What Airbnb hosts can and cannot do with reviews
Airbnb hosts cannot delete reviews that guests have left. Once a guest publishes a review, it stays on the listing unless Airbnb's moderation team removes it for violating the platform's review policy. Hosts can request that Airbnb take down a review, but the decision rests entirely with Airbnb, not the host.
Hosts do have one limited option: they can flag a review as inappropriate and ask Airbnb to investigate it. Airbnb will remove reviews that contain harassment, discrimination, false claims about property damage, or other violations of its Community Standards. But a negative review that is honest and factual will remain, even if the host disagrees with it.
This protection exists to keep reviews trustworthy. If hosts could delete unfavorable reviews, the rating system would become meaningless, and potential guests would have no way to know what previous visitors actually experienced.
Key Takeaways
- Hosts cannot delete reviews themselves; only Airbnb's moderation team can remove them.
- A review can be removed only if it violates Airbnb's Community Standards, such as containing harassment, discrimination, or false claims about damage.
- Hosts can flag a review and request that Airbnb investigate it, but negative reviews that are honest and factual will remain.
- Responding professionally to negative reviews is the only action a host can take to address guest concerns directly.
When Airbnb will remove a review
Airbnb removes reviews in specific situations. The most common reason is that the review contains harassment or personal attacks on the host. If a guest uses profanity directed at the host, makes threats, or includes insults unrelated to the stay, that review may be taken down.
Discrimination is another removal reason. If a review mentions the host's race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or other protected characteristics in a negative way, Airbnb will investigate and likely remove it. The same applies if a guest makes false claims about property damage that they caused themselves or claims the host stole from them without evidence.
Reviews that include contact information, links, or promotional content for other services also violate the policy and can be removed. Airbnb also removes reviews that appear to be spam or posted by someone who never actually stayed at the property.
How to request review removal
To flag a review, open your Airbnb host dashboard, go to the Reviews section, and find the review in question. Click the three-dot menu next to the review and select "Report this review." You will then choose the reason it violates policy—harassment, discrimination, false claims, or spam—and provide details about why you believe it should be removed.
Be specific when you report. Instead of saying "this review is unfair," explain exactly which statements are false or which policy they violate. For example, if a guest claims you stole their laptop, say so directly and note that you have no record of such a claim being raised during their stay or afterward.
Airbnb typically responds to review reports within a few days to a week. If the review is removed, you will receive a notification. If it is not removed, Airbnb will not explain its decision in detail, but you can try reporting it again if new information comes to light.
What hosts can do instead of deleting reviews
Since deletion is not an option, hosts should respond to negative reviews publicly. Your response appears directly below the guest's review and is visible to all potential guests. A professional, factual response can soften the impact of a bad review and show future guests that you take feedback seriously.
Keep your response brief and avoid being defensive. If a guest complained about noise, you might write: "Thank you for the feedback. We have since added soundproofing to the bedroom and adjusted our house rules about quiet hours." If the complaint was about cleanliness, acknowledge it and describe what you changed: "We appreciate you letting us know. We now use a professional cleaning service between every booking."
Do not argue with the guest or call them a liar in your response. This makes you look unprofessional and can damage your reputation more than the original review. Potential guests want to see that you handle criticism gracefully.
How negative reviews affect your listing
A single bad review will not destroy your listing, especially if you have many positive ones. Airbnb's algorithm weighs recent reviews more heavily than older ones, so a negative review from months ago has less impact than one from last week. Your overall rating matters more than any individual review.
However, a pattern of negative reviews—particularly ones about cleanliness, safety, or host behavior—will hurt your visibility in search results and your ability to attract bookings. Guests filter by rating, and listings below 4.5 stars appear lower in results. If you receive multiple complaints about the same issue, addressing that issue is more important than trying to remove the reviews.
Some hosts lose bookings not because of one bad review but because they have many mediocre ones. If your average rating is 4.2 stars with comments about poor communication or maintenance issues, potential guests will book elsewhere. Improving the actual experience is the only real solution.
Disputes between hosts and guests over review accuracy
Sometimes a host and guest genuinely disagree about what happened during a stay. A guest might claim the Wi-Fi did not work when the host says it did. A guest might say the listing did not match photos when the host believes it did. These disputes are difficult because both parties may be telling the truth as they remember it.
Airbnb does not referee these disagreements unless the review contains a false factual claim that is provably wrong—for example, a guest claiming the property is in New York when it is in California. Subjective complaints about comfort, cleanliness standards, or amenities are not usually removed, even if you disagree.
If you believe a review contains a factual error that you can prove, document it and include that evidence when you report the review. Photos, timestamps, or messages from the guest during their stay can help. But if the disagreement is about interpretation or experience, Airbnb will likely leave the review in place.
Building a strong rating to offset negative reviews
The best defense against a bad review is a collection of good ones. Hosts with 50 five-star reviews and one three-star review will still rank well and attract bookings. The negative review becomes a statistical outlier rather than a red flag.
To build positive reviews, respond quickly to guest messages, maintain the property in the condition shown in your photos, and address any issues that come up during a stay. Provide clear house rules, accurate descriptions, and good communication before and after booking. Guests are more likely to leave positive reviews when they feel heard and when the experience matches expectations.
You can also send a polite message after checkout thanking guests for staying and inviting them to leave a review if they had a good experience. You cannot offer incentives for positive reviews—Airbnb prohibits that—but a genuine thank-you can encourage guests who had a pleasant stay to take the time to write one.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I ask a guest to delete their review?
You can contact the guest and ask, but they are under no obligation to do so. Airbnb allows guests to edit or delete their own reviews at any time, but most guests will not remove a review just because the host asked. If you contact a guest to dispute a review, keep the tone professional and focus on factual corrections rather than asking them to take it down.
What if a guest leaves a review with false information?
Report the review to Airbnb and explain which claims are false. Include any evidence—messages, photos, or documentation—that contradicts the guest's statement. Airbnb will investigate, but removal is not may provide unless the false claim is extreme or provably wrong. A guest's subjective opinion about your property, even if you disagree, is not usually considered false information.
Can I block a guest from leaving a review?
No. All guests who complete a stay can leave a review, and you cannot prevent them from doing so. You can block a guest from booking again in the future, but that does not affect reviews they have already left or prevent them from leaving one after checkout.
Do reviews from guests who cancel get posted?
Guests who cancel before checking in cannot leave a review because they did not stay at the property. Only guests who actually complete a stay can review. If a guest checks in and then cancels mid-stay, they may still be able to leave a review depending on how long they stayed.
How long does a review stay on my listing?
Reviews remain on your listing indefinitely unless Airbnb removes them for policy violations. They do not expire or disappear over time. However, Airbnb's search algorithm prioritizes recent reviews, so an old negative review has less impact on your visibility than a recent one.