Dear all
well this is going to sound paranoid. For context, our cabin has been listed since January and is picking up business and noise in our small community. A local (super)host who lives just 15 minutes away sent a request to book saying she wanted an anniversary getaway with her husband. I know, I know, sounds strange & there have been a number of posts about the potential perils of hosting locals, here… Anyway I took the booking. Looottts of problems. She was super-critical throughout, targeting things that seem small and have not to date been an issue - keypad on door too small, discomfort with (prominently listed) security cameras, unable to work fridge, for example. I just got the prompt that she reviewed us, and although I was very responsive & sent a partial refund, I am confident this will be very negative.
Even if this feels like from her a win-win approach to getting a discount and taking down a local competitor (I know sounds paranoid), I can’t see how I can capture this in the review, or address it with customer service. Any advice appreciated.
I think you can request Airbnb to take it down.
- Reviews may not be used for the purpose of harming competition. For example, Hosts are not allowed to post biased reviews of listings they are affiliated with or directly compete with.
You have almost 150 reviews and a 4.93 average. She can’t tank your rating. Even if she gave you a 1 you would still have something like a 4.9 average.
I do not think this is accurate. Do you have a link to an airbnb TOS etc that supports this?
Thank you! How relieving, I hope very much that this is still the case. Are you able to share the link to this policy?
Yes, it does sound paranoid. 
If a competitor saw you as being a threat so much that she wasted her valuable time scoping you out in order to give you a bad review … well, that’s a compliment to you and it shows her to be a nutjob.
So no problem. Ignore it.
If by any chance she was daft enough to write a nonsensical review saying that the keypad was too small and that she couldn’t work the fridge, it looks bad on her, not you. Potential guests will see it as ridiculous anyway.
Didn’t you have host conversations? Whenever I’ve had guests who are hosts we’ve had some great (and useful) chats about hosting.
Yes there have been some but there are many reasons why local people need to rent a place. I’ve hosted many over the years and stayed in quite a few local rentals myself and I’m not weird.
Oh my, this is why I NEVER refund anything to a guest who complains about stupid stuff, Now you are getting a negative review AND you are being paid less.
I had the smoke detector go off for a guest once, according to her it just ruined her stay 
I did bring her a bottle of wine when I came to remove the offending alarm, which she had removed from the ceiling and put in the fridge because it would not stop. I told her I was sorry, and to book direct next time and she would save some money. I got 5 stars from her.
If I am going to get a less than perfect 5 star review at least I will get paid full price. I cannot envision a situation where I would offer a refund short of a fire or the sewage backing up.
RR
I mentioned here a few years ago that my dad was once staying in a prestigious (and expensive) London hotel.
The fire alarm went off in the middle of the night and the guests had to stay outside for most of the night.
In winter. In England. In their pajamas…
None of those guests got a refund.
Once a host starts giving or offering refunds the implication is that the guest’s complaints are valid.
If the problems are dealt with promptly, like @RiverRock 's smoke alarm, then complaints should be seen as an opportunity for the host to make a great impression and turn the situation into a great review, a repeat guest or plenty of referrals.
I do generally agree. In this case the freezer (apparently) stopped working and around $30 of their food was spoiled. So that seemed like a direct and fair reimbursement, not a ‘sorry you were inconvenienced’ general payment.
← THIS! If she writes you a bad review, just remember that your response to that review will be on your page, not hers, and is an opportunity to subtly (or not subtly) put her motives in doubt.
So you could say something like, “I was really looking forward to hosting another local Airbnb host, and then disappointed when she constantly complained about odd things that had never been a problem for other guests (like the size of the digital keypad). I couldn’t help but wonder if her review was designed to harm her local competitor, but I don’t like to make assumptions. I wish X all the best in her hosting endeavours.”
If you’re feeling really bitchy, maybe you could work a “bless her heart” into your response, LOL
I think you could review her however you wanted, unless you’re worried about creating bad blood in the community when she reads your review. So, if you like, you can say something like “We were glad to host another local Airbnb host, but a little surprised when she complained about many small details (like the door keypad being too small). Hopefully one day I’ll get to visit X’s home and assess the size of her keypads. Meanwhile, I was very happy to offer X a partial refund when she couldn’t figure out how the fridge worked and a couple of items melted.”
That would warn other future hosts against her. Nobody wants to host a nitpicky person who complains a lot, can’t figure out how a basic appliance works, and who expects partial refunds.
- Reviews may not be used for the purpose of harming competition. For example, Hosts are not allowed to post biased reviews of listings they are affiliated with or directly compete with.
We stayed in a property rented through AirBnB and there was a fire in the complex. We waited outdoors for several hours while it was extinguished and given the all-clear. I wasn’t offered any compensation and didn’t expect any.
And we just left a hotel (a Marriott property) that had a power outage for about 2 hours one evening just as we got back from dinner. As we were on a VERY high floor, we elected to wait until the power came back on instead of climbing stairs in after a few drinks and in dress clothing. No apology or compensation from the management, and no expectation of such, although someone mentioned the bar gave them a free drink since they were in there when the power went off.
By the way, once she posts her review, can you please let us know here? I’m super curious to find out how this will play out! Could be that she just likes to share her opinions but in the end she will review you nicely. But if that’s not what happens, hopefully you are now well equipped to deal with the fallout!
Bingo. She was supercritical at the time but wrote a relatively neutral review. Turns out I am paranoid! but I do feel better equipped for next time. Thank you,
She may be one of those hosts who enjoys thinking of herself as an expert and gets some jollies “advising” other hosts on every little thing, unasked.
Glad she left a neutral review. She just sounded to me like one of those “Now let me give you some unsolicited advice, honey, because you obviously have no idea how to run an Airbnb like I do.”
Next time don’t be so quick to refund. I’d at least wait until I checked whether the freezer actually wasn’t working before believing the $30 worth of food gone bad claim. Not sure what is involved in figuring out “how to work” a fridge. It’s either plugged in and working (and easy enough to see whether the temp dial somehow got turned down) or it’s not.
How long was her booking for? I could see an str guest bringing some ice cream that might melt, but it seems strange for a guest booking an anniversary get-away to bring $30 worth of food that had to stay frozen.
Glad it ended well.
Couldn’t work the fridge? I’m trying to figure out how that happens.
one night. local host. Yeah, lots of red flags that I apparently sailed past.
I agree that it’s not necessary to always refund. Two summers ago, we had a black out in most towns in New Jersey. I didn’t offer a refund because the black out was beyond my control. I did offer them to extend their stay (free of charge) since we didn’t have anyone checking in the next day. They didn’t stay that night but checked out later in the afternoon. They were delighted with the late checkout, wrote me a great review and came back the following summer. Sometimes just a kind gesture is truly appreciated. Not all guests expect a refund.