Jan 05, 2023 08:00:00

A report that it was deleted after posting a negative review on Airbnb, and a voice that even a positive review was deleted

Airbnb , a vacation rental service, provides a platform that mediates between local hosts and travelers, allowing guests to write reviews about the rooms and hosts they have used for other users. . At such Airbnb, a person complaining that Airbnb has deleted it after writing dissatisfaction with the host's fraudulent method.

Airbnb removed my negative review | Hacker News
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=34219422

On January 3, 2023, local time, a user of the social news site Hacker News posted an experience saying 'Airbnb has deleted a negative review.' A person named Mr. luminaobscura visited the room where he made a reservation using Airbnb, and was requested by the host woman to pay a security deposit of $ 300 (about 39,000 yen) just before. is. It seems that this deposit was not explained in the description column of Airbnb, etc., and Mr. luminaobscura posted a review pointing out the problem of the host. The reviews actually posted by Mr. luminaobscura are as follows.

I was not able to check in because I was asked for a security deposit of $300 (about 39,000 yen) at check-in. I told her (the host woman), 'I don't have that kind of money.' This is against Airbnb's rules. If there is a security deposit, it should be listed in the Airbnb description, and hosts can't surprise guests at the last minute. But she wouldn't listen and said, 'My house has my rules', 'Don't interfere with how I run my business', 'If you don't like it, you can cancel it'. . I told her she should cancel as the host would not give a full refund if the guest canceled. However, she said she wasn't going to cancel and she didn't mind if I, the guest, didn't get my money back. I think she relies on the fact that guests don't want to cancel their stay at the last minute. Looking at other reviews it seems some people had to agree to pay this security deposit. However, I contacted Airbnb because I thought that this should not be the case. Thankfully Airbnb gave me a full refund and I was able to find another place last minute. I wouldn't recommend this host unless you want a stressful start to your vacation.

However, Airbnb removed luminaobscura's review because ``the review did not contain enough relevant information to help the Airbnb community make informed booking or hosting decisions.'' . After the review was deleted, the host's rating was restored, and the title of ' superhost ' given to exemplary hosts is maintained. “Needless to say, I no longer trust Airbnb reviews,” said luminaobscura.

Mr. luminaobscura's post became a big topic on Hacker News, and more than 430 comments were received at the time of writing the article. A user named elmerfud posted a positive review to a host who stayed at Airbnb, but was notified by Airbnb that ``I found out that there was a relationship between the host and you'' and the review was deleted.

I am sending an experience story . In addition, the room where I stayed was in Colombia, and he said that he had nothing to do with Mr. Elmerfud from the United States. Mr. elmerfud contacted Airbnb about being called a liar, but he only received an email saying that he had done a ``thorough scrutiny'', and it seems that it is unknown what kind of investigation was done after all.

Another user said they were always charged something extra when they used Airbnb, that even though it said there was 'parking available' it wasn't free, it was always busy, or there was no public parking. I

commented that it was a car park.

It has also been pointed out that in recent years, Airbnb has seen an increase in the number of hosts who charge additional fees under the name of 'cleaning fees'. Even

a cleaning fee of $ 200 (about 26,000 yen) is not so expensive at Airbnb in recent years, and sometimes a cleaning fee of $ 500 (about 65,000 yen) may be charged for a stay of just 4 days. is.

A user named jacurtis says that even a five-star hotel requires a deposit of only $ 50 (about 6500 yen) via a credit card, while some Airbnb properties have a deposit of more than $ 1000 (about 130,000 yen). Pointed out that there is a case to claim. In the first place, it is silly to pay such a deposit to a host you can't trust at all, even if you can pay a deposit to a hotel chain such as Marriott or Hilton. 'Cleaning fees are ridiculous, too. I've seen a lot of cleaning fees over $500. Whoa! What the hell are you cleaning for $500?!' You treat us like gods and at this point there is no reason to choose Airbnb.'

One user compared the reviews sent to the PC game platform Steam with the reviews on Airbnb. While you can see information such as how many hours you played, how many hours you played in total, how other users rate this review, and how many other games users have, Airbnb of reviews noted that little information was available. They expressed the opinion that more information would be needed to increase the credibility of the review itself.