I think I'm finished...:-(

[SoniaWhite]

Great advice had provided you. Hope so everything gets well soon.

[Cocoanouk]

if you only just listed and dont have other reviews. delete your listing and re do it.

[Katwave]

This discussion has been so encouraging to me. I had the exact same thing happened to me last Sunday. The woman was my first booking and gave me a 3 overall even though she gave me four 5’s in the different categories. I got my warning email from Airbnb and my listing is now “at risk.”

Of course the woman private messaged me that it was her fault for not reading my very concise description but then she still complained about the space publicly.

I also learned my lesson as I did my response to her review before I even noticed she gave me an overall 3 so I did not call her out on not reading the description. Lesson learned. Wait a couple days…

Thanks for encouraging me to just move on and hope for better reviews in the future. It’s just hard because I had a flurry of bookings but now silence for the last five days ever since her review. But I will stay hopeful!!

[thechoiceisjoyce]

I also agree. We need to keep everything honest so that we know what we’re going to expect from a guest. Their previous review goes along way in my decision to except them as a guest

[Lukia_Costello]

Don’t give up just define for yourself what you are willing to tolerate and stick to it. I also recap house rules with our door code the night before guests arrive.

We don’t do instant book, we don’t haggle and we don’t rent to unreviewed guests. I’m sure this costs down on potential bookings but, so far, the only time we have had a problem is when we make an exception for someone.

I get people trying to argue me into giving them a chance but, this is the home that I live in (Airbnb downstairs) and I need to be comfortable for myself and my neighbors, who I value.

L

[Matevz]

I think that you can still edit your review of them if you wish.

[Michaela_Graham]

I can edit the review? How?
I did write to airbnb, but they didn’t respond, the review is still there and no new inquiries at all

[HumptyDumpty]

To edit a review:
Go to Profile
Click Reviews
Select Reviews By You
Find the review you’d like to edit
If it’s been more than 48 hours, or your host or guest has also posted a review, your review can’t be edited or deleted unless it violates the content policy.

[Matevz]

Go to Profile on Airbnb.
Click reviews.
Select Reviews by you.

I hope that will help you.
I had more luck with calling Airbnb than msging them.

napisala:

[Michaela_Graham]

HumptyDumpty,
thanks, but as this thread clearly states, the guest has posted a review -
with lots of lies - and it’s been more than 48 hours

[happylittlehost]

I had a guest that reviewed me unreasonably one time. I was very angry and.so I waited quite a while to respond, until I could do emotionless fact based response. Facts only. No conclusions.

For example “guest seemed annoyed”?

Nope.

Guest expressed dismay when reminded’of 10AM checkout at 1130.

Even better:

Granted early check in request. Guest expressed dismay when reminded’of 10AM checkout at 1130.

[Michaela_Graham]

Well, looks like I couldn’t get past it. Got suspended from airbnb this morning for being below 4* average. I’m allowed to finish hosting the present bookings, but even if they all gave me 5* reviews, there aren’t enough bookings to bring it up to above 4*. So, any potential review in 2 weeks is not going to do anything.

Hosting lasted all of 2 weeks.

[dpfromva]

Oh dear so sorry to hear. I guess you could chase your tail trying to get airbnb to reconsider, but there are other platforms to list on (“I get knocked down, but I get up again . . .”)

[Michaela_Graham]

Actually, I really don’t want to continue doing short term rental. These last 2 weeks have been so stressful, that I just don’t want to have that kind of life. Every guest I’m hopeful and am trying to do everything I can to get a 5-star review and I had several that didn’t review at all.

I was even going to try to hang in there and see if they would reinstate me, if I could just get enough good reviews from the current bookings, but then I just got a call from a guest that moved in last night and she said that she couldn’t stay because the lighting wasn’t good enough for her to put on her make-up correctly every day and that she found a piece of trash under the sofa.

I lost it. I can’t do this. Don’t want to do this. Feeling like being held hostage by unreasonable guests and worrying every day. Not going to do this anymore.

I called airbnb and asked them to just give all of their booking fees back to those guests and that I’ll take care of the current guests in the other 2 units and to please cancel any future bookings. The funny thing is that he was trying to warn me of penalties for cancelling and I told him that it really wouldn’t matter, because they’ve already suspended me and that they wouldn’t have reinstated me , because there’s no way I could have gotten my average up past 4*, because I didn’t have enough reviews to counter.

[Zandra]

The penalties are cash penalties. So for each cancellation you’re looking at a penalty of between £50 to £100. He was trying to warn you that you might end up severely out of pocket if you don’t see your existing bookings out.

[Michaela_Graham]

I simply am not willing to leave the units empty for months to come for a
2-day booking here or a 3 day booking there. What are they going to
penalize me with? They can’t withdraw the money from my account. They paid
to paypal and I transferred to my account. I don’t expect to get any
payments for the present guests that are still there. Are they going to
take me to court? Then I’ll see them, with the letters from witnesses, who
were present for some of these guests who wrote scathing reviews.

Airbnb was a horrible experience for me and I’m not going to punish myself
for the next few months worrying about ratings or potential ratings.

[EllenN]

If you don’t pay the cancellation penalties, Airbnb will send them to collections. If you live in the U.S. there are dire consequences to having a collection action on your credit report.

[Michaela_Graham]

Well, whatever happens happens. The last 2 weeks were hell and I’ll deal
with the fallout. Won’t let them hold me hostage for more months.

[konacoconutz]

I would call them and say you are closing your listing and ask them to cancel for you.

[Helsi]

My first review was from a completely horrible self entitled guy and his much nicer partner. He said he would have rather slept in the streets than in my place (wonder why he didn’t). (and that was one of his nicer comments). He was cold and nasty throughout his stay.

This, because he arrived early and I didn’t have the towels ready for him in his room and he wanted to take a shower immediately literally within minutes of arrival. He then went in the shower with his girlfriend for nearly an hour when it is shared bathroom.

He made these remarks about a completely new home I had moved into two months before where I was the first person to live there and everything was immaculate.

Since then I have had over 100 people stay with about 95% 5 star reviews.