Suspicious behavior

[Laura2217]

I just had a couple stay in my studio for a week.  Prior to arriving they kept asking about my cleaning practices and the messages were a little odd.  

after booking they asked if they could have some food delivered, which I said yes.  They arrived late after missing their flight and were very communicative.  Also nice when we met, but seemed a little off.

Then packages kept coming.  A lot of packages.  I also noticed they had 4 large suitcases outside.  I also noticed the smell of rubbing alcohol and it was strong, but decided to wait until check out, as I thought maybe I was just being paranoid.  

at check out, they are still here and had about 5 large trash bags in excess of the 2 full trash cans they already filled.  I told them they had to take the trash.  They had 6 suitcases.

There was minor damage and the guest who reserved claimed to be working on his thesis.  Do you think guests are so afraid of Covid that they would douse my whole studio in rubbing alcohol.  The sheriff found 3 empty bottles in the trash they left.  Probably 10 more in the trash they didn’t leave.  

Any idea what they would have been doing?  It had me so freaked I called the sheriff.  Also reported to AirBNB.

[Helen427]

Wow, that's a lot of trash bags @Laura2217 alas maybe they just went through their bags and also got rid of stuff they didn't want to take with them.

Some people do pack a lot of luggage if they are not experienced travelers or are returning home from travel after a lengthy duration.

Were the packages all similar in size?

Do you have security camera footage you could go through to give yourself peace of mind?

Other than the smell of Rubbing alcohol was there anything else that could raise questions or provide answers?

Police won't usually disclose what may be going on with investigations, due to legal and privacy reasons.

Best to leave a review so future hosts know what this couple were like ( use search words here in CC as there's some great contributions from others who have sought and provided good advice ) and move on positively to your next Guest/s.

All the best

[Laura2217]

Thank you Helen.  The packages varied in size.  I don’t have a security camera, but thinking of installing one outside.

I had a long conversation with AirBNB. So hopefully they look into this.  

Best,

Laurie

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

They may be addicted to smelling rubbing alcohol https://www.rubbing-alcohol.com/addicted-to-smelling-rubbing-alcohol/

[Sarah977]

@Laura2217  Cooking up some sort of drugs? Who knows. You can speculate all you want, but you can't base a review or a report to Airbnb based on suspicion. Too bad you told them to take the garbage with them- the contents might have clarified things.

However, the boxes arriving is something you could and should have nipped in the bud if they were using your address to order anything beyond a take-out delivery. 

[Emilia42]

@Laura2217 

Sounds like these guests stayed with me last year .... They booked for one week and asked a lot about my cleaning practices. They mentioned, "my partner & I have been extremely cautious about Covid, not leaving the house unless absolutely necessary."  No communication after arrival, not a word. When they departed there were 7 bags of trash (one for each day of their stay.) The apartment was covered in what I assumed to be bleach or sanitizer. They sprayed everything that entered. There was so much bleach on their feet that the bottom of the duvet cover was ruined (inside the bed.) I cleaned and moved on to the next guest. Some people . . .