Should a guest who has a property damage case against them be able to leave a review?

[Anna2027]

What do you guys think? 

I just went thought a horrible experience. A guest damaged my property and then went and left me a 1 star review with details of the damage and mentioning the case and also saying untruthful things about the property smeling like mildew and mold. I wasnt able to have the review removed. I've never recieved anything less than 4.5 stars as an Airbnb super host of 5 years!!! I went ahead and submitted a suggestion to them because I don't think a guest who has a property damage case againts them should be able to leave you a review until that case is resolved. Its simply not fair to the host.

Has anyone else had any similar experiences? Im a little shaken up by the whole thing to be honest.

[Anna2027]

Happy Monday @Ben551! 

Here's the response I received from Airbnb, from the same agent none the less! At least it looks like the case is now in their legal department which is a step in the right direction. Im hoping that justice will be served! 

Hi, Anna. Your case is back with me, Alex.

Regarding the question you asked, the answer is negative, we still haven't started disregarding one outlier review per year, neither is it confirmed we will at any given time. Please also note that would merely mean we wouldn't count it towards the ratings, we wouldn't remove the review from the host's profile.

Regarding the review, Michael mentions you want to be paid 1500 USD, doesn't even mention you submitted a claim on our Resolution Center, much less is there ''content that provides specific details or outcomes of an Airbnb investigation''. There's no mention of an Airbnb investigation or decision we took.

I'm afraid it's not my position to determine whether something is ''illegal slander'', however, since you are making that claim I will escalate this case to our Legal department.

Finally, I read your entire messages but I can't see the logic in your argument about the Extortion Policy. We do have an Extortion Policy but it's regarding users committing extortion, it has nothing to do with users claiming on a review that someone else is an extortionist. Us allowing the review to stay only means we allow users to express themselves, doesn't mean we agree with them, I'm sure you understand.

We will not be communicating again as your case will now be with the Legal team. I hope I was able to respond to all your questions.

[Ben551]

@Anna2027Hey thanks for the update. It’s Tuesday morning here 🙂

I’m glad you are raising it again, but did you tweet them like I suggested? I really don’t think you’re going to get a fair result unless you do.

[Anna2027]

Happy Tuesday! 😃

[David3610]

Unfortunately, I don't think any platform that has a review system has figured out an equitable solution to retaliatory reviews.(which is kinda why I think reviews are pointless in as many ways as they are helpful) the fact that anything less than a5 star review to me as a host, in airbnb's eyes means I must be a slum lord. But yeah,I think if it's been conclusively determined who's at fault in a dispute, the at fault party shouldn't be allowed to leave a review

[Anna2027]

Exactly. Im hoping Airbnb will look at this policy a little bit more closely. I don't think that its fair to separate reviews from disputes, it doesn't make any logical sense. 

[Sarah977]

@Anna2027   Logical sense and Airbnb policies are an oxymoron.

[Ben551]

@Anna2027 The fact that it doesn’t make logical sense is what you need to be tweeting about. It’s fairly humiliating for them that they make a ruling through a dispute, then allow guests to retaliate.

I would describe this as having a system to punish the guilty, then when court is adjourned the judge hands the criminal a hammer, points to the innocent party and says “have at it”.

[Anna2027]

I reached out to Airbnb on Twitter and have another thread going with another case manager. However, now that its in the hands of legal, there may be a new team who's going to handle the case moving forward. 

[Anna2027]

Great news everyone!!!

Legal ruled in my favor and removed this review!!! Justice was served and the host won. 

Thank you for everyone's support with this. Im grateful ❤️ 

[Valerie192]

Nicely done @Anna2027 !!

[Ben551]

@Anna2027 well done!! That’s great news. I’m pleased, not just for you but for the grand scheme of things. I couldn’t see the Legal team standing for it, the personal insults in the review were bang out of order.

Good job 🙂

[Alexandra316]

@Anna2027 Very glad to hear it all worked out! I see the review is already gone. Great news.