Asking a guest to leave or calling the police

[Lyn13]

Has anyone had a situation that warranted you to ask the guest to leave or call the police?

I just went thru my first bad experience as a host. Guest came in town because a good friend of his had just graduated from military training from the nearby Airforce base. I have hosted numerous families coming to celebrate graduation from military training and never have had anything but a great experience. 

This was different, note I do have in my house rules that no parties are allowed, no excessive drinking, smoking, etc). They had so many people in the house and moved furniture. They used every available bed, inflatable beds, pull outs, and cots and linens possible in the home. They played drinking games that resulted in alcohol being spilt on the walls, tables, and floors which left stains and a sticky mess to clean. Someone broke my back door jam because they tried to open without unlatching the chain. To make matters worse, there was a huge throw up stain on first step out back door that was on the door mat, side of house and concrete. I even had to pay to get it power washed and there is still a stain (someone must have eaten something red which really caused the stain). They drank so much that both of my huge trash cans were over flowing. They left trash bags on the carport and animals got into them and trash was strewn everywhere. It was a mess. They did all of this over just a weekend. 

Airbnb did help me get the deposit when guest refused. However, cost was much more to me and I am still at a loss. I guess I wasn't careful enough. I did go over there the second evening and the guest was walking into the house with a huge case of beer. I brought my son with me because I was a little scared to confront. He said nothing and just that he was having his friend over. He hadn't done anything, or what I could see since I didn't go into house. It almost seems like you have to wait for something to go really wrong before you can do anything. Canceling a reservation holds many consequences. I have updated my house rules to be even more detailed about what behaviors I frown upon. My only fear now is that I have more house rules, which I fear will drive guests away, but have PTSD from this experience. 

So that I am prepared for any future negative experiences from guests, please tell me your experience and how you handled it. The only thing I have seen thus far is everyone tries to call Airbnb, but only get computer people and no help or replies. So then what? Guest left and nothing happened? Has anyone actually called the police? Do you just show the Airbnb reservation and house rules and they then have them pack up and leave. Then you hope they don't post a horrible review or worse, come back and vandalize your property?

[Letti0]

@Lyn13  I have had groups from the base request a weekend to celebrate a 21st birthday or the graduation as soon as they learn we are on property they cancel ;D I've not had any issues with the BMT families I have hosted. They come on Wednesday and stay until Sunday night or Monday morning for the most part. Warning flags would have gone up about this guest you had. Graduates are normally 18-19 years old, so the friend was in that age bracket also I would assume, but the fact that you saw him carry in the beer means he was probably 21 years old. New graduates have to be back on base by 8:00 PM on Saturdays and 6:00 PM on Sundays if they earned that extra pass and if they are found to have had liquor they are in deep trouble. So the graduate would not have been around much, if there was a graduate. I would bet it was a local that wanted to have a party and used that as an excuse he figured you would accept without question as you host BMT families all the time. In Texas you can have the guests removed by the police for criminal trespassing, but you have to have AirBnB cancel the reservation first so they are in fact now trespassing. How many were on this guy's reservation? Make sure you report his profile and leave an honest review. 1* and a thumbs down. Sorry you had to deal with this. You may want to think about getting a Ring Pro Video doorbell. It least it will warn you if more people are showing up and you can stop a party before it starts. Bad part about them though is the tech savvy guy could shut down the WiFi to prevent it from working. One host mentioned that happened to her. 

[Kimberly54]

Hello @Lyn13, First, listen to EVERYTHING @Letti0 says.

Second, she's in Texas.  Next, everyplace is a bit different.  I'm far enough out in San Diego, CA that I don't have 911 emergency service.

I've never had a situation, but I have a plan.  Go to the nearest bar (where they have a 'BOUNCER'--big guy, probably tattoos, likes a fight). 

Meet him, arrange on a price, and you've now bought yourself a new BIG BROTHER who will escort your unwanted guests to the door. 

Safety first.

Not everyone would agree with me, but if something bad happens, it's gonna end quickly.

Best,

[Michele722]

Hi I’m so sorry to hear this.

I also had to call the police because of a party that happen. It was such a bad experience 

[Brenda313]

I had to have the police remove guests this morning. Airbnb offered no assistance. They broke several rules, including drugs in my house and unapproved guests. 

There is not enough protection for hosts. I now have the unauthorized guest harassing me thru Airbnb messaging.  She made her own account to harass me. I reported it and blocked her, but now I have to worry about my safety because they know where I live. 

Also, I will review and warn future hosts, I'm hoping airbnb gives me this option. I had their remaining days reimbursed because canceling would have lowered my status.  I was called a dumb *unt bitch, they put cig out on new leather furniture, and left drugs in room. 

... I'm concerned Airbnb will allow them to post a negative review. 

House rules were specific and clearly stated. 

[Frankie46]

Oh, Brenda, I am not comforted by your message as I am dealing with this situation RIGHT NOW...at 4am...after finding it nearly impossible to get anyone at AirBnB on the phone for almost an hour. I had to call the cops to break it up, but after they left, I was informed that some of the party guests went back inside. Were you able to get them vacated from your property? I told AirBnb that I wanted them gone, but I didn't want to get penalized. Am pretty stressed out now as the guest is still in my house after calling the cops and contacting her...I don't know WHAT they'll do now, especially now that they're p***ed off. As with you, my house rules specifically state no parties as well. UUuuuugggghhhh. Would love any advice you might be able to offer.

[Alexis-and-Julie0]

Airbnb is USELESS.  Tell the guest that you want them to leave and they will be refunded for unspent days.

Tell them their reservation is being cancelled and if they don't leave,  you will call the police for trespassing.  

If they don't agree,  call the police.

[Nick1711]

Greetings:

I am now on my fourth bad Airbnb Guest. Fortunately, Airbnb always responds to my messages but like some of you, I have also had bad experiences with some of their reps. My guest that I am asking to leave today had a guest at my home and said that she didn't consider them a guest as they were just a friend who was on my property for about 15 minutes. Guest left beverage bottles out in my common area and didn't put the pool cue sticks back on the pool table after use. Today, broken shards of glass on my kitchen floor and pools of water with some electrical cords running through them. What in the heck was my Airbnb guest doing?  When I first addressed these issues with the guest via Airbnb messaging, she responded harshly. At the request of Airbnb, I sat down with the guest to reiterate my written rules and with the guest's knowledge, I recorded the conversation as to not leave any question to what was said. 

There is already visible damage in my kitchen but since the guest is still in my home I have not been able to check her guest bedroom. The damage in the kitchen exceeds the remaining money for the guest so I am curious to see how Airbnb will handle this situation.

[Scott-and-Mary-Ellen0]

So sorry to hear about that, @Brenda0! That's one of my fears, that something illegal will go on in one of our properties--one we're not in, one that we are in. Am debating putting in rules that "any evidence of illegal activity will be reported to police." Keep us posted! 

[Brenda0]

Sorry to hear your bad experiences.  Do you have a Guest Check-in Form where they sign after reading your Welcome Manual with all the detailed house rules.  ( I suggest you HIGHLIGHT these important rules: NO VISITORS ALLOWED; NO PARTIES ALLOWED; NO SMOKING; NO PETS;  NO LOUD MUSIC, NO FOUL LANGUAGE AND KEEP THE ROOM/HOUSE TIDY.)                                 My husband and I are seniors and thank God we blessed to have amazing guests all over the world.  This Is our 3rd year rating as Super Hosts and we are very grateful for Airbnb.

[Frankie46]

I have JUST had my first bad experience as a host related to this very thing just now! Nightmare trying to get through to AirBnB...took 11 attempts at calling, then after sending a message, I FINALLY got a text message with a link to activate that THEN, somehow, enabled me to reach them. Honestly, I want the guest OUT, and I am SO grateful to my neighbor who (unfortunately awakened by the party, fighting, crashing things) and FaceTimed me. Had to call the cops, and AirBnB documented everything, however I am not confidence-inspired that they will do what needs to be done. They were supportive once I finally got them on the phone, but geez. It took almost an hour. After reading your posts, I am concerned...I want them out, but it seemed that I would be penalized if I did that. Stay tuned...

[Stella431]

We had a guest recently saying he is in town for business and booked two nights later I did a background check on him and found out he lives 7min away from our house. Accompanied him were four girls, as soon as they entered the house they started smoking and blasted apartment with loud music. Which against our non-smoking and no party house rules. Then within the course of next 12 hours, there were 10+ guys in and out of the house, most of them stay no longer than 20min. Some of them stayed longer. We got multiple cameras front and back of the house (low res, hi res...) so we got each and everyone of their faces on camera. We are very torn on whether or not to call the police. If our property is the drug dealer’s new distribution center it look bad on police record and those axxholes know where we lives. We are worry about later retaliation. What a mess my situation. Anybody can give us any suggestions? 

[Alexis-and-Julie0]

Airbnb is USELESS. I have spent 11 days , 9 hours and 16 minutes on calls, and countless reps.

Take matters into your own hands. 

Tell the guest that you want them to leave and they will be refunded for unspent days if they leave without incident. 

Tell them their reservation is being cancelled and if they don't leave, you will call the police for trespassing.  

If they don't agree, call the police.

[Alexis-and-Julie0]

You will get different stories from different representatives.  Each rep will reinvent the wheel and re-read the file.  You will be promised a return phone call that never comes.  You will be disconnected.  You will wait on hold. 

Nothing will ever be resolved. 

See my post above.   Take matters into your own hands.