More negative press about Airbnb rentals - No shootings this time

[Douglas353]

The police were called to break up a large party where there were as many as 400 guests and and 100 vehicles.  The people who rented the house had food trucks, caterers, DJ’s and a large open bar. Luckily there were no shootings at this party un.Ike the one last week were two teenage brothers were shot and killed. Both of these stories are getting a lot of news coverage on how irresponsible Airbnb is allow this to happen.  The blame is on Airbnb for not taking responsibility.  It wan’t that long ago at ant Airbnb rental where 9 people were shot with 5 being shot and killed at an Airbnb rental party home.  There were over 300 partners trashing that house as well. There were multiple shooters at that Airbnb rental and not one of them has been caught and the murders remain unsolved.

Airbnb needs to do something to prevent guests from hosting parties, trashing homes and people getting shot and killed. 

[Helen744]

@Douglas353 I personally always assume responsibility for my property , and thats the issue with experienced hosts. I do not run around flapping my hands . there is a certain amount of thick skin that you have to grow in order to be a good host. That is , welcome guests,  but do not fall over to assist them to do the wrong thing, take notice of warning signs , they are their. Most of us have co hosts and neighbours , who alert us when something starts to go awry . If these people are just booking and leaving then if you have double verified both their IDs and their actual presence , which is another tenet of Airbnb. No third party bookings . Third party bookings are not permitted on Airbnb because insurance only covers the original bookee and guests . Many employers were using airbnb for their workers and simply leaving people in houses without the guests have acess to the original booking details or agreeing to the rules ,so Airbnb brought in'Airbnb for work "It still functions as far as I know , so getting away 'scot free ' on some type of dodgy ID is back to my original point . Airbnb can only verify{vet} from a distance but the host can actually see Id and verify the actual human is who they say they are . Wise hosts do this and this is where putting your foot down and explaining ,if need be , that this is for both the guests and the hosts , and the neighbourhoods , as the case may be,  protection H

[Helen744]

Douglas Mike and Jane are seasoned hosts and well respected here. H

[Helen744]

Seriously Douglas unless it is a verified service animal your policy stands and just say no , which by the way you should have said at the enquiry stage . A genuine service animal is usually very well behaved and goes out with the owner and is not left in the house alone. I have a no pet policy and never even offer to change it . I simply suggest they choose an aAirbnb that accepts pets , and point out that their are many that do .You could point them in the right direction. loss of super host is indeed a major concern and a worry and if you look at the many threads on this forum you will get the picture. New cancellation policies affecting hosts and charging penalties have recently come into effect . I do agree with you that they seem to be very detrimental to hosts going about their day to day business.In the instance of needing to cancel a guest who has booked but wishes to cancel and has said so in the messages, if the host then cancels for them ,because for whatever reason they cannot do it for themselves, then the host attracts an automatic penalty .Many hosts said the first time this happened would be the last time they host .It is in place and the upshot is that cancellations by guests are being escalated to Airbnb reps who are failing the immediacy test.  H

[Helen744]

Douglas , twenty? give me a break , and you let the word capitalism even out of your mouth. You are the capitalist and one of the fundamental problems with this type of entrepreneurship is that you are not in charge , where are your co hosts ? who are they ? another tier of problems and you still do not host or seem to even understand the rules , the dashboard or how to manage guests . Thats why so many people on here are advertising themselves as being available to co host because someone told you this was the real estate deal of the century . Who buys twenty apartments to Airbnb without being uber experienced ? H

[Douglas353]

@Helen744  You also have a responsibility and a legal obligation with Airbnb, your guest and with local laws.  I suspect things are different where you are.  Or you choose not to abide by the law.  This is something I will not do.  The city here can seize ones property for violations.   

When it comes to responsibilities, once I list my property on Airbnb the city is involved and my/"our" responsibility changes.  (I'm saying "our" as it applies to ALL Airbnb rentals in the city.)   Our responsibility is different if the stay more or less than 14 days.   Not only are we responsible for our property as you are, but we have a responsibility with local government.  Failure to comply results in hearty fines and forfeiture of the property. People here aren't too keen about this, but Airbnb allows the city to review all listing in the city to ensure compliance and ensuring Airbnb is paying and hosts are paying local taxes.  The city has what we call the "Airbnb police" to ensure compliance.  I will tell you think government being granted access to Airbnb records for hosts is not sitting well with people here.   Non of the other listing services allow the government to access host's information.

Not sure how you can legally do it, but once you agree with Airbnb to allow a host to stay with you there is now a legal obligation to host the guest.  I would sure like to know how you have been able to negate that responsibility with Airbnb once you agree the guest can stay with you.  Please explain. 

[Helen744]

@Douglas353 this is going too far Douglas . No one on this forum has anything at all to do with that incident ,including yourself . What are you even talking about ? the host remains responsible at all times for their own property but not necessarily for the criminal behaviour of others . Courts exist to decide these things when criminal activity occurs .We are not criminals , we are hosts of homes and as I will reiterate to you , not responsible in any way for other peoples criminal behaviour ,unless it is happening in our own homes.I personally never allow cigarette smoking or vaping or drug use of any kind, when and if I hand over the keys to a guest they are understood to then assume responsibility both for the following of 'my house rules' and for the cost of damages. This is a matter of trust to a certain extent and it is this exchange of a 'trust contract' which takes place with a good host and good guests. Not perfect but works okay and i would ring the police for sure.i also have my own insurance and do not rely on Aircover or whatever it is . Its inadequate. H

[Helen744]

I abide by all laws not just Airbnbs Douglas so the accusations you are flinging around about other hosts here are well out of line .H

[Douglas353]

@Helen744

**[Inappropriate content removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]  I have a hard time believing courts in Australia only handle criminal cases.  You don't have civil courts?  If someone  is over taxed you just have to pay it?  You can't go to court and provide evidence to a judge of the state's error?  That's harsh.

City here makes it illegal to smoke any substance or vape anywhere on a rental property.  And yes it is the hosts responsibility to ensure compliance.  

It is the host's responsibility to register all guests with the city for stays of less than 14 days.

I think what you are failing to realize is things are different in other parts of the world.  Where you live, you might be able to get away with things where I live can't be done.

[Helen744]

@Douglas353 I am in Australia Douglas and have currently taken an Airbnb break for personal reasons  that you would be aware of if you were friendly with other hosts here or had contributed anything useful over time to this forum which most of the people here have, the exact ones you are baiting and accusing and insulting. Thing is Douglas I will tell you the truth . bye H

[Douglas353]

@Helen744  I think you are a good person but are somewhat myopic in what's going on in other parts of the world. 

My post was  about the negative press Airbnb is getting here with another shooting at an Airbnb rental AND that another mega party was at another Airbnb just a few days later.  Think there's anyway the news is putting a positive spin on either story? 

Sounds like you aren't even hosting anymore so why would you care? 

[Helen744]

Its very simple Douglas . I ask the guest for their id , nothing to do with law or government . They have a right to say no and I also have a right to refuse entry.  Very simple   H

[Helen744]

also no , luckily for Australia or by planning , we do not have this type of gun problem . Thank Goodness., but there is a big 'meth' problem and this can translate directly to violence, as you are probably aware. H

[Helen3]

Of course it does. If a host checks the CCTV they would know that equipment was turning up at the home and can contact Airbnb to cancel the booking straight away and then go over to evict the booking guest and stop the party before it starts. @Douglas353

It is not the responsibility of the police to evict a hosts guests, that is down to the host unless criminal acts have taken place.

If the host had  checked had checked his property that evening, you wouldn't have 300 guests who could get into the listing as the host would have closed down the party before it started.

It is our responsibility to vet our guests not Airbnb - all they do is make sure guests have photo ID (if that is something the hosts specify for their listing)

Now I know that Airbnb despite what they say to the contrary, aren't always great at cancelling bookings when there is a problem with parties or guests breaking house rules.

[Mark116]

@Helen3  I'm going to disagree with you here.  I would not consider it safe for any host to go and try to evict 300 probably drunk people from a house party.  That, at least in the US, has a good chance to result in some kind of gun or knife crime.  Someone having a wild, illegal party in a residential neigbhorhood is a police issue to me.

[Helen3]

No of course I wouldn't suggest a host goes and breaks up a party with 300 people that would be madness.  @Mark116 

What I clearly said if the host had systems in place to vet their guests carefully they may not have accepted the booking in the first place and having accepted this booking if they had systems in place to monitor their listing ie CCTV then they could have gone to the property when the music system was being carried in (with security if necessary) to stop the party BEFORE it started.