Hi all,
I'm writing because I'm trying to figure out how many other hosts this has happened to. I have a 1 bedroom townhome in Dallas, and I have shared walls on both sides of my home. As a result, I have very strict rules against parties. Currently, I list $2,000 for just the party fee, over $200 for each guest beyond 4 who is there after 10 pm, $250 for smoking, $300 for a noise violation, among others. I alert the guests I have cameras on every entrance of the home and noise monitors in the home. These are mentioned in my listing rules, in a pre-booking message, and again in my intro message with my door code to the home, so I know it is read. Despite this, and even during a pandemic, I occasionally get guests who throw parties.
My main issue is not necessarily the guests, because I expect somebody who acts that way towards my home despite the clear rules to refuse responsibility. What has surprised me is Airbnb will make up fraudulent excuses over and over to avoid charging the guest.
Airbnb customer support, after I send the video, admits a party has occurred and throws the guest out, cancelling the reservation on the guest's end for rules violation. Then when I try to charge the guest for it in the resolution center, I involve airbnb and send them the videos, sound readings, and photos, and even texts from the maid about how bad the place is when they get there. I still never receive these fees. I only get the physical damage covered, and they bounce me around different departments that they claim handle the fees and close the cases without notification hoping I'll give up.
Recently, I had a guest who asked if he could have a couple people over when he checked in during the afternoon. He had booked for 3 people. I allow 4 in the home. I explained to him that the rules are there but in his case a couple was fine so long as they kept the noise down. I got noise monitor alerts that night and checked my video to find 29 people at the listing. I called airbnb and they cancelled the reservation after getting my evidence and threw them out. I got to resolution center, then customer support, and submitted my videos and the other evidence. I then got a ruling from customer support that surprised me. He claimed that because I had allowed a "couple" people over, that I had consented to the party and they would not charge for any of the fees, and that the issue was that the guest was mistaken when he only said a "couple" people. I responded that if the guest was mistaken in what he wrote how could I have consented to anything, and sent them the dictionary definition of a "couple".
I raised hell and got another person assigned to my case. That person looked over the evidence and sent me a message saying he agreed with me and the evidence was clear in what I submitted and asked how much I was wanting charged. I sent a full list of the fees and damages.
3 days after sending me the message stating expressly that the evidence clearly supported my statements, he sent me another message saying I had allowed a couple guests so he couldn't charge for them and to send additional evidence conclusively showing a party occurred. I told him if he wanted to remove just those 2 it was fine but that nevertheless I had never agreed to have those "couple" partying late at night at the home. I also mentioned I'd send the evidence I had but that I had already sent video of 29 people entering the home between 11 pm and 2 am, sound decibel readings of nearly 90 dbs during quiet hours, and photos of pot and crates of liquor at the home with the home trashed and every glass in the place in the sink from the guests. If that isn't a party, what is? If that isn't conclusive proof, what is?
Anyways, less than 10 minutes later he then stated allowing a couple consented to the party and that I had not provided conclusive proof of a party and that the case was closed.
I had another guest a few months ago throw a party, then admit to the party to airbnb but said the fees were too high for the extra guests even though she knew she had agreed to pay them and that they were there. I have filed repeated claims on this one and airbnb closes it without explanation REPEATEDLY.
I'm an attorney. I'm considering a lawsuit. Has anybody else experienced anything remotely like this?
This happens EVERY TIME I deal with a guest who threw a party and Airbnb, and end up losing thousands of dollars whenever a guest does this from damage, paying fines, etc. More than that, I have now had to turn down reservations because guests will ask me if they can have even 1 person (like a family member) over during their stay for a couple hours and I'm having to say no because based on Airbnb support that would apparently allow them to throw a frat party at the home that I "consented" to.
