Be careful when reporting guest bad behavior!!

[Christianna1]

I just wanted to let everyone know that whatever you report about your guest when you open a case goes directly to the guest!!!

So I just reported suspected drug usage of a seriously frightening guest, who happens to live locally, and Air BnB reaches out to the guest for comment! I was like, “Uhhh... this scary person knows where I live, where I sleep, how to get around my property and into my house and you’re going to ask him for his reply to the fact that I smelled smoke while he was here and found drugs in the room after he left??” Seriously, Air BnB?!!!!! Put it in the person’s file, but don’t put the hosts at risk like that!!! 

This “transparency” thing is fine, but let the hosts know that prior to us hosting people or reporting anything so we can decide if our lives are worth the report. Air BnB isn’t the police and they can’t protect us, so transparency means they stir the pot without protecting the contents from burning.

[Christianna1]

@Yadira22Good to know! Maybe just the cancellation strategy then. So you had people come back to your place that you didn’t enjoy as guests the first time? Your place must be great,  but that’s uncomfortable for you to deal with!

[Yadira22]

@Christianna1 

He was polite in person. This particular individual drank too much inside the apartment- in one night he drank 3x bottles of wine and a six pack of beer apparently by himself, I think he used to bring someone over.

 I have nothing against drinking but I kindly ask that guests do not consume in excess at least in the apartment but preferably during the entirety of their stay, as it can make for very awkward situations and if the guest is sick it can be messy to clean up. 

At one point I even had to rush to the apartment and found someone else sleeping on the staircase as he “lost” his keys in the pub and I had to physically put him into bed and in the recovery position. As a host I don’t want to deal with situations like this.

Best is to block them from future stays but this is only possible on google chrome and on desktop. If you go to the message trail shared and flag one of theirs, select report inappropriate behaviour and explain the situation (you can even say communication was poor on their end and though I do not want them to stop using Airbnb but prefer to never host them again- maybe not for this individual but for others who you may have felt uncomfortable by). After which the system will ask you if you would like to block them and you select yes- all communication and possibility of reserving etc should become limited. 

I really do wish you all the best of luck in your situation and maybe advise to not host locals- there is usually an unspoken rule for this! 

Have a beautiful day! 

Yadira 🙂

[Angie29]

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@Yadira22 wrote:

@Christianna1 

He was polite in person. This particular individual drank too much inside the apartment- in one night he drank 3x bottles of wine and a six pack of beer apparently by himself, I think he used to bring someone over.

 I have nothing against drinking but I kindly ask that guests do not consume in excess at least in the apartment but preferably during the entirety of their stay, as it can make for very awkward situations and if the guest is sick it can be messy to clean up. 

At one point I even had to rush to the apartment and found someone else sleeping on the staircase as he “lost” his keys in the pub and I had to physically put him into bed and in the recovery position. As a host I don’t want to deal with situations like this.

Best is to block them from future stays but this is only possible on google chrome and on desktop. If you go to the message trail shared and flag one of theirs, select report inappropriate behaviour and explain the situation (you can even say communication was poor on their end and though I do not want them to stop using Airbnb but prefer to never host them again- maybe not for this individual but for others who you may have felt uncomfortable by). After which the system will ask you if you would like to block them and you select yes- all communication and possibility of reserving etc should become limited. 

I really do wish you all the best of luck in your situation and maybe advise to not host locals- there is usually an unspoken rule for this! 

Have a beautiful day! 

Yadira 🙂

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Very interesting.  I didn't know you can block guests from returning.  However, the same group of guests I do not want and I gave 2-stars reviews could possibly return under a different friend's airbnb account.  That's why I request all guests names in the group that will stay in my home(s), ...not that they follow the request 99% of the time  : (   Very frustrating to say the least.    

[Ann72]

@Christianna1 Yes, it's after I've given a good review and then discovered a 4 star for value or location.  That annoys me so much I go block them.  But my situation is exactly like yours - 3 or 4 wonderful returning guests and the rest one-offs.  So I won't bother reporting them in future but will either use one of my free cancellations should they book again or just straight up tell them I didn't appreciate the lower stars.  🙂

[Angie29]

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@Ann72 wrote:

@Christianna1 Yes, it's after I've given a good review and then discovered a 4 star for value or location.  That annoys me so much I go block them.  But my situation is exactly like yours - 3 or 4 wonderful returning guests and the rest one-offs.  So I won't bother reporting them in future but will either use one of my free cancellations should they book again or just straight up tell them I didn't appreciate the lower stars.  🙂

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Exactly!!!  Why would they want to return to the same place if they rate low?  I'm with you.  They can book elsewhere.  

[Ann416]

What is a "free cancelation?"

[Alice595]

@Christianna1 @Ann72 @Lisa723 @Branka-and-Silvia0 Ironically Airbnb always uses the excuse of protecting the privacy of users (guests and hosts) to hide what they think are important to their business. However, when it is really very important related to the safety of hosts, they don't consider the privacy anymore. They want to have transparency.

[Christianna1]

@Ann72 @Alice595 @Lisa723 @Stephanie @Branka-and-Silvia0 

[Christianna1]

My question is what mediation was necessary?! What’s the guest going to say? “Yes, I’m a dangerous person and I smoked heroine in her house.” Ridiculous. And what protocol do they have in place to prevent retaliation?

[Lisa723]

@Christianna1 How strange. I've never heard of a "case" being opened (or "closed") as a result of reporting a user, nor any information about any "investigation" being reported. I have also never heard of a "Community Support" department. Did you ask Airbnb to take any particular action when you reported the user?

[Alice595]

@Lisa723 Community Support uses the same email address as Trust and Safety department, which also handles the resolution center case. It probably is changed from Trust and Safety department to Community Support. 

When I received that email today after a guest complaint that the mattress was not comfortable and wanted a refund, it was the same email format as @Christianna1 received.

Now it adds a little more confusion after I saw Community Support at the first glance, I thought that it was from this Forum because this forum is named Community as well.

[Christianna1]

@Lisa723 I asked that he not be allowed to book my place again just in case he ever tried. But that doesn’t seem like something that requires an investigation?

[Lisa723]

@Christianna1 no it does not.  Airbnb makes it hard enough to block guests from booking again without adding injury to insult. This is all extremely troubling.

[Ann72]

@Christianna1 This is just terrible in so many ways.  Awful grammar aside, its opacity is Orwellian.  "We have reached out to the Guest ... and the case has now been closed on both ends."  There's a huge gap in that sentence - what happened when they reached out to the guest before they closed the case?  No promises to protect you from any retaliation - just understanding that you expect it and that they do their best to prevent it.  Completely meaningless.  Not to be alarmist, but it might be a good idea to register your concern with the local police.

[Christianna1]

@Ann72  My thoughts exactly!! (Apart from the “Orwellian in its opacity,” which is a fantastic description and I may have to borrow for future use. 🙂 )