A story with everything. Bad guest, thousands in damages, criminal activity and a bad review!

[Laura4076]

We rented to 2 young guys who had come from New Jersey.  We live about 2 hours away from the rental so our check in process is done contactless where they ring the doorbell camera and we can see it's the guest and remotely open the door.  Once in you get keys and a garage door clicker.  After that most guest don't really go thru the front door as the garage is attached. These guys originally booked for 2 weeks then extended for another 2 weeks.  They tried to extend again but I declined.  When we got to the house it was completely wrecked with damages estimated at approximately $4000.  Not only had the managed to completely smash our shower doors the broke our sofa in two and burned all of our nightstands with cigarettes and weed.  Nearly every room had the remnants of marijuana and the house stunk of smoke and weed.  They even broke a locked gate to get to a storage area where we store our various personal items.   We felt violated and completely in shock.  I immediately messaged him asking why they'd done what they'd done and he said that's what they pay cleaning for.  He did not care one bit about any of the damage he caused and even started sending me laughing emojis!   As we cleaned the house we noticed our personal mail was spread all over the house.  That raised immediate red flags so I went to the mailbox and found a 3" stack of mail from the EDD.  For those not from California the EDD is the unemployment department that's in charge of pandemic relief for those in California that are unemployed due to the pandemic.   Someone filing just one of these claims could easily get between $30,000-$50,000 maybe more.  It's been plagued by fraudulent claims from the beginning.  The one day of mail the we got after he'd left had 6 separate claims.  When the police went to the house yesterday they found another stack with around another 10 different claims.   Our mailbox is on the street approximately 45 feet from our front door.   Our doorbell camera is motion activated but we only get notified if someone rings the doorbell so we had no idea what he was doing.  Thank god the footage saves for up to a month because when we went back and looked you see this guy going and checking our mail everyday..sometimes 2-3 times a day.  When he goes in you can clearly see the EDD envelopes that he's carrying.  He set up a full EDD scam at our address and was collecting all of the California Pandemic relief even thou he isn't even from California.  We called the police who made a report and because it appears to be a large operation they put us in contact with the Department Of Justice who also have a fraud division.  The doorbell camera is in plain site and faces the street it's also in our add that we have security cameras.  If it weren't for the footage it would have basically been my word against his.

So while all of this is ongoing I'm also trying to communicate with Airbnb and let them know not only about all of the damage but the criminal activity.   As anyone who's every has had to deal with Airbnb will tell you it is not easy to get anyone on the phone.  I was also extremely busy trying to clean up my house.  I started sending messages immediately after I discovered the damage and also did as was instructed and sent the damages to him to pay first.   He denied everything and said he'd reported me to Airbnb.    As soon as he'd been asked to pay damages  he left a 1 star review where he claimed we lived in an RV across the street and spied on our guest.  He also stated we have cameras inside our house.  Both statements are complete lies but I can't get anyone at Airbnb to get back to me.  I  find it very funny that Airbnb lowers my rating if I don't reply within 24 hours to inquiries yet I'm still waiting after 3 days.  Keep in mind I've been sending them updated messages every single day since this started.  Today I woke up to find my account has been "temporarily suspended" because he claims I have cameras in my house! Are you serious?? I'm now absolutely livid so once again I've called and was put on hold for over an hour.   I had a meeting to get to and ended up having to hang up with the promise the will message me.   My ratings were perfect and no one has every said a bad word about me I'd fully expected to become a super host in October,  yet they take the word a someone who had never even used Airbnb before and suspend my account!   I am more then disgusted with what had happened and cannot be more let down by Airbnb.   This needs to change people can not continue to get away with this type of behavior and Airbnb condone it.  

[Laura4076]

@Helen427  Thank you for all the lovely words!  Yes our camera did get him on numerous occasions retrieving the mail from our mailbox.  Pretty much everyday for 3 weeks.  It’s the reason the the police were so interested. They usually have no idea who these criminals are because they set up in friends and family names.  He has kind of an unusual name and managed to register under just his first and middle name, we had no idea what his last name was. Fortunately criminals are not the smartest people in the world and while we were cleaning we found his credit card under a bed with his full name on it!  Now the police know exactly who they are looking for. 

As he’d tried to extended his stay with us for a 3rd time I immediately thought that he’d try and book another Airbnb and tried to warn them but as usual it’s all bots and automated. I put up a review immediately trying to warn other hosts. 

while Airbnb have reinstated my account they refuse to remove his review which is full of lies.  Even when I’ve pointed out that the review is in violation of Airbnb rules they refuse to remove it.  His review not only slanders us (we live in an RV across the street to spy on guest) he also claims our pool guy is a spy. Both total lies. 

@Catherine-Powell really needs to read all of these stories. While I understand all the platforms may share similar problems It is not as hard to speak to a live person on an other platform.  In fact the other platforms are paying attention to these problems as someone mentioned to me that VRBO actually call their host to make sure everything is alright.   

this past week has opened my eyes to not only by my treatment by Airbnb but to people in general.  I had been so lucky up until now and had the loveliest people stay at our house who always treated it as their own.  What I could never have imagined is people like Coutchev even existed,  who thought nothing of not only ruining our house but breaking locks and going thru our personal things.  It’s like they needed to go thru every drawer and cupboard just to see what we had. They even went thru are garden shed ( which is located behind a metal locked gate) and took everything out and just left it everywhere. The feeling walking into the house was as if we’d been robbed. Things thrown everywhere weeks of trash just left in the kitchen with flies everywhere.  When I asked him why he’d left the house in such a state he said it’s what you pay cleaning for. He then sent my several laughing face emojis.  Just a trash person in general. 

[Jillian115]

@Laura4076  I am so sorry this has happened to you. Airbnb's support and reputation is getting worse by the day. There are too many of these horrible stories on the forum. 

@Catherine-PowellIt's terrifying that Airbnb does not protect hosts and their local communities. More needs to be done. Simply asking for a phone number verification and a form of payment is not enough to prevent criminal activity. Even worse that guests now bypass the rules. 

While Airbnb makes it easier for guests to book, Airbnb is failing to protect hosts and their communities. The lack of protection Airbnb provides to hosts and CS support is in-turn giving us hosts and Airbnb a lousy reputation. Previously News reports focused on bad hosts taking advantage of guests, but the direction seems to be turning due to the increase in guest criminal activity.  

Communities are getting fed up with Airbnb and are retaliating by banning new listings. Try this search string on Google you'll come up with 10+ pages of results "City OR County ordinance OR Bans airbnb"

In addition, all it takes is a one-star review for a guest to shut down our listing, and we're cut off from communication/information on our status. There is no real support. Call after call to CS goes unanswered or sidelined. The fact that @Laura4076 had to track down your email for some results is unacceptable, yet the one-star review remains from two criminals that destroyed her home. 

Somebody recently stated that Airbnb's are becoming a breeding ground for criminal activity. Something needs to be done.  

Northeastern links violent crime surges in Boston neighborhoods to Airbnb vacation rentals

https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/07/19/study-from-northeastern-links-rise-violent-crime-surges-in-b...

Two shot at Sunnyvale, CA Airbnb house party 

https://www.ktvu.com/news/two-people-shot-at-sunnyvale-house-party-involving-airbnb-home

Airbnb has secretive 'black box' team paying out $50 million a year to keep disaster stays out of press and gives staff blank checks to help rape victims and clean-up dismembered human remains'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9688361/Airbnb-secret-black-box-team-forks-50-million-year-...

It’s the worst-kept secret in Spain’s capital city—everybody knows somebody throwing an Airbnb party.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/partiers-are-renting-luxe-airbnbs-in-madrid-for-secret-raves 

[Laura4076]

@Jillian115 Thank you that was so well written!  You only have to read the comments left under my post to see what a big problem this is.  It’s like I’ve said before there really is no common sense being used by Airbnb.  

I’d been trying for the last 6 months to reach super host and I was so close.  My only downfall was not replying to realtors who pretended to be a potential guest to try and get us to sell our house.   Even thou they abused the website Airbnb refused to reconsider my response rate.  

Like you said I now have no chance of achieving super host as they’ve let a criminal leave a 1 star review.  To be honest I don’t even think I’m that bothered.  From what I’ve seen even super host are treated badly.   I also know this guy will never use Airbnb ever again I absolutely guarantee it.  He’s not only a wanted criminal he was only renting our house so he could use our address for the mail fraud.   

The fact that it’s so plainly clear who was in the wrong here is shocking.  Yet Airbnb still side with this person.   I’m really over people like this who continue to just get away with acting this way with no consequences.  He absolutely wrecked our house yet I’m the one who has to argue back and forth with Airbnb just for me to be made whole again.

 It will continue to happen over and over again until Airbnb changes it’s policies and starts having actual people and not bots handle these situations.  You can’t teach a robot to have common sense!

[Leo3136]

@Laura4076  sorry to hear this. I have been searching forums on how to deal with AirBNB on a similar matter. Unfortunately in my case we escorted the guest off premises within 24 hours as I live in an adjacent unit in our building.

We just finished a $500,000 renovation on an 1800s apartment this winter and decided to list it as it’s in a very desirable area of Buffalo, NY for visitors. Also a unique property in general. We got tons of traffic within days of listing, we got booked from May-November with only 5 total gaps of a day in 2 weeks of being listed. First month went great, all until a guest who was obviously using a fake account showed up.

Before check-in the guest immediately started messaging us for discounts, they wanted “early check-in” within minutes of the last guest. We didn’t accommodate these things, but are red flags. After check-in the guest, immediately starts messaging me that he wants me to come to the unit. And that I need to take care of some things. In panic, but will not disclose what the issue is. For my own safety, I refuse to walk over until he tells me what the problem is, as I feel like I’m going to get ambushed or mugged.

The guest claims spiders are crawling all over the walls. That they are everywhere. In a very dramatic way. I ask him to tell me where and I will take care of it, maybe send me a photo. He cannot send a photo. But says “EVERYWHERE” I know that isn’t the case. So I walk over with a vacuum. He is wearing a mask, not the pandemic type, but like a robbery type of mask and slurring his words, can barely walk. And screams at me about the unit being terrible and spiders being everywhere.

The unit has 5-stars and his complaints aren’t accurate. But I just deal with the behaviors, and tell him I will vacuum the walls. I walk around the unit looking for spiders, extremely confused trying to vacuum the walls. No spiders, not a single one. I just nicely message them, saying problem has been taken care of. They claim they still see them. I am now under suspicion they are very very high on something. Also cannot afford the unit, they want a discount still. 

A few hours go by, now the unit starts sounding like furniture is being moved in the unit. Loud banging noises, doors slamming. I am not sure what he is doing. But I’m uncomfortable. He messages me, says “the TV is being hacked” claiming someone is hacking the TV and he isn’t able to control it. It’s a brand new TV, doesn’t have any reported issues. I am just hoping he didn’t break it. I cannot explain, so I just play along with it could be possible that TV has an issue, it doesn’t, but just let him make the claim try and be helpful. It doesn’t have an issue, he’s just tripping hard on some type of drugs. I start realizing this. Fake spiders and hacked TVs. Lots of weird things.

He decides to complain directly to AirBNB support about the unit for the spiders cause I wouldn’t give him a discount. Now it’s super confusing, I get phone calls from support about the imaginary spiders, the “hacked” TV. I tell AirBNB get him off our property, I don’t want this guest. They give him his money back. He gets to spend the night, but he booked two nights. The next morning, he doesn’t leave until late in the day. He stands outside the unit mad and pacing in front of the house. Obviously looking for me, wants an in person confrontation I believe. I let him do that for hours. None of the other building tenants will walk outside because of him. We all use the back door he doesn’t know about and watch him from our cars. He’s doing drugs in front of the house, we can observe that as well.

I walk into the unit. The damages:

The bathroom vanity was torn from the wall, bathroom door broken off the hinges, dining room table sitting on its side, chairs throw at the walls, sitting on their sides. Must have been throwing furniture at his imaginary spiders. Couch has the arm fall off and middle support broken so middle is touching floor. A mess, food everywhere. Some drugs in water bottles around the unit and spilled on the floor, it was like a weird red syrup. Powders on stuff, don’t even know what it is but just try and dispose of it all.

I get very mad and report it to AirBNB and have to try and figure out a way to make unit decent for next guest. I reattach the door and vanity with screws, bend the couch back into decent spot, but still obviously broken. Long story short, get it to decent, but flawed. I report everything to claims. They call this entire thing, “standard wear and tear” pay me $23 for a sheet he spilled the red syrup on. And that is it. $3000+ in damages. We get $23. Worse we start getting mixed reviews. Some people give 5-stars and then complain about “a few broken things” which are all his damages. Then some just give us terrible reviews 1-3 stars and destroy us in reviews.

I keep trying to deal with AirBNB, nothing. No help, don’t even seem to acknowledge anything happened. Had one other claim, seems AirCover is just a scam to make you feel good if you’re covered.

[Laura4076]

@Leo3136  I'm so sorry to hear your story, it brings back all the bad memories we had dealing with nightmare guest.  We too had thousands in damages and were only able to recover a percentage.  Saying that $23 seems like a joke.  From what you've stated you should have come out with much more.  Sadly, it does take a bit of a fight to recover anything from Airbnb.   They definitely favor the guest over the host even when you have hard proof of the guest being the problem.  Even after I'd sent numerous photos of damages, copies of the police report that we had to file and receipts for all the damage that we had to pay they still only gave us percentage of everything that we had to replace.   We were forced to take the house off of Airbnb while we did our repairs I could not even imagine if we'd had someone booked to come straight in after.   On top of all of that they allowed the guest to leave me a horrible review where he completely lied and said we had camaras watching him.  It took me a year to get my rating back up but to be honest I wasn't really bothered.   My whole perception of Airbnb changed after our experience, and I know now not the expect any support from them if things go wrong.   I literally had to fight for weeks just to get them to pay percentages of the things that were damaged.  We now list our house on other sites and if there is ever a double booking, we will go with the non-Airbnb option.   Airbnb forget their whole business is set up on the backs of people like us who trust they have our best interest at heart.   The more people who find other options besides Airbnb the better, maybe then they will start to prioritize host and stop letting guest get away with whatever they want.  I don't know if your case has already been   closed but if there's any advice I can give you as far as recovering more money let me know.

[Leo3136]

Unfortunately, I am stuck in a loop of people passing me around in circles. I have this claims rep who has been disrespectful the entire time who gave me the $23. He keeps telling me to stop complaining and my “matter has been closed” his boss left me a voicemail eventually. But didn’t even state proper information on the case and called me to say “matter has been closed” stop contacting them. So not really sure what to do. Unit is still booked every night into mid-October. Still needs a new couch, new vanity, a full pre-hung door replacement which is serious work. A few other things, no idea what to do. But we keep getting mixed reviews and just keep hosting with a broken unit unfortunately.