4 * review from guest who didn’t stay

I’m seething! Just got a 4* review from a guest who never set foot in my listing. She gave 4 stars for everything except value, which she gave a 1.
Her only comments were, “I was unable to travel due to a medical emergency. The review should start with details rather than ratings.”
She never canceled , nor did she request a refund. I left her a review, stating that she was unable to come due to a medical emergency, & that her communication was good.
I would really like to have this review removed, but frankly need to chill a bit before I call Air. I’m sure that interaction will raise my blood pressure! Any thoughts on how to approach this with a clueless CS rep? Seems like a no brainer, but…. :woman_shrugging:

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Just be as brief and simple as possible with CS. I would use messaging rather than a phone call.

"Reservation # XX

Guest never set foot on property, she said she had a medical issue and never arrived.

Guest did not cancel.

Guest left review and rating. Written review states she was never arrived for this booking. (Please look at her review to verify)

Guest left bad ratings, based upon nothing, as she never even arrived.

I request that this review and the attached ratings, which will damage my business, be removed. They are entirely irrelevant to rating and reviewing my listing."

The other thing you could do is message her, explain how her ratings, based upon nothing, will damage your listing, and see if she will call Airbnb and ask for her review and ratings to be removed.

I would message her like this:

"Hi XX, I’m sorry you weren’t able to come for your booking. It doesn’t really make sense that Airbnb gives the opportunity to review if the guest never stayed, as neither I, as a host, have anything to rate or review you on, other than communication, nor do you have anything to rate or review me on. However, if a guest doesn’t cancel the booking, Airbnb has no idea that you never stayed, hence the review notification.

I think you may have been a bit confused by being asked to leave a review and rating.

The low ratings you left shocked me, and will damage my business. I assume this wasn’t your intent. (Don’t know if you noticed, but I left you a positive review and ratings) Ratings and reviews cannot be edited or changed once published, but they can be removed at the user’s request. I would very much appreciate you asking Airbnb to remove your review, if you would be so kind (I have no objection to your written review, although it has nothing to do with my hosting or my listing, but reviews and ratings are a package deal- they won’t remove one without the other).

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I like what @muddy had to say.

You might refer to Airbnb’s policy on reviews, that they be relevant.

Specifically, Airbnb says:

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Thanks, Muddy, sound advice. I’m a bit calmer now, & able to think my reaction through. Yes, I think I’ll put it in writing, also taking @HostAirbnbVRBO‘s response into consideration. Yep, sounds like I shouldn’t have any problem getting it removed, although we know that stranger things have happened!
I don’t think I want to contact her just yet…

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True, you can always contact her if dealing with Airbnb becomes an exercise in frustration.

If I had a guest who never arrived and didn’t cancel in time not to get a review notification, I would message them the day before their check-out date to explain that we’ll both get review notices, but that I have no intention of leaving a review, as I have nothing to rate or review them on, and assume they will ignore the review notification as well. (If I saw they went ahead and left a review anyway, then I’d leave a similar review to what you did.)

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Send a message to Airbnb through the platform instead of calling. Let them know that she never stayed nor did she cancel.

Quick update: I’m pleased to say that Air took one look at the guest’s review & removed it. Bam :bomb: Thanks for the feedback everyone.

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Bam! I like it.


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I would like to create a new thread/topic but I do not have the option.

Could a moderator explain what’s going on?

You need to be on the site for some time to earn trust before you become authorized to post a topic.

@KKC, one of the moderators might be able to help you.

Meanwhile, you might want to search the forum for previous posts on your topic (if applicable) if you haven’t already done so.

Stay tuned!

The strange thing is that I have created a topic in the past.

Now I can’t. @KKC could you shed some light on this?

Yes. It’s a violation of forum rules to create a second account to circumvent restrictions on your original flagged account. So your new account now has restrictions.

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The ‘restriction’ placed on my original account was removed in January 23.

The email, confirming the restriction removal states the following

‘You can now create new replies and topics’

However, despite the above, the restriction was not removed, as I was unable to create a new thread with my original account. I then sent a message for the mods to remove the restriction’ in March 23. The message was ignored by the mods.

This provides the rationale on why another account was created.

So again, could you remove the restriction so that I can enjoy the forum like everyone else?

Sorry, but there must be some mistake. Messages are archived and I see no evidence of this.

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I would immediately call the host line of Airbnb.

Did, taken care of w/ no questions. Easy peasy!

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If a person never checked in, then they should not be able to post a review.
Perhaps AirBNB can remove the offending review, which is a complete fiction!

The OP already posted upthread that Airbnb removed the review without any fight.