No comment for disgruntled Airbnb user

An Airbnb customer this week said he could no longer trust the site after he was not allowed to post a review about a dirty apartment.

Brian Le Vell arrived at the flat in Madrid, booked through the accommodation letting website, but found it “very grubby” and decided he could not stay there.

After finding a half-eaten pasty down the side of the sofa (pictured above), mould in the bathroom and dirt on the bed and pillows, Mr Le Vell phoned Airbnb to cancel the booking and went online to book a hotel instead.

Airbnb cancelled the booking and refunded his money following the call. But Mr Le Vell later found that he was prevented from leaving a review of the apartment as a warning to others.

“Guest reviews are of the utmost importance when booking accommodation,” he said, “and I feel that Airbnb is manipulating its reviews by not allowing them in cases like mine.”

Airbnb’s website says that users who cancel before the reservation begins “cannot leave a review for the host, because reviews should describe completed trips”.

Airbnb told us that this was standard practice, even if a user’s experience was as bad as Mr Le Vell’s.

The company said: “We encourage guests to read reviews of the listing. Unlike some travel sites, all Airbnb reviews are authentic and can only be left by people who have actually stayed at the listing.”

It said that complaints about cleanliness were looked into.

“We take hosting standards seriously and provide hosts with clear hospitality standards,” it added. “Isolated anecdotes are rare, but if issues arise, we work with our community to try and resolve them.”