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> In fact, there really is no upside to leaving a negative review. There's a downside - you get reviewed yourself, as a guest. My wife had an OK experience wi

> In fact, there really is no upside to leaving a negative review. There's a downside - you get reviewed yourself, as a guest. My wife had an OK experience with airbnb, then a shitty one. airbnb did nothing helpful, and the host threatened my wife with a negative review if she left one. The fact that we had documented evidence of things like * a completely broken shower * missing curtains in the living area, exposing your entire room to an office block across the street, with no way to walk between bathroom and bedroom without being seen by office workers day and night * broken television * moldy refrigerator * and - as trivial as it sounds - 1 hanger in a closet for someone who booked a 10 day stay airbnb hung her out to dry, no refund, no partial refund. "it must have been acceptable because you stayed". There was no guarantee of getting any refund during that time, and we were already out over $2k for just the accommodations. Horrible horrible experience, and I will not be giving them our business again any time soon. Again, the host threatened to leave a "negative guest" review. Given that my wife would only have that one review (despite a previous airbnb stay), this has more of a damaging effect on her ability to use the service in the future than it does on the host with dozens of "fabulous/great place!" crap reviews. She declined to leave a negative review out of some odd fear, against my suggestion, but what's done is done. The airbnb team makes it pretty clear how they resolve issues, and it was not even close to being fair, from my perspective. Of course, looking at things "objectively", yes, my wife could have come in and broken the shower, added mold to the refrigerator, broken the television and stolen the curtains just to try to wrangle a few bucks from the host. There is always that to consider, I suppose.

user5994461 9y ago
The reviews are kept secret until both parties submit. The host will not know what you gave him, you should definitely have put a negative review. Some countries and cities don't have curtains. A TV service and hangers don't qualify as a valid reason to get $2k refunded, or even half of that.
- mgkimsal 9y ago
  Pictures of the room with curtains were posted, then arriving to a room without them, with attendant privacy issues... false advertising. We'd already been told that we'd get a negative review if she left anything, as we'd already tried to go through the 'dispute' process with airbnb. Claiming a working TV and showing pictures of the main living area with curtains, then having neither is, at very least, deceptive. A broken shower (with video proof) apparently isn't enough to justify any dispute at all, because it was "fixed" on the 4th day. I would think, would be an admission that there was an actual problem that needed attention, and some sort of adjustment would be appreciated/welcomed. Hangers - totally minor, but having emailed the 'hosts' earlier, they'd indicated this would be something provided, and it wasn't. I don't know how many things need to be a) promised in writing or in photos then b) not delivered before some notion of "goodwill gesture" becomes appropriate (10% off future airbnb booking? 10% refund/adjustment for poor service?) Apparently we were not even close to the threshold, and if that doesn't qualify, I have no good reason to consider airbnb for future travel needs.
  - user5994461 9y ago
    An habitation without hot water doesn't qualify as liveable in first world countries. You should have disputed only on that, leave on the first day and ask for full refund. If possible and necessary, deny the charge on your card. I've been on both sides and seen all sort of claims. Disputes are always messy, AirBnb seem to read them and try to deliberate.
dazc 9y ago
'Given that my wife would only have that one review this has more of a damaging effect on her ability to use the service in the future than it does on the host with dozens of "fabulous/great place!"' I have had to trash an established account with 16 great profile reviews because an agent acting for a host left a vindictive review for me. Creating a new account takes a few minutes and I found no downside to getting places without any review history. AirBnB isn't Facebook, people don't think it's funny that you don't have an established account. Conversely, it doesn't work the other way around as I would be wary of booking a place with zero reviews and, I expect, most other people think the same? Oddly though, the only place I have stayed with zero reviews (limited number of options at the time) turned out to be the best place so far?

user5994461 9y ago

The reviews are kept secret until both parties submit. The host will not know what you gave him, you should definitely have put a negative review. Some countries and cities don't have curtains. A TV service and hangers don't qualify as a valid reason to get $2k refunded, or even half of that.

mgkimsal 9y ago
Pictures of the room with curtains were posted, then arriving to a room without them, with attendant privacy issues... false advertising. We'd already been told that we'd get a negative review if she left anything, as we'd already tried to go through the 'dispute' process with airbnb. Claiming a working TV and showing pictures of the main living area with curtains, then having neither is, at very least, deceptive. A broken shower (with video proof) apparently isn't enough to justify any dispute at all, because it was "fixed" on the 4th day. I would think, would be an admission that there was an actual problem that needed attention, and some sort of adjustment would be appreciated/welcomed. Hangers - totally minor, but having emailed the 'hosts' earlier, they'd indicated this would be something provided, and it wasn't. I don't know how many things need to be a) promised in writing or in photos then b) not delivered before some notion of "goodwill gesture" becomes appropriate (10% off future airbnb booking? 10% refund/adjustment for poor service?) Apparently we were not even close to the threshold, and if that doesn't qualify, I have no good reason to consider airbnb for future travel needs.
- user5994461 9y ago
  An habitation without hot water doesn't qualify as liveable in first world countries. You should have disputed only on that, leave on the first day and ask for full refund. If possible and necessary, deny the charge on your card. I've been on both sides and seen all sort of claims. Disputes are always messy, AirBnb seem to read them and try to deliberate.

dazc 9y ago

'Given that my wife would only have that one review this has more of a damaging effect on her ability to use the service in the future than it does on the host with dozens of "fabulous/great place!"' I have had to trash an established account with 16 great profile reviews because an agent acting for a host left a vindictive review for me. Creating a new account takes a few minutes and I found no downside to getting places without any review history. AirBnB isn't Facebook, people don't think it's funny that you don't have an established account. Conversely, it doesn't work the other way around as I would be wary of booking a place with zero reviews and, I expect, most other people think the same? Oddly though, the only place I have stayed with zero reviews (limited number of options at the time) turned out to be the best place so far?