Post by High Priestess on Oct 5, 2015 1:22:32 GMT
Peter shared in AUGUST 2015
‘It Didn’t Look Like This in the Picture.’ Is Airbnb Sanitizing Bad Reviews?
"Turns out, Le Vell had run afoul of Airbnb's review policy: 'If you cancel a reservation as a guest before the reservation begins, you cannot leave a review for the host, because reviews should describe completed trips.' Occasions like Le Vell’s, where he virtually ran away screaming once he got a good look at his temporary apartment, presumably fall under that clause."
Click here yhoo.it/1Ii0abK for Yahoo Travel article.
My two cents: I can understand how the Guest feels about having his review deleted. A Guest should be able to flee from a flea bag listing without having her/his review rights compromised. I can also understand the policy of only allowing reviews from those who completed a stay. Sometimes, the Host should be given the opportunity to rectify a situation before having a permanent black mark left on her/his listing. I'm not sure how this conflict can be resolved in this and similar cases.
Ernest:
Over the years, we've had Airbnb take down several reviews about our listings because they violated the terms and conditions. What dismayed us was that even though our reviews for those particular guests did not violate the terms and conditions, when their review was removed, our review of them was removed as well.
Peter:
Ernest, I understand your dismay. However, from a company point of view, I can also understand the importance of mutuality in this context. If only one side is given the right to review, that could raise issues of fairness.
Ernest:
Both sides were given the right to review. One of those parties violated the terms and conditions regarding reviews while the other party did not. Please explain why both should be removed in this context.
Peter:
One can make the following replies: (1) Legally - It's not clear whether the "terms and conditions" are between the Host and the Guest, or between the Guest and Airbnb. In any case, if the latter, I'm not aware that there is a contractual provision stipulating that a breach of the terms will give the non-breaching party the right unilaterally to review the breaching party. If the former, any provision granting such a unilateral right would not bind Airbnb in the exercise of their review policies on their site. (2) Ethically - I did mention that I understand your dismay. But from a fairness point of view, in certain circumstances, the Guest should also be given a right to reply to the Host review notwithstanding the violation of the terms and conditions. After all, that violation may have little to do with the nature and content of the review (for example, if the Guest smoked in the home, the Guest should be allowed to say that the accommodation provided was nothing like the listing description or the photos). If the only review published was that of the Host, that would also arouse fairness concerns. Bottom line: it is not always the case that a violation fairly and forever silences the violator from commenting on or reviewing their stay.
Ernest:
When I say the review was removed, it was not removed because the guest violated a house rule, such as no smoking, rather it was removed for a flagrant violation of Airbnb's content policy regarding reviews, For example, one was removed because there was evidence of extortion in the message thread by the guest. Another was because of abusive language in the review itself. Anyhow, it seems like my review of this guest would serve the hosting community. These are guests that no host would want, in my opinion,
‘It Didn’t Look Like This in the Picture.’ Is Airbnb Sanitizing Bad Reviews?
"Turns out, Le Vell had run afoul of Airbnb's review policy: 'If you cancel a reservation as a guest before the reservation begins, you cannot leave a review for the host, because reviews should describe completed trips.' Occasions like Le Vell’s, where he virtually ran away screaming once he got a good look at his temporary apartment, presumably fall under that clause."
Click here yhoo.it/1Ii0abK for Yahoo Travel article.
My two cents: I can understand how the Guest feels about having his review deleted. A Guest should be able to flee from a flea bag listing without having her/his review rights compromised. I can also understand the policy of only allowing reviews from those who completed a stay. Sometimes, the Host should be given the opportunity to rectify a situation before having a permanent black mark left on her/his listing. I'm not sure how this conflict can be resolved in this and similar cases.
Ernest:
Over the years, we've had Airbnb take down several reviews about our listings because they violated the terms and conditions. What dismayed us was that even though our reviews for those particular guests did not violate the terms and conditions, when their review was removed, our review of them was removed as well.
Peter:
Ernest, I understand your dismay. However, from a company point of view, I can also understand the importance of mutuality in this context. If only one side is given the right to review, that could raise issues of fairness.
Ernest:
Both sides were given the right to review. One of those parties violated the terms and conditions regarding reviews while the other party did not. Please explain why both should be removed in this context.
Peter:
One can make the following replies: (1) Legally - It's not clear whether the "terms and conditions" are between the Host and the Guest, or between the Guest and Airbnb. In any case, if the latter, I'm not aware that there is a contractual provision stipulating that a breach of the terms will give the non-breaching party the right unilaterally to review the breaching party. If the former, any provision granting such a unilateral right would not bind Airbnb in the exercise of their review policies on their site. (2) Ethically - I did mention that I understand your dismay. But from a fairness point of view, in certain circumstances, the Guest should also be given a right to reply to the Host review notwithstanding the violation of the terms and conditions. After all, that violation may have little to do with the nature and content of the review (for example, if the Guest smoked in the home, the Guest should be allowed to say that the accommodation provided was nothing like the listing description or the photos). If the only review published was that of the Host, that would also arouse fairness concerns. Bottom line: it is not always the case that a violation fairly and forever silences the violator from commenting on or reviewing their stay.
Ernest:
When I say the review was removed, it was not removed because the guest violated a house rule, such as no smoking, rather it was removed for a flagrant violation of Airbnb's content policy regarding reviews, For example, one was removed because there was evidence of extortion in the message thread by the guest. Another was because of abusive language in the review itself. Anyhow, it seems like my review of this guest would serve the hosting community. These are guests that no host would want, in my opinion,