Hosts Beware

[Roger806]

We have been Airbnb hosts for at least 5 years. Overall, we have had wonderful guests and we have been very happy with the communication from Airbnb when we have needed support. Unfortunately, we cannot say that this past week has been the case. We had a guest who called us because she smelled what she considered a gas leak in our unit.  We live on site, so we were there immediately to take care of it. We have a propane stove and the tank outside had run out of propane. We changed the propane tank and then relit the pilot in the stove. There was not indication of a propane smell of any kind. That same day, her boyfriend came to spend the night (unbeknownst to us ) and the following morning she contacted us and said she could still smell a leak. We immediately went up and checked the entire unit as well as rechecked the stove. There was no odor of propane gas whatsoever. Within approximately 2 hours of going to her unit, she had packed up and left and we see that her reservation had been canceled by Airbnb. We of course, tried to call Airbnb and talk to someone, but all they could tell us is that there was a safety issue and she was advised to leave. 

We immediately  called our propane company and had the owner do a complete inspection. He wrote a letter stating that there indeed was no leak and the entire system was operational. We called Airbnb back and they said the case was being handled by the Safety Team and they would email us back. We submitted the letter and waited. We called on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday and we unable to talk to anyone in the Safety Team and we never got a call or email that allowed us to give our side of the story.  In addition, they unlisted our property and we wanted another client to book two months from now for a two month stay, and we lost that booking. We had no idea our place was unlisted in the future as well. On Friday, we finally get an email stating that our place was listed again, but if we ever have another issue, we will be dropped by Airbnb.

We as hosts are very disappointed that a guest can easily just call and say they smell gas and be able to leave the property and yet, receive no communication from the team handling the case. 

In addition, the guest showed up to our house four days later, walked in our house, and asked for her Amazon packages that were delivered to our house!!

To protect ourselves, we have installed a propane sensor in our kitchen along with a carbon monoxide sensor and a smoke sensor that were already in the rental prior to our last guest.  

Just thought we would share to alert other hosts. Thank you. 

[Gwen386]

Hi @Roger806 

I have a separate propane tank on my property solely for my living room fireplace. Let me tell you why I am surprised that you didn’t smell anything. One day last winter I came home and as I entered the house, there was the most god-awful smell. AI checked all trash cans and toilets (private septic)  because I didn’t have a clue where the smell was coming from. I Googled and found out that escaping gas smells like rotten eggs. I immediately went to the fire place and voila, that was the source. I opened windows and doors, and immediately ran outside and turned the propane tank off. This scared me to death! I called SJJohnson (propane company) and they came out. Thankfully, it was minor. I was told, like you, that the tank was empty. However, since there were sediments at the bottom of the tank, that is what was escaping (fumes). 

I tell you this because I understand the guest leaving and AirBnB telling them to do so. I always think if this had happened while I was sleeping, I could be dead. So I’m asking that you understand this from the guest’s POV. There may not have been a leak per se, but there was definitely gas escaping. 

So, yes, it may have taken time for AirBnB to investigate and get back to you, but at least your guest is safe and you have peace of mind that everything is operating as it should. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Gwen386 If you read @Roger806 's post he had the whole system checked and there was no leak. If there was no leak then there cannot have been gas escaping.