the 72 hour "head start" for damage claims

[Parag0]

it just dawned on me that if we give the guest 72 hours to respond to damage claims, they can simply cancel their credit card and delete their profile.  is this something to consider before accepting guests who are from out of country, or am i just being paraoid? 

this is my horror story for those who are morbidly curious.  and this was my first air bnb hosting experience : 

02/06/17... 

"when i returned to my home after Andras had checked out, i walked to my front door to find that it was LEFT WIDE OPEN TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC. not merely unlocked, but wide open! the key was left inside the doorlock. i live in downtown, off of a main thoroughfare, on one of one of the busiest streets in the city. he was able to get my key out of the lockbox in the first place, so i know he knows better. he basically left me at critical risk. what Andras did is utterly unconscionable.

the bedsheets were stained and had used kleenex pressed into them. i cannot clean and reuse these confidently anymore. the bowls and sake set were used as an ashtray, also cannot be cleaned or reused for any future guests. the locking backdoor knob will have to be replaced because Andras broke the locking mechanism completely. the place was left so dirty and defiled that cleaning went well above and beyond the usual. i had to deep clean the oven (open food spills), the fridge (open food spills and stains), the cabinets (garbage, open food, and an open packet of erectile dysfunction gel was found inside, with contents puddled out), kitchen sink was clogged and badly stained with open festering food in the stopped up water, and he smoked inside my home, something i EXPRESSLY forbid.

not only did he violate my no smoking policy but i have reason to believe he may have smoked illegal substances, which could have put me in an unspeakable legal nightmare (under Texas law, the property owner is also liable)! this is very serious stuff.

the floors were all soaking wet (kitchen and bathroom, and a door carpet was damaged) and all the towels and bedlinens were on the floor in corroded condition. the bathroom needed particular attention because of the condition it was left in with stains and mud from shoes. garbage and open food was found everywhere in cabinets, on tabletops/counters, and of course, the floor. on a smaller note, i had to detail the garbage can as well, because the smeared food in there was, of course, without a liner (which i had left a whole box of under the sink, there is no excuse).

i feel SO violated. my trust is gone."

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Parag0

There is a risk associated with hosting - and it is very small. Yes, from time to time you may get guests you don't particularly like, but incidents like the one you pick out are rare. You either choose to take that risk or you don't. 

I don;t believe there is anything to say that overseas guests are more likely to defraud you, cause trouble, etc than your home-grown version. 

Do everything that makes you comfortable. Only take guests with good reviews from other hosts. Don;t take one night bookings and never take last minute bookings either. Trust your gut feeling - if something does not feel right then decline.

Good luck!

[Mary348]

Im sorry to hear about that. Maybe he was high on drugs. Its beyond terrible. Were you compensated from the security deposit?

[Parag0]

Hi Mary,

  Yes I filed a damage claim with AirBnB and they were marvellous.  I got the full value of my claim.  I have been made whole and my faith has been restored.  But honestly this was such a nightmare, I truly would have rather never gone through it.  This is my home, there is no money worth this. 

  I had to stay with my parents while I fixed the place up (the commute to work from their house is NOT  the same), and all my spare time was sunk into repairing the damage.  It took a LOT of time, a few weeks.  I even spent a TREMENDOUS amount of time preparing my home BEFORE the guest arrived, so as to minimize the amount of damage that could have been done in the first place, but I guess I just wasnt thinking creatively enough. 

  I am NOT a hotel.  My home cannot endure the kind of damage that the bottomless creativity of the general public is capable of inflicting.  I havent accepted any guests since, and I just dont know about being a host anymore.

[Mary348]

Thank goodness! Im glad you got your compensation though it doesn't make up for the nightmarish experience. Im a new host just since March this year. This is something I worry about with some guests who do not have reviews.  I live in another city from where the listing is. So the anxiety is on my co host who has to check each time after the guests leave. Touch wood, so far it has been alright. 

Do give it another try and only with guests with good reviews. I feel safer with families and those who are responsive and communicate promptly. We have still accepted guests where we had mixed feelings about them and so far nothing bad has happened. But its still a constant worry. The ones that I wasnt sure to accept are the unresponsive types or who arent very honest.

Maybe you can install cctv at main and back entrances. best of luck and pray.

[Parag0]

Hi Mary, 

  here is the thing ... if you saw my guests' profile, you would have never suspected anything!!  not only does he have a ton of stellar reviews, he is also a host himself with a ton of stellar reviews!!!   so, it turns out that he has done this to others before, but his horrendous reviews are very well buried.  since there is no way to discern whether he is the same person portrayed in his profile, there is no way to verify if his good reviews are legit, and there is no way to compare the nature of reviews (# of good vs # of bad), we as hosts are stuck with a very dangerous risk.  it is one reason i absolutely hate how the site is aggressively pushing the auto-book feature, but i digress. 

  cctv cameras, hidden or otherwise, are not legal in every jurisdiction, not to mention they wont help you if your guests are foreign nationals, or if they simply disable the cameras.  personally, from decades of careful/consistant observation, i think the nature of the general public is just not what it used to be.  for the most part, enterprise is simply untenable.