Guest who showed up isn't the guest on Airbnb

[Kearin0]

I need some advice, please! An Airbnb "verified" guest made a reservation with us for a week long stay. My boyfriend and I showed the place and got him settled in. He later came to us with a sheet of his contact info in case we needed to reach him. The name on the info did not match the name on the profile/reservation. So, we spoke with him about this concern and he explained that his friend was the one with the verified ABnB profile. This made us very uncomfortable because we had no verification of who he was. We depend on this verification to help ensure the security of our home. He went on to say that he used to be in the Army, then went to Boston to work at Harvard, then started his own business, then moved to Houston to work for a catering company. My boyfriend has worked in law for 18 years and is also an Army veteran. My boyfriend privately explained to me that his story did not "sound right." He did a basic Google search and found zero info about anything the guest said. My boyfriend asked him about this, (he only wanted to verify who guest was. In fact he even explained to guest that we don't normally ask background info of our guests but this was a unique and rather suspicious circumstance). Our guest became very aggresively defensive. My boyfriend tried to calmly explain our side, but guest kept getting angrier and angrier. The guest then angrily offered a copy of his driver's license. The guest then left. We used newly acquired info to do a slightly more in-depth search of our guest. The only thing we found was a "Montgomery County, TX -  Most Wanted" website in which he was listed, (including his picture). It's not necessarily a "checkered past" that has us uneasy, (we are both believers in fresh starts), it's the lies.

We attempted to contact him by phone and we left a message which he has not returned.He left some of his belongings, (his bags and even groceries he purchased), behind but has possesion of a set of keys to our house and the remote for our automatic security gate. This entire thing has us very on edge and uncomfortable. 

We love using Airbnb and have had really great experiences with all of our guests until now. We don't want to tarnish our status with Airbnb as hosts, or even lose the money we got for the week-long stay, (it's too late to re-book). What are our options? Thank you for your assistance!

[Joyce37]

Under the circumstances I don't think I would be bothered what Airbnb thing or about your status, I would be more concerned for your safety, I hope you get this sorted out and the return of your keys, Joyce 

[Clare0]

@Kearin0 Use one of the methods in this link to contact Airbnb about this guest.  Sounds rather creepy!  Also, if you are able to leave a review for the person who made the booking, be sure to state publicly that he made the reservation for someone you would not have approved. 

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728

[Sabine42]

Kearin,

have you considered turning him in? If he is indeed on the 'Most Wanted' List you might be doing your community a great favor by doing so. I would call the police ASAP, contact Airbnb via Twitter @AirbnbHelp, flag the profile. I would also change the locks, good luck!

[David126]

I agree, first call would be Police which he may well be assuming so that is why he has gone.

[Robert78]

Call cops. Now.

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

Definitely contact the Airbnb support team immediately! Also, communicate with the person who made the reservation through the message thread. Then follow-up with a phone call to them. The message thread will be used by the Airbnb support team to review the case, so make sure that everything you communicate in the thread is factual, polite and appropriately addresses your concern. Since this was a third party booking, it's in violation of the Airbnb rules. Airbnb can cancel the booking for you and it will open the dates on your calendar.

Collect the guests belongings and put them in a box labeled with their name and the name of the person who made the booking. Explore how you can return these to the guest. Dispose of perishables. About the keys... whether you get them back or not, you can't trust that they have not been copied by now. Get the locks rekeyed and the cost paid for by the guest/reservationist as a charge back to their security deposit.  Be sure to request this of Airbnb ASAP.

[Dee9]

Ditto what everyone else here has already said. Who cares about losing the money for the week. 

Let us know what happens! 

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

Police ASAP. If local police are not interested, call the department that has the wanted information.  Change locks.  Reprogram gate openers still in your possession.  The manual of your gate should tell you easily how to do that or call the manufacturer or try YouTube videos. 

Contact guest again  by phone and email if you have it on the contact sheet, and tell him you are putting his belongings and groceries in a secure location where he can pick them up at his convenience.  Is there a luggage locker or storage option nearby?  Personally I would put the perishables in a cooler with ice or dry ice and let him know he has a window of time in which they will remain refrigerated.

Contact the person who made the reservation and tell them everything you did (except the calling of the police.)  Say you are unhappy they put you in this position, that their friend is not welcome at your place and that they should let him know where his belongings are.

I would not let him back in based on his behavior when confronted, much less the wanted status.  However I would try my best to behave respectfully toward his belongings while evicting them from my premises, even if it cost me a bit of money to do so.  Whether or not he is still 'wanted' he does own that stuff and has a right to be able to retrieve it intact.

[Babs0]

You don't have to be in law to figure out his story is fake, @Kearin0!

Make sure your family is safe, change the locks if you have to... This is not the time to take chances, obviously he has a bad temper and an agressive nature. If he wanted the fresh start, he would have been honest and earned his stay wiht you guys!

Let us know what happens!

[Kearin0]

First of all, THANK YOU to all those who commented on here giving us support. We contacted AirBNB support and they told us that the guest who reserved for his friend violated the TOS and would likely be banned from the site as being able to guest anywhere else.

Additionaly, they told us no adverse action would be taken against us as hosts. This was so important to us because we really love using this service and we are trying to get to superhost status. 

Again, we appreciate this community!

Kearin