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

Jess78
Level 10
Eugene, OR

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

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.

 

 

 

63 Replies 63
Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

Sorry for your bad egg. It’s a good reminder, a little green check mark doesn’t mean anything. All hosts should do their own due diligence. No way to know what abb does or knows and no way to get them to share info after the fact. 

You have to accept as guest before they are booked and then you can run a semi check. Air does not do a check at all. Guests can create an account easily. Hosts are at mercy of gut!  I guess this is what hotels have to contend with as well.... they dont run checks on guests. And if ya ask too many guestions..... law suit for discrimination could be possible. 

hotels has security guards on sit and much more resourses to ensure safty.

Unfortunately, doing your own due diligence as host may be possible once guest has booked. It is only then that you know guests last name. If renter hasn’t a “good guest” track record by way of previous host reviews - beware! I had a six month nightmare resulting in thousands in damages and many days spent contacting or trying to contact Airbnb - far more than should ever be necessary.  Landlords in Tx require background checks for apt applicants - with good reason. Why shouldn’t there be a system in place for hosts? Airbnb could offer at nominal fee to hosts with opt out option.  My post rental check found felony . But I was only able to do search once I had guests surname. Had I known info in advice I would have been able to make the  choice to decline.

@Linda0

Thanks for sharing your experience with me and others. I am now checking all my future reservations that I have, given my shock at finding an exisiting criminal record on this guy. It sounds like you really went through it with customer service. What was the outcome of all your trouble?

 

What I *hope will happen is that after I run those checks, if I find anyone who has a record again, Airbnb will allow me to cancel those reservations without penalty. There would be no other acceptable way to navigate it.

 

So: Accept reservation, run a check on your own, and then cancel if you find something you're uncomfortable with. Accept o fight penalities from Airbnb if they exist.

 

It is indeed a f**ed system they have that does not prioritize safety, as they advertise and puts hosts most definitely in danger or their property on the line. If they're not actually doing background checks, I think that is fine as long as you SAY YOU ARE NOT DOING IT and be truthful so that hosts can take matters into their own hands.

 

I like your suggestion of an option to pay for a check, but they need to quit their current policy of suggesting to new hosts that they do them and then not.

How can you do a background check before they arrive?  Who did you use to do background check.  This why I haven't hosted before.

Hi Sharon,

There are many online background check services available and I tried to find a highly reviewed one to use and try out to see if it provided what I needed. I am NOT affilitated with them in any way, but I used instantcheckmate and it provides enough information that I can make a better judgement as to what sort of person wants to stay at my house (criminal records show byt you might not find out the exact nature of the legal involvement except whether it's traffic related or not. Of course I don't care about fairly typical traffic stuff...) You can see patterns -- multiple aliases, multiple bankruptcies, multiple run-ins with the law, liens, sometimes social media or job history things. Enough to confirm or deny a shady feeling I might have already had about a guest. It's not free, but if I'm going to be doing this through the rest of the summer and part of the fall when my house is booked until (will delist after that), then it's just a business expesne like paper towels as far as I'm concerned now.

www.vinelink.com Free background check from all states.

 

Hi Jess, What information do you need in order to do the background check through instantcheckmate?

Hi Jess, About how much does for the background checks?

I am new to Airbnb and only starting listing on this site due to request from fellow medical co-workers for traveling medical staff that I clearly describe on my listing. I had my first booking that ended up being a nightmare. I am also in the medical field and when she booked she stated she was coming from up north and new assignment starts in 2 weeks. Without prior notice she brought her daughter to stay the weekend. Being new, I did not want to make a big deal over this. As time went on and a couple for conversations, I noticed a few inconsistancies and redflags plus I just had a feeling that something was not right. Mind you she was the only one in the home that she booked a room but acted like she rented to full house and when I would come check on things she wanted me to give her notice. This was also concerning. As, mentioned above, she stated that her assignment started in two weeks but as time passed she did not have an assignment and now thinking of IT consulting. Now, I am really thinking, Something is fishy. I ran my own background check and come to find out , no current nursing license in California as of 2012 and pending charges in another state with 2 other states with different issues. Also her daughter was just release for theft in washington. With all this, I wanted help from Airbnb and I never got a response and they said I could cancel her booking but I would have penalties. Being this is my first booking and this experience could affect my listing I really did not know what to do. I then received a notice from Edison that my electric was maxed pass Tier 1. This was another concern as the A/C and ducting was just replaced 8 months prior. i went to the property again and she then started complaining to Airbnb which they responded to her complaints within 1 hr./ Amazing how this was. When they told her she could not control the temp if I did not want her to she complained again and again even about me not having salt and pepper. At this point I advised her that i notified the other states of her whereabouts and she left without notice the next morning leaving my property open to intruders if I did not get the notice from my cameras. I notified Airbnb of her leaving and they had me give her a refund. Now she has left a negative review and this is what concerns me and I feel no support. I would like suggestions on how to handle this if anyone has any advise. 

Jennifer -- tagging not working...

I just read your post. A horrifying experience for one of your first goes at hosting. The level of bumbling and roulette with hosts' safety on the part of this company is scary.  I'm surprised it didn't scare you off all together. Home sharing is an important development for Americans in helping to capitalizeon their own properties, I just don't think Airbnb is the company set to handle it.

Jenna-Lee1
Level 2
Colorado, United States

What are you using to check guests? Do you have a background checker that you recommend?

how host will run a backgroud check on guests from over seas? imposible.