Airbnb host leaving malicious review because she disapproves of the paper DH reads...

[BinDiesel]

NC for this for obvious reasons.

Went to stay at an Airbnb last week. All fine, no problems we were made aware of while we were there. It was a quiet family holiday with children. So no music played, no visitors, no excessive noise or drunkenness etc.

We left a really positive review despite a few niggling concerns like finding a pair of (dirty) boy's underpants left by the previous guests as we thought it was a genuine oversight and didn't want to be petty.

The day after we left we received an absolutely inexplicable review from the owner which basically implied that we had trashed her house and behaved appallingly while staying. She said she would need to do an entire day's cleaning to get her house back in order and that we'd broken all her house rules. In her private feedback she admits that actually we overlooked one dirty pan, left a small ketchup mark on a sheet (which she would have changed anyway) and one or two other minor housekeeping issues. It wasn't ideal, but relatively reasonable after almost a week of three small children. She also said we had broken all her house rules, which included no smoking in the house and no loud music, which we categorically didn't do. She also made some entirely false claims regarding things which we either cleaned thoroughly or never used in the first place being left filthy.

If she'd marked us down a bit for cleaning and left a review accurately reflecting this I would have apologised and accepted it. But instead she's left a malicious and entirely exaggerated review and sent us really unprofessional private feedback which is personally insulting and borderline abusive.

We've contacted Airbnb who've been no help even though they can see from the private feedback that her public review is inaccurate, I've deleted my account with them because they were so useless.

We were absolutely gobsmacked and couldn't understand why she had done this. It just literally came out of nowhere. So, I've done a bit of digging about her today. We knew she was a big Labour supporter, as her house was covered in billboards for them. But I've done some digging today and discovered that she is obsessively opposed to any media which she deems 'right wing', even going as far as buying up all the 'social pornography' (so the Mail, Sun, Express etc) on sale locally and burning them so that she can rescue other people from being polluted by it. She also campaigns to have it banned. And guess what paper DH reads and left in her recycling? Yep. That's right. The Sun.

It's the only possible reason we can think of for her going so psycho on us. She's also probably massively wide of the mark in whatever she thinks that means, as DH is a Marxist Irish Republican. But he also really likes football and thinks The Sun does the best reporting on it by far, so he buys it, reads the back pages and then recycles it away without ever reading the rest.

That's absolutely immaterial anyway, because she simply shouldn't be judging and abusing guests based on what they choose to read anyway unless she is prepared to be upfront about this and specify beforehand that she doesn't want them on her property.

I'm so furious she's got away with this scot free and made money in the process. Given that in her private feedback she basically admits her review isn't accurate WIBU to try to take this further? Would I have any success with a civil claim? I'm tempted just to sign her up for millions of Sun and Daily Mail promotions, but I'd like to do this through the proper channels instead and she'd just use them to get money off the ones she burns.

So WIBU to follow this up? Any suggestions how I might do it?

[Nandocushion]

Sorry, why would OP have to clean the sheets and the pan? I've been charged a cleaning fee for every single airbnb place I've stayed in (at least 15, maybe more). I'm pretty sure they all do?

[emmyrose2000]

I've never used AirBNB, but this had convinced me that I can't be bothered! Too much scope for different expectations. Give me a clean, anonymous hotel room, thanks!

Ditto!

The last thing I want to do when I'm on holiday is clean. I always leave my hotel rooms tidy and as clean as can be expected for a hotel, but there's no way I'm going to spend my holiday time deep cleaning. I may as well stay home.

As shown by this and many other threads/articles elsewhere, there can be a huge difference in expectations by either side. Not worth the hassle IMO.

Even if the landlady of the OP's BNB is crazy in regards to her politics, she's quite entitled to be pissed off at things like tomato sauce on the sheets and dirty utensils.

[WonderLime]

I don't believe for one second she left you a bad review because she opposes your newspaper. I believe she left you a bad review because you left a dirty pan in the sink, ketchup on the bedroom sheet, you left the smell of smoke in the house and other 'minor household issues' (whatever that means).

And you say in your own words that the state you left it in wasn't ideal, but 'relatively reasonable' condition. So it's not really in a 'reasonable' condition then?

But sure, blame her review on her dislike for The Sun newspaper rather than taking any real accountability.

[Only1scoop]

I think the paper thing sounds ridiculous. It's like you are clutching at straws. You left the place in a bit of a state by your own admission.

[tigerdriverII]

I've never used Airbnb but isn't it just self catering? In which case, leaving the place filthy and unwashed pans isn't on. But the bedding is going to be changed.

I did smile at *This is pure supposition on your part. You have no idea if it's in anyway true.

I'm fairly appalled you left a dirty pan. That's a pretty big oversight. I wonder if you were prepared to leave an dirty pan what else you left.

The mind boggles at how ketchup gets on a sheet.

I did smile at this. I can think of loads of reasons, mainly of the eating bacon sarnies in bed variety. That sounds like exactly the thing to do on holiday! Or a ketchup fetish: not so pleasant!

[piefacedClique]

Sign her up to ukip, dup, conservatives on line and flood her with the bloody shit they send through your door. Or maybe next time you can see she has a booking arrange for a copy of the sun, daily mail, mirror, torygraph to be delivered. Then sit back and smile! Or see if she writes a shitty review about those visitors! She sounds like an arse!

[piefacedClique]

Just rtft. Don't leave dirty shit tho! That's annoying!

[daisychain01]

Apart from a difference of opinion, with the owner saying you left the place in a less than acceptable condition (their flat, their prerogative) and you trying to absolve yourselves because of their political views (really?), you'd be delusional to take the matter further.

Don't you know how time consuming and costly a court case would be.? It could be a year out of your life you'll never get back and one thing's for sure, you'll wish you hadn't bothered by the end of it.

Move on, stick to a Travelodge in future is my advice.

[daisychain01]

Your advice sounds measured and appropriate there, piefaced

[VinIsGroot]

We call it The Scum!!! Legendary reporting on football....

[XiCi]

I don't know how anyone can bring themselves to buy the Sun after their Hillsborough reporting. I would rip shreds off my husband for doing that. The Scum indeed.
However I think it far more likely that you got a bad review because you left stains on sheets, dirty pans and the house smelling of smoke.

[XiCi]

I cannot believe for a second that a Marxist would buy the Sun

[pigeondujour]

Ketchup on sheets and the smell of smoke would make me cry for about three hours.

Also, there really is no excuse for buying the Sun. Nothing Marxist about that. (Plus who is even buying a paper for the football writing while the Internet exists?)

[Mummyoflittledragon]

We used airbnb for the first time a couple of weeks ago and it was great. The host was brilliant and we left the place as we found it because that's just what we always do when renting a place be it center parcs or a caravan etc. The cleaning fee for the house was rather steep and now I know why. We were paying for people, who don't wash up everything before they leave, don't wipe down kitchen tops, pick up mess on the floor or generally clear up after themselves very well if at all.

So what do I think? As a renter of your house or even your main home, you have to accept that not everyone will respect your house and use it in the same way as you would like. If you tell people to treat it as if it were their home and then they do, you're going to get situations, where you're upset about things because you're emotionally attached to the property and its contents. Whereas these people couldn't care less about their home and its contents so are perfectly happy to use and abuse it or simply couldn't give a shit because they don't have to deal with the detritus once they've left.

Some of the posts have put me off using airbnb a bit tbh because I think the property owners aren't entering into the spirit of renting out their property to make a profit. The moment you do this, it becomes a business and it is none of your business what nationality or political bias your fee paying guest is. So yes, op I would be upset in your situation. Airbnb have also acted totally unprofessionally by not taking down the review and again as this is also a business, I am pretty shocked. In any case, this woman seems to have overreacted and next time you know what to do to get a good review if you decide to rent another airbnb.

[BigYellowJumper]

pigeon if ketchup on the sheets would make you cry, you probably shouldn't rent out on airbnb.

mummyoflittledragon I think your post is very sensible.

[pigeondujour]

Aye, funnily enough I'd thought on that one myself. I don't rent out an airbnb. Although that doesn't make ketchup on the sheets not vile.

[bruffin]

It doesnt matter wbat paper ops dh read, can we stop with the virtue signalling,

I was fully expecting a bad airbnb review this weekend as i locked the key inside the house and owner had to get a locksmith out while we were at a wedding. I paid for the locksmith.
You cant read review until you have left one, but she just had left a one line we left a one line that we left place clean and tidy.
Im sure she is probably a mnetter as there was a stunt pindapple

[ohgoshIdontknow]

She's obviously insane.

The way some in the left campaign against free speech is worrying.

OP, forget her and move on. How horrible for you.

[ohgoshIdontknow]

Instagram last week was full of people buying right wing papers and dumping them.

Would have been easy for OP to discover that.

[sparkleandsunshine]

What a horrible old trout. I would wanna take it further but no clue how

[pigeondujour]

She's obviously insane.

The way some in the left campaign against free speech is worrying.

Hahahaha what in god's name are you on about. She left the OP and her DP a bad review for being clatty and never said a word about the paper. Also, did you not know OP's fella's a Marxist Irish Republican? Some in the left indeed.

[BertrandRussell]

Pictures or it didn't happen.

[JeNeSuisPasVotreMiel]

The way some in the left campaign against free speech is worrying
The Sun isn't free speech, it's run by a tax evading demagogue whose interests lie in influencing public opinion in their favour and who will stop at nothing to ensure that their friends in government continue to protect them and their money.

Apart from that, what on earth was the kind of 'digging' you did to find out these things about your host?
It seems to be a lot of quite personal rumour information that you have unearthed. Have you acted entirely ethically in your 'research'?

[BigYellowJumper]

pigeon do you know what I mean though? If you're hosting airbnb guests, you need to accept that not everyone has the same standards. That was what I was implying, wasn't really implicating you directly.

I also wouldn't leave ketchup on the sheets, but I would be understanding if someone else didn't get round to it getting marks out on their holidays.

Shit happens, basically.

[OnionKnight]

Yeah of course it was because your husband reads the scum