.

[Sarah977]

@Ute42  And if you read the 275 pages of gushing comments on the Superhost thread, almost all from Level 1 and 2 posters, this is patently obvious. "Thank you so much for this honor and for recognizing all my hard work. This makes me want to work even harder to please my guests, blahdie, blahdie, blah" is the prevailing response. 

Just wait til they get their first 1* revenge review that loses them Superhost to find out how much Airbnb appreciates all their hard work.

[Elaine701]

@Sarah977 

I had to unplug my keyboard when I read through that thread. I could've been a real party pooper and caused serious damage there. 

Good job I held back. It only wouldn't have served me or anyone else in any positive way. 

[Fred13]

   You may have a point there @Ute42 because after all, if they don't book with one host than will with another. So the ping-ponging of bad reviews serves their purpose.

   The whole thing to me is so other-directed, like peer pressure. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Ute42 

maybe @Becky88 won't do everything to get SH badge back now when she knows she can lose it again from the first bad guest. It is demotivating.... and relieving in a way 🙂

[Mary996]

@Ute42 possibly that's a deliberate construction ... possibly not. You've had more time to observe the phenomena. On the basis that it may not be, perhaps its worth hammering out policies as suggested above such as by @Branka-and-Silvia0 :

"Airbnb would send guests a message that such behavior is not acceptable. Of course, just deleting revenge reviews is not enough - guests who break the rules, make damages, disturb neighborhoods etc.. should not be refunded for the rest of their terminated stay, should be charged for damages and removed from Airbnb forever. By not doing so Airbnb  becomes a playground for bad guests...."

We need these kinds of policies!!