guest was drunk

[Tatjana6]

Hi guys,

Have you ever faced a situation when a guest was drunk and behaved offensively?

What do you think would be the best to do?

[Alexandra316]

@Tatjana6 Yes I have. I had a guest who drove drunk, ran their car into my neighbour's yard, then got into an argument with the police. Good times!

I guess it depends on what you mean by "behaved offensively" and how it made you feel. Was it a health risk? A security risk? Did you feel unsafe? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, maybe it's time to end the guest's stay. 

If it falls more into the category of annoying behaviour and you feel safe to do so, maybe speak with the guest once they're sober and let them know that their behaviour was not acceptable. If you're not confident doing this in person, send them a message through Airbnb messenger. 

If the stay is already over, I would at least write a review. You don't need to go into the dirty details, but let people know that you wouldn't welcome this person again. 

[Tatjana6]

Yes, I felt unsafe, besides this, I had an additional guest in the apartment and that might affect his stay and safeness.

The next day I talked with the offender and she turned to swear.

Finally, I changed her reservation giving her money for unspent nights, i.e. I paid for my safety.

But I am wondering if this is the only way to deal with the nasty guest?

[Alexandra316]

@Tatjana6 I think that ending the guest's stay early sounds like a good idea in this case: sounds like you made the right call. If you can't reason with them, there's not much else to be done. 

You can flag the guest's account for unsafe behaviour using the flag icon. Again, I would also write a review to warn other hosts. 

[Helen3]

Yes if a guest makes you feel unsafe I would contact Airbnb and ask them to cancel.

Please leave a honest review to help warn future hosts @Tatjana6 

[Tatjana6]

cancellation with or without a refund?

[Dale711]

Hi @Tatjana6,

Yes, Indeed!

Yet, you has done it right!

Managing an intoxicated guest can be a difficult experience. Make sure you debrief with The Airbnb after the incident. Self care is important when dealing with difficult or challenging situations.

About the review?

It's out of your hand!

Airbnb Reviews Policy 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

Stay safe.

Happy Hosting! 

[Tatjana6]

Thank you D&D for your insights!

[Anonymous]

@Tatjana6  If you ask the guest to leave before the original checkout, you should refund for the unused dates.  If the guest decides on her own not to complete the booking, your normal cancellation policy applies.

In your review, you must be careful with the wording; any direct mention of the guest being intoxicated would most likely get the review removed. The relevant detail is the behavior you experienced, not what you believe to be the cause of it (I'm sure other guests have come home drunk before and not caused problems).

[Tatjana6]

Thanks, Andrew for your thoughtful note.

It sounds strange that the "intoxicated guest" review would be removed by Airbnb.

PS No, I have been using the Airbnb platform for about 8-y as a host and guest, but never experienced the drunk and offensive people.

[Sarah977]

@Tatjana6  Whether it's strange or not that mentioning the guest was intoxicated could get the review removed isn't important. 

Plenty of people can be drunk without being obnoxious or making anyone uncomfortable. And plenty of people can be sober and act offensively.

The issue is the behavior, not the cause. Reviews are for the benefit of other hosts, who only need to know that the guest was disrespectful, was disturbing to you and the other guests, and that you wouldn't welcome them back.

[Tatjana6]

Good point, thank you, Sara

[Anonymous]

@Tatjana6   Since pre-Corona Berlin lived up to its reputation as a 24-hour party city, I've gotten pretty used to having visitors come home in various types of intoxication. Fortunately none have become aggressive or destructive with me - some have been hilariously clumsy, but most have just gone straight to bed.  

Usually during the check-in orientation I would give people a few survival tips for the local nightlife and make it clear that they wouldn't be judged for whatever they chose to consume away from home. But this was mostly a vessel for communicating that all the House Rules still applied when they get back home and the party stays out of the house. The one time that someone didn't respect the rules upon returning at sunrise, I gave him 15 minutes to pack his bag and leave. 

[Tatjana6]

Thanks for sharing, Andrew.

When people are a little tipsy, I don't see anything bad about. but my guest probably drank at least a bottle of strong alcohol and did not understand well what was what

[Anonymous]

@Tatjana6   When these things happen, especially to female visitors, I can't completely count out the possibility that they were dosed by a stranger without their knowledge. Happens insanely often here. But even more often, people just lose sight of their limits when outside of their normal routines.

I don't know how it is where you are, but here are all the bars and clubs are closed and parties are prohibited under the lockdown rules - so that would add a more disturbing element of context if someone came into a shared home totally blotto. Most likely, wherever they were, they wouldn't have been practicing social distancing etc.  (Obviously in this context, I'm not accepting guests in a shared home - I don't know where you've set your own boundaries over that concern).