Can you remove a bad Airbnb review, and how should you reply

HostBoost Updated 7 min read

On this page
  1. Which reviews does Airbnb remove?
  2. What is the retaliation test?
  3. How do you report a review for removal?
  4. What happens if the review stays?
  5. How do you write the public response?
  6. Which complaints should you fix rather than answer?
  7. What should you do after the review is resolved?
  8. Questions hosts ask
  9. Sources

Airbnb removes a review only when it breaks a listed rule. A low star on its own is not grounds. If the review is irrelevant, fake, coerced, retaliatory, or violates content rules, report it with evidence. If not, post one public response of a few sentences, written for the next guest rather than the last one.

Which reviews does Airbnb remove?

Airbnb lists six grounds. A review qualifies when it is one of these.

  • Irrelevant. Not about the stay, or not first-hand from someone on the reservation.
  • Fake. Written by someone who did not participate in the reservation.
  • Biased or deceptive. Written to mislead Airbnb or another person, or by a competitor with a stake in your listing.
  • Manipulated. The guest coordinated, extorted, incentivized, or pressured to influence a review.
  • Retaliatory. The guest broke a policy, was told about it, and then reviewed you.
  • Content violations. Explicit, discriminatory, harmful, or illegal content.

Airbnb does not remove a review because you disagree with the star. It does not remove a subjective opinion, or a complaint about factors outside your control. Airbnb states all three exclusions in its reviews policy.

What is the retaliation test?

Retaliation has three parts, and you need all three. The reviewer committed a policy violation, was notified of that violation, and then left a biased review.

In practice that means the order of events decides the case. Airbnb's own Resource Center guidance says to report the violation first, before the review lands. Document the damage, the overstay, the party, or the rule break. Message the guest about it through Airbnb so the notification is on record. Then, if the review arrives, the link is provable.

A bad review that arrives before you report anything is almost never retaliatory under this test. You cannot report a violation after the fact and claim the review was revenge.

How do you report a review for removal?

  1. Open Help Center article 2673 and click Get started.
  2. Select the review.
  3. Select the removal reason from the list above.
  4. Write what rule the review breaks and why, in plain terms.
  5. Upload the evidence. Photos, the message thread, the damage claim, the reservation details.
  6. Click Submit.

Report only one ground per review and make it the strongest one. Airbnb states that removal is never guaranteed. A report that argues "the guest is wrong about the towels" fails, because that is disagreement, not a policy breach.

Most removal reports we see fail because the host argues the facts instead of naming a rule. If the review fits none of the six grounds, skip the report and write the reply. Every future guest who sorts by lowest rating reads the reply. One agent reads the report.

What happens if the review stays?

The star enters your average and stays there. Your rating is the plain average of every overall star. One 4-star review at 4.90 with 50 reviews takes you to 4.88. Recovery takes roughly a tenth of your review count in 5-star reviews per hundredth of a point.

The text stays too, and guests can find it. Since the 2023 Winter Release guests sort your reviews by rating and see a 1-to-5 star bar chart. Assume every future guest who cares reads your worst review.

A recurring complaint deserves attention even when newer reviews are positive. Guests can still find the older reviews and decide whether the problem was resolved.

How do you write the public response?

You can post a public response to any published review. It appears on your listing page under the review, and Airbnb posts it immediately.

Draft the response outside Airbnb, check the facts and read it as a future guest would. Publish only when you are comfortable leaving it visible.

On desktop, open Profile > Reviews > Reviews about you, find the review, and click Leave public response.

  1. Keep it to three or four sentences. A long rebuttal reads as defensive to a stranger.
  2. State the fact the review got wrong, once, without adjectives.
  3. Name what you changed if the complaint was fair.
  4. Do not mention the guest's behavior unless it is already in the review. Airbnb's reviews policy applies to your response as well as to the review.
  5. Do not offer refunds, discounts, or contact details in the response.

A public reply is read months later by a guest deciding whether to book. The reviewer has left and will not act on it, so write nothing that asks them to. That rules out thanks for the feedback, an invitation to return, and "when you arrive". Name the specific point, state what changed or the fact that was wrong, and stop. Replace the details below with your own facts before posting.

Template · Reply to a fair low rating
The shower drain was slow during this stay. A plumber replaced the drain the following week, and the bathroom now has a second set of towels.
Template · Reply to a factual error
The apartment has air conditioning in both bedrooms, listed under Amenities. The remote controls are in the drawer under the television, and the check-in guide now says so.
Template · Reply to a retaliatory review
This review followed a house rules issue we raised with the guest during the stay, through the Airbnb message thread. We clean and inspect the apartment before every stay, and did so before this one. We have reported the review to Airbnb.

Which complaints should you fix rather than answer?

Cleanliness and accuracy. Airbnb names both as reservation-issue grounds that can cost you the payout. A guest has 72 hours from discovering the issue to report it. Airbnb can then reduce or cancel your payout by the refund. A review that says "not as described" is a warning. The next guest may file a claim instead of a review.

Check the category stars on the review. They are private to you and Airbnb. If two reviews in a row score cleanliness at 3, the problem is in the turnover, not in the guests. Fix that before writing a single response.

Airbnb publishes no figure for how many low reviews trigger a quality warning or a listing removal. Airbnb's Global Quality Report counts over 400,000 listings removed between April 2023 and November 2024 for failing quality criteria. Cleanliness and accuracy are among those criteria.

What should you do after the review is resolved?

If Airbnb removes the review, check that the listing reflects the decision. If it stays, publish a factual response and correct any real problem it identifies.

Do not wait for new reviews to bury a recurring complaint. Future guests can sort reviews by rating. A clear response and a better experience do more for their confidence than repeated appeals without new evidence.

Questions hosts ask

Can I delete my public response after posting?

Airbnb publishes no edit or delete rule for responses. Assume the response is permanent and write it once.

Does the guest see my response before it goes live?

No. Airbnb posts the response immediately on your listing page, under the original review.

The guest threatened a bad review unless I refunded. Does that count?

Yes, if you can show it. Extortion and pressure to influence a review are listed removal grounds. Keep the threat in the Airbnb message thread and upload it as evidence.

Can I review the guest back to warn other hosts?

Yes, within 14 days of checkout, and neither review is visible until both are submitted or the window closes. Keep it factual, because the same reviews policy applies to you.

Will a removed review raise my rating?

Yes. A removed review leaves the plain average. Airbnb publishes no delay for the recalculation.

Sources

Turn the reviews and host information available on your listing into a practical improvement plan. Order a report

What the report includes · How we score listings