Tag Archives: airbnb review process

Are Some Host Reviews an Invasion of Privacy?

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We spent a few nights in Kelowna in an Airbnb accommodation. We are a couple with some dietary restrictions, so we were specifically looking for a unit with a kitchen.

Our tw0-day stay at this unit was okay. We didn’t have any problem except that we had to deal with cheap dollar store pans, pots and utensils, which we kind of ignored because we were there for just two nights. Upon finishing the trip, we were unpleasantly surprised to see the host posted a review that among other things said “the guests spent whole two nights cooking in the unit kitchen provided.”

I personally took it as invasion of privacy as it is none of the host’s business to see what we were doing. I found it creepy as it also raised questions on whether the host was keeping an eye on what we were doing. I reached out to Airbnb with this concern and they brought the review down first. Upon pushing further, they assigned someone to this case who claimed that they had spoken to the host and that the hosts had assured them that they were not spying on us and checking out what we were doing.

To my utter anguish Airbnb decided to bring back the review and publish it again for some reason best known to them. Upon following up, they said that the review had been taken down due to some error earlier. This all begets the question — how seriously does Airbnb take privacy-related complaints?

In my case, I still do not know why someone would care what guests were doing in their basement unit, proudly boast about it in their reviews, and Airbnb would still not take it down. Any host could tell the whole world what you have been doing during your stay and Airbnb doesn’t think it’s inappropriate to post such personal stuff. No issues with breach of privacy.

There are too many Airbnb Reviews, Period

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Here’s my beef: the reviews. Every time a guest checks out, I review the guest, and I’m asked, “What could the guest do better?”

Now, the guest is my customer and a customer of Airbnb, so Airbnb asks that I criticize this person who has just come to stay the night and doesn’t want any trouble. Likewise, the guests review me and must be asked a similar question because every single review I get, there is an area for personal comments and the guest always leaves a little nastygram, telling me what I can do better.

Whereas an occasional host might take that question seriously, and the guest gets some feedback – Like what? “You shouldn’t leave your snot in the shower drain” – all guests take it seriously, and put themselves in the position of Reviewer of the Year.

There are many things I provide to be nice. These are things I don’t have to stock. I get complaints if the bar of soap is small. I was providing one Fiji water per guest (in their private little fridge) and they were complaining there was not enough free water.

I’ve received complaints about the snacks: about some of the plates arcing in the microwave, not having a hand towel, having to stir their coffee with a knife. Someone found a hair on one of the towels. Someone complained the ceiling was dirty. The window sill was dirty. There was a suggestion to wipe out the shower (make sure it’s dry for guests). The shower drips for a while after it is turned off.

A bug was found under the couch. A cricket came in under the door. There are tiny spiders in the corners of the ceilings. There’s a musty smell. I’m too noisy upstairs (it’s just me and I tiptoe). Buy a Keurig (there’s already a coffee maker, and free coffee and tea). Buy new nightstands. Buy a coffee table. Put in a TV. Make it lighter, use LED lights from now on. Keep the computer turned on or make it easier to turn on or take it out altogether.

Change the electrical wiring. Get new pillows. Get a luggage rack. Provide a place to hang clothes. Give more heat. Give more parking space. Love my emotional support pet. Did you slam the toilet seat or was that the heater?

Two naturally-oriented guests left the double doors open during a rain storm and put the couch in front of the open space to look out. When they were done, they didn’t close one side completely and for a while, worms were coming in to die, seeking the cool tile floor. Complaints from the next four guests because I couldn’t figure out why they started coming in so much.

I internalize and act on the comments. After being fully booked for a year, all those complaints I listed? They’re all fixed. I’ve made the place better and better. There are new floors, a new TV with all the channels you can get, a dehumidifier, a new heater (which two guests say is too loud and one even suggested buying a second new heater), new nightstands, the luggage rack, the LED light bulbs, plenty of plastic silverware, unoffensive everlasting snacks, lots of water (no longer Fiji), new paint on the walls and ceilings, and even a strictly regimented cleaning process, which I would happily attach if it would make dear reader happy.

My suggestion is, if they have a complaint, let them leave a complaint. But don’t encourage them. Hosts get worn out by constant suggestions and complaints. A guest might get one suggestion in a year. I have received more than one hundred. And that – on top of cleaning the place 120 times (they don’t all leave reviews) and having strangers in my basement.

I know it’s helpful. I should unpack and cherish every complaint like the little gift (of crap) it’s meant to be. But it hurts my heart. I am caring about these people and making the place super nice (it’s five stars, I’m a Superhost, and it’s a three-room suite in my very nice basement area for $45/night in a touristy area) and yet the complaints keep pouring in with every review. It’s not public (although some guests can’t help themselves) but it still undermines my joy in the experience, considerably.

Could Airbnb maybe only ask half of them to tell me what I could do better? Let the other half think for themselves whether they want to tell me what I can do better. I have many other tangents I can run down regarding Airbnb, Heaven or Hell, Depending on the day, but I will save that for another time. Until then, enjoy the host experience…

Prickly Airbnb Hosts Give One-Star Ratings

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I got bashed by a host in Brooklyn because of one four-star rating in one category (everything else was a five), but I guess I cannot be truly honest nor give constructive criticism. Other guests I noticed who didn’t rave about the host also got a very heated response that implied the guest was somehow at fault or unfair. The host reply doesn’t show the original criticism so it is out of context. I also had a potential host turn on me quite suddenly when I asked for clarification on which unsafe areas to avoid in Harlem since I was advised by a neutral 3rd party NYC acquaintance that there were dodgy areas in that particular neighborhood.

As a woman traveling alone, I thought it was a legitimate and fair question but after a bit of a wait, the host asked me to cancel, which would’ve incurred a fee. I phoned Airbnb to discuss the matter. The customer service gal read all the emails and couldn’t understand the host’s sudden negative reaction either… maybe the area was dodgy. So far, only one out of three hosts have been honestly kind. The other two were just faking it apparently.

I’m now back to using hotels. Some aren’t that much more expensive and you get to deal with professional staff instead of a thin-skinned, petulant host. I have come across articles on how unsafe some venues/hosts can be since there’s not much vetting of hosts. A registered sex offender could be a host.

Arrogant Airbnb Host in The Netherlands

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I stayed for ten days in a spare room at a house in Heemstede, which is close to Haarlem in Noord Holland. I had nothing to complain about; the house and facilities were very nice and my host and her family were personable enough. I fully intended to return. I was too busy to post a review until about ten days after I left.

My review was entirely positive and I made no remarks about personalities or individual differences. I don’t consider it valid material for a review unless they’re very extreme. At that point I read the review the host had left. It was positive and even included the wish that I would return one day.

They used one word to describe me which I thought was much too personal and was wide open to interpretation by English speakers, a negative which could actually be seen by a total stranger as a layman’s remark about my mental health. The very brief review did read like a peculiar mixed message. It rather spoiled the experience for me.

I was concerned about this remark and I contacted the host thirteen days after my departure to express my concern about it. If the host had merely said that they understood my concern, that would have been the end of the matter. Instead I was accused of exaggerating. I was given the positive Dutch definition of the word (which I do happen to know) as proof.

There then followed recriminations about a lost bike key, which I had placed with the front door key, on a key ring, on a hook behind my bedroom door. The host could have phoned, sent an SMS, or emailed me in the intervening thirteen days if I had caused a problem. I had mentioned in my email to the host that it would have been rather more helpful if they had mentioned some practical things such as the fact that I had done the bed laundry before I left.

This was countered by a blunt statement that this was expected by the host, although they had said nothing to about this during my stay and there was nothing about this in the written house rules. The host said that I had ruined an expensive bed cover by washing it with all the other bed clothes. This was not true as I had cold-washed it separately because it appeared to be made of wool. I offered financial compensation and this was refused with significant bad grace.

The host also took the opportunity to make a pseudo-diagnosis of me by saying that I needed more ‘space and more attention’ than the other guests and also said that she had used the word she had used in the review to warn future hosts. I was then told it was time to end the conversation and she ended it by wishing me well before ending communication.

She had denied everything I said, made counter-accusations, and expressed herself in a very arrogant way, when all that was required was a brief and normal conversation. The experience for me was exactly like being spoken to, not to mention lied to, like an employee. It is an unfortunate Dutch stereotype, though only true of a small minority of people in The Netherlands, that if you are merely polite and personable with them, then they will presume you to be lacking in basic intelligence.

This particular host has, in the words of other Airbnb users, left feedback as a guest which is ‘borderline rude’ and ‘very arrogant.’ If you stay with this host then probably nothing bad will actually happen, but my experience was that things got quite unpleasant when I was no longer present, when I complained about something and when the exchange was not visible to other people.

The feedback you see on Airbnb does not always give an accurate representation of the stay and what the host says in private may be completely different. I think that this host might be very resentful of having to host strangers in her nice house and that the veneer of tolerance and courtesy is quite thin.

Airbnb urgently needs to address the level of assistance it gives hosts and guests. The last time I had to complain was when I was stranded by a host who did not meet me as arranged. That was in 2015 and the online support was very fast and good. They seem to have replaced that with operatives which are hard to distinguish from an artificial intelligence application. Nothing is resolved and they often shut down the ticket before you can make a reply. Airbnb used to respond by email if you wrote in by letter, but not anymore.

————- Editor note added 2/26/2020————-

This host has been offline from airbnb for some time, but has recently created a new listing:

Sub-Standard Standards at Wales Airbnb

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A week in Wales went wrong from the start. We booked Friday to Friday but weren’t expected until that Saturday. The property was new to the host and not ready for letting, with many pictures and mirrors on the floor waiting to be hung. The host’s partner asked if he could stay over for a night to carry on with the preparation, leaving the Saturday afternoon after hanging a few pictures.

Our five-bed property had two usable bedrooms. The host had spent lavishly on bedding and towels, yet failed to clean the property which they had recently acquired after it had been empty for over 12 months. The host had inherited crockery, cutlery, and white goods from the previous owner. The crockery and cutlery was filthy, greasy and contained food residue from the last use (some months earlier) The cutlery tray was mouldy and contained dead insects; it was obvious that none of it had been cleaned since the property was purchased. The host had left a pair on her knickers hanging with the aprons in the kitchen. The lovely garden had a number of piles of dog dirt which ought to have been cleaned up before we arrived.

Rather than post a poor review we decided to give the benefit of the doubt to a new business (particularly as the host’s partner is a lovely man) and offered advice on where improvements could be made, in person, when we left. The host then posted a vicious personal attack on us, probably because she thought we might have left negative feedback. Unless the host has learned how to clean, or employed an outside cleaning company to deep clean this property, I would avoid it like the plague. Speaking of plague, we all had flea or bedbug bites on our feet and ankles during our stay at this holiday. I can’t say for sure where they came from but I have my suspicions. This ought to be a beautiful property and could be if the host takes on board guest feedback instead of posting vicious small-minded comments from genuinely disappointed guests.

Airbnb Guest Reviews are Unfair to Hosts

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I joined Airbnb in August of 2016 as a host. I live in a house where I rent out one guest room. All other rooms are shared, including the one bathroom. It is a small house just over 1000 square feet. Just so you know, I joined out of desperation, since I was unemployed and worried I would not be able to pay my bills. I have currently unlisted my space as I am gainfully employed and in part due to the following.

Airbnb Customer Service: I find it very disconcerting that I must go to an entirely different website (outside the Airbnb site) to find a phone number, email and physical address to contact you. When I attempt to use the Airbnb internal contact form, I get directed to the FAQ. This is extremely poor customer service and very frustrating.

Their policies of not allowing a host to view a guest review until 14 days pass or until I post a review of the guest are objectionable. For the guest I had, I would not have reviewed her so neutrally had I known how derogatory hers would be of me. I find it is their policy that I cannot change my review nor can I change a response to her review or add to it.

This guest arrived three hours before the check-in time. I wouldn’t have been concerned except for the events that would follow. She should have been charged an extra day. Since she was a multi-month guest, she was only charged the first month up front. Her second and third payments were late, which Airbnb was aware of and should automatically put up a review that she had a lack of funds to pay when the money was due twice.

It is extremely important to hosts that they get paid on-time. She never communicated to me that she would be able to pay albeit late, yet remained in the house and waited for me to ask. She did eventually pay, but payments two and three were late. However, had she not paid, they claim no liability and I would have been forced to litigate to get her out of my house.

In general, this guest was a very poor communicator. She was very upset that the commute to the hospital where she would be working would be over thirty minutes’ drive. However, before booking, she had never asked how long it took to drive there. I would’ve known and I would’ve told her.

I overheard her – when she thought I was not able to hear her – tell someone over the phone that I only provided small sample shampoos. I do not list that as an amenity on my listing. The sample shampoos are just a courtesy in case someone forgets and until they can get to a store.

She also complained that I was getting up before she left for work when I clearly told her the time I had to get up for my job (substitute teaching in the beginning) the day she arrived. When queried about when she’d be working, she was vague and I had to deduce from observations later. She also complained there was no ceiling fan in the room she occupied while many of the other rooms had ceiling fan. However, I had bought a new fan for her to use as the ones I had were dirty and I was unable to get apart to clean.

She never communicated any of these issues directly to me. Every morning she worked, and she cooked bacon. As I have stated, I have a small house. I also have asthma. The smell I had to get up to was overwhelming, many times causing a coughing attack. I had to spend 15-20 minutes every morning (before I needed to prepare and leave for work, mind you) spraying a neutralizing air spray, wiping up grease and cleaning out the drain in the kitchen (she would remove the strainer and leave bits of egg and other food in the drain, potentially clogging my drain).

As she was getting ready for one and a half hours, she would pass my bedroom door over and over as she had refused to use any of the storage in the kitchen or bathroom that I had provided. She was rather heavy footed and made a lot of noise. She had on several occasions left a big glob of hair in the tub. Once she must have been dying her hair and left two black marks on my fabric shower curtain. These did not wash out.

In her review, she claims she did not know I had a dog. My house rules clearly state that I do have a dog in two places. In addition, one reviewer mentioned my friendly dogs (one has since passed). In her review, this guest complained that my dog begged every time she ate. She never once communicated this to me. I kept my dog in my bedroom when she was eating breakfast and getting ready for work because I noticed one morning that she was bothered by the dog. I certainly would have curbed my dog more had she communicated to me that she was bothered.

She dinged me badly with one star for “misrepresenting my listing” because she claims she did not know I had dog until she arrived. She clearly could not have read the house rules before she booked. Airbnb needs to ensure that guesst read the house rules before they book. Additionally, in her review, she complained I only had one TV. Had she reviewed the photos, she would have seen that there was no TV in the guest bedroom and no others in the house except the living room.

She added that if she didn’t want to watch what I was watching, she would have to find something else to do. This is an extremely skewed view; I likely only used the TV 6-7% of the time she was there. When I was done watching I would hand her the remote and ask if she wanted to watch anything else. I also remember occasions I watched on my laptop and once on my phone so she could have the TV. She, however, had the TV on nearly every waking minute she was there. If she didn’t have to work that day, she would wake up and turn on the TV.

It would be on all day until she went to bed with few exceptions. She would come from work and immediately turn on the TV. I also observed she would have on a movie that she had just watched a couple weeks before. She also would have her tablet on her lap during the time she watched, leading me to question: how much did she really need the TV?

In her review, she claimed my house was infested with spiders. I can only conclude that she is an arachnophobe and seeing one or two spiders sends her into a panic. I witnessed her cutting up citrus to place around the room to repel spiders. She claims to have read this on the internet. Again, she did not communicate her concerns or whether it was okay to do what she was doing (it was not) and took it upon herself to address the situation. After she left, there were some dried up citrus pieces some of which were stuck on the rug, leaving a sticky mess for me to clean.

Almost a month after she has left, and I am still finding pieces of dried up citrus. The definition of infestation is enough of an insect, animal, etc., to cause damage or disease. There is no way that my house has been damaged by a few spiders and it is not unhealthy either. Her review makes my home sound like it is from the Munster’s or Adams Family TV shows or a scene from a Harry Potter movie, all far from the truth.

This is another area she dinged me badly, by giving me one star for cleanliness. My house is far from a one star for cleanliness as one can see from other reviews. When speaking to a friend about her review, she said, “I’ve never seen a spider in your house and I’ve been here a lot.” My friend also remarked that she was passive aggressive. There was another minor annoyance with her: she left drawers open an inch, and did not push her chair in.

Airbnb making amends: I would ask that her review be taken down. I clearly think that they should remove the one star for “misrepresenting my listing” when I have always been upfront about having a dog. Barring that, I would like to edit or add an addendum to my review from this guest or I would like to be allowed to add an addendum to the response to her review.

Airbnb should indicate that she is probably okay to inhabit a place on her own, but she is not a good housemate, even temporarily. She should never be allowed into a place with an animal. Most importantly, a potential host should be warned it may be difficult to collect payment from her.

Suggestion: when a host is residing on the property, Airbnb should have an escape clause: if the guests and hosts are a mismatch for whatever reasons, allow either party to cancel and part company without any retribution.

Racist Host Can’t Help But Write Negative Reply

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I have had a pleasant trip using Airbnb over the last month until I read the messages from a host in Florence. I stayed in Florence and the bathtub in the apartment was so clogged that the water covered my feet while showering; hairs floated. I mentioned this discomfort in my review, and the host seemed to be very dissatisfied with the problem I raised.

According to her, the apartment was in poor condition and the water went down a bit slower but her apartment was clean. Yes, it may be true some hairs from the pipe came out and her tub had been clean. However, how could I know the status of her entire building?

Her public review wasn’t that bad, but the private message was terrible. I can not stand this discriminatory statement. She has a huge bias for the people of my country, and this kind of person should not be an Airbnb host.

[Translated and edited public review] Thank you for the kind review. I would like to point out that some of what he wrote was incorrect: the apartment is advertised as clean (including the tub), but unfortunately the internal condition of the pipes does not depend on cleaning. This can happen in an apartment in which the speed at which a bathtub drains is slower than it should be. It certainly does not depend on cleanliness, so I hope you will take care of it in the future 🙂

[Translated and edited reply] The tub was clean. It simply drains slowly. Next time, go to a hotel. This is the usual attitude I see from Koreans. You’d better get an education, and learn not to be so unpleasant. It is no coincidence that I don’t have other negative reviews. I hope we don’t see each other again.

Do I have to deal with hosts like this because I just left a review that does not appeal to one host?

Airbnb Believes Lying Guests With No Proof

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I am a Superhost and have 12 properties on Airbnb. I had a couple arrive one hour late and so they had to wait for me for 15 minutes because I was fixing a plumbing leak. I greeted them and offered to help them carry their bags but they were nasty. I usually go in and walk them through the entire place. I sat down and opened up my instruction book and they made it clear they wanted me out of there. The husband was rude and negative about anything I tried to say.

I left and sent them an email apologizing, asked if the place was okay, and to let me know if they needed anything. I was in a condo on the same property two minutes away. I never heard from them. If they saw me and I said hello, they said nothing. Now I have asked if anything is wrong and they didn’t care to tell me.

The couch has an old sofa bed and I don’t advertise it as a sofa bed. I say the unit comes with a queen bed. Well, as I suspected, they reviewed me on Airbnb saying that the dishes were dirty, the floors were dirty, the sofa bed was uncomfortable (they were husband and wife), and there was pee by the toilet. When I walked in with them none of this was there that I was aware of. The same day I asked if there were any issues and they didn’t respond.

How does Airbnb allow reviews like this when I clearly communicated with them the very first day but they refused to talk to me? There needs to be a policy where Airbnb tells the guests that they must first communicate with the host immediately with any issues. Allowing them to post lies should actually be considered slander. Airbnb is ruining our reputation and eventually this will be a big problem. They also had the nerve to send out these automated messages telling me that my place has been rated a 3.5 which could be a problem for me.

Cautionary Tale: Reservation Alteration by Guests, for Hosts

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Here is a little known Airbnb policy we got screwed by: hosts who cancel a previously booked reservation do face some sort of penalty or automatic bad review. For a complete host cancellation, there is a 10% credit from Airbnb for the guest to rebook with another host. However, hosts that only partially withdraw the reservation are not penalized, the guest does not get the 10% rebooking credit, and when the reservation alteration feature is initiated by the guest (due to the host’s circumstances) to receive a refund, the recalculation formula for reducing the number of days penalizes the guest, not the host. This process did allow me a refund, but several days later my credit card was fraudulently charged again for the amount of my refund.

Forget about getting any help from customer service; they just keep passing you off to another case manager for another go around. If you do get someone who knows how to correctly apply a refund, it takes up to 15 business days to get it. I finally went to my bank to submit a fraudulent charge report.

We learned a hard lesson. It was not possible to find another house with similar amenities in the same location with such short notice. My suggestion to others is before you book with any host, ask if the house is currently on the market, or undergoing renovation. Also, I suggest that you review carefully Airbnb’s “reservation alteration policy.” Unless the host cancels the entire reservation, the guest gets screwed. I was instructed by an Airbnb case manager to “alter” my confirmed reservation for the reduced number of days the host could accommodate us. Do not do this if the reason for alteration is due to the host’s circumstances, not the guest’s. Have the host cancel the reservation and start over, either with the same host or a new one.