Retaliatory Review

[Christina163]

I was given a 0 (zero) star for House Rules after I would not give a guest a free week & a discount. We had a mandatory evacuation for only 5 nights & the guest told me “many people on Airbnb are giving away free housing.”

I spoke to Airbnb immediately & told them my concerns about how the guest was trying to manipulate me - & they said do not give him any money, let him contact us. That it was his decision to vacation there during hurricane season. That was the chance he took, and I took as much of a chance renting to him….

He had already been given a discount for the month of nearly 30% - and bear in mind this is someone who was on vacation while remodeling his residence - that was not damaged in a storm. So he would not be eligible for FEMA.

I called Airbnb back & told them that after I advised him that this was FEMA money handled by Airbnb & he would have to go through them, his new attitude toward me was rotten.

In hindsight, I wish I had just canceled his booking before the storm, cleaned the space & re-rented it - sending him off to make another host’s life miserable - but I could not bring myself to do that.

I have asked Airbnb repeatedly to explain what house rule I broke & they said not one, nothing, but they need proof it was a retaliatory review. The guy was totally happy there before I said no.

Sent in text message/explained our conversations & they still refuse to remove this retaliatory review.

If all of us hosts left bad reviews for everyone who are as obnoxious as him, & made up false reviews on people because we didn’t get the money I wanted, this entire website would go down.

Here’s what HE did,…there was an ant infestation at a house where we have ongoing pest control & never had problems - this guy left so much food sitting out. I lived in this house for 8 months & never had ants. Broke a bed frame, & I am missing beach towels, a tape measure, as well as a full tank of premium gas I put in the garage for emergencies…..

This is an adorable house, I broke NO house rules….AND after following Airbnb advice to not give him any free nights or refunds - he took me from 4.33 when I was at 5.0.

All I have received back from Airbnb are gaslighting emails where they say they are sorry they can’t do anything about it.

[Huma0]

@Christina163 

There are a few things in your post that are bit confusing. Hosts do not get rated on 'house rules' and also, as far as I am aware, a guest cannot leave a 0* . I think the lowest they can leave is 1*. Plus, rating you on a category does not bring down your overall rating as a host, i.e. the rating that Superhost assessment is based on. That is determined only by the overall star rating a guest leaves. Also, in your response to the guest's review, you mention that he left you 3*.

This does sound like an extremely annoying guest/situation and I also think that Airbnb's so called new policy on removing retaliatory reviews so far is turning out to be BS as customer support do not even appear to be aware of it according to the posts I've read from hosts on this forum. Personally, I would persist and keep forwarding them the actual wording of the policy until they cave.

However, I don't think your response to his review does you any favours. The review itself was positive apart from the mention of you not being flexible about a refund. You have then written a tirade against the guest, mentioning low ratings that and a whole bunch of issues that potential guests reading it would not have been aware of but, even worse, you have used some pretty strong language and made personal insults against the guest. He would probably stand a good chance of having your review removed but, if I was you, I would ask Airbnb to remove it myself. 

I know you were angry and it is really frustrating to see your rating go down so much, but the review response is not the place to let rip with all your vitriol. Remember the audience for it is not the actual guest you are replying to (who will probably never even read it) but potential, future guests. You want to come across as the polite and reasonable party here. It's always better to take the higher ground, keep it brief, professional and impersonal. There are better ways to communicate that it was the guest, not you, that was at fault, without including every little detail.

[Christina163]

I am going to have it taken down, you are right. I can make a note in the actual listing saying "regarding Richard's review" & keep it light & bright. He wasn't a thankful guest at all...again hindsight is 20/20 & next time I have a feeling I'm going to just cancel the person's booking & kick them out. There is no law that I have to rent to someone or continue dealing with them...

I still can't understand why Airbnb won't remove his retaliatory review when everything was fine he was super thankful about how fast I got my yard cleaned after the storm...THAT cost me $1000 to have the tree removed & do that within a one day-turn around - so after his behavior changed when I told him that Airbnb advised me that we don't have to give him a free week his behavior was just awful toward me.

These guests are people who should take their issues to a hotel chain, not someone who owns vacation homes.

[Jennifer1897]

@Christina163 first and foremost I can 100% agree with @Huma0 regarding your response to his review. It is a complete tirade that makes you look worse as a host then it does him as a guest. Calling him names and bringing up a multitude of issues should be avoided. A response to a negative review should be short and concise and only address the issue brought forth. As already stated, his review was not all that negative. 

That being said, I would not categorize this as a retaliatory review. He stated factual things. You acknowledged the refund was something that was discussed; however, it was ultimately not agreed upon. Him stating that he wishes there was more flexibility with this doesn't violate any rules when it comes to reviewing. As a host I can completely understand your frustration with the rating. I had an absolutely nightmare of a guest rate me a three once and I was devastated. Those low number play a huge role into our ratings and super host status. 

I do not live in an area that experiences hurricanes, so I am not at all familiar with the protocol on something related to this. I see both sides. He ran the risk of staying during the hurricane season, but it is also hard being displaced from your rental and having to pay for both the Airbnb and alternate accommodations However that is not your fault that the hurricane happened during his stay nor your responsibility to cover his associated cost. 

My recommendation, if possible, at this point would be to remove your response and move on. Visually, his review is not that damaging. You have beautiful properties with lots of positive reviews. I think these will outweigh his. 

[Christina163]

Agree. it's just disgusting that people can wield this much power over your house. This entire site would go down if we all left bad reviews for guests who suck.

[Christina163]

they took his review down! Not sure if I had followed up w you. We are selling these houses that are in monthly areas & going to nightly ....it's too hard w 28 day min people get very entitled. and haggle more. when they are coming for 2-3 nights they don't behave that way.

[Huma0]

@Christina163 

I switched from hosting mainly short stays to only hosting long stays. I have a lot of experience by now with both and I don't think that long term guests are necessarily more entitled than short term ones. There are pros and cons with both, but I have hosted people who have stayed for months and been no hassle at all, and people who have stayed for days and made my life hell.

However, I do feel that overall, guests are getting more entitled lately, at least that's something I noticed after the pandemic started.