Reservation turns to disaster

[Jeremy553]

Well it finally happened to us, after several years of amazing hosting we had a reservation where the guest was deceptive and lying saying that it was just him and his four family members .... which turned into an over 100 person giant raving party on our country property.

Has anyone had experiences like this and what did they do post to get Airbnb support for cleanup and repairs? We’re looking at a hefty cleanup bill as well as broken tables and furniture that needs to get replaced. Tons of outdoor cleaning up and down the roadway as well. Just sharing our story and would like to hear other peoples stories. This just happened This weekend and still reeling from the shock of being taken advantage of. Cancelling immediate guests while we try and rebuild...

One of the biggest challenges right now is that the neighbors are pretty furious with us since we had to call the sheriff eventually to shut down in the wee hours of the morning; and although some guests fled in vehicles as the sheriff deputies arrived most of them barricaded themselves in our house and refused to open the door for the sheriff who would not force entry which is safest surely for all... Feeling awful and completely embarrassed by getting taken advantage of so fully. 

Thanks for listening and any post destructive event guidance! 
Jeremy

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jeremy553 Ugh - How terrible. In retrospect were there any red flags such as local guests only booking for 1 night?

I assume you know you have to report to Airbnb very quickly or you have no chance with their so called insurance.

[Mark116]

@Jeremy553  You probably know most of this already.  Call airbnb before you cancel any upcoming guests and explain the reasons so you are not penalized.  Take photos and video footage of everything.  You also presumably know that you have to file a claim before the next guests arrive.  Airbnb is not big on paying for 'extra cleaning' but you may get some money for damages. 

[Lisa723 · Accepted solution]

@Jeremy553 I have successfully claimed for damage disputed by a guest, though not on this scale. As has been noted, photos and receipts are required. In your case you presumably also have a police report to submit, which should help.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/264/what-do-i-do-if-my-guest-breaks-something-in-my-place

Re. the neighbors, I'm sure you have already apologized profusely. You can also tell them what you will change to make sure this does not happen again. I finally broke down and installed a driveway camera and NoiseAware devices after two unauthorized parties, mostly in the hope that disclosing these in the listings would forestall any future such events. Your listing appears to be suspended so we can't see whether you already do this or whether your listing contains any wording that might inadvertently attract a party. Another idea is to make sure guests know that you, or a local co-host, will be nearby during their stay. And of course your neighbors should have your phone number so they can contact you directly if they have any concerns about your guests.

[Jeremy553]

Thank you all for the thoughtful comments and support! We called AirBnB that night during the problem party to let them know the giant party, huge guest numbers and that the local law enforcement was involved... They were very supportive on the phone. I sent pictures of the destroyed sections of the house and muddy carpets and floors the next day... Have not heard back form the AirBnB contact guy yet since sending the images... It is pretty bad.. Half of the 10 person dining table was upstairs in the loft space and the other half was thrown out the side of the house in shattered bits!????? Poor lovely table..

I was able to have the guests for this coming weekend cancel gracefully and they were support supportive and kind regarding the fiasco that forced me to cancel their stay 😞 . I'm hoping we can get the place ready for the next guest later in June, we have two weeks of clear time!

I did freeze the account because I just can't deal with or handle (trauma) taking on more future guests right now until we can get this cleaned up and running.  We are already booked up so much it's lucky we have a couple weeks right now. But we have a long several years history of conscious nature connected visitors/guests and make it 100% Clear no parties no loud groups etc...  We just got completely taken advantage of. We are so isolated and offer a huge space of 10 acres to play around it, I think that attracted the party. 

The mad neighbors I profusely apologized to  - we are 10 ares away from each out here so not a lot of them to try and grovel my way through. We are letting our already scheduled future guests know as a reminder about No loud parties and noise and remember we are a quiet country retreat... But we all have each other's contact and they are the first folks to call us noting the urgent issue happening! We all know and communicate and it might be a slow grovel back to normal...

I like the noise meter and camera idea. We are thinking about adding that now in a spot that is not interfering with the house privacy but to get us an idea if things are amiss...

Red flags on the guests that caused this disaster. Biggest one that I usually am NOT one who falls for but they had a new account created in the month of the reservation. HUGE caution flag from but all fast and clear communication with the guest about him traveling with his family down the coast and the 4 of them desperately needing a spot to stop for the night. My Empathy got me. So in retrospect even thinking I was being a good human for helping this poor family out for a 1 night stay during their travels was a bad idea. Again I thought I was being so supportive... ouch hurts worse like that! Other red flags the picture of the guest was not a human - it was a scenic view of one of the Hwy1 bridges. This was getting me, well maybe they really are traveling down the coast... it played more to helping them seal the deal.. But usually I want to see that these are real humans and I can see a face with the conversation... Another lesson there too.

Appreciate you guys so much,

thanks!

Jeremy(!)