Airbnb has been accused of neglecting its user interface by blocking feedback from dissatisfied guests, raising concerns about the already-controversial company's accountability.

According to an article from The Times, the popular online homestay network?s Web site and application design is primarily at fault: users who leave their bookings early due to problems with their accommodation are met with messages treating the trip as if it had been cancelled before it started when they attempt to complain. The issue is a serious oversight for Airbnb? which has already courted a significant amount of negative attention due to a series of skirmishes with host cities? zoning laws? and could be the beginning of consumer-side friction for a company which relies on transparency more than most.

The Times report came after many came forward after similar experiences with Airbnb.

Many users shared stories of inadequate accommodation, broken locks and missing amenities on what they saw were five star listings. After cutting their trips short due to the deceptions, the users were blocked from warning others about the listing by the site. 

Airbnb has gone as far as submitting comments under users? names that have cut their reservations short, posting automated messages that say, ?The host cancelled this reservation the day before arrival. This is an automated posting,? a message which appears on thousands of Airbnb listings.

These practices call into question the accuracy of many? if not all? of the user-generated ratings attached to Airbnb listings, and an analysis could even go so far as to touch on issues of ratings buoying through a process of discarding negative reviews.

With the mobile platform being a relatively new frontier for consumers, questions of trust and accountability still persist in a space where individuals are increasingly spending more of their time. 

Fixtures such as Apple?s App Store somewhat hedge against unethical maneuvering by subjecting app makers to rigorous standards before making their product available to the public, but if Airbnb?s case is any example, the measure may not be enough. 

Brands should be on the lookout for design flaws such as the one Airbnb customers have found that can diminish customer trust, an element of consumer relations not easily regained. Erasing negative feedback may be an appetizing move in the moment, but it evinces a shortsightedness that is not lost on the consumer when they get word of it through independent media outlets such as The Times. 

For Airbnb, which heavily relies on user-generated feedback to maintain its online ecosystem, any tampering with negative commentary? either intentional or inadvertent? is an especially egregious offense. Consumers should not have to wonder whether the five star listing they are considering earned its rating through quality or neglect.

Consumers are bringing their concerns about transparency in media and business ethics to the mobile space, and shrewd marketers are responding in kind. American Airlines and United airlines flyers are reaping the benefits of this new paradigm through an app called Frequent Flyer, which lets users earn miles through self-reported location-based processes (see story). 

And packaged seafood company Chicken of the Sea is also offering transparency in the buying process, upping its corporate responsibility efforts with a new mobile initiative that lets users scan one of its cans and learn information about its ingredients and origin source (see story).