Guest breaks into wrong listing - Airbnb won’t assist

[Hugh0]

I thought I had seen it all. Over 1000 reviews of experience has shown me a thing of two. But nothing prepared me for this.

One of my 5 listings had been vacant for a few days. A guest from Booking.com was arriving that day. I asked my housekeeper to check the apartment for small things - crack open a window, check the floors etc before the guest arrived.

To our surprise, he found luggage in the apartment and stuff everywhere. A check of the tags showed the name of a guest who checked in two days previously, to an apartment in the building next door.

I checked the instructions - yep, they were given the correct instructions to 32/20 X Ave. How the hell did they get into 48/18 X Ave????!

The guest was called and messaged. Airbnb was called and messaged. No reply.

I had to cancel the Booking.com guest and refund them $489 because their apartment was “occupied”.

The next day the Airbnb guest calls and says he is in the wrong apartment. I asked how he managed to do that - he said he used the code on every keysafe on the gate of the building next door (my instructions say look for a keysafe in a mailbox) and finally one opened. He then used the key on every door on level 4 (the only thing the two apartments have in common) until a door opened.

i asked why he did not contact us when he found the apartment was nothing like the listing he booked ( no bedroom, no city views,  no huge picture window). He said he did not notice.

He then moved out because “he did not feel welcome” and refused to cancel his booking.

I  filed a claim for $489 I was out of pocked for the booking I cancelled . Airbnb refused.  Gave reasons like “potential” booking - I sent them the actual booking. They then said I should have given the arriving guest the vacant apartment - I replied that they booked for 3 days, only 2 were available. After that, Airbnb just refused.

I then asked for the guest details so I could take action against them. Airbnb refused and sent me a link to an “emergency help” page. Get this - if your life is in immediate danger you have to fill in a form of 14 questions - OMG   “Due to global data privacy laws, I will not be able to give out that information. Please have them utilize this portal for more information. www.airbnb.com/lert“

I did the honourable thing and did not throw the home invader’s stuff in the trash. It cost me $489.  Support from Airbnb - zero.  

Chesky says that Airbnb is “in the business of trust.” Show me the trust in this situation Airbnb?!?!?!

I’m sticking with Booking.com. The host holds the money, holds the security deposit, holds the ID. I’m done with NO support from Customer Support. 

[Colleen253]

But @Hugh0 he didn't break in to the unit, he had a key. He also didn't break in to the key safe as he had a code for that. It was rather random, but it happened, and it HAS exposed a weakness in your system. Now you can fix it. You can thank the other hosts here, like @Elena87  and @Cormac0 for pointing that out. It will save you future headaches and cost.

[Hugh0]

Interesting perspective.

Maybe after another 3500 guests one will once again ignore all the instructions, including the street address, building name, location of the key safe in a mailbox, apartment number, direction to turn out of the elevator, the missing bedroom in the apartment, the different furniture and the views the apartment is highlighted for.........and go to the wrong building, hunt through 15 or so key safes, be lucky enough to find a key, ignore the building name, ignore the apartment number, try every lock on the fourth floor till they find one that opens etc etc.

FYI - Below is is the definition of breaking

Breaking can be either actual, such as by forcing open a door, or constructive, such as by fraud or threats. Breaking does not require that anything be "broken" in terms of physical damage occurring. A person who has permission to enter part of a house, but not another part, commits a breaking and entering when they use any means to enter a room where they are not permitted, so long as the room was not open to enter.

[Amanda660]

@Hugh0  it doesn’t cost anything to be polite 🙂

[Hugh0]

I was polite. I was in awe.

[Paul154]

@Hugh0 

We all understand your dissappointment. Things did not go as planned and guests was pretty usarious. We've all been there.

However, don't get mad at @Amanda660 . She is trying to be helpful. 

Whenever I believe a guest has commited a crime or expensive damage, I always do the "judge" test.  I.E. How would a grumpy judge react to my story of being wronged...

Wronged host:  "Scoundrel guest stole entry into my room!"

Judge: "How did guest enter without causing damage to the entry door?"

Wronged host:  "I unwittingly supplied him the key..."

With my luck, the grumpy judge would throw me in jail for wasting his time.

[Hugh0]

Thanks Paul, I do a similar test called the sympathetic judge test.

In this case, I would be pass the claim to a debt collection agent. No judge involved.

Re unwittingly supplied the guest the key - that is far from the mark. 

Hope you are lucky with your judge as you suggest. 

[Piotr48]

Instead of being rude and defensive, work on your security flaws, @Hugh0 

[Hugh0]

Have a great day. 

[Linda108]

And you posted here because...?  ALL the hosts suggest you look at your system.  ALL your responses are dismissive of the feedback.  Sooooo, continue as you have.  To seek another response from Air BNB is a waste of your time.  Somewhat like your posting on this site.  So sorry

[Hugh0]

Hope that made you feel better

Merry Christmas to you too Linda

[Cormac0]

@Hugh0 

I surprised a man of your vast experience came to the host community for advice when most but not all of the hosts on here are Mom & Pop operations and could not possibly grasp the intricacies of you finely tuned business model, except a guest using his own initiative, managed to breach your security and ended up with access to an apartment he should not have been in using a key that your system provided.

Back to the drawing board Junior.

I think you should read Dale Carnegie's book “how to win friend and influence people” to your reading list.

[Hugh0]

Cormac - seems like you don’t in fact have anything better to do. I do, so I’ll cut and paste my earlier reply ......It’s Christmas - it’s the time of year for Elves not Trolls.

A brief review of your posting history shows a history of insults and petty fights.  

Hope things improve for you in 2020.

[Helen350]

@Cormac0 "Mom & Pop operations" - love it! Very cozy! - Just how Airbnb should be! 🙂

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Just 2 tips:

-Never underestimate your guest's stupidity and creativity.

-Be polite.

[Emilia42]

@Hugh0 this guest is obviously an idiot and I would have been super annoyed that he didn't reach out for help instead of trampling around the property trying to enter any room he could find. But what I don't understand is why you didn't evict him. Why did you wait for HIM to respond to you. Either yourself, your cleaner, or your property manager should have gone over to the apartment that night and told the guest to move into the correct space or leave. Airbnb will be of no help here. You never should have given this guest the option to stay one more night in the wrong apartment.