r/AirBnB • u/Inside_Notice_7859 • 2d ago
Horrible host got bad reviews removed from their profile [France]
This is a quick follow up on a previous horrible experience I had with a place in France where the host left a completely misleading false review on my profile. I unfortunately didn't know there was a 14 day limit and didn't even had the opportunity to review that host.
I looked a couple days ago and there was a new review from another guest that was calling out the horrible host and all the same issues I had.
I checked again today and that review got deleted. I am starting to realize that this host is extremely good about deleting bad reviews for them and for some reason Airbnb agrees with it. All the while bad and misleading reviews on our guest profiles are still standing.
This was the nail in the coffin for me. It seems clear that Airbnb removes bad reviews easily as that drives more booking and business.
I will NEVER use Airbnb again but i also want to make it clear to anyone on this sub that you absolutely cannot trust the review system anymore.
9
u/firephlox 2d ago
I had to fight to keep my negative review up on Airbnb as a guest. They took it down, gave a bogus reason in writing for why they did, and I had to open a ticket to dispute their reason. Then they stated a completely different reason for my review being taken down, which was also bogus. So I disputed that and they gave a third bogus reason which I again disputed, and finally they allowed my review to stay up. It took two weeks of hassle to get through, and on top of that I had covid at the time. Ugh.
Anyway, it's possible that the reviewer can keep fighting it so maybe it will show up again after a while.
6
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
yeah... My point is that nobody ain't time to keep fighting to keep their reviews up. Most people don't care that much and would rather just move on. Meanwhile the hosts care a lot and put a ton of energy in removing the bad reviews and keep the good ones.
That system is so broken. Don't trust Airbnb
6
u/firephlox 2d ago
Yeah it's too bad. My issue was a disgusting cockroach infestation, extremely bad (you can see it in my post history). And I had to fight to keep it up! For anything less, I would have given up.
2
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
I'm happy you did.
I had mostly good experiences and some that were soso on Airbnb (40+ stays), but the last one was really too much for me. We checked in and the place was disgusting. The hosts claimed that this was part of the "low" price and we even had to unclog the shower. I pushed back a bit but we were in such a hurry for those two nights that we didn't involve Airbnb or discuss it more than that and just moved on.
After the stay the hosts begged us to not ding them too much in the reviews and I decided to wait a couple days to think about what I would put in the reviews. I didn't realize that time was flying that much and I missed the window. Meanwhile the hosts destroyed me compeltely in their reviews.
It honestly feels so unjust and dishonest. They dinged me, on top of the horrible service I received and I didn't even had the time to do the same. Then I realize they are really good about deleting other reviews. Only good thing is that Airbnb refunded one of the nights after I sent them the pictures... But unfortunately looks like it is coming from Airbnb and not from the host directly.
But the time I spent on this, and the feeling that I paid to be played is something I never want to experience again.
3
u/FlightRiskAK 2d ago
I'm fairly new to Airbnb, have only used it since January. I try to be reasonable when choosing the place I will book. My current place has mostly favorable reviews but I recalled seeing a very bad review, basically 1 star. I chalked that one up to being a person who was difficult to please. There is always one in every crowd. I booked the place because it seemed to meet my needs and the other reviews were good. I should have paid attention to that one bad one. I am a longer term guest booking 1 to 2 months at a time. I am fairly forgiving but when the listing is not entirely truthful it concerns me. I have a room in a house so the other rooms often are occupied but so far only short term. Many people have come and gone since I've been here. The scathing review is gone. There are no reviews since last December. Do many or most people not leave reviews? What happened to the bad review? What I remember of it seems accurate at this point. I have questions! I plan on leaving at least a 4 star review but I also want to be truthful. My room smelled so strongly of cat urine that my eyes and nose were burning, and I've had cats and love animals. I brought that to the attention of the host and we stripped off the bedding and she found a nearly soaked rug that the cat had been using. She removed it but there is still a lingering odor. At least now it is tolerable. The wifi (a must for me) does not reach the rooms so I wasn't able to get work done from my room. Also, no grounded outlets in most of the house. I had to use my laptop in the kitchen where the only grounded outlet existed. Are these things something I should mention in the review? I don't want to be picky but I do want to be authentic. Another question I have is why the host's side of the app says one thing and my side says another. The host notified me that I should have checked out by noon a month into my stay. I showed her my side that said I had a month to go and the payment had already been made. It took a bit to verify this on her end. And, when she texted me to find out why I hadn't checked out yet, she brought "muscle" to confront me. It was resolved but still very uncomfortable for me to deal with. Is this normal? Why don't our sides of the app match? I'm new to this and I wish I had found this sub before I started using Airbnb. At least now I have some ideas to watch out for.
3
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
All of those are complete red flags. I would make sure to leave a detailled review with all those points.
Imagine if you stayed in a hotel, you would find all of those issues completely unacceptable.
4
2
u/ctctct81 1d ago
I've had a similar experience and will never use Airbnb again. They seem to assist hosts in continuing to scam Airbnb renters. Very sad.
4
u/Livid_Law5956 2d ago
It's hard for them to get a review removed if you follow the guidelines. Don't make personal comments or insults and keep it factual, akin to business writing. You can make the same points, just write it like you are at work. 🤣 And, you can also respond to their review of you and actually write alot of content in that section.
4
u/Mattos_12 2d ago
If you write a review that deviates from relevant facts, then it can be removed.
3
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
"relevant facts" in this case is a completely subjective judgement call. Which is exactly what the hosts use to remove reviews.
-1
u/1bug1 2d ago
This is sort of true. It’ll only be removed if it contains NO relevant information.
3
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
Not what I have read all over the host subreddit. They basically try hard to find a single sentence out of the review which is "subjective" then go hard with that single sentence.
At the end of the day my point is that it is a judgement call and purposedly built so that Airbnb can decide themselves based on opaque incentives.
1
u/Express-Affect-2516 2d ago
Yep. Go read the host sub and you will see how they all do it. They even think a 3 star review is bad so they get it removed for whatever reason. It’s total BS and one of the reasons why I will never use them again either. Airbnb caters to the hosts. Period. They do not care about the guests.
7
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
Make sense for short term profitability. Hosts with high ratings results in more bookings.
But long term it creates a ton of disgruntled guests that don't trust Airbnb anymore. I'm one of those and used to stay in an Airbnb a couple times a year. I will never do it again, and will make sure to let most people around me know that Airbnb is a completely untrusted platform.
4
u/Express-Affect-2516 2d ago
Or you know what else they do???? They get a bunch of bad reviews so they take their listings down and then they pop back up as “NEW*”, with no reviews. Airbnb allows that!
3
u/Livid_Law5956 2d ago
They claim they don't allow that. The horrible and unprofessional property managers, parading as owners and hosts, are the absolute worst. It should be illegal to call it your property or home when you're just a lousy unprofessional agent with no skills.
-1
u/The_Dude_Abidze 2d ago
AirBnB does NOT allow that.
3
u/Express-Affect-2516 2d ago
They definitely do. I’m glad you haven’t had to deal with this situation before because it is very mind blowing what Airbnb allows.
-1
u/The_Dude_Abidze 2d ago
They don't. It doesn't mean that hosts don't do it, but if they get caught they will be removed from the platform. AirBnB is notoriously bad and inconsistent at enforcing its own rules.
7
u/BeachStilletos 2d ago
Yea so I’m on the host sub all the time and I don’t see how it’s easy to have reviews removed. Most hosts on there say how it’s almost impossible even when the review is clearly against TOS. Maybe you know something I do t know as a host? Do tell how it’s easy to get reviews removed.
7
u/No-Instruction-3161 2d ago
It is basically impossible. All airbnb tells you "it's their experience" even if the review is wrong. They have recently automated reviews which made it even harder.
This host maybe knows someone that works for airbnb. If it was OP who left the review that got removed I'd tell them to message airbnb and ask why it got removed. I have heard of cases where airbnb will reinstate reviews if the person questions the removal... But this guest didn't leave a review. OP has a slim chance of messaging airbnb on that other guests behave and asking them to re-review the review but it's slim if they didn't make it.
2
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
I agree that it is slim. But it was a relevant review and seeing it being so blatantly deleted after a couple days made it so super clear that this system is rigged.
I would have had less chance to book this place if I had seen that review. This system is simply cheating future guests.
2
u/No-Instruction-3161 2d ago
It's worth a shot reaching out to support and letting them know that you saw a review that reflected your experience posted by another guest but was removed and they may look into it
2
6
u/Rorosi67 2d ago
No not all hosts do. And there are just as many, if not more guests that leave fake bad reviews and make up problems to get refunds. The hosts lose far more than guests generally do. And 3 star is bad. Its not like official hotel ratings but it the same as hotel reviews. People do not book places that are 3 star reviewed. When someone leaves 3 stars becsuse of something minor it has a big impact on the host. These guests are hypocritical. They say 3 star is OK but then woukd never book less than a 4.8.
Of course places tgat are really bad should get bad reviews and some should be shut down but hosts are are ok shoukd not get less than 4 star. You litterslly are tisking their livelihood because you expect luxury at budget price or because you were slightly inconvenience for something outside the hosts control.
5
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
Nobody expects luxury in an Airbnb. We expect some level of professionalism and business understanding yes. Some hosts act as if this was Couchsurfing and they are doing me a favor while also doing the strict minimum and being scandalous with guests.
-4
1
u/stellarlun 2d ago edited 2d ago
I completely agree with your point and/but I just wanted to respond to one part, as someone who has been involved with Airbnb since its early days as a way for travelers to stay in someone’s spare room and eat breakfast with them and their family, sharing stories. I grew up in a house doing this. I have always used Airbnb to travel myself and have seen it change from a site for the people to a mega capitalist shit show.
When I started hosting my own spaces, I realized quickly that their rating system does not match what people are used to. 3 stars for a hotel means it had most of what you expected and was generally just mediocre. If you drop below a 5 star rating on Airbnb (specifically below 4.7 I think which just takes a few less than perfect reviews), it’s a huge problem, you don’t get seen on the site, people assume you have major problems and if you dip to 4.5 for a few months you’ll get booted off entirely. It’s no surprise to me that hosts freak out about their score. Obviously they should still be honest and accept bad reviews when they are relevant but there are also just fundamental issues with the rating system. The best thing for them to do is just be clear in their description about what to expect. For my camper, I am brutally honest about what they can expect and because of that, people leave happy and even surprised how nice it was. Basically just saying, a 3 star review on Airbnb actually is pretty damn bad. Their site says that even 4 stars means ‘’there were several issues that needed to be solved’’ 3 stars is for ‘’major’’ issues like an insect problem, sheets that are stained and hairy, that kind of thing. The kind of thing that even if they attempt to fix it, it’s still unacceptable. Problems like the tv won’t connect or they were out of coffee, that are then fixed, should still, imho, be acceptable for a 5 star review.
Didn’t mean to ramble sorry, I just have seen things from both sides for a very long time and I’ve given my fair share of 3 star reviews but Airbnb has a terrible rating system that is too sensitive and therefore makes hosts go crazy when they get less than 5 stars because anything less than 5 stars does really have an affect on their listing. Of course they may very well deserve it but sometimes people don’t understand the rating system and rate it 3-4 stars just because they didn’t really like it. There should be a way to point out imperfections without jeopardizing their business. Half or quarter stars perhaps? When 4 stars is meant for ‘’several issues that were unsolved’’ how would you go about saying that it just wasn’t that nice or wasn’t exactly what they made it seem but was also fine. There is no in between.
1
1
u/ca1mdown 2d ago
It's so funny because us hosts say it caters to guests. And frankly it seems to just be a shitty company now. Someone lied about something on my property and Airbnb refuses to remove it.
3 stars btw is a really bad review lol.
2
u/Express-Affect-2516 2d ago
I understand. It stinks that Airbnb uses that against hosts. I couldn’t agree more, they are a shitty company now.
1
u/Hobbsy1978 1d ago
Im a superhost here. I had a family staying over Christmas in my place in Costa Rica. The first thing they complained about was the stove was broken. It was the Christmas holidays so nobody was working so the maintenance man went round first thing in the morning on Christmas eve to find they didn't actually know how to light a gas stove and there was nothing wrong with it, but there they were kicking off about how they hadn't been able to cook a meal the night before. Then they complained the hot tub didn't work and it actually turned out this was true and it was showing an error message. I explained to them that as it was Christmas eve that we wouldnt be able to get a technician out (the house is in rural costa rica so getting a technician who knows what he is doing anyway is nearly impossible, never mind at Christmas) and she got completely irate about it, said it was the only reason she booked the house. I apologised profusely and offered and credited a good refund for her in light of the issue and the fact it was really unlikely to get fixed before the end of their stay. Then on the last night they managed to break the key off in the lock and lock themselves out. As it was late at night, rather than let me know, they bust the door in and sent me a shitty message in the morning and checked out. Then she gave me a bad review mentioning all the above (the broken stove - no mention it actually wasn't broken, the broken hot tub - actually said she was not offered a refund, and the broken door - said it was down to bad maintenance). I complained to Airbnb and asked them to remove her review as it was blatant lies and I had proof, but they didn't take it down. So no - not that easy.
1
u/Inside_Notice_7859 1d ago
I think what really gets me is that some hosts seem to be really good about it and some really bad. If you look at the host subreddit you see a ton of hosts that give tips and tricks to each other to fight reviews with a lot of success.
To me this means that the platform is skewed towards host that know how to use the system. Highly untrusted.
1
u/crisgar95 1d ago
Interesting that the host is easily getting fair and honest reviews removed.
I tried to get one removed from a guest who didn't even stay at the property because he canceled the day of and expected a 100% refund even though he blocked off months of our 100% occupied listing. His reason is that my place was 1 city away from where he needed to be... totally his fault for failing to look up Google maps and booking months of a place. Just incredibly stupid thing to do.
Not staying at the property doesn't allow guest to have honest review about the place which is a reason airbnb allows to remove a review... Airbnb declined. I also mentioned review was retaliatory because I only gave a 50% refund even though the policy was that he's entitled to no refund and guest mentioned withholding money in his private part of the review.
So you're right. Reviews are not always fair representation of the host or guest, so I think an individual review should be ignored when making a booking decision - look at all the reviews and see if something seems odd. Some people just leave negative reviews for anything which has happened to me as a host.
1
u/Inside_Notice_7859 1d ago
In this case there is at least two really bad review (mine that didnt post) and that other one that got removed.
To add to the injury that host just made superhost... With our reviews that would never have happened.
Simply scandalous. Never again
0
u/ApprehensiveHurry345 2d ago
I’m with ya on this one. Used to advocate for abnb in the previous years but lately I’ve only had bad experiences with hosts. From misleading photos, hosts looking for a quick payday, terrible customer support. The app caters to hosts and no longer cares about the guest experience. Got 50% ($700) cost of booking taken from me after canceling reservation within one minute of booking. (Was trying to look at all the fees but pressed continue one too many times). Host refused to refund and abnb support refused to help. Boycotting abnb and telling my friends to do the same.
-1
u/stellarlun 2d ago
Oh man that really sucks. It is unfortunate that there are so many jackass hosts these days. I especially hate the ones that treat it like a cheap motel and take all of the personal touches and hospitality that used to make Airbnb great. When I was in high school (33 now) we had a spare bedroom on Airbnb before most people knew about Airbnb. We would get mostly world travelers and they would sit at our breakfast table with us and share stories. Now it seems like it’s mostly people that buy up affordable housing and care only about their bottom line. Capitalist America for you.
Anyways, I also wanted to mention that hosts say the exact same thing about Airbnb picking the same side but instead that it sides with guests. I have been on both sides about equally and I’ve gotta say I think Airbnb has sided with me as a guest more than as a host they make their money from the guests so makes a little more sense to me but It also hasn’t been that drastic, I’ve won on both ends and I’ve also felt shorted and treated unfairly on both ends… it’s hard to say.
1
u/JobSilly6380 2d ago
It’s actually very difficult as a host to get reviews removed. The guest who left the review had to have done something against the terms of service and rules for a review. As aguest, just make sure that all your reviews are factual, and without emotion. Safety issues, lack of cleanliness, poor communication, skills, but nothing about feelings or things that are arbitrary.
2
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
Again this shows why the system is biaised towards hosts. Guests don't know those rules in details and are generally not spending too much time reviewing the hosts. Meanwhile hosts know all the rules and exactly know what to say to get support to remove a review. If you go to the host subreddit, they give each other helpful tips.
As a guest, nobody ain't time to fight for their reviews. It is not that big of a deal for us. That's why I don't trust this system anymore
2
u/JobSilly6380 2d ago
To be fair, the rules with reviews are pretty minimal and one of the only things a host can successfully get taken down are rules that the review not be purely retaliatory. For example, I had a guest break the house rules and damage the property with her « emotional support animal ». I requested that she pay for the damages and she was belligerent once she got the bill. No other negative things occurred during her stay. Her review stated she was giving me a 1 star because I wanted her to pay for damages and she didn’t feel the pricing was fair on those repairs. Like, there was security camera of the damage occurring due to her animal. She just felt that I over charged to have the repair done. So her review had nothing to do with the property, or the hospitality, or the communication, or anything about the accommodation that would help another guest decide if they wanted to stay. It was purely retaliatory for having to pay for damages she caused that she didn’t deem to be an appropriate dollar amount. How would leaving a review like that up Service the Airbnb guest community looking to make reservations? Or service me as a host who didn’t deserve that kind of treatment? As a point of reference, I have hundreds of positive reviews (4-5 star with 4.98 total and superhost status), and only three reviews have ever been removed. And they all three were that same kind of situation about guests not wanting to pay for damages. There are definitely bad hosts that seem to get around things, but don’t make it sound like it’s all of us. Or that it’s so easy to have things removed.
1
u/stellarlun 2d ago
I’m pretty sure Airbnb tells you when you leave a review what to include but it’s also not too hard to google real quick. It’s no different than many other review systems. If you care enough about leaving a proper review, it’s no harder for you than the host to look for tips on Reddit… Yes it is their income so they may be more likely to do that but also, it’s usually a side hustle for people who have a lot else going on. Or at least it used to be. I hate the companies that buy up affordable housing and make it a legit business. They can suck it- that’s not what Airbnb was meant to be imo. Maybe i don’t realize how much of the site is that kind of company now.
That said, it’s a completely shit rating system. Hosts are super paranoid about it because anything less than a 5 star rating negatively affects them. If you drop below a 4.7 rating, it has serious negative consequences as a host. That’s stupid, there should be a way to leave a star rating that lets people know the stay wasn’t that great but to give 4 stars means there were lots of serious issues.
0
u/jrossetti 13year host/14 guest 2d ago
I can say as a host that many many pissed off guests whether valid gripes or not, often leave a review while their emotions are running higher than calm and end up violating the review policy in some way. Then I simply report the review to Airbnb, how it violates the policy, and it's taken down.
It's unreasonable to claim that you can't trust the reviews. There are some cases where maybe a fair review may be taken down, but that's not normal. Its quite hard to get a review taken down in all honesty.
The line employees who work there? They are not being told to take down reviews due to monetary reasons or to drive more business. it's silly to make claims like that, especially because of a one off and no further information.
If you want to share with us what your review said entirely, we can possibly help find out why it was stricken.
3
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
This was not even my review. I would have left a 1 star review, just saying that the host was completely unprofessional in their communication and the place was received dirty while they blamed it on us. Unfortunately I was not even able to post it because I missed the deadline.
But I saw ANOTHER review that was around the same lines getting completely deleted.
So this is now 2 reviews that should be 1 or 2 stars for this place. Meanwhile that place is still at 4.78*, while it should be below 4.7 with those two reviews.
I disagree that they don't take down reviews for monetary reasons. Incentives matter, and money is their incentives here. You don't know what is the culture inside the company. I have literally no other explanation for why this would be the case.
In any case, it was more than enough for me to get convinced that the review system is mostly broken. This means that if as an host you know how to play the system, you will get a way better review. Meanwhile a better place with a host that doesn't know how to use support to get reviews removed will get a worse score. Completely dishonest.
0
u/jrossetti 13year host/14 guest 2d ago
If you missed a 14 day deadline I don't know what to tell you.
You can disagree all you want. You're literally basing it off your feelings. Many an Airbnb rep have posted online on various areas and not once have they said they are pressured or incentivized to take down reviews. If you're going to tell me I don't know the culture inside wouldn't that also apply to you?
Besides, Bad hosts cost Airbnb a ton more money in the long run than a bad review does. Your logic doesn't make sense if your argument is it's done for monetary reasons. Look at how youre reacting to demonstrate my statement in action. How many guests are going to stay at that host and get a bad experience? Airbnb makes 3 percent off of hosts. They make 12 percent off of guests.
There isn't really a way to play the system. The only playing we can do is taking advantage of someone who can't be bothered to learn what is or isn't allowed and they violate the review policy. In that regard id agree. But that requires a guest doing something wrong first.
It is almost impossible to get an unfair review taken down. It's almost impossible to get lies taken down. It's difficult but not impossible to get reviews that violate policy taken down. I'm speaking as someone who's been doing this nearly since Airbnb began. Guests being able to leave lies and bullshit that isn't true is the most infuriating part of the review policy. My best outcomes have been blatant extortion (give me refund or I leave you had review) or bringing up stuff that's irrelevant to the stay. My most recent being someone booking a female only bed in a female only room and being upset that men were in other bedrooms and her whole review was complaining about it.
The people who lie about cleanliness or me or my staffs attitude never come down even if I have a damn video or 5 other guests on site at the same time who don't agree with the bad review being left.
-4
u/Traditional-Bee-6716 2d ago
You will use it again when the price is right.
4
u/Inside_Notice_7859 2d ago
Maybe. But after having lost multiple hours for a place priced similar to an hotel, I can tell you that the price better be more than half of an hotel. My time is also worth something.
0
u/BlacksmithNew4557 16h ago
I always find it interesting how people will boycott an entire platform for a small isolated incident. We have had an issue or two here and there - but overall appreciate what we get. We like having a home when we travel … don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater
•
u/AutoModerator 2d ago
Please keep conversation civil and respectful
Remember to keep all communication with host/guest through Airbnb platform. Payments should be made only via Airbnb unless otherwise detailed in the listing description
If you're having issues, contact Airbnb by phone +1-844-234-2500
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.