Super host suspeded with no warning or explaination.

[Chula0]

Long story but would love some support.
 
I'm a five star super host of  3 years.  I live where there are bears that like to get into the garbage so I have explicit garbage instructions. Put it out morning of garbage day only and not before or give it to me the night before.  My guest did not follow these guidelines and placed her garbage in the bin (A LOT of it, filled it up.) So I texted her to tell her that I need her to take care of garbage. She texted back that she was out of town. I told her I’ll do it. Assuming she understood after reading the rules and about bears that it was a "must do". I did not hear back. So I went in thinking she was ok with it. I see now I should have asked permission so we would not have had this communication glitch.
 
When I entered space it smelled of garbage -because there was so much more garbage. So, I dumped it too so a bear would not smell it and ramshackle the cabin. The  heater was on and running so I turned it down. I decided to vacuum because there was food all over rug and chair. Kitchen appliances were plugged in with flammable stuff on top (I explicitly say to unplug stovetop ad toaster oven).
 
There were two large screens and gaming equipment.  I had gotten a warning from internet company the day before that there had been an illegal download of copy written material. I called guest and she seemed annoyed at me and said yes she downloaded something. I said please no more downloads of copyrighted material. Now I’m in there looking at giant gaming equipment and some other big thing that was running off the eletricity. I don't have in my rules not to bring gaming equipment. Now I will. Airbnb says to keep the rules simple so I recently simplified my rules -now I’m regretting simple.
 
I turned off the power strips to the gaming equipment. I can hardly afford the electric bill as it is the last thing I need is a higher bill. Guest had unplugged the heater from power strip and plugged it into wall. Heater needs to be plugged into specific power strip. I did not do that because I did not want to touch their stuff. So I texted guest with feedback (politely delivered).
The guest was livid and filed a claim for privacy right infringement immediately. She also says my turning off power strips ruined her consul.  I have no idea what her claim actually is. She is staying for 31 nights and has 15 more to go.
I called airbnb right away.  I asked them what I should do and they assured me everything would be fine. They said their safety department would be reaching out to me with an email.  I have received no such email and today my calendar is completely blocked with no warning and my account is suspended.
 
I'm nervous.  I hear horror stories about guests that file claims and then want a refund or won’t leave. I really messed up in accepting someone who had no reviews. I also messed up entering the space even if I did it with good intention.
 
1) How long will my account be suspended?  2) Should I make a new listing on a different booking site? I have read online other hosts go through this and list their site right away on vrbo so they are sure not to lose income.  I dont know anything about vrbo and I really liked airbnb until this happened. This just seems rude and like some kind of punishment instead of a discussion Is airbnb worth the drama or should I find a renter to just rent it out as soon as these people leave? If they leave...I hope they leave!
 
Thanks for any insight.

[Kate867]

@Chula0   Airbnb are very strict when it comes to safety issues and you really should familiarise yourself with the information in the following link.  Should a guest complain about what is perceived as a serious issue then they will suspend your account pending investigation.  If the issue is extremely serious you risk being delisted from the Airbnb platform.  Investigations can take some time to complete.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/3060/protecting-your-privacy

Your behaviour in entering the property and interfering with what was plugged in, what was not, particularly with the guests personal possessions etc. was both outrageous and a complete violation of privacy and as a guest I would also complain bitterly under similar circumstances.  Sending a message and not getting an answer does not mean ‘Yes, go ahead’.  You could have sent another message requesting confirmation that it would be ok, or by calling the guest.  

With regards to listing on different platforms I really have no idea as I only use Airbnb, but I suggest that if you do decide to take that route then you should make yourself absolutely aware of what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable with regards to Hosts behaviour first.

[Anonymous]

@Chula0   The first thing you should do - and I mean, immediately - is terminate this booking and get the guest out of your home. This guest is not to be trusted, and allowing her to complete the stay will result in her acquiring the right of tenancy under California law and squatting your cabin for free. Airbnb will not support you in any way if this happens. 

I know this all sounds a bit sensationalist, but this guest fits the profile to a T:  her booking was for precisely the duration of time that makes her very hard to evict, she's already used your internet connection to break the law, and she's pursuing a complaint with every intention of having her stay refunded at your expense. If you think she's going to stop at that just because your account is suspended, think again. Get her out of there right now, while you can still do so legally. Don't wait; you'll regret it.

Sure, list on another platform and get some income, but don't accept any more bookings of more than 27 days.

[Clara116]

@Anonymous You are 100% right on about all you say...... how does she do this if she can't access her account? I'm curious what your approach would be? 

This guest surely is gaming the system....

And the host  @Chula0 Chula really stepped over the lines too....

going in, cleaning up, unplugging and turning down/off systems - I couldn't believe what I was reading by Chula as its a perfect set up for a squatter and someone being a bad guest and breaking all the rules, illegal stuff too and ending up with a refund and has stayed for a time. 

I would have cancelled the booking as soon as the guest was doing illegal downloads and the warning came through! 

This is not a pretty picture for sure....

[Anonymous]

@Clara116   Her user account is still active, she should still be able to access it. It's just the listing that's suspended.

I agree that entering the home without an explicit agreement is over the line in most cases, but when there's a time-sensitive safety hazard, or a report of illegal activity ( @Chula0  had both) there might be a case for treating it as an emergency. But from that point, the guest should have only been permitted back to collect her belongings and return the keys.

[Clara116]

Thanks @Anonymous  I wasn't sure how that worked. 

Right, I'd have terminated it all with the first sign of illegal anything. 

You are such a wealth of information every time....I'm sure glad you are sharing with us all. Peace good man

[Huma0]

@Anonymous 

I agree with you but we are not sure what the guest was downloading, just that it was copyrighted content. It sounds to me that she was probably downloading movies on a dodgy site (I don't mean the movies were necessarily dodgy, I meant those sites where you can stream/download shows for free rather than paying for Netflix or whatever). So many people do this here in the UK and they are not all hard and fast criminals. 

A friend of mine used to do this all the time when he lived in the UK. However, when he did it while visiting his sister's family in Germany and the very first time, his brother-in-law was contacted about it and threatened with a huge fine. It's a bit stupid to do something illegal using someone's else's internet, but he's not a stupid guy. He just wasn't thinking because he'd never had problems doing it back home.

So, in a similar circumstance, I don't think I would have thrown out the guest. I am not sure, but I think if there hadn't been any other problems thus far, I would have messaged her about it (via the Airbnb system), told her it was not okay and please don't do it again. Of course, this would have been the wrong decision in this scenario, but it could also have happened with a guest who turned out to be decent in every other way. One of the best lodgers I ever had was always streaming TV shows from illegal sites, after a colleague recommended some to watch Game of Thrones for free. He just told her you should never download them. That's when you get caught! 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Chula0 I agree with @Anonymous . Start a listing elsewhere asap and even if Airbnb do reverse the suspension you will at least have protection in the future.

I wonder if the guest was bitcoin mining.

You are, I believe, technically allowed to enter the property in an emergency - I don't know if this applies here.

[Helen744]

@Chula0 Whatever your guest was doing was probably scamming you anyway . I dont think you 'ruined her console ' by turning a power board off. What was she doing in your house for 31 days,besides downloading a lot of stuff she shouldnt have?  Bears are a pretty good reason to do most stuff.Obviously she was living in a world where the connection between bears and garbage did not compute. I know nothing about bears but I sure as heck know I will not be doing anything that might cause them to ransack anything if I can help it.If you have messages about the bears then pass them on to Airbnb. If you were cleaning because of bears too I get it but did you mean that you would 'deal with the garbage'by going in the house or did you think she understood that or did you over step. Maybe if there are bears you should deal with the garbage all the time and make the rules for disposal clearer and firmer .H

[Helen744]

@Chula0  Chula what do you mean when you say 'I dump the garbage' . do you have to take it a long way away to get rid of the smell ?. I think that sounds like an emergency caused by the guest and also the internet company already told you the guest was downloading illegally H

[Helen744]

@Chula0 I also think that the whole 'bears ' thing makes this ever so slightly different from other situations H

[Laura2592]

@Chula0 A few major lessons learned here:

No 31 day bookings. @Anonymous is 100% correct. Familiarize yourself with tenancy laws in your state before listing anywhere. 

You can't enter a guest's space during a booking without express permission from the guest. In writing. Even landlords have to give 24 hours notice. 

If a guest is not following safety procedures with regard to wildlife and unavailable to do so, a better solution is to take care of the issue yourself as much as possible without entering their private space and review accordingly. 

Simple rules is just ABB not wanting guests to be bummed out by the fact that they are in someone else's home. Whatever you do not include in your house rules is also not enforceable if you complain to ABB or the guest. So I would make your rules more robust. Put an easter egg in the rules to ensure that guests have read them when they book. 

Investigations have no end date and ABB does not disclose the results. I would probably relist my space on another website or look for a longer term tenant/landlord situation privately.

[Huma0]

---

@Laura2592 wrote:

@Chula0 A few major lessons learned here:

You can't enter a guest's space during a booking without express permission from the guest. In writing. Even landlords have to give 24 hours notice. 

---

I don't know how it works in the US, but here in the UK it is the same (I think it could even be 48 hours notice) UNLESS it's some sort of emergency situation. Then you should still inform them but you don't have to wait for their permission to go in and sort out the problem.

So, in this case, would one consider entering the property necessary? @Helen744 suggests that it might be, considering there were bears involved. As the guest out of town and unable to deal with it, I would say it was necessary to go round and empty the trash outside, but @Chula0  did not know there was also a problem with the trash inside until she entered the property. From here onwards, it starts to become difficult to argue that the host did not intrude on the guest's privacy, especially if her message just said she was going round to deal with the garbage and didn't mention going inside.

But, she made a bad choice and now it's done. Looking forward, I would also want this guest gone, not just because she may be a scammer/potential squatter, but she clearly does not know how to follow the rules or treat the property properly, which you don't need with any guest, let alone a long term one. I would normally suggest refunding the remaining nights just to get rid of her, but in doing so, does @Chula0 open a can of worms in terms of refunds etc? The guest is claiming that the consul is ruined, which seems unlikely to me if it was just unplugged, but who knows how CS will view it...

[Stephanie365]

1. I do have it in my listing that I may enter the guest area unannounced if there is a safety issue or significant house rules violation.   Like when my guest lied about why my smoke detectors were going off and they said it was spilled food on the cook top, instead of a kitchen FIRE. 

2. I absolutely will not allow anyone to book longer than 15 days. If they want to stay for 30, they can make two separate reservations where they technically check out on the morning of day 15 and check back in that evening. With a mandatory cleaning in between. If they want to stay for 45 days, they can make three separate reservations.

3. If you are relying on Short Term Rental income instead of doing it for some extra cash, you should absolutely diversify and advertise on other platforms. Never put all of your eggs in one basket, especially when that basket caters very strongly towards the guest and can treat hosts like crap, like AirBNB does.

[Emilie]

Hi @Chula0, 

Just wanted to drop you a note to let you know I've pinged the team for you, so hopefully this gets reviewed and resolved very soon! They've confirmed someone was working on it, so they'll follow-up with you once they can. 🙂 

Thanks, 

Emilie