Airbnb cancels a reservation and evicts guest and let’s him review

[Keawe0]

Airbnb - I hope you read this, but I won’t hold my breath. In case you do, you absolutely suck. 

we had a guest lie and break every every rule we have - including holding a 60 person rager in a quiet residential neighborhood until after 2am and having multiple neighbors, and us, call the police several times until finally, Airbnb cancelled the reservation so that police could evict the guest (they couldn’t prior to that), and then Airbnb sent him an “automated invite” to review our place. Our you kidding me, Airbnb?

We have only 5 star reviews. He leaves a 3.

ive talked to to reps, both have ”reviewed his review to see if it goes against [their] content policy.” Surprise, it doesn’t.

i said, so, we have a guest that you (Airbnb) cancelled a reservation for so that the police could evict him and then you (Airbnb) felt it important for him to decide if our place was clean, or as described, or if our communication was good or great??????!!! I can tell you about our communication - we texted and called the lying guest over a dozen times for 4 hours and he would not answer. And when we spoke to the cops they said the lying guest told them he was ignoring us. 

Airbnb, you are a joke. You have no control, and you care zero for the people making you money. Three more rentals moving to Vrbo. 

[Linda108]

I do not see your listing or any negative review, @Keawe0 .  Apparently the review was removed and your listing is deleted.  Your issue is important and I don't know if you are through with hosting or not.  I agree that evicted guest should not have the opportunity to review.

[Sarah977]

@Keawe0  You have posted this on the discussion forum for hosts and guests, this isn't Airbnb itself. Yes, Airbnb's handling of these types of situations and the absurd ability for a guest who has done this to review is so wrong.

But all we can do here is commisserate and offer advice as to ways to ward off these bad bookings in the future. I can certainly understand why you'd remove your listing from the platform.

[Mani307]

I had a similar experience  with bad reviews from evicted guests, one who snooped and trespassed into other guests locked areas and my personal space behind closed doors and the other who was smoking Marijuana and having her male clients from her prostitution business from my property.

I've sent Airbnb direct feedback about the ability of evicted guests to leave a review. Calling them to have the review will only be a waste of time over several days just to receive a scripted reply: 'that review does not violate our policy '

Perhaps Airbnb does not have a system that is able to isolate such guests since everyone is allowed to leave reviews after hosting/guesting. Putting in extra logic in their algorithms to isolate these guests will be a cost they are not willing to incur, clearly. The only recourse for hosts is to leave a response to the bad review and hope that new potential guests read them with open minds and understand your response. 

Perils of working with Airbnb. Not all of us can work with VRBo which only accepts listings with its own private entrance and no shared spaces. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Mani307 can I suggest a succinct response to the last review you received.

[Mani307]

Yes please! Thank you

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

Wow, that's quite the review. I know I can be a bit long winded, but this is someone who clearly has (unfulfilled?) literary aspirations! I look forward to reading your suggested response.

@Mani307 

I definitely think that leaving a succinct, rational and unemotional response is the best tactic here as the guest has already done most of the work in making themselves appear a bit unhinged. Don't engage in a rant fest, but rather take the higher ground.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Huma0 @Mani307 no no no - you have to read my post as 'please may I suggest YOU leave a succinct review'. I am the last person to come up with appropriate words but as I have set an expectation how does

XXX broke many rules and Airbnb agreed that his stay should be terminated early. I think his review shows the type of person he is.

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

I like it very much, but might add (if it's in fact true):

"XXX broke many rules, including entering another guest's space without permission, and Airbnb agreed that his stay should be terminated early. I think his review shows the type of person he is."

I would include that bit in my review of him, but maybe not the response to his review. I wouldn't want future guests to think that people could just randomly enter their space.

[Mani307]

@Mike-And-Jane0  @Huma0 

Thank you both for your suggestions and input. I totally agree about not getting into a rant fest but address any issues raised so future guests are not concerned. 

One thing I have noted in my Airbnb experience in the US, if this helps anyone at all, whenever I drop the rate during lull periods, that's exactly when I get the 'riff raff' standard of guests who cause problems due to their lack of respect for rules or their lack of social decorum/etiquette when in someone else's property.  I certainly did not have these issues or such ill-mannered guests in UK, France, Spain or Cayman.  

I'm interested to understand if others had experienced similar co-relation between rates and quality of guests. Thank you in advance!

[Huma0]

@Mani307 

I have only hosted here in the UK, so cannot comment on how it differs from country to country.

Many hosts on the forum do say that lower prices attract less desirable guests. I don't think that is necessarily always true, but I would be wary of the bargain hunters who keep trying to get you to lower the price. They are often the ones who will expect everything for nothing. I feel that if people cannot appreciate the value of what I am offering, it's quite likely they are not going to be very appreciative guests overall.

[Scott57]

We actually keep our rates low compared to similar listings nearby. My partner keeps nudging me to raise them, but what I have found is that because our rates are low, I get lots of people who plan trips and book months in advance. Lots of repeat customers who also plan way ahead of time. I have found that the longer the booking is from the actual arrival date, the less chance of getting a problem guest. And I definitely do not allow same day bookings.  Yes, we take a hit on the cost but we've had very few problems so far. 

[Mani307]

@Huma0 I am of similar mindset that I rather have quality guests who appreciate my offering than just fill the calendar with undesirables that cause more stress than what the earnings are worth. 

On a positive note, for once my complaint to airbnb didn't fall on deaf ears. The rant of a review was removed. See attached. 

[Huma0]

@Mani307 

Excellent news! Do you know if they removed his ratings as well?

[Mani307]

@Huma0 yes finally! My listing was suspended for 5 days because of the low rating by this crazy guest and before Airbnb reviewed & removed his review. They did apologize for it. So when I reactivated it, the rating had been removed.  BTW, reactivation through the app doesn't work, as do a lot of the other features available on the website dashboard.