ABB CS is not just bad but Dangerous

[Kelly149]

Last night at 1015-ish, a guest made a request to book for that same evening. (We are request only, so I don't have 'last-minute booking' barriers, bc I have to approve all stays anyway)

I was already asleep in bed, but the House Rules were sent over in the chat (the guest had a terrible review in his profile, did not answer the pre-booking questions, and at the time of his request was already outside of our stated arrival times).

At 1215 he messaged in the chat "hey, I need the address, I can't find the place". 

So, then he calls ABB CS. This is where the dangerous part comes into play.

ABB CS talks to this "guest", gives him my address and my phone number and tells him that they'll reach out to me to help. This guest DOES NOT HAVE A VALID RESERVATION. In no way shape or form should he have access to any of my information. 

So, with the new information he's been given this guest locates the barn (not hard to find a big red barn in the city even at 2 in the morning.) Funny though, since he doesn't actually have a reservation, he also does not have a door code. But he is undeterred and pushes thru a locked gate and enters the barn thru one of the doors on the back porch. 

At 7am when we get up we see this thread from the guest and the CS message I received "Hey, Kelly, please help this guest access your place" and I say "how weird that CS didn't tell this guy he doesn't have a reservation when they had the chance" and then we go to check the security cameras to find out about the tresspassing and entry.

So, this "guest" got woken up by the Sherrif's office telling him that he was trespassing and needed to vacate. Well guess what, he's really confused bc ABB CS told him our address and phone number and encouraged him to carry on as if he had a reservation when he didn't.

Bad look ABB. This is not how CS should work. This could have ended quite badly. Knowing if a guest does or does not have a reservation should be CS 101.

I dare anyone in corporate to look into the chats and try to explain to me what happened and what kind of training regimen they'll undertake to better educate CS.

@catherinepowell @Lizzie @Quincy @stefanie @Brian @nate

[Kelly149]

@Anonymous  helpful update, the message thread with the "guest" is still in my inbox, but it now shows that he no longer has access to his account. So, at least there's that

And PS since I still have an open listing and I value the rest of you, I have no interest in "going viral" bc the last thing any of us need is a whole new crop of scammers realizing that they can break into empty listings with little consequence. But yea, it's a little surprising that something this messed up doesn't merit more attention.

ugh!!! I'd missed the Sarah news... big downer.

[Inna22]

@Anonymous so sad about @Sarah977 ! She never said anything racy. She had her opinions but nothing crazier than any of us say

[Angela1056]

Oh @Anonymous , is @Sarah977 another victim after @Ute42?

[Anonymous]

@Angela1056   Sadly, yes. Your physical home might not be a safe space because Airbnb could give your personal address to a drunk, onion-bedipped stranger in the middle of the night without your consent. But the same company's minions have made the virtual Community a "safe space" by permanently banning its most prolific and helpful contributor.

So, if you wonder where things stand right now...there you have it.

[Helen744]

@Anonymous Ha ha ha ha ha, couldn,t stop laughing ."Onion bedipped'?Lets run H

[Helen744]

No seriously I dont run especially when I am laughing 

[Kelly149]

@Anonymous  I wish I could post the pictures: grown man actually slept in an entire bowls worth of dip. How he didn’t wake up thinking he was being murdered in alien slime I’ll never understand. 

[Anonymous]

@Kelly149 I have a feeling it wasn't his first time waking up in a strange place covered with onion dip... 

[Kelly149]

and I'm sad to hear that @Ute42 got banned... I just figured she got sick of all of us and said "NO!" to the whole thing.

Strangely, enough when this all happened and talking about it since, there definitely is that thought in the back of the mind "this is the kind of thing that could get you disappeared"

[Suzanne302]

OMG I was wondering why I hadn't seen Sarah in here. That's nuts! What the heck could she have done?? I loved hearing her perspective.

I don't mind Ute being gone, because she wasn't really an Airbnb host anyway. She had hosted 2 or 3 guests via Airbnb TOTAL many years ago, but none since then, so her perspective wasn't really of any value to anyone.

[Angela1056]

@Anonymous what a shame! I can't believe it! @Sarah977!!!! I missed her posts already, always so wise and eager to help! 

It was an honour and a privilege to have known her here on the CC. 

[Mark116]

@Kelly149  So, let me understand this.  Airbnb did not offer to pay you for the night that the trespasser spent at your property as a result of their dangerous incompetence, but offered to pay to change the locks which is unnecessary?  And they did not explain how their employee came to give out your address to someone with no booking?

Sounds about right.  

[Kelly149]

@Mark116 they need to think a minute before they decide. 24 hour clock is only for hosts. 

and I’m guessing my “guest” won’t be returning any calls where the message says “hi, this is abb, please tell us about your recent trip!”

I’m positive that I deserve an autopsy on what went wrong. I’m very doubtful I’ll get one though. 

[Christine615]

This is pretty simple. Airbnb (which blocks guests from having your address and telephone number before a valid reservation is in place) gave it to a complete stranger who then trespassed. Find an attorney consult. Airbnb is liable for more than just locks. What if this had been a criminal?

Airbnb holds all the liability for this breach in safety. Make sure they know that YOU know that too. 

[Richard531]

@Anonymous @Anonymous @Helen744 @Christine615 @Suzanne302 

I have a theory. . .  And forgive me if someone else mentioned it already (I didn't read the whole thread).

First, I was able to find your barn on Google Maps in about 30 seconds.  So there's that. 

Next, this "guest" was a little brazen and found his way TO your barn on his own.  Then, he decided to find a way INTO your barn via the unlocked porch door after hopping the gate.  He plugged in his phone, quickly went to bed (he was probably hammered and/or booted out of his home by his partner), and figured he'd deal with the consequences "later."

Finally, you discovered him in your barn and instead of greeting him and figuring out the deal, it sounds like you called the Sheriff.  Which, I can't exactly blame you for doing!    

Enter this bad person blaming CS for the entire "misunderstanding."  

Any way you slice it, the dude broke into your home because he was never given a key.  With or without someone giving them your address, he did that whole part all on his own.  So if he's going to find a way to get into your house no matter what, why should he let browsing Google maps for 30 seconds and perhaps trolling the neighborhood for 3-5 minutes to find the listing slow him down?  And if he can come up with a sacrificial lamb (and nothing is more sacrificial than a call center rep in a 3rd World Country), why not give that a try to avoid embarrassment at best, and arrest at worst?  

I just don't see a world where we have CS giving away an address on an unconfirmed booking.  

Just another angle on this. . .