Guest with Criminal Record

[Karen307]

Hello Folks, 

I have this situation going on which to me highlights a rather huge hole in the security of ABB. I thought I'd share it with other hosts to get some feedback as well as suggestions for how to become more aware of who is staying at my home. (My unit is a basement apartment below my house.) 

A woman booked my apartment for six weeks as temporary housing indicating that is she is relocating to the Triangle from the Northeast. She booked for 2 adults.  The second adult is her boyfriend. I took pictures of their IDs at check in. 

We are just over half-way into the stay (over 3 weeks). Unfortunately, all has not gone well and we've had to have some discussions. For example, (long story short) she texted me to ask if her son could also stay for a while. I said that I'm not set up for 3 guests in the apartment so it wouldn't be ok. She never responded to my decline and brought him here from the NE anyway. She said she didn't get my reply and wasn't reading her text messages because she's in "Mommy mode". There have been other happenings that make me question her integrity as well.

Getting more uncomfortable with these guests, I decided to do a Google search for both adults. I learned that the boyfriend has a conviction for arson for burning his house down, not for the insurance money but due to "anger issues". I'll pause to let that sink in . . .. 

I've seen a suggestion to use facial recognition searching on Google using the guest's profile picture to see if anything comes up. But that wouldn't work when a spouse / SO makes the booking for two people. This highlights that anyone with an account can make a booking and, even if the host checks out the booking guest, the other person is a big questionmark. 

Note also that I've had several people make bookings for other people even though my rules and ABB policy says that's not ok. I really had to fight with ABB one time to get the third parties out as they were wanting me to honor the reservation even though none of the people staying were the booking guest. So that's also a risk if you aren't there to let the people in and immediately make them leave (which is a stressful thing that I really resent having to do). 

Some things I'm thinking of doing / have done:

- before check-in asking for the full name and DL or other ID number of each guest (will also help the third party situation)

- limiting my stays to 10 days as a trial period before longer term stays are approved. 

I find that I'm having to learn so many things from different guests. I keep modifying my policies to address such situations. I do enjoy hosting and providing a great stay to great, appreciative guests. But it seems like I frequentily run into either ABB policies that aren't host friendly (like needing to use IB / have a high acceptance rating) and unique situations. 

What other suggestions do y'all have to keep convicted arsonists with anger issues (and the like) from staying in your home? 

Thanks!

Karen

[Kimberly54]

Wow @Karen307.  I guess we're all going to have to add 'No convicted felons' to our profiles.  Yuck.

OK, this is just me, but I'm pretty sure I'd go to a local bar, hire a big bouncer, go back home and ask them to leave.   I think I would also call the local police department and ask them if they could have a car in your neighborhood, just in case things get really bad--tell them what is going to happen.  'Mr. Penn' might just have to spend the rest of their stay downtown.

What an awful situation.  Get out of it as quickly as you can (them...all of them).

Feedback from anyone else? 

Be safe,

[Letti0]

@Karen307   Your rules are very clear on not extra guests. I would document in the AirBnB system the text that said no. Tell her her son must leave as he is not on the reservation as stipulated in your rules. If this is not agreeable then all 3 of them must leave now.   

[Noel63]

I would also be very careful with the way you word the review. You don't want to say anything that would enable your guest to have the review removed.

[Joe525]

What's so disheartening about your post is not the criminal background of your guests, but your fear of people who made some bad choices in their past. Your solution is to automatically ban anyone who has a criminal record. People change, people grow, and for anyone with a criminal record they have probably paid their debt to society. You are perpetuating fear and making it okay for companies like Airbnb to automatically discriminate against people with any criminal record.

[Sarah977]

@Joe525   I didn't read fear in Karen's post. Being cautious and being fearful are not the same thing at all. She was quite clear that the guest hadn't been upfront with her and brought her son without permission. She wasn't getting good vibes from these people due to their behavior, which is what prompted her to check them out further. 

Of course people can grow and change and shouldn't be automatically condemned for poor decisions or bad behavior in the distant past. But you have no idea whether this guy who had an arson conviction has had any successful counselling for his anger issues (nor does Airbnb or the host), nor whether this was a recent event or long in the past. Chastising the host seems unfair.

I wouldn't want a convicted arsonist as an Airbnb guest in my home either. This doesn't mean I would never become friends with one, or hire one, if I knew the circumstances and knew that they had changed and dealt with their issues, but it's not my responsibility as a host to give a complete stranger with a criminal record a chance to prove himself trustworthy at the risk of him setting my house afire over something he might get his knickers in a knot about.

[Joe525]

You're all so incredibly privileged to own property that you can rent out on Airbnb. And this is what you do with it: fearmonger and perpetuate stigma. The state has already punished those with a record and now you take it upon yourselves to judge them further and prohibit them from participating in the economy. Nothing has happened to Karen's property. All that has transpired is the spread of fear and resentment. And what about your guests who have no record? Are you all prepared to conduct psych evals on them?

[Natasha45]

@Joe525 - did you take your Airbnb listing down? 

[Bridgette45]

They broke the rules of booking a home that only accepts 2 and should have found a place that is for 3 people and after being told they could not bring an additional guest. The guests felt entitled and privileged in breaking the rules.

[Aja697]

What about someone who served their time for something that happened about 10 years ago? Why punish them if they've been out and stayed out..?

[Sarah977]

@Aja697  To me, it would kinda depend on what they went to prison for. If they were drug dealing or stole a car or robbed a convenience store, I'd be willing not to hold that against them.

If they committed murder or rape, or serious assault, as a home-share host, I wouldn't be willing to risk having them in my home.

[John1080]

@Karen307, since they have broken your rules, I would contact AirBnb and tell request that their stay be canceled. Now of course, since you have an arsonist with anger issues there, you have to worry what he might do if he becomes angry.  I think I would also go into the local police department and speak to someone preemptively just to get their advice and be prepared for what may come.

I would get them out asap though. 

[JC50]

What about hosts that have criminal records , multiple felonys for drug possession and sales and weapons charged who are actively still involved in the same criminal activities? 

[Sarah977]

@JC50  Is this some hypothetical question? I see you just joined Airbnb, are not a host or a guest, have zero profile info and no reviews. So you just came here to post this why?

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Sarah977 @JC50 

That is not especially welcoming, this is an open forum not a clique.