Guest broke the law, and when reported, left a retaliatory review.

[Ilana25]

I should’ve trusted my gut with this one. Because I was a new host, I felt pressure to accept this guest, even though from the get-go, I felt incredibly uncomfortable. 

My first interaction over the Airbnb app with the guest- he asked for me to go outside of the app and book privately through PayPal. He threatened that nobody would stay in my apartment if I didn’t do this. I refused and then he went back on what he said and begged for me to accept him. So I did, but felt nervous about the hosting to begin with. 

On the first day the guest got there, he ordered an On Demand movie from my cable, charging me money, and then torrented enough movies that I got a notice from the DMCA that my WiFi was being used for such. I asked him to immediately stop and he argued with me about the illegality of it. As a future intellectual property attorney, this could threaten my job and I told him as such. 

I contacted AirBnB support but their resolution was unless he broke the law again, he could not be removed. 

The guest did hear that I reported him to AirBnB, and continued to harass me over text every night that I didn’t give him my personal laundry card, that downloading wasn’t actually illegal, and that he was eating my food. He also admitted that he went through a closet that I specifically asked him not to go through, so he could ask why a cat ever lived there (for the record, the apartment has been deep cleaned since the cat lived there). 

The icing on the cake was that when the guest checked out, he left all the air conditioners running. They were left on for days without anyone being in the apartment. Not great for electricity bills or the environment. 

The guest then left a review that was low enough to affect my hosting ability (he was only my third guest to ever give me a review). 

I’ve already de-listed the apartment and will not be using AirBnB to host again. Breaking the law should be grounds to immediately have the guest removed and to disallow the guest from leaving a review. 

[Allison2]

Wow - you had a real doozy of a guest right out of the gate! Some of us have hosted for years without a guest causing this much trouble.

I'm sure there are a lot of things you'd do differently in retrospect. Many of us wouldn't have accepted the reservation after someone was rude, threatening, and pushing you to violate Airbnb's terms of service in their first messages.

Sorry you had to jump off the hosting train. There's a steep learning curve and it isn't for everybody!

[Sarah977]

@Ilana25   I realize you didn't know this, but all you would have had to do to decline the guest was to immediately report his first communication with you asking to pay outside the system. Airbnb would have made sure he was declined with no penalties to you and probably deleted his account. They aren't supportive to hosts on many issues, but guests trying to circumvent the system is something they absolutely do not abide. 

When I did this once, I even received a support message thanking me for being such a responsible host.

[Ilana25]

I’ll definitely keep this in mind if I ever choose to host again! Thanks!

[Sarah977]

@Ilana25   Also, if you do decide to put your listing up again, take some time to read through a few pages of posts on this hosting forum. It's a wealth of information, and can alert you to how to avoid problems before they can happen. Also read through ALL of the information on the Airbnb site for hosts.

And never let yourself feel pressured to accept a guest you have a bad feeling about, to lower your prices according to the price tips, or to use Instant Booking if you don't feel comfortable with it. Your place, your comfort zone, your rules. 

[John1080]

@Ilana25, what a terrible first experience, but you highlighted it in your first sentence, "I should have trusted my gut". 

Lesson learned, trust your gut first of all! Also, listen to @Sarah977, and read through this forum to learn some valuable tips from experienced hosts.  I don't think you should give up, as you will find most of your guests will be great and you will have great experiences. 

[Alexandra316]

@Ilana25Sorry to hear that you had such a bad first experiece, but most guests are definitely not like that. There is unfortunately a certain type of guest that seems to prey on new hosts. relying on their lack of experience and eagerness to get a few trips under their belt: it sounds like your guest may have been one of those people. 

Don't give up! There are tons of good people out there. 

[Fred13]

@Ilana25 I was about to suggest what Sarah said: take the time to read this forum and you will be so well armed with knowlege your hosting journey will be a totally different experience in the future, if you go there again. So would your place.

   As for Airbnb, they have many absurd rules, the trick is not to get caught by any of them, by being wise who you allow to come to your place. If it was up to Airbnb you can't say no even to a lunatic, which is nonsense.

  Good luck.

[Noel63]

At least the guest now has two negative reviews; cold comfort, I know.

[Christine615]

Sorry you went through this. I've had a few odd experiences but nothing like this - mostly because I learned quick - from reading many host posts here - to turn down anyone who wants to pay outside the platform, who makes demands in advance, etc.

I swear I had " your guest" (different gender) last year.  I learned a lot from that. Trust your gut. Bending over backward to help a guest doesn't make us a doormat. It's our home, if they don't get that up front - you don't want them.

I just turned down someone who claimed to be from the military and wanted to rent for 17 days and pay outside the platform so we could all save some money. I said no. Then he claimed I was "in the running" I suspect to pressure me into relenting. I didn't. He didn't bother me again.

BUT -- I've since had a ton of really nice people and overall I would say my hosting has been a really great experience and have met people from all over the world. Don't give up. But do be picky!

I had " your" guest (different person/gender) when I started hosting. She couldn't get her act together and claimed Airbnb couldn't process her credit card. But she was related to a neighbor so I let her pay me in cash. She moved in with her two grown children, complained about the temperature being too hot (while leaving the porch doors open, and a clothing iron plugged in behind the couch. She kept turning my a/c down to 40 (not a typo) and was icing up my lines. Then she called again and demanded I do something about making the apartment cooler, I walked into the apartment unannounced and she was on the couch with her feet up watching TV and under a blanket. She threw it off the minute she was caught.

I believe the universe sends us "tests" so we can use the experience to stiffen our guts the next time. Hence I got an inquiry about renting my place "off the books" this weekend, and the person immediately began making demands, told me he might bring extra people, and when I objected said "I figure if I rent the place I can do whatever I want." So I cancelled my offer and wished him well with his hotel search.