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Airbnb removed my negative review

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Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#301

Post by madaxe_again »

blairbeckwith wrote: post #252
dmix wrote: post #247

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How exactly do you regulate it like hotels without changing the legal structure? Hotels either directly run their various locations (aka run by their employees) or franchise it. That's a totally different business model. So just saying "regulate it like hotels" doesn't mean much.

You would do it by changing the legal structure, but not by requiring any employees of Airbnb to manage the properties themselves, any more so than TripAdvisor employees manage hotels today. Require Airbnb hosts to pay for a license, have regular inspections, etc.

That’s what Airbnb plus was - vetted properties, annual inspection. They utterly failed to market it properly.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#302

Post by everybodyknows »

robg wrote: post #86
imtyler wrote: post #26

My nextdoor neighbor sold their house last year and now it's an Airbnb. Despite the fact that I live in a house in a normal residential neighborhood, I'm now forced to live next to a hotel. And I have no say in the matter. Super frustrating. I've read people talking about how Airbnb screwed the host or the guest. But few people talk about how it screws the neighbors.

You have a say - go to your town’s planning and zoning commission, find others with similar concerns, and force votes on the legality of a full-time hotel next door.

In my town, stays of less than 30 days are illegal, and there's a 10% tax. And yet, AirBnb and VRBO show dozens of listings. So if the rental contract itself violates city code, surely no tax is being paid either.

This puts me off the idea of ever renting out my own place, because I would then have to choose between feeling like a sucker, or being a criminal.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#303

Post by blairbeckwith »

madaxe_again wrote: post #301
blairbeckwith wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You would do it by changing the legal structure, but not by requiring any employees of Airbnb to manage the properties themselves, any more so than TripAdvisor employees manage hotels today. Require Airbnb hosts to pay for a license, have regular inspections, etc.

That’s what Airbnb plus was - vetted properties, annual inspection. They utterly failed to market it properly.

I don’t think this does much to solve the problem - “we investigated ourselves and found we did nothing wrong”.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#304

Post by suzzer99 »

spacemadness wrote: post #222
elmerfud wrote: post #8

Airbnb removed my positive review and accused me of being in cahoots with the host to leave positive feedback. They said they have found an existing relationship between me and the host. Mind you have no social media accounts, this was my first stay at an Airbnb, I'm from USA and this was in Medellin Colombia, I usually stay at Marriott hotels and I only went with Airbnb because the girl I traveled with suggested usi…

This is why I went back to hotels. Airbnb is a scummy company and can’t seem to survive without out of control “gotcha” fees added by either itself or its hosts which now make many hotels cheaper. I also am not obligated to do work for the host with a hotel. Some of the hosts have become super entitled over the years due to Airbnbs policies. It’s a shame as using Airbnb was an excellent experience when it first began…

The latest scam is having to pay either a $1500 deposit, or $59 "deposit insurance", which I assume the host gets some kickback on. I know I'm not going to trash the place. But I also don't like just putting $1500 out there either. A deposit that high only exists so someone can make money off the deposit insurance.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#305

Post by eagleinparadise »

I work in commercial real estate, mostly in the apartment industry. I'm about as YIMBY as they come. AirBnBs and short term rentals are terrible for housing costs. STRs incrementally take supply of housing off the market where the owner can received the same or more income by renting at 1/2 or 1/3 the occupancy of a long-term tenant. Some people have mentioned housing was "pre-screwed" or zoning is the issue, but this actually is a big contributing factor to higher costs.

With STRs, an investor can pay a significant amount more than a 2nd home investor, whom that 2nd home investor could pay more than a homeowner.

STRs can be a great investment for someone, but it comes at the expense of housing costs in the area.

I love staying in cool AirBnBs, but it's the reality.

Fortunately, AirBnB launched a new product where they revenue-share with apartment landlords where tenants can Airbnb their apartments out. This is a much less distorting to the market, and even can be good for the housing market if the financial community can rely on this extra income.

If more buildings can pencil (due to high construction costs) because there's now a 10% increase in revenue from Airbnb apartment STRs, and lenders/investors are comfortable with this, then that's a good thing.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#306

Post by charcircuit »

quadrifoliate wrote: post #105
admax88qqq wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Don't exaggerate. There is a difference between doing online business and leaving an optional review. OP was still able to use Airbnb, they just removed one positive review possibly because they have no online history making it hard to distinguish them from a bot or puppet.

> they have no online history making it hard to distinguish them from a bot or puppet Huh? Airbnb has the entire transaction history that matters – proving that this specific user paid a specific amount of money for staying in a specific place for a specific amount of time. Thinking that you need to prove "online history" (how would you even track this?) as well is absurd. My theory on this is the same as usual – Air…

Proving you paid for it doesn't prove that you have no affiliation with the host.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#307

Post by nprateem »

Airbnb lost my trust too. I booked a place that ended up being over a noisy bar and they wouldn't refund me. It was impossible to sleep but wasn't mentioned anywhere on the listing which somehow had a top rating. I had to go to a hotel.

I don't even think to use them any more.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#308

Post by KieranMac »

Same thing just happened to me. Had a two-week stay in Costa Rica at a place that advertised itself as a serene and tranquil spot with wildlife. Instead, it was non-stop construction 11 hours a day, 6 days a week. The host knew about it before we arrived. Only found out about it after we got there. Pretty much every appliance in the house broke while we were there. The host was also rude and condescending throughout the process.

We gave a two-star review, and it never appeared on the site. Host is still a super host.

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#309

Post by atkailash »

seattle_spring wrote: post #246
spacemadness wrote: post #222

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is why I went back to hotels. Airbnb is a scummy company and can’t seem to survive without out of control “gotcha” fees added by either itself or its hosts which now make many hotels cheaper. I also am not obligated to do work for the host with a hotel. Some of the hosts have become super entitled over the years due to Airbnbs policies. It’s a shame as using Airbnb was an excellent experience when it first began…

I’ve stayed in 100+ Airbnbs and literally never have paid or been asked to pay an extra fee. I have, however, been surprised several times by hotels charging an extra “resort fee” upon arrival.

[dead]

Re: Airbnb removed my negative review

#310

Post by mhuffman »

admax88qqq wrote: post #64
mynameisvlad wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Since when is a social media account required to do online business? You also don't need a social account to login, so how would Airbnb even know that user named "John Smith" on Twitter is you?

Don't exaggerate. There is a difference between doing online business and leaving an optional review. OP was still able to use Airbnb, they just removed one positive review possibly because they have no online history making it hard to distinguish them from a bot or puppet.

>they have no online history making it hard to distinguish them from a bot or puppet.

Implying that a "bot" or "puppet" is paying to stay at AirBnB's just so they can write salty reviews?

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