We decided to pause our decision-making and reach out to Airbnb support for an impartial view. We needed to confirm Marten’s story. The support team confirmed that the host had indeed paused the listing for two months following a death in the family. It had only recently been reactivated by a different contact person—Marten’s sister—without his full knowledge.
The Crucial Detail
Then came the most important piece of information. Airbnb support mentioned a key detail: the camera in the smoke detector wasn’t a standard recording device. It was a specialized, motion-triggered alert cam connected to an emergency contact. It did not store footage; it only sent an alert to a phone when movement was detected, which was clearly set up for his mother’s safety.
I stared at the ceiling of the motel room. The situation had shifted entirely. We had acted quickly based on suspicion, and now we had the facts. “So… do we take the review down?”
There was a long silence. It’s hard to admit when you’ve overreacted, but our actions now seemed excessive. While the principle of privacy was still valid, the context was one of grief, not malicious intent. The original, angry review remained online. One part of my mind still argued that we had done the right thing, but another part worried about the consequences of the review.
The Cost of the Review
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