I just had a horrible experience with a long-term guest in Oakland, [name removed]. Things were fine until her 6-year old daughter got into my makeup and fingerpainted the bathroom with my foundation. I made a respectful request to [name removed] to talk to her daughter about not getting into my things. This had happened before because this guest would spend the entire day in bed, smoking marijuana, leaving her daugther to play and run all over the house. She seemed to think that leaving her bedroom door open was sufficient supervision of a small child. After making my respectful request, this guest sent me a very abusive message via the AirBnB app, cursing and insulting me, accusing me of smearing the makeup on my bathroom walls myself to "set up" her child because I was "bored, lonely" and "needed drama in my life." I posted a screengrab of her message on Facebook, and my friends and family were APPALLED. She threatened to slander me and my nonprofit work if I didn't give her a refund of the four weeks she had remaining on her long-term rental, both by bashing me on AirBnB, and by taking out an ad on Craigslist. Her demand was in violation of both AirBnB's long term rental policy, and my strict cancellation policy, so I said no. And it would've left me stuck at the last minute without a tenant for the next four weeks. Actually I asked her to cancel her reservation so I could re-list the room and offered to refund her whatever I could recoup. She refused to do this. Her message was so bizarre and abusive, I was afraid to go home. I called AirBnB immediately to cancel her reservation and get her out of my house. They said if I did, they'd penalize me and block my calendar off for the next 30 days so no one else could book my room. So I was stuck with her in my house. For the next four days she proceeded to terrorize me in my own home, yelling at me to refund me her money, calling me a liar, telling me to not speak to her daughter, and to stay in my room. In a panic, I called AirBnB every day. No one called me back. She threatened me with a knife. I called the police. I put locks on my bedroom door. She also accused me of never giving her clean towels, that her bedding smelled, and that the house was filthy. All lies just to get a refund of all of her rent, even the four weeks that had already passed. Every review of me as a host has been stellar. Funny that in the four weeks she had been here already she never had a complaint. She had even asked me, just a few days before this debacle, to babysit her daughter to she could take a yoga class. Four days later, she started moving her stuff out. I hid in my neighbor's house. She made several trips all day, leaving the front door open and unlocked. I came home to my front door open three times, while another guest was asleep in the living room. Finally, all her stuff was gone, but she kept my key. So I called AirBnB. I had been calling them every dasy for four days with no return call. I was put on hold four times and each time their system disconnected me. It took me two hours of calling to finally get a return call. I spent an hour on the phone with them, only to be told this was a personality conflict and they were giving her a refund of the next four weeks, the days she hadnt used. I guess I'm lucky she didn't succeed in getting a refund of everything. But now I'm stuck with no tenant and no rent. I am furious and exhausted. Now my neighbor is upset with me because apparently [name removed] went to his house to ask him what I told the police. He is angry I brought drama to our neighborhood being an AirBnB host. I am furious with AirBnB for their lack of response to me in what was a threatening and unsafe situation. I feel like their Host Guarantee is a joke. They make billions off hosts like us opening our homes to strangers. I'm going to get a lawyer and sue them. Would anyone in the Bay Area like to join me? I'm also reporting them to our local tv news station Seven on Your Side, to see if they can be shamed into repaying me the rent for the next four weeks. Now that [name removed] has left, I noticed the fitted sheet on her bed is gone; she left many bags of garbage in her room; and she didn't return my key. I had a locksmith change it last night, for my safety. But I'm still nervous now because she is staying with another AirBnB host somewhere here in Oakland, so she's close, and she knows where I live and what car I drive. Does anyone want to join me in a legal challenge against AirBnB? I'm a well-respected activist with 20 years experience holding government institutions accountable. I am going to try to do the same to AirBnB. Who wants to join me?
