Received Airbnb's Penalty

JoAnn3
Level 2
New York, NY

Received Airbnb's Penalty

Airbnb Punished me, I even do not know what I did wrong.
 
A week ago, a couple of guests stayed in my house for 4 days. After they checked in, they never turned off lights, fan, etc. Most time they were not in my house. The evening before they checked out, through the windows I saw the red light.  I found they left with the infrared heater on all day long. That evening after I found the infrared heater on such a long time, I was afraid that it could catch fire. I called the guest, but the guest did not answer. Right after, I called Airbnb to get help. They did not answer Airbnb's call either. 
 
In my listing house rule, I request guests to turn off all of the electric units when they go out. 
 
I went into my utility room and turned off the breakers to shut off the guest room electricity. The utility room is a separate room from the guest room. I waited for the guest until 11 pm. They did not come back. When they came back, they did not call me to turn the breakers on. 
 
In my review, I described what the guests did and I did not feel happy.
 
A few days later, I received an email from Airbnb:
**
 
They also called me asked me if I interrupted or interfered with any reservations.
I answered NO!
 
Yesterday, I received another email below.
 
**
 
I got Airbnb's penalty I even do not know what reasons. Would someone help me?
 
 

**[Message from CS removed in line with Community Center Guidelines]

8 Replies 8
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@JoAnn3  Airbnb takes privacy violation  complaints very seriously. I realize you didn't enter the guest space, and your actions had to do with safety. But there were things you should have done a little differently.

 

You should have sent the guest a message saying that you happened to notice the red light as you were passing the window, that told you they had left the heater on when they went out, ignoring your instructions to turn it off. That this is a fire hazard, so since they weren't home and didn't answer their phone when you tried to reach them, you didn't want to intrude on their privacy by entering the unit, so you turned off the electrical breaker to their room, and to let you know when they are on their way back, so you can turn it on again.

 

If you send a message like this, it is documented for Airbnb to see should the guest raise a complaint.

 

The infrared heaters I am familiar with have a thermostat, so they won't get any hotter than the temperature they are set at, so they shouldn't be a fire hazard- does yours not have a thermostat setting, or is it just on or off?

 

And the infrared heaters I know of don't even get hot- the idea of an infrared heater is that it heats the objects in the room- it doesn't get hot itself like an electric heater does.

 

You didn't need to talk about the detail of the heater incident in the review, either. All you needed to say was  that the guest ignored house rules, leaving lights and heaters on 24 hours, day and night, even though they were out almost all the time.

Thank you so much for the quick reply. I learned from your instruction. I did not write to guests that night but the next early morning. 

 

I learned a lot from your above message. If I knew the infrared heater not so dangerous, I would not be upset and frightened on that day. When I replaced the new one, I saw the old wires lost plastic cover. I thought the wire could be melt for such a long time heating.

 

By the way, it's my first time use the Community Center. I replied to you by email and attached my message to the guest written the next morning. I think you did not receive it.

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@JoAnn3 

Most likely: the guest complained at Airbnb. It is clear (as you mentioned it yourself) you interfered with the supply of elektricity. Next time first contact the guests about such issues.

Thanks. 

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@JoAnn3 

 

I do think that Airbnb should inform hosts of the specific issues they are investigating, but it appears that they seldom do so, and maybe they have no legal obligation to do so. 

I believe that they have the right to penalize or delist hosts for any reason, or for no reason, and so they don’t give reasons to avoid arguments and being accused of discrimination.

 

 I can see a couple of issues that should be avoided in cases like this:

 

1: I believe that it’s illegal in New York State for a landlord to turn off a tenant’s electricity, gas or water. 

I don’t know if this applies to STRs but it might.

 

2. Mentioning fire hazards is not a good idea. The host could be accused of providing unsafe equipment.

 

 I think you should just figure the cost of excessive energy use into your price. Many guests just do not care what they waste. The conscientious guests end up paying the price.

 

You can now purchase space heaters with timers and remote controls which you can keep and use to shut them off without entering the room.

Thank you for your valuable analysis and advice. 

 

I do not care about the costs of the electric usage since I have solar. I do care about the infrared heater in the small bathroom which generates a lot of heat and melt the electric wires. I feel the timer is a very good idea, but that heater is a lamp on the ceiling. It is hard to set up a timer there. I consider to take off it for safety reasons.

 

Thanks again.

@JoAnn3  Yes, it is wise to remove anything that could be a fire or safety hazard. You can't trust guests to use things safely. An Airbnb has to be as idiot-proof as possible.

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@JoAnn3 

 

Now I understand. You are referring to an infrared bulb designed to help someone dry off after getting out of the shower.

 

Usually these have a mechanical timer rather than a standard light switch, maximum time 15 minutes.

 

These are easy to install and not expensive.

 

You should check to make sure that the bulb you are using is not excessively rated for the fixture.

 

Some of those bulbs are rated at 600 watts or more, and if the fixture is only rated for 150 watts, it could very well be a hazard.

 

The easiest thing to do is as you suggest: put in a smaller light bulb.