Hi Mark,

I don’t want to reveal my listings or post these things on the airbnb page, because I have lost all trust in Airbnb. In fact, I don’t even want to go into too much detail about the various things that went on in case our identity is revealed. I read blogs/reviews that hosts were removed and banned from Airbnb for no apparent reason and some suspect it’s because they had written something negative about Airbnb. Some people said their listings were hidden from search results and they suddenly started to have no inquiries. Others, whose social media posts have garnered attention, have said that Airbnb contacted them and pressured them to remove their posts. Some of these people were superhosts as well. I can try and find these posts again if you are interested. I myself want more than anything to believe that Airbnb is an honest company so that we can continue to make extra income from our properties.

However, this post really is reflective of various situations we’ve experienced. It may just be because of the number of guests we’ve had that has raised the likelihood of run-ins with Airbnb. We had over 500 people, and thinking about the times when guests have caused issues (I would say about 15 reservations), that’s only about 0.02 – 0.03% of the time. But my concern is that out of all the times that guests have caused issues (by this I mean issues which we had no responsibility over), I can only say Airbnb handled things fairly 2 times.

We’ve given them the benefit of the doubt the first couple times, but it is clear now that no explanation can be given for the way they lied to us. These lies were blatant and done in a similar fashion. Reps promised things like “unfair reviews will be removed” or “you will be reimbursed if you can prove the damages with photos, and provide invoices for the repairs.” Yet when bad things actually happen, even if you call multiple times and speak to different people, they will tell you the same things: “we never remove reviews on airbnb,” or “I’m not sure how the trip experience team makes decisions, but they have tried to be as fair as possible.” They also refuse to address any evidence you have, like how you have photos to show the damage, or messages between you and the guests to corroborate your story. They will repeat the same response no matter what support you have and ignore everything you say. Even if you call into question the company’s integrity and tell them that another rep had promised you something and that they can check their own phone records, they won’t care. They will even try to pretend it’s bad personal judgement on the other reps’ part. But I will no longer be manipulated by these tactics because it’s happened too many times with too many different reps (I’ve called at least 40 times and was put through to different reps each time) for it to be coincidental. It was easy to believe them because they really do know how to sound sweet and helpful, but now I see through it straight away because of their cookie cutter responses (they literally use the SAME words in a lot of cases).

For the past half a year, we’ve basically been continuing to host only because of the money, but now I’m too much angered by the injustices and I can no longer stand to help a company like this profit. I’m planning to switch over to other rental websites and if successful, we will depart from Airbnb and only then will I go into detail about what happened and show my profile to those who are interested. I’ve also made basic google searches on their business ethics, and I did not like what I found there either. Maybe I’m biased by my own experience, but I’ve lost every ounce of trust I have in this company.

I don’t intend to start an uproar with this, but when I wrote the post I was just absolutely sick and tired of their dishonesty, especially when hiding behind such a warm and friendly image, so I just wanted other people to know. I wouldn’t blame you if you take this with a grain of salt as this is just my personal experience with the company, and I can’t say for sure that others have had the same experiences. However, I’ve tried to be completely honest in this post, without exaggerating and I hope it may help you take precautions (whether that’s moving to another website, a more rigorous guest screening process, or purchasing your own insurance etc.)

We are Superhosts too and have had no nightmares. BUT, if what you report is true (it seems horrifying and unfair) then it’s time to be afraid, very afraid.

Have you thought of posting this on the actual Airbnb page for comment?