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.

[Chula0]

I sat with an airbnb operator a couple of years ago and they had me write down on my listing that for longer term stays I would be entering space to clean on a weekly basis. So, the guest knew upon booking that I do that. I am aware now that that doesn't really matter if you don't have consent for each entry. My communication was bad and I see that. Texting gets complicated and I will call in the future and have a person to person conversation.

I was looking out for everyone like I always do but was too focused on repair and not on my steps to repair. I did not think that I was doing anything wrong but did not stop to think about it.  All I could think was repair repair repair. The guest had things plugged in that were a fire hazard and the place was a bear heaven with lots of food and garbage.

The guest is also my doctors medical assistant and is not going to squat.  I had a talk with both her and her fiance yesterday and they are going to find out what the damage was and get a receipt and I am paying it and they are retracting the claim. Call me a sucker but I don't mind paying for it. I want them to be able to enjoy their stay.

Amazing what a human to human conversation can do. I have learned so much from this thread.  Thank you everyone! Airbnb still has not reached out. My account is still suspended and we will see what happens with that.  Happy to list on VRBO and I agree that diversifying is smart! I love being a super host but this has been challenging.  I am so happy I finally stopped googling and going to forums for answers and had a one on one with guest.  It's been very informative but also increase my fear and anxiety. I'm happy that I listened to my sister when she said you need to deescalate this and have an authentic in person conversation with the guest.

I'm in gratitude for the practical advice everyone here gave me. It is invaluable. And my deeper lesson here is that humans love to negotiate for power/influence and power/influence equals sovereignty/freedom. If you stop negotiating or don't open up the room for negotiation then there is going to be a power struggle.

[Huma0]

@Chula0 

It's good to know that you managed to deal with the situation directly with the request but disappointing (although hardly surprising) that you are still waiting for Airbnb to get back to you. Let's see what happens when the guest retracts the claim, but don't you also need her to retract her complaint about invasion of privacy, as that is what I believe your suspension is about? Do keep us posted about that.

Re entering to clean on a weekly basis, I must have missed that before. Of course, as you mentioned, you still need permission to do that for each entry. I was wondering though, do you do an in-person check in and tour? If so, that would be a good time to remind the guest about the weekly cleaning. That doesn't mean you don't need to contact them again about it before they come, but it's an added layer of protection, especially for guests who don't read anything! 

Perhaps if you encounter a similar situation it would be better to wait (or chase) for a response before entering. However, in a situation where you believe there is an issue to be deal with (rubbish attracting bears), and you can't get hold of the guest on the phone, you could message saying something like, "I'll be going over at 3pm to do the weekly clean. Please let me know by 2.30pm if that's inconvenient."

I don't know. Do people think it would then be okay to enter if you haven't heard from the guest? I'm guessing that as long as they were given plenty of notice, most guests would not have a problem with it. 

[Michael5689]

Yeah I think the suspension is valid for going inside, disconnecting stuff, and touching private belongings.  Two wrongs don't make a right...and this from a host who had our private locked freezer busted open with hundreds of dollars worth of food by a bear when clueless guests left an overhead garage door open over night.

It's completely understandable the host was upset and worried and she was within her rights to address that emergency issue and she did.  Once she went beyond that it was too far.  Based on the reviews Chula looks like an exemplary host up until this action.

I'd apologize directly for that and ask for forgiveness and reinstatement if this is the first transgression.

[Mark116]

Wouldn't trash inside and outside in an area known to have bears be considered an emergency?  Wouldn't you just need to say 'XX, I noticed there is garbage YY, and this is a significant safety hazard due to bears.  It is important that the trash is removed ASAP, given that this is an emergency situation I will wait to hear from you for 2 hours and then will enter the property to remove the trash'.

Why wouldn't something like that work?  

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Mark116 @Chula0 

We live with bears. They are large, powerful and very smart. Trash is easy to get into. They are not neat and tidy about it. Food left in cars - they know how to use a door handle, and if locked they can easily break a window. Food in a house can be very tempting. A neighbor found that a bear had used a convenient propane tank to smash open a door. A bear in a house is the legendary "bull in a china shop." 

Bears scatter trashcans in the town, too. They know when garbage day is, and get there first. It is our responsibility, as uninvited neighbors in the territory of bears, to live differently than we would in the cities. A used barbecue grill on a porch can attract a bear, they have excellent noses. Bears can easily become habituated to human food and trash sources. That is potentially dangerous to both humans and bears.

A wild bear avoids human contact. Humans are unpredictable, bears know that, and avoid us - so we only see them on our trail cams, here. 

Yes, a trashy guest in bear country creates an emergency in many ways. @Mark116 yes, I agree your suggestion is wise. We have things in our house rules and what guests should know section, about safety around wildlife. We are also required to be present on the property at all times when guests are here. That is definitely wise. So far so good. 

[Chula0]

@Mark116 I dont know. I will ask! If someone from airbnb ever reach me!

[Mark116]

@Chula0   Don't ask.  Tell.  Assume that whomever you talked to at Airbnb knows nothing about anything, least of all bear dangers in CA.

Explain to them that the trash being outside and inside represented a safety hazard for the guest--which was created by the guest failing to follow the rules-- and you believed it was an emergency situation.  You can acknowledge that you should have waited to hear back from the guest about entering the property, but that on balance, the guest had already broken numerous rules on trash disposal and it seemed more important to protect the guest and cabin from a potential bear attack and this is why you went inside. 

If you ever speak to anyone at Airbnb also reinforce that the guest had broken numerous house rules.

Whenever dealing with Airbnb think about it like you are talking to a dumb but adversarial lawyer and so always do your best to protect your own position.

[Bianca55]

Yes, you should diversify and join other platforms. There is a fantastic management system called Lodgify which is reasonable and easy to use, especially if you have more Homes that you rent out. 
i actually have only some on Airbnb because some of the guests are rather petty which I have not found on others. The rating system on some of the others is fairer giving 10 points. 
On Airbnb if a guest wants to rate something small they can’t. 
even when I travel, because I’ma host and understand the hosts rating I’ll overlook a small issue to rate a 5 rather than a 4 ( which is ghastly for host). Most guest don’t realize that.

i find some homes get more bookings elsewhere & the rating at 9.8 is far better than 4,6 at Airbnb for the same home.

 After an unfair refund situation I am considering now listing most of my Airbnb ones on multiple platforms.