HELP I NEED TO REPORT A HOST

[Deborah1163]

I own a housekeeping service in Las Vegas NV. I was hired by a host to clean 5 out of 11 properties he has advertised on Airbnb. These places are not just misleading, but they are dangerous, dirty, bug-infested, electrical issues, and worst of all unsanitary. It started with the 1st property. i saw cockroaches. I called him right away and he gave me excuse the exterminator was coming out. The 2nd property had no electricity on the 2nd floor but 3 extension cords running up the stairs. A HUge note on the dryer saying DO NOT USE DRYER MAY CATCH FIRE. No smoke detectors. called him again. "Electrician is coming out" just do what I hired you for. Which was to be EXACT. DO NOT CLEAN,  DO NOT SWEEP, MOP FLOORS. ONLY REPLACE LINENS ON BEDS SPRAY FEBREEZE TAKE OUT ANY TRASH.. The 3rd property did not have extra linens, I immediately put them into the washing machine, went to the 4th property ( 3 mins away)  This was by far the worst. I did not want to even walk in there. broken furniture, holes in walls, walls were black with dirt. tub n shower so disgusting. I almost got sick. I called him again and said no way Shame on you. There were no linens to replace dirty ones. He told me " JUST PUT OLD ONES ON BED SPRAY FEBREEZE". No way I could not morally, ethically do this. The mattress pads had blood on them. He showed up at this property and fired me. did not pay me to state the obvious. BUT THIS IS NOT ABOUT MONEY.  I contacted AIRBNB they did nothing. said it was a civil matter.  I'll actually be surprised if this post makes it through. I've written it a dozen times.

[Anonymous]

@Deborah1163  If you know the URL of a listing that is inaccurate or illegal, you can flag it for investigation by clicking the link "Report this listing" underneath the pink "Check Availability" button. But realistically, Airbnb doesn't send inspectors out to physically check on listings. The uncomfortable truth is that the first guests are the de facto inspectors, and their ratings/reviews are what determine the host's outcome on Airbnb. It really sucks to think that someone's vacation might be spoiled by arriving to a place that's not clean or safe, but that is a known risk when you book an unreviewed property off a site that doesn't vet listings. Obviously a place as you described would instantly get terrible reviews, and the guests would be eligible for a refund upon seeing the state of it.

What seems really odd to me is that the host hired a housekeeping service but didn't actually want any housekeeping done. There's no shortage of unemployed people in Vegas who could've done a terrible turnover for much cheaper than a professional housekeeper like yourself would charge. I can see how the absurdity of the situation might lead a customer service agent to suspect you were just trying to sabotage someone else's business. Probably best to let it go and find better clients; bad operators are bound to fail whether you actively thwart them or not.

[Deborah1163]

I'm sorry, did I not mention he contacted me Saturday for services to be done on SUPERBOWL SUNDAY?

of course, I was suspicious. He claimed he fired his last cleaning crew because they called in sick this weekend. How do I know if he was planning in having a family member or another cleaning crew come out?  I'm just stating the facts that the properties were unfit for anyone to stay in. Yes, I flagged everyone. By the way, he has 228 reviews, 201 of them are ALL BAD. One more thing it doesn't get much cheaper than free. When I did not get paid. But this is not revenge or sabotage. When he does get shut down for legitimate reasons I will let it go. But thank you for your concerns and support. Something tells me you are a Host too. NO DISRESPECT.

[Anonymous]

@Deborah1163  By no means am I defending this person's lousy hosting, but I don't see how it's your responsibility or right to get his crappy business "shut down."  Complaints from one disgruntled housekeeper, no matter how legitimate, don't carry that kind of clout. 

If the host has 201/228 bad reviews, at least we know that guests and Airbnb are already aware of the extensive problems. You need not make it your personal mission to get the word out about this host, because it's already there. If people continue choosing to business with him anyway, it's their problem, not yours.

[Sarah977]

@Deborah1163  Horrific. However, Airbnb doesn't seem to care about reports from anyone but guests, although you can certainly flag the listings, as Andrew explained. 

They don't seem to take action when neighbors report illegal and disruptive listings, or even when home owners report that their long-term tenant is listing the place on Airbnb in contravention of their no-subletting lease. And they seem to turn a blind eye to complaints about listings where the host has dozens of properties. The only thing they seem to care about is generating bookings and collecting their service fees. 

Yet they are quick to immediately suspend a 5* host's listings if a guest lodges a complaint, regardless of whether it is bogus or not, pending an "investigation". 

I'm not sure how this host doesn't have anything but bad reviews, and therefore no bookings, but maybe he has found a way to scam the system. I've heard of scammer hosts offering guests partial refunds in exchange for not leaving a review, but who knows. 

Reporting this host to the local authorities might get him shut down, though. His listings are likely illegal, and may be classified as contravening fire or health regulations. But I'd be careful. He sounds like a nasty piece of work and might assume it was you who reported him. 

[Deborah1163]

Thank You and Yes I agree, He is not a scrupulous, good honest man. It is very sad Airbnb does nothing to help its guests. I was mortified when they told me to contact local code enforcement. How does one get to be an Airbnb host? Is there no inspection? no yearly inspections? no one monitors these properties?

[Sarah977]

@Deborah1163  There are 5.6 million Airbnb listings worldwide. Airbnb does not have field agents who inspect listings. They are just an online listing service. Just like Amazon or eBay doesn't have agents who go around making sure the sellers are on the up and up.  Anyone can sign up to be a host. 

The ratings and reviews, and sometimes guests' direct reports to Airbnb are what eventually weed out bad hosts, just as the reviews on other online sites like I mentioned. 

It's pretty shocking this host has 201 bad reviews out of 228, and is still listed. But I have seen such things before.