A professor from the University of British Columbia was allegedly threatened after leaving a 4-star review on the Airbnb site. She claimed the host threatened to find where she lived if she did not take down the review.
In 2022, Dr. Alex Moore made a since-deleted post on X, formerly known as Twitter, that read: “In the interest of my own personal safety as well as public safety, @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp: Can you explain to me and everyone else why the host who sent me this message is still active on your platform? This person is clearly a threat and should not be allowed to host guests.”
The host, Brad, had listed a one-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Vancouver, B.C.
“I left a 4/5 review with a positive message, and the host has contacted me at my personal number with increasingly threatening text because my review brought their average rating down from a 5 to a 4.95,” Moore said.
While she did not leave a perfect review, she reportedly left positive feedback, suggesting that she would rebook the location if she happened to travel to the area again. However, the host took offense at this and decided to take action in an effort to get the review removed, according to Your Tango.
Brad began sending threatening messages to Moore, claiming that he had her name, photo, and her phone number. He said that if she did not take down the review, he would track down her address, and “the fun begins.”
Moore, alarmed, decided to contact the Vancouver Police Department. Police visited Brad and told him to stop harassing Moore. She noted that she was hopeful that they would revoke his house-sharing license. However, the report noted that Brad’s home was still available on Airbnb at the time she reported the incident.
Eventually, the company sent her a message, saying: “Thank you so much for bringing this to our attention. We have concluded our investigation and can confirm for you that we have removed the host’s account and listing from Airbnb.”
The report noted that Moore must have come to an agreement with Airbnb, as the post was soon taken down from social media.
According to Airbnb, the company does conduct background checks on both hosts and guests. The purpose of the check is to find potential terrorist designations, public records, state and county criminal records, and sex offender registries.
Some have claimed that anything below a five-star rating would dissuade future renters from signing on with a host.
Thorn Point states: “Airbnb holds hosts to a strict 5-star-or-bust expectation. They take any review that is less than 5-stars to indicate that there are major problems with a property or host. In fact, if a host’s account average drops below a 4.8-star rating, then they lose their Superhost status. On top of that, Airbnb could permanently remove a listing if the average drops below a 4.3-star rating.”
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