FYI hosts, run your own background checks- Airbnb’s ‘checks’ not accurate

[Jess78]

Hello everyone,

I’ve been through an ordeal this past week, details of which are in another thread that I won’t launch into here, but you can certainly search for it if you’re interested.

i had a guest that left and I discovered lots of illegal drug use, possible manufacturing, in my home. This was NOT just pot, which is legal here in Oregon. 

The result of a lotof grief with Airbnb about this over the past week is this: 

-I Ran my own background check and I found criminal activity in August of 2015 that was not a traffic offense 

-no contact from the Trust and Safety team, despite 3 promises that they would contact me.

-i received $50.oo in damages due to the ‘odor’ left and nothing else

-I consulted with a hazmat team and followed their instructions,  it there was no advice or contact from Airbnb concerning guest health and safety or my home’s safety. NONE!!!

- no help from Airbnb in getting the drug criminal removed from using this service— he Is probably staying in someone else’s home right now. They said they ‘flagged’ him which only internal employees can see, not potential hosts. Again, HE HAS A CRIMINAL HISTORY and is known to have injected drugs in his body in a host’s home and he is still out and about on this site. 

The local cal news has been contacted about this, even though I hate to do that. All I wanted was a little support from trust and safety and I got absolutely nothing. And now other users of this site are at risk. 

Delisting my two properties as soon as it’s possible and I would recommend the same to others.

[Jess78]

All good suggestions, Helen. You can never be certain by chatting with them, but it helps. Stay safe out there!

[Pete28]

I live upstairs (which has its pros and cons) so not real overhead in meeting them, but they are constantly bringing extra people, smoking etc.

Last night mother and son - oh, he is down in the garden smoking. Yeah - thanks for that. I guess no smoking means just stab them out in the lawn. Airbnb people are generally not the best tourists...

i think the most important thing is making it clear in the listing that you will meet them - eg I live less than 2 mins away and like to personally meet each guest to introduce neighbour hood and my home etc etc..

Only a really crazy person would book that for their porn, meth, drug crazed party etc.

[Scott308]

Some hosts are using video cameras and the "August app," or equivalent... and/ or third party "background checks." These drug dealers, couriers (including cash mules) and/ or "users" will rent a place for 1- 2 nights during the week (or Friday?) to "get a feel for" the scene... then if they didn't"meet the owner/manager" and noone "checks- up on them" while they're there... then the "point person" apparently apparently deals there, has "users over, to party..." or is online (Darknet and Social Media?) booking "meet- ups" of whatever. (Some even have 'stuff' delivered by mail or delivery service to the home!)

According to what I've read online... they also have both drug and money (from the drugs) mules... taxiing across the area, state, and nationally... and STRs (Short Term Rentals) are a new "favorite stop," since they are cheaper and more discreet than a hotel (without ID required at check- in, cameras, emplyees and management onsite, cops cruising by, etc.) when NOT "owner occupied!" I'm currently  (off AirBnB) in one where I just watched an unmarked delivery van with no plates (parked across the street late Friday night... then left at noon, on Sunday)  where I also witnessed a "deal" go down in the dark at 7:30pm a week ago right next door... in a nicer neighborhood of Santa Rosa, California... you wouldn't expect to see ANY "drug activity!"

I'm sorry to say that a notable percentage of those "Ubers and Lyfts," (and unmarked delivery vehix, to "bike riders and deliveries") to now STRs... are being used for parties, and by smaller dealer to cartel opps and sex workers, etc. I stay in ABBs, but would NOT even consider "hosting..." when it's quite clear what the objectives here are, and "host and guest safety" CLEARLY isn't one of them! And after 50 feedbacks (over 50 separate stays, since 2013) I've watched it go from good, to bad... to far WORSE...so if they really aren't doing anything but focusing on the P & L statement and avoiding liability on the front end... then the back end (Class action suits, then their stock tanking, along with the "brand reputation, to being banned" in many places worldwide... will also in turn effect the founders, soon enough!)

[Tueykay0]

Please post updates on how the situation is evolving. Are you able to host again or are you awaiting Hazmat cleanup to give you a safety clear?

[Jess78]

Hi ,

Thanks for the interest in this. Yes, my house is all good to go. Never any word from AIrbnb despite 4 calls, 4 emails to various contacts that I acquired, 3 weeks' time, and a facebook CS reply that said they can't help ---gotta wait for Trust and Safety. The case seems to be closed up tight unfortunately.

So like ute in Germany regularly campaigns, you just have to watch out for yourself and never bank on Airbnb being anything but a booking service. I'm not down with that, since that's not what their marketing to hosts is and I delisted one property already with the last reservation there being this weekend. Unfortuantely I'm booked through October almost now for my other property and will delist that one then. Until then, I've increased my rates slightly to cover small security deposit claims that I know won't be addressed by my airbnb security deposit or host guarantee.

I didn't used to be worried or think twice, and have enjoyed it immensely, but there's too much risk involved for it to be worth messing up a major investment of mine. I think Airbnb deserves a big lawsuit for all the people they promise that they at least do background checks on  -- hosts and guessts are definitely put at unnecessary risk and I believe they are violating their own contract by not always doing them. I also worry about those who are flagged and still out there and that the problem will only grow.

All this and the last thing I'm going to say is that since my first complaint about background checks lobbied at the company being posted here, I have updated my listing almost every day and haven't received ONE booking since then. It is quite unusual for me to not get one booking in 3 weeks and that hasn't happened since I started hosting 4 years ago. And, this post also all but disssappeared from the community board and you have to search for it, depsite it being seen by over 1,000 people.

It's too bad they have to be so terrible and manipualative to hosts -- a few minor tweeks to host policy would  resolve so many issues, but as many have remarked, it's all about their bottom line. Safety is #1 to me. And their new campaign about smoke detectors isn't going to cut it.

[Jess78]

Also, the local news was interested in running a story on this the very day I called. Unfortunately I was extremely tied up with my full time job and parenting small children and juggling the airbnb and other survival activities, so I couldn't take time to be filmed  on my lunch break that day. They wanted to do it that day. If hosts call their local news agencies when stuff like this happens it seems it will get traction.

[John1080]

I have not run any real background checks on any guests, but I always do a Google search after I am able to see their last name and city. I typically am able to find out their profession and where they live, which can be a good indicator, especially if the guest has no previous AirBnb experience or reviews. 

[Kenneth12]

Hope Jess is doing better now;   I can only repeat the advise-- do some research on potential guests,  be caseful out there,  and ABB is not providing enough support and screening here.

[Karina-Каринa0]

Why are you bothered about his drug use? Alcohol can be as bad, but it is legal.

[Jess78]

@Karina-Каринa0  this was involving needles -- there were fumes galore and not to mention blood drips. This is not like smoking pot. Heroin or meth users are of a different ilk here in Oregon I suppose but illegal activities are 100% not welcome in my neighborhood.

If you are good to go with letting heroin addicts stay in your home, more power to you. Go for it.

[Michelle53]

I just had a guest book for one night for one person. Just joined in February, zero reviews. But I always feel one should give people a chance. After he left, I found that there were at least three people staying in the apartment. I asked him directly about it, and he said yes, there were, and he didn't know about my extra guest policy. I informed him he has to pay for each extra guest, and opened a case with Airbnb. A support person tried calling him, and providing a direct link to the Resolution Center. No response.   He is now not responding to me either, and I escalated the case with Airbnb. I had a feeling he was going to be a deadbeat. Then I decided to google search his name, and, sure enough, he comes up with a criminal record, liens and bankruptcies. I knew I was going to be out the money - hopefully Airbnb can compensate me for it.  I feel fortunate that nothing in the apartment was damaged or missing. But I want to warn other hosts n the review. I will try and state just the facts of the case. But I wish I had googled him first !  I would have declined him.  Maybe some feel like folks earn a second chance, but a person's basic character apparently never changes.

[Andrew1469]

I work for a property management company that handles short-term rentals. We've processed over 15,000 successful reservations but just this past year, we had a gang of criminals book one of our properties and start to traffic drugs, prostitutes, and automatic weapons through it. They stole the key to the property, giving them unrestricted access. We didn't want to endanger any of our staff by sending them in to get rid of the criminals, but it took nearly a week for police to respond and get the criminals out long enough for us to change the locks.

This made us realize that booking channels like Airbnb don't catch criminals, partiers, or fraudsters renting properties. This thread alone shows that the lack of background checks is a huge issue in the short-term rental industry. We decided we didn't want to be vulnerable anymore. To solve the issue and protect our properties, we created Autohost, a guest screening software. Using a proprietary algorithm, Autohost scans all reservations using hundreds of tests and data points to collect and validate guests' IDs, determining their level of risk. Based on the flagged risks, the software provides users with a list of action items to handle potential issues proactively.

Since using Autohost, we haven't had any issues with criminals, parties, or fraudsters.****

*[Personal advertising link hidden–in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Scott308]

Looks like a much needed service. (i.e. Autohost dot AI.) The first question that comes to mind for me is: WHY AirBnB didn't/ doesn't now have at least this basic level of screening "sophistication" in place, prior to having the "undesirables" tarnishing their branding, to opening them up to major lawsuits allowing these perps into people's residences, rentals and sublettings?! I can then only conclude it's then either do to "greed?" Or more likely, even worse?! (i.e. What else makes ANY "logical sense???")

[Jeffrey370]

Hi @Jess78, I know this post is now a couple of years old but I would be very interested to know how all this turned out for you. Could you give us a short recap on how this all ended since you made your original post?

We're considering doing 30 day minimum rentals to bypass some local complexity here with one-night, two night, etc rentals, but your original post has given me pause.

I've even started my own post about the topic: 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Background-checks-on-a-potential-tenants-before-they-boo...

[Rich2408]

Airbnb is only a "transaction" facilitator... They are not able to enforce anything... I too had a similar experience as you describe above, and I too received the same kind of Airbnb help, or lack thereof as you did from Airbnb...  Airbnb is about the transaction and nothing else...  If you think about it, Airbnb cannot enforce a thing.  The local law enforcement can only pursue criminal activity; Airbnb conflicts are considered civil and as such are not enforceable by law enforcement... So, as an Airbnb host, if you have a nice place, you are assuming an extreme amount of risk by hosting...  If you check around, you will find that it is not a matter of if, but a matter of when this will happen to anyone who hosts on Airbnb... As in the immortal words of Gleen Fry,  "it's the lure of easy money; it's gotta very strong appeal." -- Smuggler's Blues, Eagles 1984...