Blocking someone for harassment?

Matt704
Level 2
Euless, TX

Blocking someone for harassment?

I just hosted my residence not even 48 hours ago and already I have someone threatening to file a lawsuit on me because I do not allow pets/service animals in my residence. I clearly state in my listing that I do not allow pets (including service animals) due to my allergies and my general safety concern. I have a young neice that frequently comes over and also, there are two VERY aggressive pit bulls that live next door. The owner leaves them outside all day and they tear up the fence and get extremely aggresive when I am outside in my backyard and bark very aggresively. My sister brought her dog over once and they were trying to dig under the fence to attack him.

 

The person made a request for 6/13 evening (the night they made the reservation) I messaged them and advised them of the animal situation but didn't receive a response that night, I waited until next day and declined the listing due to their lack of response, and the reasons I mentioned above feeling that they may be better accomodated elsewhere. So the booking was requested for 6/13 but he waited until today to start sending me harrassing messages.

 

Should I be worried about this person? I have advised them to stop contacting me and took screenshots of this notice but they are threatening to take me to court for this. The AirBNB policy states I can deny people's appointments due to my reasons above so I do not believe I am breaking any airbnb policy or any state laws for this.

 

As stated, I just started this on 6/13 and already gettng this type of harrasment which is already starting to discourage me from wanting to pursue this. Do other hosts encounter this type of behavior from people with Service Animals? How do I go about blocking this user from contiously messaging me and from them trying to even see my listing at all? If it's going to be a continious problem then I may just say forget even trying to earn some extra income through this means because it isn't worth the headache of dealing with people who thinks the world revolves around them!

2 Replies 2

@Matt704  follow the instructions here:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2020/how-do-i-report-a-message-or-block-someone-on-airbnb%3F

 

You can block the user from sending messages or reservation requests. However, there is no way to block an individual from viewing your listing

 

I do recommend removing the photo of the front of your house, as it makes it easy for the guest to find your address on Google Street View.

Suzanne302
Level 10
Wilmington, NC

@Matt704 

 

1 - You may be sued by this person, but they have absolutely no case. You are not breaking any ADA laws or Airbnb terms. Homeshares are treated differently than whole house rentals when it comes to laws regarding service animals. You absolutely do NOT have to accept service animals in the home that is your private residence. So don't even worry about that. It's doubtful they would actually try to sue you and more than likely are just mouthing off. (My good friend runs a non-profit dedicated to training and placing service animals so I know her info is correct!)

 

2 - Don't let this get you down or discourage you from hosting! Yes, there are plenty of entitled people out there, but there are also some awesome people you will meet by being a host! The good ones will outweigh the occasional bad apples.