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

Hi, Vanessa and Kurt.

 

Actually, our 1st decent sized break after the summer craziness will be after these kids would check out.

So if the kids did any damage, etc. I would have time to get repairs, etc. and I've found that Airbnb has been very good about covering damage....EXCEPT for tobacco and marijuana smoke, that is where we run into trouble. I found out the hard that Airbnb does not cover "smells" and marijuana smells are a BIG problem in Washington state since it's legal here.

 

And I could get in trouble with Airbnb if I cancel based on age as it goes against their "age discrimination" policy...they've actually had that policy for about a year I think.

 

Thanks for your suggestions.

 

Have a great day.

 

PS: You're an adorable couple 🙂

 

 

Ben205
Level 10
Crewkerne, United Kingdom

@Diane15

You could fit some discreet cameras around the house (those 'dash cams' are cheap). But, even if you catch them breaking your rules, what do you expect to do about it? Confront a house full of footballers and ask them to clean up and move out? Airbnb don't have a SWAT team to clear the area!

Personally, I don't think Superhost status is worth the distress. Then again, I don't have it to lose!

LOL... that's funny.

 

As for the cameras, it's not legal in my state to put up camera without "2 party consent".

 

But at least I know if they trash the place, Airbnb will have my back in terms of rembursement for any damage, they've been really good about that.

 

Thanks for your suggestions...and giving me a good laugh.

Anabela8
Level 3
Covilha, Portugal

@Diane15

 

I'm sorry to hear about this but I understand Airbnb's side here, there is no evidence pointing that they are going to break any rule. Sure, they can talk about drugs on their facebook profiles and one of them may have an arrest record but that's it, there is no evidence pointing that they're going to do any damage or break any rule. 

 

If they wanted to party in the house I believe they would have chosen one where that would be allowed, they would like to avoid having to give any explanations to cops or unhappy neighbors and there have to be more suitable houses for this purpose. And if one of them is in probation they even have to be more careful. There might be a chance that these youngsters don't plan on using the house for anything other than sleeping and they would rather party outside together with other youngsters, that is what they usually do in these ages, but of course one never knows. And you have access to their IDs and social concent, if they do anything wrong you can track them easily and they know that (they live in the same country, right?).

 

I totally understand your concerns though and I wouldn't know what to do if I were in your shoes. Don't worry too much about superhost status, if you feel uncomfortable about this, just cancel it. If you keep the booking you should pay attention to all details and signs during check-in.

 

I hope it all works out for your best interests! Think about all the pros and cons before taking a final decision.

_SENSITIVECONT7
Level 1
Brisbane City, Australia

I 'm afraid I wouldn't take them,not worth the risk!

Cecilia155
Level 5
Boston, MA

@Diane15

If it costs you your peace of mind.....it's too expensive!

 

Really, your worried about superhost status.  I didn't even know what that was until about 2 months into hosting.  When I look for a place, do I look at the Superhose status, No, I look at the place as a whole, cleanliness, location, past reviews, shared bathroom, share kitchen, animals etc.  I just don't book cause they've got this badge of honour!

 

Your saying you would be losing money if you cancel plus status, is it worth the worry?

 

Let us all know how it goes if you continue with the reservation.

 

Just my thoughts.....

Liz243
Level 1
Seattle, WA

I would cancel.  I saw the results of a VRBO rental down the street from me after kids rented.  Police were called after they started fighting in the street.  Drunk drivers hit cars leaving the house.  And the house was trashed.