Honest Review by A Host Being Deleted Because I broke An Airbnb Rule I was Not Aware Of

[Carol561]

I treat my guests in our extra loft to the best stay in Toronto.

A few months ago I had a young woman book from Australia because she wanted to come to Toronto to meet someone from Hot Docs, which is a documentary film festival.

Unknown to me until a few hours prior, she had set up a film shoot in the loft just prior to checking out- this was unacceptable for 2 reasons, one she was overstaying pass check out but more serious was that she was using the space for commercial reasons, which my insurance and I am sure airbnb does not cover. I suggested I would find her a location 3 doors away but she insisted she handle it. 

I called airbnb explaining the situation because this was a liability for them as well as myself. It concluded that I would post my concerns on her review because I see this as an issue for future hots as she was not transparent- in her use of space.

Unfortunately, my review I was informed will be removed because I used "Airbnb suggested I post this issue" which I did- so they could have mentioned not to use their name so in the future don't use reference to them but document it. They cannot removed the phrase so this person will again do potential harm. Your home/airbnb insurance does not cover commercial uses!

I am still waiting for a supervisor and 3 phone calls- I am totally disappointed in them!!!

Beware 

[Emiel1]

@Carol561 

It is a violation of their terms if you refer to an Airbnb solution in a review. So then it will be removed.

But i hope Airbnb will warn this guest not to show this behaviour again, IMO that is the least they can do and also in their own interest.

[Carol561]

I wanted to let others know because commercial activity and any incidents will not be covered under their insurance. Total disrespect. 

[Sarah977]

@Carol561  It's not really clear from your post whether this guest went ahead with the film shoot or not. It sounds like you explained that she couldn't, offered to find her an alternative place to do it, and you say she insisted on handling it herself, which sounds like it didn't actually happen at your place. So I'm not sure why it was so important to write this up in the review- if a guest does something that they shouldn't, and the host lets them know it's not possible, and the guest complies, it seems like it's then a moot point. 

There's plenty of stuff Airbnb doesn't bother to tell you, but mentioning Airbnb involvement in a review will cause the review to be removed. It is unfortunate that you didn't know that.

[Carol561]

No they told me to post it- the guest shot and if anything happened I would not be able to be covered under my insurance- I just want others to know the difference.

[Carol561]

The guest went ahead and used the space for a commercial shoot- I had to get on the phone with airbnb at that time. Remember having a guest stay does not mean your insurance covers commercial usage. Its a warning for others!!!

[Sarah977]

@Carol561  So declining to use the alternate space and insisting she'd "handle it herself" meant that she simply disrespected and ignored what you had said and went ahead with the overstay and the shoot? That's unbelievably entitled and rude, quite apart from the insurance issue.

[Linda108]

Second best step you can take in this situation is to report the guest profile.  If this guest does something like this again, she may be removed from the platform.  Not ideal, but it is what it is.

[Carol561]

I finally spoke to supervisor and profile tagged so any future hosts will be protected regarding liability and insurance coverage.