On Airbnb, guest reviews are the cornerstone of your reputation. They shape how travelers perceive your property, long before they even set foot inside. A great review can spark a wave of bookings, boost trust, and push you up in Airbnb search rankings. But on the flip side, a single negative review can do serious damage. And if that review turns out to be unfair or malicious, then it’s time to take action.
Sign up for Nowistay and access AI-powered review analysis tools to protect your listing's reputation.
Start nowYes, but only if it breaks Airbnb’s Reviews Policy: a review that is irrelevant to the stay, fake, extorted or biased, written to harm a competitor, retaliatory, or in breach of the Content Policy (insults, discrimination, personal data). Being negative, or carrying a star rating you disagree with, is not enough. The host, full-access co-hosts and the guest who booked can ask Airbnb to remove a review they received at any time, from its Remove or dispute a review page with evidence attached: Airbnb usually decides within 48 hours and accepts two requests per review. Guests who want to delete a review they wrote can do it themselves within 30 days of publication, from Profile, then Show reviews I’ve written, then Remove Review.
Receiving an unjustified 1-star rating is every host’s nightmare. Because on Airbnb your overall rating isn’t just a vanity metric. It directly affects your listing’s visibility, your booking rate, and even your Superhost status. Unfortunately, many hosts only find out after the fact that there are legitimate ways to defend themselves.
In this article, Bassel (founder and CEO of Nowistay) explains in detail when Airbnb can delete a review, how to write a credible and structured removal request, and which tools can save you time and maximize your chances of success. He also shares real-world examples and message templates you can easily customize before reaching out to Airbnb.
Airbnb runs on trust. And that trust is largely built through guest reviews. These ratings and comments directly impact your:
Superhost status requires an overall rating of 4.8 or higher.
Airbnb publishes no minimum rating, but its ground rules for hosts ask you to avoid too many low ratings.
Repeated or severe breaches of those rules can get a listing suspended or removed.
What most hosts don’t realize is that even a 3-star review (which may seem neutral) sits far below that 4.8 bar. Just one such review can drag your average down, especially if you don’t have many bookings yet.
An unfair or disproportionate review can have an immediate financial impact. That’s why it’s essential to know when and how to act.
Airbnb’s own rules are the starting point: the Reviews Policy defines what counts as a violation, and Remove or dispute a review describes the official process this guide walks you through.
Airbnb officially states that reviews won’t be removed just because a host disagrees with them. And that’s true.
However, Airbnb’s Reviews Policy lists six categories of reviews it will remove, and its Content Policy adds the rules on abusive or private content.
If your situation fits one of these six cases, you have a legitimate reason to request removal.
Any comment with insults, aggressive judgments, sexist, racist, homophobic, or defamatory content can be removed immediately.
Real example: “Dishonest host, disgusting place. It’s a disgrace this is even allowed.”
Message to send: Hello, the review received contains offensive language and does not reflect a guest experience but a personal attack. Please remove it in accordance with your content policy.
Airbnb strictly prohibits guests from sharing the exact address, full name, or contact details of the host or property.
Real example: “The apartment is at 48 Rue Jean Moulin, intercom Durand, 3rd floor.”
Message to send: Hello, this review violates Airbnb’s privacy policy by sharing a full address. Please remove it.
Only guests who physically stayed at your place can leave a review. If the guest canceled or never checked in, they have no right to comment.
Real example: “I didn’t stay there. I canceled when I saw the neighborhood. Honestly, it didn’t look appealing.”
Message to send: Hello, the reviewer never stayed at the property. This violates Airbnb’s review policy. Please remove the review.
If a guest threatens to leave a bad review unless you give them a refund or other advantage, this is a valid reason for removal.
Message received: “If you don’t return my deposit, I’ll leave a 1-star review.”
Message to Airbnb: Hello, I’m forwarding this message, which clearly shows a threat. The review followed this exchange. Please remove it.
Airbnb may delete a review that appears to be left by a fake account, a competitor, or someone not associated with the reservation.
Example: An account with no profile picture or activity, leaving a 1-star review with no signs of contact or check-in.
Message to Airbnb: Hello, I suspect review manipulation. This profile shows no normal activity, and the review is inconsistent. Please investigate.
Reviews must be about the stay itself. A review that only complains about Airbnb’s fees, a flight delay, the weather, or a cancellation policy the guest agreed to at booking is off-topic and removable as irrelevant.
Real example: “Airbnb charged me a service fee I never agreed to, and customer service was useless. 1 star.”
Message to send: Hello, this review does not describe the guest’s experience at my listing. It concerns Airbnb’s fees and support, which I do not control. Under the Reviews Policy it is irrelevant to the offering reviewed. Please remove it.
Airbnb’s own instructions (Remove or dispute a review) describe a self-service flow. Follow it exactly:
Airbnb says it reviews the request and emails its decision usually within 48 hours. You can submit a removal request for the same review only twice, so make the first one complete.
Nowistay includes an AI tool that assesses a negative Airbnb review against Airbnb’s Reviews Policy and prepares a dispute request supported by the available evidence. You still submit the request to Airbnb yourself, but you no longer guess which ground applies. It requires the AI assistant subscription on the property.
Here’s how to use it:
You can run 3 dispute analyses per property every 24 hours, and each report stays under History. Nowistay never contacts Airbnb for you, and no tool can guarantee a removal. Full walkthrough in the help center: Dispute a bad Airbnb review.
If the review stays, two other guides will help: how to respond to bad Airbnb reviews using AI, and how accurate listing descriptions prevent most bad reviews in the first place.
Many negative reviews can be prevented with the right proactive approach. Here are a few key prevention tactics:
Nowistay’s AI co-host can handle all of this for you. It analyzes your bookings, detects risks, sends the right messages, and manages friction points.
If the review can’t be removed, learn how to respond to bad Airbnb reviews using AI, or discover how to prevent bad reviews by catching guest issues before checkout.
No, not to buy the review. If the problem was minor and you fixed it quickly, you can say no politely: a review that describes a real issue will stay, but a calm public response limits its weight. Paying for silence, on the other hand, breaks Airbnb’s rules: its Reviews Policy says reviews may not be provided or withheld in exchange for something of value, such as a refund.
What Airbnb’s rules say. Hosts and guests “may not threaten a negative review as a means to obtain unwarranted compensation, refund, or other incentive”, and a review posted after such a threat can be removed (ground 4 above). Airbnb’s old extortion page now redirects to that policy, and its rules on deception and abuse also ban “using threats or intimidation to obtain or influence a payment, review, or other outcome”. The rule targets the threat: a guest who complains and asks for money without mentioning the review has not broken it, so judge that request on the facts.
If the guest makes the threat. Keep the whole exchange in the Airbnb message thread: a threat made by phone or on another app is your word against theirs. Take screenshots, do not agree to any deal that links money to the review, and report the message to Airbnb support. If the review appears anyway, request its removal on the extortion ground with those screenshots attached.
When a partial refund is still the right call. If something you advertised was missing or broken (no hot water for a night, air conditioning down in a heatwave), document it with photos and messages and refund the share of the stay it affected. Send it through the Resolution Center rather than in cash or by bank transfer, so the payment is recorded against the reservation: hosts can send money once the reservation has started, and new requests are accepted up to 60 days after checkout.
How to reply. Answer the issue, not the threat: acknowledge it, say what you fixed and when, and make a proportionate offer if one is due. For example: “I’m sorry the dishwasher stopped on Saturday; the technician replaced the pump on Sunday morning. I’ve sent you €40 through Airbnb for the inconvenience.” If the guest tied the request to a review, add one neutral sentence: “Airbnb’s rules don’t allow a refund to be linked to a review, so I’ve based this on the issue itself.” Our guide to handling refund requests without giving away your margin helps you size the amount.
Most hosts who fail to get a review removed make the same avoidable errors. Knowing what NOT to do is just as important as knowing the right approach.
Submitting too late. Airbnb accepts removal requests at any time, but a dispute filed within days of publication is far more likely to succeed than one filed months later: the evidence is fresher and the case is easier to link to the stay. Report an unfair review the day you see it.
Making it personal. Telling Airbnb “this guest was rude and dishonest” without evidence won’t work. Review disputes are evaluated against Airbnb’s content policy, not your feelings about the guest. Focus on which specific policy the review violates (irrelevant content, extortion, retaliation, or a Content Policy breach) and provide proof. A guest’s account of the stay that you simply consider inaccurate is not a removal ground.
Disputing the star rating instead of the text. Airbnb rarely removes a review based on the star rating alone. A guest who gives you 3 stars for cleanliness is expressing an opinion, even if you disagree. Focus your removal request on the written text, that’s where policy violations are easiest to demonstrate.
Sending a single generic message. One vague complaint to Airbnb support is not enough. Successful removal requests include: a clear statement of which policy was violated, screenshots or booking records as evidence, and a specific reference to the review content that breaks the rules. Treat it like a legal brief, not a complaint.
Forgetting to document during the stay. The best evidence for a review dispute is collected before the review is posted. Save all guest messages, take photos of the property before and after each stay, and log any incidents. If a guest threatens a bad review during their stay, screenshot that message immediately: it’s your strongest evidence for a retaliation claim.
Airbnb says it usually emails its decision within 48 hours. When a case needs more than one round, here is what to expect at each stage, based on hosts’ reports and our own disputes:
Pro tip: While waiting for the removal decision, post a professional, empathetic public response to the review. This shows future guests that you take feedback seriously, and if the review ultimately stays, your response will soften its impact on your booking rate.
A bad Airbnb review isn’t always deserved. And it isn’t always final. As a host, you have the right to defend your reputation when it’s unfairly attacked.
But to do so, you need to know Airbnb’s rules, act quickly, and present the right arguments. This article gives you all the basics to succeed.
And with the help of Nowistay’s AI tools, you no longer have to face review injustice alone.
Protect your reputation. Secure your bookings. And show Airbnb that you’re a professional, attentive, and reliable host.
Sign up and access AI-powered tools to analyze your reviews and dispute unjustified ones.
Start now
Over 25 years of experience in real estate investing and a recognized expert in short-term rental automation. Bassel helps property managers increase revenue, cut operating costs, and deliver 5-star guest experiences using AI-powered tools he built from firsthand hosting experience.
