Phew, I am so relieved to see that others are facing the same problems and also are just saying no. For those thinking about allowing it, logistical nightmares are the BEST of the worst that can happen. My airbnb unit unfortunately does not cover the mortgage, so I have a full time job (noted in listing) and often not available during checkin hours. I have had people destroy the apartment and blame it on previous guests with no way for me or the previous guests to prove they didn’t, leaving me responsible. I’ve had people decide luggage drop off meant early check in and refuse to leave. I’ve had people harass my cleaning ladies to a level at which they quit. And worst of all, Airbnb does absolutely nothing in any of these cases. They do not want to lose the customers, so they side with the guests.
I am currently trying to get answers out of Airbnb for how they suggest proceeding with a guest who has entered the home prematurely so that I can get it in writing and press the issue (I’ve since taken steps to prevent this such as not giving out the key pad code until exact check in time). They keep dancing around it. It’s trespassing. I’ve had it range from casually taking advantage to pure malicious behavior. Aside from reporting issues to Airbnb, who will suggest mitigation first and canceling with a 100% refund next where they will be relocated to become another host’s problem, there’s really nothing one can do. It seems that if listing rules are violated, Airbnb would be in favor of the host and if actual laws are broken, they would take it more seriously. The fact that it’s brushed off as better luck next time, is completely dissatisfying and discouraging me from continuing to host. It also brings up the bigger issue of - for me, this was just about early check in, but what about every other bad/illegal/violating situation? It sounds a lot like I could catch a guest setting the place on fire and would have to refund them if I want to prevent them from coming back into my home. And yes, I have called the police with some of these issues and yes, I have brought that up to Airbnb in my questioning. If a person is arrested for something they’ve done on my property or trespassing, I still have to cancel the reservation if I am refusing to allow them re-entry, resulting in a full refund for remaining nights and relocation of the guest with no heads up to the new host as to what has occurred. And this is essentially what I’m trying to get them to outright say with no luck so far.
