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AIBU?

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

215 replies

BinDiesel · 13/06/2017 00:55

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?

OP posts:
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BigYellowJumper · 13/06/2017 08:46

pigeon yes, it does.

So, what about palm oil? Do you buy stuff with palm oil? Because that is destroying the rain forests. So if you buy palm oil, you deserve a good slagging.

How about Nestle and their related companies? Do you buy from them? Because if you do, you deserve a good slagging.

What about Primark, H&M, Topshop and every other high street store? They all use sweat shops so if you buy from them, you are supporting that. So you deserve a slagging for that too.

Show me ONE person in this world whose hands are clean and I will show you a liar.

Let he who is without sin and all that. Nothing wrong with a robust exchange of opinions, but the amount of grief the OP is getting for a newspaper, you'd think some of you are saints who knit your own clothes from cotton you grow in the garden that you share as a collective.

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JoJoSM2 · 13/06/2017 08:46

Sounds like a nightmare...

Also to me it seems ridiculous that anyone would expect a paying guest to wipe surfaces or sweep the floor. Or strip the bed. I think I'd laugh in their face if they suggested that.

The woman sounds insane. Not sure if her lashing put was to do the the paper or was she in a vile mood or just way too precious/completely unreasonable. If you're running a business and rent out to families, you need to furnish appropriately.

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Roussette · 13/06/2017 08:49

OP is getting unfair posts, the Air BnB host sounds like a bloody nightmare and it would get to me as well. It is like libel. I'd probably have to walk away though, but I would be emailing telling her how unfair she was and how upset I was that she could write so many lies.

As for the Sun... some people need to get a life, it's hardly the crime of the century, so what if OP's DH wants to read the sports pages in it. Do some of you on here do what the AirBnB host does? Buy all the copies and burn them in your bins....

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Gunpowder · 13/06/2017 08:50

This thread has put me off ever staying in an air bnb, or hosting.

The owners reaction was completely disproportionate. I can see why OP was upset.

I can't stand the Sun or any of the tabloid press, but DH agrees about the football and always grabs the back pages if it's lying about in the pub or on a train. He normally reads the Guardian. I don't think it's uncommon for football fans to disregard the rest of a paper if they like the sports reporting.

Burning any kind of reading material makes me feel very uncomfortable.

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Pigeonpost · 13/06/2017 08:55

She sounds batshit. Move on and don't waste any more time dwelling on it. Most Airbnb hosts aren't like that. I'm one, know several and we just aren't!

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Kokusai · 13/06/2017 09:01

Airbnb hosts need to get with this century.

You pay a cleaning charge as a guest 98% of the time. Hosts are meant to pay to fucking clean the apartment at the end of the stay! FFS. And if you don't levy a cleaning charge, you are stupid.

Leaving a ketchup stained sheet and a dirty pan is bad - but you shouldn't be cleaning floors/showers etc unless you've let shit skid marks or something in the toilet.

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KERALA1 · 13/06/2017 09:01

I can well imagine the hovering a pp refers to. Bad enough at normal b and bs.

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pigeondujour · 13/06/2017 09:01

Nothing wrong with a robust exchange of opinions

Wonder where we could find one? Grin

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DJBaggySmalls · 13/06/2017 09:02

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.

That must cost her a small fortune every day. And the shops could just increase their order every day to supply their other customers.

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Cromwell1536 · 13/06/2017 09:02

I've used AirBnB (Bath) and HouseTrip (New York) and both have been successful. I looked really carefully at the property spec and the level of services - so opted for places which charge proper cleaning fees, as other holiday property rentals. Basically, the owners were renting out the properties as a full-time business (for which many people, possibly with justification, hate AirBnB) and expected to provide a very high level of service and incur (and recoup through the rental price) the costs associated with running the business. I think if property 'hosts' are not especially professional in their approach and take a more DIY approach (£7 cleaning fee? who charges £7 for an hour's cleaning? who expects to spend only an hour cleaning at the end of a stay?) then that's when risks of encountering nutters creep in.

Can't account for lying reviews of crazy host in OP's tale of woe though! She sounds batshit crazy!

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Gunpowder · 13/06/2017 09:02

OMG Rousette your post has reminded me of a gite we stayed in in France. It was beautiful but the (otherwise sweet owners) left a massive manual of dos and don'ts which included advising against wearing sun cream because it would clog up their pool filter (fair enough I suppose) but also because it caused cancer. Confused I think we only swam once or twice in the evening and it was 30 degrees all week. I was edgy the whole week and it was the least relaxing holiday ever. I hid all our suncream in my bag.

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JaneEyre70 · 13/06/2017 09:08

Chalk it up to experience OP, and go through a holiday company next time.

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Badweekjustgotworse · 13/06/2017 09:12

This whole thread is bizarre. Op I can see why you'd be irritated by her bad review if she's just making stuff up, but to make the leap that it's because of a newspaper younleft in her recycling bin is frankly ridiculous

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Roussette · 13/06/2017 09:13

Eeeek Gunpowder! We were allowed a cup of tea up in our bedroom in the morning put the mug of tea in a big bowl and carry it up in that. Each mug had a bowl, like I'm a toddler who can't carry a cup without spilling it!

The shower had a special timer type thing we had to use to make the water come out. It lasted about 2 minutes! I, of course, ignored this as I'm dead quick in a shower anyway but had to reset it to get 4 minutes and I had a feeling she was listening at the door for the timer beep.

I've never felt more ill at ease in someone's AirBnB!

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Roussette · 13/06/2017 09:14

*But we had to put the mug of tea in a bowl

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BigYellowJumper · 13/06/2017 09:16

rousette the mug in a bowl made me laugh. Do people not realise how weird they'll come across if they do that kind of stuff? Like, I am really precious about certain things, like I NEED to put coasters down under hot drinks and if people don't, it really bothers me. But you have to accept that if people are paying to be in your house, then you need to loosen up a little bit.

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Roussette · 13/06/2017 09:21

Oh yes BigYellow... I get coasters, I get shoes off etc... but this was bizarre! It was like a small mixing bowl for each mug. When I came back in the bedroom holding this, my DH was "WTAF?!!"

I even took slippers with me and she still couldn't write me a good review!!

So OP you have my sympathies

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LightDrizzle · 13/06/2017 09:25

Damn! I should have made my eldest do the mug and bowl thing, she was incapable of carrying a mug to her room without leaving trails on the staircarpet and even wall.

OP I'd be furious too. She lies maliciously, it's the injustice. She needs to say she doesn't accommodate readers of x papers in her listing or pack it on if she can't tolerate this kind of thing. She's an arsehole.

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bruffian · 13/06/2017 09:25

she sounds nuts

poor you. I'd leave it at this point. Is there any way of leaving very negative feedback for her?

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bruffian · 13/06/2017 09:26

Judging people harshly on their reading material makes you a fascist. 100%.

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pigeondujour · 13/06/2017 09:28

Judging people harshly on their reading material makes you a fascist. 100%.

GrinGrinGrin

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cooldarkroom · 13/06/2017 09:28

Skipped to the end, to say I am both a host & a guest on Airb&b.

As a guest I have been overwhelmed by the spectacular apartments I have had, in Canada, New York & S Africa.
The condo in New York was not the cheapest in the back end of the Bronx, but was frankly stunning, it had crisp white linen, like a hotel, floor to ceiling window, parquet, view over Manhattan, @ £100 pp per night, which for NYC is reasonable & considering the location far less than the cheapest hotel.
in Canada we stayed in several, the most memorable a little log cabin on the side of a lake, an experience you would never have if you were going for the cheapest, or indeed, any hotel. including breakfast @ £50 pp per night
In SA, we stayed in a farm with stunning grounds under £50 pp per night, & another stunning independent studio, on the beach with white sand & the sound of the sea, same price.
All on the them without exception were spotless,
The people have all been helpful, including booking us taxis, inviting to show us around, booking us places to eat, & advice.
one of the best things is meeting the local people, in our case, the owner has nearly always been nearby, & we have been overwhelmed by their efforts, learning about their culture/politics/lives.
A hotel in comparison is faceless, expensive, bad restaurants, identical from one end of the planet to the other (bar the 5* type which I can't afford) You sit on the bed & look at the TV opposite, meet no one, & see it all over again ad nauseam.

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Dumbledoresgirl · 13/06/2017 09:29

Jesus! Only on Mumsnet can a thread about an unfair review on AirBnB turn into an assault on a person admitting they buy the Sun.

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bruffian · 13/06/2017 09:31

yes agree dumbledoresgirl

this place is totally weird like that

I do wonder if some of these mumsnet personas are completely made up, otherwise all the sun haters must live completely miserable lives consumed with anger

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pigeondujour · 13/06/2017 09:32

Anyone ever heard of a place called Liverpool?

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