Dispute guide
Airbnb review disputes, explained: what is removable and what is not
Airbnb removes reviews that violate its Reviews Policy: irrelevant or fake reviews, bias and extortion, anti-competitive and retaliatory reviews, and content violations. Disagreement with a genuine guest is not grounds. Here is the dispute path, the categories, and the response mechanics.
The six removable categories, per Airbnb's policy
Irrelevant reviews
Reviews must be about the offering reviewed and reflect first-hand experience from an actual reservation.
Fake reviews
Reviews not based on a real reservation, or submitted by someone who did not participate in it.
Bias, deception, extortion, or incentivization
Reviews used to mislead, coordinated manipulation, threats of a negative review for compensation, or reviews exchanged for something of value.
Anti-competitive reviews
Reviews left by users directly affiliated with or in direct competition with the listing.
Retaliatory reviews
Reviews written to retaliate against a user for enforcing an Airbnb policy, such as after a guest violated a rule and was called on it.
Content policy violations
Reviews containing explicit, discriminatory, harmful, or illegal content.
Source: Airbnb's Reviews Policy (help article 2673), checked 2026-06-10.
The dispute path, step by step
- 1.Check the review against the policy categories. Only policy violations are removable: irrelevant or fake reviews, bias and extortion, anti-competitive or retaliatory reviews, and content violations. A genuine guest's harsh opinion does not qualify.
- 2.Gather your evidence. Message threads, reservation details, photos, and timestamps. For retaliation claims, evidence that the guest violated a policy and was notified before the review.
- 3.File the dispute with Airbnb support. Contact Airbnb to file a review dispute and have the review considered for removal. Reference the specific policy category and attach the evidence.
- 4.Post a public response either way. Removal is not guaranteed, and Airbnb encourages responding to reviews. A calm, factual response protects your listing while the dispute is considered.
Dispute questions, answered
What kinds of Airbnb reviews can actually be removed?
Reviews that violate Airbnb's Reviews Policy: irrelevant or fake reviews, bias, extortion or incentivized reviews, anti-competitive reviews from affiliated or competing users, retaliatory reviews, and content policy violations. Airbnb does not mediate accuracy disputes between honest parties.
A guest threatened a bad review unless I refunded them. Is that removable?
Yes. Threatening a negative review for compensation falls under the bias, extortion, and incentivization category of Airbnb's policy. Keep the message thread as evidence and file the dispute referencing that category.
Is there a character limit for my public response?
Airbnb's help articles do not publish a character limit for public responses. Practical guidance: three to five sentences. Length is rarely the constraint that matters; tone is.
Can I edit or delete my response after posting?
Airbnb's published help does not document editing a public response after it goes live. Treat your response as final: draft it, cool off, and post once. If a response contains a genuine error, contact Airbnb support about your options.
30 response examples
Positive, critical-but-fair, unfair, and cleanliness scenarios.
Draft your response
Calm, future-guest-focused drafts in the Airbnb generator.