Airbnb Under Fire After Refusing to Remove Guest Accused of Racist Abuse and Urinating on Another Host's Door

A lecturer at Liverpool John Moores University, Baoxiu Qi, was left shocked after Airbnb failed to ban a guest for weeks, despite her racially abusing her over the temperature of her flat.

Qi, who specialises in biomolecular science, hosted 49-year-old Simone Kyriakopoulou, who runs a Greek food van. Simone stayed at Qi's property for 20 days while she operated a stand at the Bath Christmas Market.

However, during her stay, Simone engaged in racial abuse against Qi and submitted multiple negative reviews upon checkout last month. It is understood she was attempting to claim a refund, alleging she could not breathe due to asbestos in the house. Yet, the Georgian Grade I listed property was built over 100 years ago, before asbestos was used in homes.

Simone called Qi a 'dictator from China' and claimed she comes from an 'uncivilised background.' The food truck owner also alleged Qi is not English, despite holding a valid passport. Qi now says the incident has caused her to 'look at the world differently' and has made her question whether she belongs in the country any longer.

A superhost on Airbnb for over a decade, Qi has seen her reputation suffer as a result of the incident. The negative reviews led to multiple bookings being cancelled and a financial loss of $5,519 (£4,000).

Airbnb Forced to Ban Simone

Initially, Airbnb refused to ban Simone, advising Qi to 'post a professional public response to address the feedback.' It was only after sustained media enquiries that the platform finally banned her from the site.

Further investigation revealed that Simone had followed a similar pattern at other Airbnb properties, sending abusive texts to hosts, lying about their homes, and even urinating on doors.

During the incident with Qi, Simone began by posting negative reviews about the cold temperature inside the flat. She then launched into racist tirades, including:

'Baoxiu, you are Chinese, you are Asian. Your face, your body language, your background, and the way you behave, everything is Chinese. I understand you had a bad background and a bad life, and you need to get it out to people,' she wrote. 'You know Bath is a Roman city, and you pride yourself on being in Bath for 20 years. You are Chinese from Asia. Your passport won't buy you a new culture. England is Europe and Christian.'

Qi, who has lived in Bath for over three decades, told a media outlet she would have preferred to be punched rather than endure Simone's racist remarks.

'When I first read the messages, it was horrendous. My whole body went cold, and I was shaking. I've lived in Bath since I was 26, but it has made me see people differently... The financial loss is one thing, but it's the mental stress that's worse,' Qi said. 'I would prefer it if she had punched me. If it were physical, then I could have recovered, but this has changed the way I interact with others, it's made me question if I really belong here.'

Airbnb's Response and Delays

According to Airbnb's policies, the platform 'prohibits users, including co-hosts and co-travellers, from discriminating against others on the basis of protected characteristics—including race, religion, and national origin.' Their 'nondiscrimination policy applies to all Airbnb listings, homes, services, and experiences.' Despite overwhelming evidence of racist abuse, Airbnb initially refused to remove the negative reviews.

A spokesperson stated, 'After a thorough investigation, we have determined that the review must remain on your profile. Our review team found that the content of the review is relevant, as it directly described the guest's firsthand experience during their stay.' They added, 'We appreciate that this may not be what you hoped for, but won't be able to offer further support on this case at this time. Generally, we only remove reviews if they include prohibited speech, such as private information, hate speech, or if they are used as a means of extortion.'

Qi says she contacted Airbnb repeatedly over several weeks, and only after media outlets began asking questions was the review finally removed. Simone was eventually banned from the platform following media pressure.

'I complained to Airbnb relentlessly. The comments have now been deleted, but the damage has been done, and people have seen them,' Qi said. 'Yesterday, I received a call from Hampton's estate agent, who said some potential tenants had asked about the issues as they spotted there was an alleged heating and water pressure issue.'

Since the reviews were taken down, Qi reports she has received no bookings, despite normally having at least one every weekend.