A University of British Columbia (UBC) assistant professor said she was threatened by an Airbnb host, who said she had 48 hours to remove the review before “the fun begins”. What else? This was a 4/5 star review!
On June 18, Dr. Alex Moore posted screenshots of the “threatening text” on Twitter and said she was in touch with Airbnb and Vancouver police about their experience. Airbnb has confirmed to Narcity that the host and the listing have been removed from the site following an investigation into the matter.
In one series of tweets, Moore tagged Airbnb while posting screenshots of the host’s post. It read: “I have your photo, your name and your number. You have 48 hours to withdraw your notice or I hire a private investigator to obtain your address, then the fun begins.”
Moore added in another tweet that their review was a 4/5, along with a positive message. However, Moore noted that the review increased the host’s average rating from 5 to 4.95.
Another tweet featured screenshots of the host’s Airbnb listing in Vancouver.
Moore also said she contacted the Vancouver Police Department about the incident.
Narcity contacted the Vancouver Police Department for comment, but did not hear back before this story went to press.
In a June 20 “final update,” Moore confirmed that Airbnb removed the host and listing for violating its “bullying and harassment policies.”
In an email to Narcity, Airbnb confirmed it suspended the host while the incident is investigated. And now the company has “removed the host and their listing entirely from Airbnb,” per their policies.
“We are grateful to Dr. Moore for bringing this to our attention,” Airbnb added in its statement.
The cover image of this article was used for illustrative purposes only.
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