Has anyone written a bad Airbnb review and lived to survive?

I left one that didn’t actually say the place was bad, but I did mention all the many plumbing problems.
I also contacted Airbnb itself when I got home, with more details than a review would allow, including weird responses from the owner.
I got a slight refund from Airbnb.
The owner reviewed me as “A very stiff people”. (Italian owner of a listing in Sicily.)
I’m not bothered, as every single one of my other reviews on Airbnb are in the A+ category.
That apartment is no longer listed…..good.
I wouldn’t worry about it.

I'm so sorry you had that experience Mardee especially as it must have already been a trying time worrying about your grandson. It seems really important that people should be able to leave honest critical reviews to keep AirBnB hosts honest.

Reviews that point out defects in properties are a service to potential renters. Someone may shrug and say "as long as it's clean, I don't care," and rent it. Personally, I would run away from the property you described and thank you for telling the truth.

Should Airbnb punish you for a bad review, remember there are other platforms that are not so heavy-handed, like VRBO and Booking.

I left a bad review for the Airbnb where I stayed in Rome. The Wifi never worked (and as a travel blogger, that was a real problem for me) and the toilet didn't flush properly.
Also, the shower was so small I couldn't turn around without bumping the faucet and either getting scalded or frozen.

The day before I left, the refrigerator stopped working. I notified the host of this. (I only noticed because there was water on the floor; The frost from the freezer compartment had all melted.)

I gave the following 2-star review:

This apartment is in a great location, on a quiet street in Trastevere, but just a block or two away from all the bars and restaurants and hustle and bustle that Trastevere is known for. And it's available for a price that's hard to come by in this neighborhood.

But there were some problems. First, the WiFi was very poor. My phone kept dropping the connection, and when it was connected, it was a weak signal and slow. I notified Marcos about this, and he said he would get it resolved, but it was never fixed.

Second, the toilet does not flush properly. Water comes in and swirls around, but nothing actually gets flushed. I had to fill the water kettle from the kitchen and dump it into the toilet to get it to flush. I notified Marcos about this, and he had someone come into to check on it, but it was never fixed the entire 11 days I was there.

I hope Marcos resolves the issues soon. If you don't need much space, it's a good value in a good location. Just be aware that it is tiny.

The host left a response that, among other things, accused me of breaking the refrigerator.

I was also concerned about future hosts not wanting to rent to me if they saw I've left a negative review. But so far, that has not happened, and I've made several reservations since then.

Laurel, I don't think the issue is Airbnb punishing people who write negative reviews, but other hosts.

S J, that made me laugh that he said you were a "stiff" person, lol! In my case, the owner already left a good review of me, which increases my guilt a bit, but I'm still glad I wrote it.

Kim, yeah, that's one reason why I didn't leave. I was spending pretty much the whole day at the hospital so at least I didn't have to spend too much time there. :-)

Laurel, I checked the other reviews carefully. There weren't that many, which probably should have been a giveaway, as I would imagine some people don't leave reviews if they're not happy.

Lane, that's good to know. I tried to be as nice as possible in my review but I felt an obligation to tell the truth. If someone before me would have mentioned this, I would not have stayed there.

They took it down and eventually I got our money back.

I'm an AirBnB user and host, and I can tell you that you don't get flagged at all by AirBnB unless hosts screen guests for prior bad reviews (of the guest, not of the place). I started doing that after I had a guest who, among other things, claimed not to know the apartment is not accessible--it's up a flight of stairs, which are mentioned and probably even pictured in the listing. I saw that she had some bad reviews as a guest, and I was bracing for a bad review, which never came. One thing to know is that you can't review a guest or a host AFTER they have reviewed you. You can respond to the review, though. As a guest, when I see that a host responds to the negative reviews in a respectful, problem-solving way, I tend to discount the negative review. As a host, I don't review guests anymore. I did it in the beginning so I could get quicker access to their reviews of me so that I could see how things were going.

I have had very good Airbnb experiences and review them accordingly. One exception was an apartment in Bayeux. Although the location was great the apartment had issues. I mentioned the problems in the review and sent her a message with some concerns. She sent me a snippy message back, but she had already done my review. I have had excellent reviews from the hosts where I have stayed and if future hosts want to read my reviews I’m sure they would be satisfied that I would be worthy to rent from them.

Two years ago we stayed in a VRBO in Texas (first time on the platform for this property, silly me to consider booking it) and it was horrible: The first night, when we flushed the toilet, it emptied into the bathtub. Yup.

Long story short, the owner seemed less than surprised, told us a plumber would appear "some time" the next day, and expected us to stay there until he/she arrived. We were there for three days to visit family so we declined to do that, and debarked for a lovely nearby hotel. VRBO gave us the runaround ("did you call us promptly? Let me put you on hold. Try to work it out with the owner") and the owner simply quit responding to us. We successfully filed a claim for partial refund through our credit card.

So, we posted a one-star review titled "p**p in the tub" because I really didn't want another guest to experience what we did. We recently used VRBO again (for a property with years of good reviews) with no problems. If Airbnb can't take honesty I'd try VRBO or something else.

I give you kudos for telling Airbnb the truth, and three stars isn't so bad.

I wrote a three star review for our stay in Venice. My place wasn’t as bad as yours. I think I would have given it a two star rating. But just to reassure you, there were absolutely no repercussions or even a response from the management company after review (a/c broken in one bedroom, wi fi didn’t work, beds not set up as we agreed, no response about anything).

I have continued to rent from air bnb and still have a five star rating.

I would imagine some people don't leave reviews if they're not happy.

This is me. Hemmed and hawed about leaving a poor review for a house in Peru but did not. I see in the reviews that Mark from Michigan nailed the issues, but missed that when the wind blew black flecks from the roofing fell between the sheathing boards and on the beds. He also missed the streetlight clipped to the wall right outside the bedroom window and only sheer curtains. Slept with both the eyeshades and the earplugs from the plane.

https://www.airbnb.com/l/0O9nwTgp

Thanks for all your comments! I gave it a 3 star because the owner was very nice and responsive, and the place was clean. I did send her a private message afterwards and explained why I left the review. I found out that she lives in Florida and owns about 10+ rental properties in the Twin Cities, and obviously doesn't see them on a regular basis. She did leave me a good review but did not respond to mine (yet - I think she still has a day to do so).

Toby, I get the inclination to avoid leaving a review and I was really tempted not to. But I just kept thinking that if someone else would have been honest about the place, I would have avoided staying there. So I figure I'm helping out a future renter. :-)

I still think that all vacation rental owners need to stay in their places overnight at least every two or three months, using everything in there and taking action to remedy any problems.
So many never do, never have and probably never will; like the host in the disastrous-plumbing place in Sicily who said she had just bought it as is to rent out.

Absolutely, but I can't escape the feeling bad and living in fear aspects. What eventually gets me through is thinking about my fellow travelers and how it will improve their experiences/ help them avoid a particularly bad stay.

S J, I wholeheartedly agree. That's actually why I usually rent a room in someone's home. I figure most homeowners are going to keep their place very nice. I thought that's what this was and definitely should have checked into it more. I was rushing, though, because of the circumstances so did not do the due diligence I should have.

I get the inclination to avoid leaving a review and I was really tempted not to

It’s harder to leave a bad review in a developing country when you suspect that the resources to make improvements are limited. But what stunned me was all those who left the 5 star reviews! Toilet smells of sewer— 5 stars! I don’t get doing that. Incidentally, found a new use for dental floss: use to keep bathroom door from swinging open and releasing sewer smell.

all vacation rental owners need to stay in their places overnight at
least every two or three months

Absolutely! but that goes for hotels as well. Not only would it help with bad maintenance, but also with bad architecture. E.g. missing pegs, missing shelves/drawers, curtains that don't block the light, round door knobs which are impossible to use, when your hands are slippery, TVs at an angle to bed/chair, missing outlets by the bed, fancy coffee maker which is useless for tea, ...

The worst example I have seen was a very new and modern hotel in Leicester (UK) with a sign saying: "If you want to reuse your towel, roll it up and put it back on the shelf". I did want to reuse it, but I wanted it to dry while I was away, so I hang it over the door.

Ha! I'm exactly the same way. I hate to leave a bad review.

I did give a place 3 stars once, but I was WAY too kind in the review. The place was a dump. The walls were so dinged, had nail holes, and huge black marks everywhere. The bathroom was downright disgusting- dirty, cluttered and had half used bars of soap. The entire place reeked of food. How it has so many good reviews is beyond me. I texted my husband that night (I was traveling with my mom) and he got us a room at a hotel instead. I told the Airbnb host that I didn't think the place was suitable for my mom and that we'd be leaving early. They never even responded. That being said, I have still used Airbnb plenty!

Toby, I agree about developing countries, but I still think it's important to leave a review. You can be very gentle in the review and maybe point out some of the things that could be done with no economical hardship.

l.p.enersen, ha, that made me laugh about the towel sign. I would have done the same thing. Why would anyone thing a sign like that was a good idea???

emmye, oh wow, that place sounds pretty bad. I don't blame you for leaving, especially since you had your mom with you.

FWIW, I just checked and my review has been published with no response from the owner, so hopefully there will be no repercussion. But I will be much more careful about checking a place out before I book in the future.

My last two trips I have booked apartments with booking.com and been happy.
I prefer it now over Airbnb.
No “extra” fees, honest reviews, and renters can also post their own photos in their reviews.
You can message the hosts beforehand with questions.
You can also see exactly where the place is on a map, as opposed to only the almost secretive general area on an Airbnb map.

Some places can be listed on more than one site, so you occasionally you can cross check reviews between booking sites.

If the owner lives out of state, I think you did her a favor by letting her know that whoever she has hired to clean/maintain the property or inform her of problems is not doing a good job.

I’ve only used AirBnB type sites for large homes at Suncadia - a beautiful spot for our extended family to all meet each year. Those aren’t such a wild card to rent because the homes are all very nice. Otherwise, I have used Booking.com for a few apartments in southern Spain. The reviews were consistent with the actual experience. I noticed that one required a cash damage deposit when we would get the keys (which I had ready). I don’t know if that requirement was just copied from an AirBnB listing, but we never had to give them the cash.

On balance, we've found better lodgings on AirBnB than on booking.com, though we continue to use both. We've left a couple of less-than-glowing reviews, and it's not presented any problems.

Mardee (and others), I agree about honest reviews helping potential future renters. I actually learned that from something Rick Steves wrote, and have remembered it ever since. There is always the temptation to be 'nice', especially perhaps as North Americans.

I can't find where Rick says this (probably in a book?), but here is Cameron Hewitt saying the same things :-)

I find positive reviews reassuring (cleanliness, helpfulness, safety, etc.) but a single negative review (mold, bed bugs, broken fixtures, noise, etc.) will be a red flag and cause me to do more research.

Thanks for this thread, Mardee!

On balance, we've found better lodgings on AirBnB than on booking.com,
though we continue to use both. We've left a couple of
less-than-glowing reviews, and it's not presented any problems.

If you find a place that is interesting, look for the name, most have names, or if no name, some unique text in the description then use that in google and if the property is listed on multiple platforms it should show up. Now you can choose who you want to do business with. Rates and terms can vary quite a bit.

For negative reviews, if earned, then certainly. But make sure you are bein fair and balanced. Also judge it for what it is. If you are paying 30 euro a night dont expect what you get for 100 euro a night on the same street.

Laura, happy to help although I'm sorry it took me a bad stay to write this, lol!

Mr. E, unfortunately, you really can't google most Airbnb locations, so mostly you're stuck with the reviews on the website. And, as has been pointed out, they are not always accurate as there is a tendency for people to leave good reviews even when they're not warranted. Yes, there are a few on multiple platforms, but much fewer than you would think. Pricepoint doesn't really help, either, because you're generally not going to find a $30 a night stay on Airbnb, and I think most of us are savvy enough to know that if you do, it's going to be very basic.

But in my case, it wasn't cheap. It was a bedroom in a house shared with 2 others, shared kitchen, bathroom and living space, and it cost around $75 a night. That's not terribly expensive but I wouldn't expect it to be for a shared room. However, I would expect it to be decent and comfortable for that price, and unfortunately, that's not what happened.

Mardee, I know you get it, but some people don’t realize that an airbnb comes with inherit risk. Sure, the quality of the host and how that is reflected in the quality of the flat, but more than that. You are choosing to take risk for a reduced price. Not risk due to negligence, but risk due to the nature of one-off accommodations vs a hotel with 100 rooms.

In a hotel if something goes wrong, they move you to another room. The average airbnb host has something less than 2 properties listed. Odds are you will be renting the only place the guy has. Something goes wrong; you could be on the street. That’s just a reality, has nothing to do with a good or bad host.

If you break off the key in the lock and you are on the outside and its late Sunday afternoon, you aren’t getting in for at least four hours. Not the fault of the host, it’s the nature of the risk you took when you rented a one-off airbnb. G-d himself isnt getting a locksmith out there any faster.

Hotels are professionally run, your airbnb is not. That will affect the quality of the experience in a lot of ways. Judge it accordingly and remind yourself you saved 50% by accepting the amateur status.

The only thing I know that you can do to mitigate some of this is to rent from hosts with quite a few properties. They aren’t rich, they are probably management companies. They have a better chance of having a backup place for you to stay. While Bob may have only had one lock go bad in 20 years the management company probably has one go bad every year and has a relationship with a lock smith that is more likely to come faster than for Bob. Management companies are more likely to be professionally run as their major client is the flat owner and the flat owner wants to see good reviews and good income or they loose their client. No guarantees with any of this, but I think the likelihood is greater.

I am just saying, rate it for what it is. But no, no host should be snippy. No host should be rude and every host should try and mitigate what ever situation comes up; and every rental should be clean and healthy and things should be in good working order or compensation if they are not.

As someone who was incredibly skeptical of Airbnb for all the reasons you list I admit we lucked out in Amsterdam. This was the nicest place we have ever stayed in Europe both for location (on the Canal) and amenities. The owner was very kind and didn't charge us extra for cleaning although we did clean it before we left. I think Airbnb can be risky and the reviews are always glowing so it's hard to read between the lines.

My favorite Airbnb description in California was "You will get to know our friendly rooster". Yeah, no thanks.

We had an unpleasant stay in Bayeux (see my above post) using Airbnb, but a VRBO I booked in Paris in 2011 was really bad. I had read all of the reviews, as I always do. I had to wire the deposit and pay the rest in cash upon arrival. When my friend and I got to Paris we went to the address and met two women there that were to let us in. I had to go to an ATM to get the rest of the cash so one woman accompanied me and the other took my friend into the apartment. I paid the woman what I owed and we went into the apartment. That was my first mistake. I should have inspected the apartment. The women left and my friend told me that a mouse had run across the room before I arrived. There was a huge stain on the sofa that looked like blood. We ended up covering it with a towel. The towels in the apartment were folded and they must have been wet at the time because they were stiff and smelled like mildew. The bedroom had a mezzanine bed that was accessed by a ladder. My friend took that bed and I took the single bed that was under it. It wasn’t until we arrived back in the evening that I discovered there were no sheets or duvet for the single bed. I used the duvet that was meant for the futon type sofa, but it was far too big for the single bed. In the morning I contacted the landlord and left a message telling him there wasn’t bedding for my bed and mentioned a couple of other things. While we were out and about someone entered the apartment and left a new, still in the package set of a bottom sheet, pillowcase and duvet cover. Why was there no bedding for this bed? Why did they have to buy something? Nothing else was addressed.

After discovering the conditions in the apartment I looked at the listing on VRBO and the most recent review more accurately conveyed the conditions we encountered than the others did. The host disputed their claim, saying that this guy just wanted to get some money back. After we left I wrote an honest review, mentioned I wasn’t trying to get anything and wanted to warn people, and the host disputed my claim as well. He accused me of lying. There was no way for me to comment on what he said, so I emailed him, told him everything I said was accurate and that either he was lying or the two women that worked for him were lying to him. Within a week that apartment was no longer being rented out.

One thing I prefer about Airbnb is that if you find yourself in that position they will help you find another place to stay. The host doesn’t receive their money until 24 hours later.

The only thing I know that you can do to mitigate some of this is to rent from hosts with quite a few properties.

Mr. E, I agree with a lot of what you said, but the problem renting from hosts who own multiple properties is that they sometimes live far away (like in my case) and probably haven't set foot on the properties in months or even years. Honestly, the most satisfying Airbnbs I have stayed at were the ones that were owner-occupied, renting out rooms. The homes were always comfortable and clean and had good amenities. My Airbnb in Amsterdam was incredible and I had such fun with the couple who owned the place. We spent many hours sitting out in the garden, drinking wine and talking. And the Airbnb in St. Paul (the 2nd one I went to after the disastrous first) was so charming, and the couple so very nice.

Leslie, that made me laugh about the rooster. Having owned roosters, you are smart to be wary. They will attack with no provocation!

Andrea, OMG! That was way worse than mine! But that is par for the course sometimes. And that's the reason I was a little worried about leaving a bad review.

Mardee, I was thinking more of management companies than owners. But sure, not a prefect solution either. But to be honest the number of problems with airbnb or any short term rental that i read on the internet is so minimal compared to the number of rentals each year, with the slightest about of care in selection the overwhelming majority of people are going to do just fine.

I think the benefit of renting a property that’s listed by a management company, especially one that has a lot of listings, is you’re much less likely to have a complete disaster. Things like sewage overflowing, crime scenes not cleaned up - any management company that rented a property like that would quickly be out of business. There still might be some problems, but they’re also likely to have resources to quickly address them.

It’s also probably a good idea to pay only by credit card so you have some recourse if things do go horribly wrong. We once stayed in a hotel in Greece that had changed owners after we booked the room. The place had become a total dump, but the room was fairly sanitary and it was just one night so we stayed. Sure enough, when we checked out we had to pay cash “because the credit card terminal was broken”. I suspect Visa got so many complaints they cut him off!

“Andrea, OMG! That was way worse than mine! But that is par for the course sometimes. And that's the reason I was a little worried about leaving a bad review.”

The review had no ill effect on me. Things may have changed since 2011, but at that time there was no avenue for a host to rate the guest. I believe in honesty to help others looking to rent a place. With Airbnb the host doesn’t read the reviews of them before they see yours. I am always fair and don’t expect perfection, though I have stayed at some really great places.