18 y/o kid Instant Booked my 6 bedroom House for his Football team- 1 of them has ARREST RECORD

Diane15
Level 6
Spokane, WA

18 y/o kid Instant Booked my 6 bedroom House for his Football team- 1 of them has ARREST RECORD

Last night I received an Instant Booking from an 18 y/o kid just graduated from High School, booking for his Football Team and all his Guests are all 18 or just turned 19 at most. He said they're coming for a "game."....

 

  1. As we are a licensed Airbnb, in my city, we are required to get every Guests name, age and license plate number if traveling by car. I did a quick search and found that one of the kid's has an ARREST RECORD ....for "violating PAROLE", which means he's already been convicted of a crime and is now on probate for that conviction....and was re-arrested for violating the terms of his parole......

2 . Airbnb said they do not "discrimate based on age" (....although the Supreme Court has allowed for age [and sex] "discrimantion" based on age in regards to allowing car rentals companies to be able to require people who rent cars to be 25+ years or older. Sex "discrimination" for teenage boys and car insurance....but that's another story.)...

 

3 . I have tried to put the fear of God into this kid who made the reservation (no parites, nieghbors are watching, police will be called, your group will be removed. etc.) and his response was "understand"...that's it...Basically, a "whatever." I checked their Facebook and Twitter...they're the typical, soon to be college Frat boys. All have beer, pot leaf symbols, etc., in their feeds/timelines.... In my state, you have to be 21 to drink/smoke weed......

 

Please understand, this is a very large, 6 bedroom, 4300 a/f house with exspensive furinture, $30,000 of new wood floors, etc...it's not a "Spring Break Party" type house. We normally host weddings, furnerals, celebrities and film crews.....

 

4 . If I cancel I will lose my "Super Host" status...

 

PS: Yes, I KNOW there are 18/19 year olds fighting for our country, etc. but those guys have been put through basic training, had major training in descpline and are STILL supervised by actual adults.... These kids who want to rent my place are not those guys.

 

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ?

 

Thanks !

 

21 Replies 21
David126
Level 10
Como, CO

Some business is not worth having, I would contact ABB and get them to cancel.

 

Doubt I would have such a property on IB.

David

Hi David.

Thanks for your reply...unforntuately, they stated they have a "no age discrimination" policy at Airbnb.

 

And I'm sorry...I don't know what " IB" means.

 

Thanks again.

Diane

IB is instant booking, you are allowed to cancel bookings when you use IB where you feel uncomfrtable with the Guest.

David

IB means Instant Book, @Diane15.

You mentioned the arrest record, too? Was worrying about it deemed discrimination as well? 

I thought it was okay just to be "uncomfortable" with an IB reservation to get it cancelled, and you are certainly that. 

 

When I inquired about Instant Booking and cancelling, I was told that policies regarding Instant Booking had changed and were not being allowed as often. I've already had to cancel twice in the last 6 months due plumbing issues, so I doubt they'll allow me to cancel again and keep my Super Host status.... Policies and rules keep changing....it's very hard to keep up.

If only the plumbing had strategically failed this time, @Diane15. So the policy changed? It still shows unlimited cancellations for IB "should you ever feel uncomfortable with a reservation" in the Help Centre. But you called, so that will be the final word. Unlimited, looks like, "unless you have had to cancel before and now it is a football team". 

You ask what we would do. I would check in with them frequently, as @Nina75 says. It's not like you will be sleeping anyway... I would warn them ahead of this. You could say you are concerned, and so you will be dropping by. Or a neighbour will. 

Or, as @Peter445 says, decide life's too short and throw the superhost badge out the window when you hit cancel. 

All the best, and will you write again with the happy ending? When is the game?

Hi Lawrence,

That d#$%$ plumbing forced me to cancel 2 really great groups...and because my property is so large, it doesn't just affect a few Guests, it can affect up to 20 Guests each trip. ...But now, when I NEED the  d$%#@  plumbing to fail....no such "luck" 😉

And yes I will let you all know how is goes.

The game is on the 30th or the 1st...not sure which date exactly.

 

Thanks for your suggestions and your concern!

diane

 

Hi Diane My house and keeping it in excellent shape is the most important thing to me. As far as super Host status, it's nice but that's not the reason people book you,It's you and the house and that won't be changing. If you decide to rent to these boy's you'll be sorry and we both know that! Go with your gut feeling or you'll be paying the price in sooo many ways.  Hope this helps, Pete

Hi Pete,

You've given me a lot to think about. I've been doing so much remodeling this year, I've taken a little hit on the reviews, but not too bad.

But cancelling a reservation would put me over the top in terms of reviews.

Thanks for your suggestions!

Diane

Nina75
Level 10
LA, CA

Park in your driveay and stay there the whole time... I definately have age limits.

Also request their parents info incase they trash the house.

Hi, Nina.

Thanks for your input.

Actually, I'm not allowed to have an age limit....NO Host on Airbnb is allowed to turn down a Guest based on age, in any country in the world. That is THEIR policy that you agree to when you sign your contract with Airbnb.

 

And since these kids are technically "adults", even if only by a few months, I can't contact their parents...and since you're in the US, you wouldn't be allowed to contact their parents as well.

You are in CA and that state has very liberal laws about discrimination, so please take care not to discriminate when you choose who to rent to. The "landlord" laws are very tough on the owner and very pro-renter.

I was an 8th generation Californian before I moved and understand their state laws very well.

Thanks again!

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Diane15 call again or contact ABB through twitter and demand ABB cancel this booking. As is stated in ABB rules you have a right to cancel unlimited times if you feel uncomfortable.

If ABB don't want to cancel then (if I were you) would cancel myself , pay 50˘fee and lose superhost status because it is less damage then to have the whole house trashed :((((

 

Vanessa-and-Kurt0
Level 10
Farmington, CT

Do you have bookings after this that you would have to cancel if the place were trashed and loose your Superhost rating anyways? I am a superhost and don't even specifically look for superhosts when I travel. Its not worth the potential damage that you will not be reimbursed with. If it were me I would call AirBnB and demand they cancel without penalty since it is Instant Book-if they changed policy they need to prove that it is published somewhere and it applies to you.

Good luck. Let us know how it works out.

 

@Vanessa0...I was told that Airbnb does not discriminate based on age. They don't consider that a reasonable factor to cancelling. In fact, just the opposite.

I'll keep you posted !

Thanks for your imput.