Listing suspended by lying guest

[Alexa4210]

This issue has come up so many times on the forums that I'm thoroughly dumbfounded by having to post it on my own behalf, but here goes.

I live on site, with my large kitchen windows facing my sole guest listing. I don't have cameras anywhere on site, indoor or outdoor, and have indicated this in the listing. The guests do a self check-in while I'm out, and I don't meet them, which is fairly normal for this listing. The next night I'm cooking dinner and the woman entering the house doesn't look anything like her profile picture--black hair vs platinum blonde--so I message and say "Hey there, you don't look like your picture, and you didn't provide your guest's picture, so I'm checking to see who's staying." The response is "Oh sorry, that's not current, here's a current photo, and can we get a late checkout tomorrow?" I say OK, thanks all around, no problem, carry on. Forward to post-checkout and the house is filled with natural gas smell, with a box fan pointed at the kitchen stove AND A BURNER KNOB IN THE ON POSITION with no flame. At this point I'm not friendly anymore, and I message in no uncertain terms that this is completely unacceptable--if you smell gas in a house, you alert someone, you don't just leave and point a box fan at it. She messages back that I've created a terrible ending to a great stay and then makes a fraudulent report that I must have security cameras because I questioned her about who was entering the house. Result: listing suspended, no further communication from AirBnB, no information about when suspension will be lifted. I provided all requested information immediately and then called Support, but was told that because it's escalated, there's nothing he can do. The guest enjoyed her stay enough to want a late check-out, but was was miffed that a host was stern about her negligence in a life- and property-threatening situation. Waaaah! An adult was mean when I almost incinerated the neighborhood! I want my money back!

The communication thread is all right there for Support to read, and it's widely known that these scams are only becoming more frequent. Seriously, AirBnB--what could possibly be the barrier to fixing this?

[Alexa4210]

Is @Catherine-Powell the person who should see this? No idea.

[Helen3]

she (or her wider team) rarely respond here sadly

[Gwen386]

Hi @Alexa4210 I want to provide you with another POV on the natural gas smell. It could possibly be that guest did not know what the smell was. She may have thought something spoiled in the kitchen was the source.

Let me give you a true scenario that happened to me when I first purchased my home Dec 2021. I came home after a day of shopping to a god-awful smell. All I could think of was either spoiled food was in the refrigerator or trash cans. I checked and nope nothing! I have 3.5 baths and I checked each one to see if maybe a toilet hadn’t been flushed or possibly backed up. Nope. My property is on a septic system so I went out to backyard to see if ground was flooded. Nope.

I was befuddled. Went back in house, opened windows and did a Google search. I found if there is a smell like rotten eggs, it means gas is escaping. So I went to my fireplace—why is it always the last place you look—and voila!—there was the source of the smell. Went back outside and turned off the propane tank to the fireplace. Come to find out that the smell was from the tank being low on propane and this was fumes from the sediments. Still dangerous. Maybe consider purchasing a carbon dioxide detector.  

So moral of story—it is very plausible that guest did not have a clue gas was escaping. And when you messaged her in an accusatory tone, it probably startled guest and yes, ended a wonderful stay otherwise. 

On another note. Since March I have hosted a dozen guests, and no lie—not one of them looked like their photo. And it didn’t occur to me to question them. 

It is sad that you’re suspended because guest felt there were cameras on the property. I hope you’re reinstated soon and the refund to guest reversed since you can prove there are no cameras. 

However, I want to say that hosting should be friendly, amicable, enjoyable, and non-confrontational. Sometimes in life, one must hit pause before jumping to conclusions, lest we offend the other party.

Just my 2cents. 

[Alexa4210]

I appreciate the time you took to write this. I think you mean an explosive gas detector--and yes, there is one, and it was beeping very loudly. Unfortunately, there are going to be times when hosting cannot be friendly, amicable, enjoyable, or non-confrontational, and one of those times is blatant negligence.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Gwen386 a carbon dioxide monitor will not pick up a gas leak 

[Gwen386]

@Mike-And-Jane0 Thanks. Then the nose will have to do. Anything that smells like rotten eggs might have to be the barometer. 

[Deborah350]

Your guest has complained that you have an unlisted camera. No idea how you will prove a camera that isn’t there….

[Alexa4210]

I would think that the burden of proof would be on the guest. Why it isn't makes absolutely no sense to me.

[Catherine-Powell]

Hi @Alexa4210,

Thank you for your patience while I had our team look into this one for you. They've confirmed to me now that your account was never suspended and everything is up and running. I do apologise for the inconvenience and the negative experience with your most recent guest. We will continue to prioritize the safety of both our Hosts and guests.

Many thanks for Hosting,
Catherine

[Alexa4210]

@Catherine-Powell

I appreciate the personal response. The banner on my calendar was most definitely "Suspended - Guests can't find this listing in search results or book it."