I am currently in my final year of law school and have been an Airbnb host listing my home for all three years as a law student. Airbnb has financially allowed myself to make it through law school and I truly am very grateful for it. Up until a week ago I have never had problems with guests or Airbnb and have only had great experiences. However, I cannot say that after this current situation.
Last week I had a guest book my apartment for a same day one-night stay. This was a last-minute booking and her account was brand new which made already question this account. Airbnb stated that this guest had a profile picture and this guest was verified by them. After looking at her booking the profile picture was of a . emoji smiling face. Her name seemed to be clearly fake and I had a feeling this was not right. I asked the girl many questions and even called her as she was on her way to check in at my place which doesn’t require me there. She said she was in town for a funeral and her Airbnb was just cancelled last minute and needed a place to stay urgently. It was raining this night and she told me she was with her sister and they were just cold and needed a place to sleep. She was very sweet on the phone and I wanted to help her as a host. She checked in right after that call which was around 10 pm at night.
The morning she was supposed to check-out I attempted to send her the instructions, but when I clicked on the guests account received the following message from Airbnb:
"This conversation is no longer available because (guests account) was removed for violating Airbnb’s terms of service."
This was very concerning because this guest was currently in my apartment and I did not have a way of contacting her through Airbnb.
Being that I called her the previous night I immediately tried to call her again, but she did not answer. I called Airbnb and they said her account was removed for violating a policy of Airbnb but could not discuss the reason with me. I asked Airbnb to please reactivate her listing until I am able to communicate with her and get her out of my apartment.
After an hour or so they allowed her account to be active so that I could contact her. However, she was not responding to any messages or calls.
Around 9:00 am as I was inside the courtyard area of my place, I saw a girl on the balcony.
Around 9:30 am I was sitting out front of my apartment which has an entrance directly to the street. I noticed a car pull up and a male get out and walk into the apartment a few minutes later he walked out and got back in her car that he parked in a fire zone outside my place.
At this point I knew something was wrong and I went to the door after the male pulled away. A different girl from the one I saw earlier answered and said she was "guest who booked" and said she didn’t see any of the 20 calls or messages I sent her. She would not make eye contact with me and was very frantic. I asked if she could please checkout and she said she would be out by 11 am.
As I was walking away, I noticed the man’s car pull back up and he got out and went back in the apartment. I was trying to hope everything would be fine when I walked in my apartment after they left. Well was I wrong.
My apartment was completely ransacked by these guests. They did not even try to cover it up. Every closet door, every cabinet, every draw, every box had been gone through. The apartment was a disaster. There was a huge bleach spill on the bedroom carpet and the brand new real down comforter was covered in a horrible smelling liquid which I don’t even want to know what it was.
I had a guest checking in later that day and tried my best to move on and get it back in order if I could. As I started getting the place in order, I slowly realized there were many missing items.
As I first mentioned, this was a very last-minute booking and I did not expect anyone to stay this night, but since I was staying at a friend for the night, I had the place somewhat ready for a booking. I have a security system so I can leave the door unlocked and set the alarm so that if anyone did try to open it the police would be dispatched. This way if a guest books last minute I can just disarm the system and they are free to enter when they arrive. With that said, I left my work briefcase on the couch which contained the beat headphones that were missing. Here are a few of the items stolen:
- Home security camera
- Bluetooth speaker
- Beats headphones
- All my vitamins which a whole cabinet was filled
- Bathroom supplies that I keep under sink
- g shock watch
- Broken award for USMC Lt promotion
- Comforter damage
- need new carpeting in bedroom
- ink cartridge from printer (odd, I know)
I moved into this apartment only 2 months ago and there were boxes that I have not even unpacked yet. The guests went through all of them and I have no idea what else they found, but I know there’s more missing.
Now to how Airbnb is handling this.
As soon I realized what happened I called Airbnb and told them, and they said to file a claim against her for all the items. I told them at this point I know she is not going to pay anything being that it’s a fake account and even if I tried to make a claim against her I can't because her profile is removed. I only told them that they need to make sure she doesn’t do this to anyone else and that's my biggest concern. The man was very nice and said he would make sure she wasn’t, and we ended our call.
After spending more time in the apartment cleaning and trying to fix the place for the next guest, I called my parents and told them what happened. They asked what Airbnb said and I told them she’s removed. They were upset with how it was handled and demanded more of an explanation for how this all happened and why Airbnb removed her in the first place. My mom was more concerned about my safety and if Airbnb was being fair.
With that said, I called Airbnb again and tried to ask questions about this person and what they recommend I do. She said the account is likely removed but can't discuss another person’s account with me. She recommended I take pictures of damages and list items stolen and send a claim to Airbnb resolution center for them to take a look and compensate. I was happy to hear that was an option and made sure to document everything. She told me it must be submitted before the next guest checks-in and that she would get back to me within an hour to open up a case and have the link for me to submit this. She made it very clear that I needed to do this before the next guest and that she would get back to me. Well after a few hours she never did. I called and messaged her but no response. I then just messaged her on Airbnb all the pictures of the damages and items taken with prices and links of the items before the next guest.
I was able to get in touch with this case manager later on in the day and she sent me the link to the resolution center and said she’s waiting to hear back from the trust and safety department. At this time, I was asking her questions and tried to figure out why this guests account was removed without me knowing while she was staying in my apartment.
The case manager denied that my guests account was removed before checkout and told me more than once that I was wrong. Luckily, I took a screenshot at 7am that morning showing the message and sent it to her.
This was just more upsetting for being treated like I was making things up. My home was just robbed, and Airbnb is barely responding or listening.
Airbnb Support:
"I told you when I talked to you over the phone she was removed from the plat from, and you said you were happy she was. Her profile was already taken down. I completely understand your regard to safety in this matter."
ME:
“Yes, I get that. But why was her profile removing this morning before I even realized anything was going on?”
Airbnb Support:
“It was not removed until after you first called in about the issue.”
ME:
“That's not true. I went to send her check-in instructions this am, and this is the notice I got (sent screenshot that is time stamped)
I then contacted Airbnb who told me they couldn’t disclose why they removed it, but they would look into it for me. I told them I had no way to contact the guest and was concerned. Then they put her profile back up and I was able to contact her
Can you please call me”?
Airbnb Support:
“I am off for the night. I can call you tomorrow, or you can call back in and ask for a new case manager. I would like to work with you on this, but I understand if you are looking for a quick resolution. I am here from 1pm to 8:30pm EST.”
ME:
“oh, wow I'm sorry for bothering you when you are off! I like working with you and since we have talked so much, I think it would be easier to just talk tomorrow. Airbnb has winded me out this week. I love it but has been a scary week. Thank you for all your help and understanding. Have a good night.”
Airbnb Support:
“You are not bothering me, I am here to help you out as much as I can. I will follow up with you tomorrow, and I am hoping I have an answer from the other department regrinding your listing. And you are truly welcome.
I hope you have a wonderful night as well.”
At this point I was confused tired and upset about how this is being handled. I called Airbnb and spoke to a case manager who looked at my case and said she would transfer me to the case manager who is working on my case. I told her how the case manager is already off work for the night and I would like to be assigned someone else. The Airbnb person said no she is still in the office and can transfer me to her. After she read the messages and I asked why she said she is off for the night, the Airbnb support person said it is probably better to assign a new person because she is not sure why she said she is off for the night.
I asked that I speak to a supervisor or a manager because I have not been getting any answers or how to properly handle this. She said yes and that they will be in contact with me soon. Never once did Airbnb recommend a police report be made, but I did make one the same day and they have an open investigation.
The next morning, I got an email from a person in trust and safety that really was off:
Airbnb Trust and Safety:
Hi Eric,
Thank you for letting us know about this incident although we’re sorry to hear of the reported damage. My name is ____, and I'm a Trust and Safety specialist.
In order to be eligible for Airbnb assistance, hosts must first identify a responsible guest and notify them of the incident. The easiest way to do this is by creating a Resolution Center request: www.airbnb.com/resolutions
Once you’ve submitted your request, your guest will be notified of the claim and they will be able to accept your request, provide a counter offer, or correspond with you to seek additional information. If you and your guest are unable to come to an agreement after 72 hours, you’ll see the option to Involve Airbnb. If you choose this option, you’ll be required to send photo or video documentation of the damages and the cost to repair them. An Airbnb specialist will review all documentation and communication between you and your guest and make a determination about what funds are owed.
Best,
___
She clearly took no time to look over my case and asked me to contact the criminal for it back. Wow.
I responded as nice as I could:
ME:
“Hi,
I truly hope this message was sent by mistake and I do not have to explain this whole situation to you again. The guest has been removed from Airbnb after it has been found her verification was fraud and stole/destroyed thousands of dollars of my stuff. Please contact me immediately regarding this.”
She asked me to send her all the documentation and pictures which I did.
It has been almost a full week since that last message I have heard nothing from Airbnb about this. I called every day and have been emailing trust and safety and getting no response. Every time I call, they say they can’t discuss this, and it can only be talked about over email. I need information that the police are requesting, and I told Airbnb and they still have not contacted me!
Today I contacted Airbnb about a new booking that had another fake profile picture and asked that they cancel it.
Me:
“Hi, I would like this reservation to be cancelled due to the fact that the profile picture is fake. If you look at the current open case with Airbnb, I had a guest last week who booked with a fake photo and was robbed thousands of dollars. I hope you understand why I'm not going to host this account and handle this easy for me. Thank you.”
Airbnb Support
“Hi Eric. Thank you for reaching out to us. This is Mercy from Airbnb's customer experience team and I hope that this message finds you well.
I truly understand that you want to cancel the reservation on your Guest because of the fake profile picture. Yes, you can cancel the reservation but let me remind you about the penalties for host that may apply under Airbnb Policy. Here is the reference on your help center.
www.airbnb.com/help/article/990
Please let me know if you still continue and need further assistance, don't hesitate to ask.”
What do I do? I truly do not have time to waste on this, but at this point I feel betrayed by Airbnb. Unfortunately, as a student I don’t have the comfort to be able to stop being a host and rely on this income
