Airbnb Has Picked a Side—and It’s Not With Hosts

[Peter Goldfinger]

Airbnb’s current review-removal process is deeply unfair to hosts.

In the past, a host could speak with someone at Airbnb and explain why a review violated the company’s policies. Now, in my experience, hosts are directed to submit a written request. If that request is denied, they receive only one appeal before the matter is permanently closed.

Even worse, Airbnb provides no meaningful explanation for its decision. There is no indication of which arguments were considered, which policy provisions were applied, or whether the evidence was carefully reviewed. Hosts receive a rejection without any real opportunity to discuss the case with a human being.

The process effectively requires ordinary hosts to argue their cases like lawyers—interpreting policy language, organizing evidence, and preparing what amounts to a legal brief. Most of us are not attorneys or large hotel corporations with legal departments. We are simply people trying to rent our homes responsibly. We should not need legal training to receive a fair hearing from a company we pay to facilitate those rentals.

I could recount every detail of my own case, but I don’t want this to sound like a complaint about one unhappy guest. The larger problem is the process itself.

After more than 300 reviews, I received my first two-star review. Airbnb does not seem to appreciate how damaging a review like that can be. Hosts operate in a system where anything below five stars can significantly affect a listing’s rating, visibility, and income.

Airbnb should also recognize that one dramatically negative review among hundreds of five-star reviews is, by definition, an outlier. That does not mean it should automatically be removed—but it should receive careful, individualized review by an actual person.

Hosts open their properties—and often their homes—to Airbnb guests. We pay Airbnb substantial fees and depend on the platform for our livelihoods. The very least Airbnb owes us is a transparent review process, a clear explanation when a removal request is denied, and the opportunity to speak with a human being when a single review may materially damage years of responsible hosting.

Airbnb has created a system in which guests are allowed to judge hosts publicly, while hosts cannot meaningfully question Airbnb’s judgment in return. That is neither balanced nor fair.

This may not seem like a problem that affects you today, but eventually it will—and when it does, you may discover that there is no meaningful way to make your case.

Please like and share this post so that it reaches other hosts—and, ultimately, the decision-makers at Airbnb. If enough of us speak up together, perhaps Airbnb will finally listen.

[Jules Aton]

Not surprised. It is a shame AirBNB and VRBO are essentially the only game in town and act like it.