Prostitution

[Justin144]

I've encountered several instances where i've put my apartment up for rent and after some research it becomes apparant that some last-minute bookings are being made by prostitutes.

I've come to this conclusion after cross-checking their stories and asking questions about odd arrival times and wide-gaps between message response time.

I understand it's not right to accuse someone of this, but how can i decline a booking based on the fact that i've become uncomfortable with the guest without violating discrimination policies.

[Stephanie · Accepted solution]

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[Francis55]

I can shed a great deal of light on this topic, just … ahem, don’t ask me how I know! 

okay okay, on 3 occasions, I have been socially acquainted with prostitutes. I have followed the full life cycle of their Airbnb activities.

Now where do I start? First off to say that Airbnb prostitution is rife. Every active prostitute, but for the abject low class ones use Airbnb to host sex work without the hosts knowledge. If you live in a major city, and host an apartment 1 bedroom to 3 bedrooms, I would bet the car, but not the house that commercial fornication has occurred in your premises. 

The signs:

——————

1. From booking history, you will notice a flurry of short term stays, all within the same general area or cluster of several areas and cities ; watch out for them doubling back to cities that they have already stayed in within a month or so. Your wishful head probably thinks that these are travelling students , but I hate to break it to you ! 

The reason for the relatively short term stays in the same area , despite the lack of cost saving is because these women start off with zero, and housing is their biggest overhead. They make money daily, and so goes their expenses. By the end of the week, they can only afford another short term stay, but low and behold your places is booked up for the following week. 

2. it’s possible that it could be a single woman , but usually in groups of two or more. Watch out for those who appear to be taking some type of gap year away from their home country, but don’t quite fit the student mould . The reason they usually travel in groups is for safety and cost sharing of their biggest overhead. Imagine working flat out on your back for one week, and 60% of your take goes to pay for an Airbnb in some upscale neighbourhood. I hate to break it to you, but it is much more rife in upscale neighbourhoods because they seek rich clientele. 

3. Desperate groups of Prostitutes often pick the exact same apartment, I guess it’s a case of great minds think alike. So if your place has been used once, it’s been used on other occasions by others. 

4. Time to take off your rose tinted glasses. There are various economically unstable counties where the majority of these women come from . I am writing from the perspective of the UK, but here is a small non exhaustive list : 

Brazil 

Albania 

Columbia 

Russia 

Ukraine 

UK ( special case will explain below).

Especially the Brazilians. If you are far down in the chain of their history of contiguous or close to contiguous bookings, ask yourself if it is possible that these women from place where the average salary is £300 a month can afford to spend £15,000 or so on Airbnb during a holiday. It reaches these sorts of sums because they use up the maximum length of stay on their visa, some over stay . In the uk it’s 6 months , so do the maths of 6 moths stay in Marleybone / Mayfair / Chelsea , and the same if you live outside of the UK for equivalent areas. 

5. Its actually VERY easy to confirm whether they are , but due to the way Airbnb works, you can only do that after they have booked and you know what they look like. See, their trade depends on high visibility on various digital market places for sex. All you need to to is trawl some of these sites, filter for the general age / appearance , and you will be surprised how quickly you stumble upon your suspect….sorry, I meant guest. Once again from the perspective of the UK, here are some major websites where you can view them . I will write the general name and leave you to search the rest. Use DuckDuckGo because Google filters these sites , there is some international cross over, but if you are not in the uk 🇬🇧, research equivalent websites for your country: 

adult work 

kommons 

viva street 

secret hostess 

These are the source of most Airbnb prostitutes for reasons that would need to be covered in a separate post. 

5. I saw someone write that short stay / short notice bookings is the key give away ; how innocent! The short notice / short stay bookings are mostly from home grown prostitutes; they can do this easier at hotels, but sometimes Airbnb. These don’t need your Airbnb for accommodation during times they are not working, they go home to their own homes In between. The ones from elsewhere have to live where they work. 

6. They come in all age groups, but the main perpetrators are between 18 and 30.  Do not fall for the sad story narrative,  most of them do it for Gucci handbags , boob jobs, veneers, and Loui Vuitton. Trust me, the ones strung out on drugs , with an abused history are not in a position to pay you 8 times the monthly rental value of your property; for various reasons. Take my word on that.  These types or on the streets, or in accommodation provided by pimps. 

7. This is a small one, but watch out for abandoned bookings or early terminations; taking into account the above 6 points. This occurs when they move to a new area, and business comes to a grinding halt. They move because they cannot afford to not make money for days on end. They often miscalculate the economic calendar of a foreign country: for example Christmas through February is the worst time for them. They will also move if they turn up at your apartment, and realise that commerce is untenable, you may be hosting right next ti a mechanics garage with no intercoms system and a flight of stairs to get to your Place for example. 

8. This one is for the super sleuths. If it is in. Your power, check water, and power consumption. With the water you will notice much more used that it would be usual for the given amount of guests. Each of their clientele takes a nice hot shower , and the women take a shower after each guest. With the power, you will see clear evidence of them having spent 90% of the stay inside your apartment without any attempt at tourism. 

This one is for sneaky. Most of them have two phones. Again, ask yourself why this young woman has two Iphones. Find some pretext to get their  British pay as you go number, and add them to your WhatsApp. Take a look at their profile pictures  which will be provocative; designed to bait customers. You can also use a burner phone to call / text Jen where the immediate response will be a price list , followed by your postcode should you feint the wish to contract. 

9. The obvious: check your bins, it will be full of user condoms,  used lube, and baby wipes ; a ridiculous amount of them much beyond some holidaying lass getting lucky whilst on holiday. 

10. They are in some Airbnb in every town in every  city. The more upscale the area, the better looking they are. I will list a few of the most active areas in London uk , and you can use this as a cypher for your own country: 

Canary Wharf 

Chelsea 

Kensington 

Marleybone / Edgeware Road 

Fullham 

Croydon 

[Helen3]

Sorry that's just not true . @Francis55 

I host in a major UK city and have never had prostitutes using the whole listings I co-host in six years .

You only tend to have prostitutes staying if you take fairly last minute bookings and don't vet your guests properly. 

CCTV is a good deterrent . 

airbnb already provides its own useful guidance on signs to look out for to minimise your chances of having your listing used by orostitutes/drug traffickers/fraudsters . 

[Francis55]

Helen,

With great respect, you are living in a fools paradise. Take from a person who knows. Take it from a man who has dated ...ahem, working girls. I actually do mean dated as in dated, and not dated as in a paying customer.

Where do you get this 'last minute booking' thing from? It is utter tripe. They will book within all types of time scales.

You also talk at cross purposes because you said that CCTV is a good deterrent. Helen, what do you think two Colombian prostitutes are going to do when they rock up, and find that you have   your Ring Door camera on a direct feed to your bedroom TV? I covered this in my post:they will abandon the booking, or do it until they are caught.  With vetting: well this is the whole point. Most do not / cannot vet , and my post provides some tools to be able to do that.

[Donald28]

You should NOT use instant book and then you have an opportunity to vet your guests better. If you approve them, whatever they're doing in the privacy of your property is not your business. Assuming it is not damaging your property. 

I don't think you can cancel a paid reservation without severe consequences. 

[Helen350]

Nonsense, @Donald28 ! Hosts CAN cancel an  Instant booking without penalty if they are uncomfortable with the reservation. It absolutely IS the host's business what goes on in their house! Hosts are entitled to object to prostitution for all the reasons people do! And anyway, Airbnb's are suppose to be RESIDENTIAL, not BUSINESS premises. You should not book an airbnb to conduct any kind of business, eg film shooting.

My house, my rules!

[Donald28]

a host might be able to cancel 1 or 2 paid reservations because "they are uncomfortable" but try that too many times and you'll find your listing delisted and surely your superhost status gone. Hosts really have no idea what is going on in the unit. If you think it's prostitution, how can you prove that solidly enough to warrant having airbnb kick them out after they've paid? 

[Sean433]

@Donald9 

Send them a text message through a different phone number. Pretend to be a customer and have them text you the address (which is your home). Not only will they kick them out of your house but they will kick them off the platform.

[Francis55]

I have recently sent AirBNB a list of 10 properties used by the same group prostitutes recently. I gave them their real names, general, and exact dates of bookings, and links to their sex profiles, and screenshots. They are currently telling me that I have not provided them with enough information to find the users. Go figure!

[Mark-and-Nyomie0]

So pleased to find this thread! We have a booking coming in a month for a single female who has booked our two bedroom apartment for three nights over holiday weekend. She asked in her instant book message if we have air con or fans. Being suspicious I asked her to confirm if it was just one guest and she said yes, providing no other details. There is a prostitution licence in same surname but male first name in her home state. My gut instinct is telling me this is dodgy. Have contacted AirBnB re this reservation but am tempted to wear the penalties for cancelling on the chance of it. It’s a quiet residential area and would be a security issue along with a bad reputation with neighbours. Your thoughts? 

[Helen350]

@Mark-and-Nyomie0 Is it in your house rules, that NO unbooked guests or visitors are allowed? And that the property is not to be used for business transactions? If not, do this! Then message her, has she understood the house rules. Do you live near enough to monitor if anyone else is entering the building? If so, you can terminate her booking as soon as you spot unauthorised guests.

- Your neighbours ARE a top priority, & it's reasonable to want to protect them from this.

[Felipe665]

I totally disagree that Airbnb is the place for people who want to do what they want, the places have to be respected or this is my point of view, many people are confusing Airbnb as a platform to do what in A hotel is not allowed because I don't think it is here either and that we deserve more support from Airbnb staff.

[Sam397]

To be honest I dont see why people are getting upset. Whats the difference between a prostitute meeting someone to have sex or someone going to the bar and picking up someone and has sex, or a couple meeting for a romantic getaway and has sex. And before you try to use the high and mighty I am better than you excuse "its against the law"know this, its not considered illegal if someone charges money to spend time with someone and they just happen to have sex as two consenting adults. Which is a technicality but it tells you where the law stands when it comes to this subject. So my advise is to whoever is offended, or repulsed by this is, get off your high horses, stop concerning yourself in things that's not your business and be thankful you received the income.                                     And to @Sean433 I really doubt that it would be that simple but if you actually  did have a friend that didn't laugh at you and tell you to get a life when you asked them to text this person I seriously doubt that the person would have said anything in a text that would provide AirBnB with the proof they would need to do all the things you say  they did. You cant get AirBnB to reimburse you if someone trashes the house yet they are going to pay for you to deep clean a house because someone was paid to have sex in the house As ESPN likes to say C'MON MAN.

[Sean433]

@Sam397 

Sam, you sound like a guy that loves his prostitutes. There are many of those circulating on airbnb. Since it isn't a big deal, why don't you advertise that you are open to prostitutes bringing over 10 or more guys a day/night to your home and then burn the sheets every time you host a prostitute? You ask, what is the difference between a prostitute and a regular guest bringing a date? So many!! The prostitute will host several men a night. That is several liablities in your home. Second, all of those men will know your address including perhaps her pimp. Would you like a few of those men coming by a week or month later when you have a new guest there and knock on the door expecting the prostitute to be there? Or how about a neighbour noticing suspicious action and reporting it?

Actually it just took 2 text messages for the low IQ prostitute to reveal the address of our airbnb and that was all the evidence needed. She was off the platform later that day. If you want to do business, do it somewhere else. Not at at place I manage. It is on me.  I think you are even more stupid than the prostitute who booked my airbnb. In addition to one of her customers leaving a dent in the wall, we had to throw away all sheets and I had to take time out of my day to get new ones. Who needs that?

[Michael3406]

Over two years of renting our apartment and first time evicting a suspected prositute with 3 police officers behind me.  They wanted to hear me ask her to leave before they forced her to leave.    Airb&b had called her "boyfriend" and confirmed she would be gone by 4pm. When I got home from work.  I couldn't believe she was still in the apartment and so called the police.

My lesson learned is no last minute reservations from someone without a review and without a profile picture (her pimp).    Its just I've never had a problem before.  I also  need to trust my gut instinct and should have gotten rid of her 2 nights earlier.  I just kept debating with myself that it was fine or that I had no proof and that there was a language barrier (she was Francophone).

Anyway, when the cops came and helped evict, I inspected and there was dozens of condoms spreadout and lots of stained sheets / towels.  The police confirmed 100% prostitution.  All in my quiet little neighbourhood.

[Sean433]

@Michael3406

The proof would have been easy to obtain if just thought creatively. Happened to me before and I was easily able to prove it without much effort. Just takes the slightest bit of creativity.

I was able to get her to leave my property very quickly with airbnb's help and they also closed her account. It looked like she did this with 6-8 other hosts before me. But nobody seemed clever enough to prove it.

[Sarah977]

@Michael3406  Yeah, it's quite enlightening to find out what actually goes on in quiet little neighborhoods. I had a friend who worked on the crisis line and a lot of the calls she got were quite shocking- like a 14 year old calling in to say his mother brought men home and made him and his brother have sex with her and the men. When she asked him where he went to school, he told her the name of the school he used  to go to, until his mother pulled both him and his brother out of school. Same school my kids went to, so this was happening right in my nice little neighborhood.

[Kenneth-And-Lilia0]

My solution was easy.  My rules CLEARLY state, "No local guests".  Keeps the hookers and the transients from booking

[Linda1222]

THANK YOU!!!! Well said. And, I did take your house rules for my own. I am much obliged. A thousand thanks!! LOVE your place. 🙂

[Giedre-and-Andre0]

@Linda1222,  you welcome... We need to "home-switch" your place also beautiful!

One more point often discussed here in forums:

Guest asking for discount (because guest states he is for example "low maintenance"...)

Depending on situation I'm open if it makes sense (for some hosts discounts is a "no-go")

BUT I never would give upfront!!!

AND whatever they write, they do or not do, IS PART OF CONTRACT ;-)))

If everything went 100% and all is FINISHED (including reviews), guest and host are happy,

I would refund the agreed $amount...

Short story from yesterday:

Guest from NYC (opening/request was already OFF)

Hi,
I will be there Tmrw at 2pm .

ME:

Thanks for your request.
You will have a great time!

To finalize your booking,
please submit mandatory trip information and
reply to the questions from
"automated welcome message" here in copy:

"...Thanks for staying with us, you will have a great time and
we hope to welcome you soon here in Brooklyn!
What brings you to the area?
When do you think you’ll arrive?
Who are you coming with? Please provide (full) name(s) of all guests traveling with you or coming to our house..."

Usually we are not hosting "NYC locals" without
explicit written agreement. BUT nothing is written in stone.
Please explain short the situation.

Guest:

Hi Giedre&Andre,
I’m local , I live in Brooklyn.
I am a beginner photographer and just love your place.
Please let me know if it’s ok to shoot in your place . It’s just gonna be one model / my friend .
I don’t need to stay over night .
I was thinking to come on Tuesday to see the place and get the key and then come on Wednesday morning for 3-4 hours for shoot.
If you could charge me less for that time I will really appreciate it
You can check my IG nixxxxxe__
If you like.
Thanks

ME:

Thanks for clarification!
Here the deal:
- I will be home (upstairs)
- You can come tomorrow to see the location/room
- If everything went well after your 4H shooting, and there is no cleanup/laundry to do (other than vacuuming) I grant you a refund of cleaning fee.
- Check-Out not later than 11/21/18 - 12pm
- The refund will be granted after a "no problem" checkout and finalized review-process.
- Please submit full name(s) of every person coming to our property, included your model.
- Your message from 10:45 and this message is in addition to the house rules, part of the rental contract.

Please reply with name of person coming with you
and "agree" and I will finalize your request.

Fair? I'm open for feedback.
CU, Andre

Guest:

NO REPLY :-))))))) LoL

Me (after 3H wait):

Sorry, we can't accept your request.