Hi Guys!! I need urgent advice for my airbnb listing.

[FiveStar1]

I have my listing in New York and i just got a voilation from the state stating that my listing has to be off by Feb 11 2019, that is in a couple of days due to complaints of neighboors because we once had a guest that made a lot of noise and came with a huge group of over 100 ppl into my house that can host up to 14 ppl. and made a new year party...they made such a commotion in the area that since then neighbors started complaing about the house...Now, i just got this voilation and i have no clue how to proccedd!! Was anyone ever in a similar situation or knows how to go about such a situation?? I would really appreciate if someone can suggest something!! Thanks a lot and have a great day 🙂

[Helen3]

How irresponsbile of you to let over 100 guests party in your listing. Your poor neighbours.

You know people party at New Year's Eve.  Why on earth didn't you have CCTV or similar so you could monitor your place and shut the party down before it started?

How to proceed? Shut it down and learn from your experience.

[FiveStar1]

Just want to clarify that i was not aware that there will be 100 guests, they checked in as a group of 6 and later they had a whole group join, without my permission of course and against my house rules. But, as you said you learn from experiences 🙂

Thanks for your honest opinion!

[Robin4]

@FiveStar1

I know the last thing you want is criticism, but I am afraid there is no way that you can fight 'City Halls' ruling. This is one of the conditions NY authorities put on hosts....that there will be no compliants from neighbours.

In this situation I would think that neighbours would  be annoyed, and I am afraid the annoyance does not simply end there Princess! Airbnb hosts are finding more and more restrictions put on them by authorities, and this has come about precisely because of situations like this.

This party that happened in your listing will become something of a rallying point for those people against short term renting. A New Years Eve party of 100 + in a residential dwelling is going to become a huge red flag for Airbnb to try and overcome!

You have not just made it hard for yourself you have made it that much harder for all of us.....every time this happens Airbnb tighten the screws on all of us just a little bit more.

I am sorry that you have found yourself in this situation but I am disappopinted you allowed this to happen....not very responsible of a Superhost!

If you have rooms to rent forget about STR and Airbnb and long term rent where if something outrageous happens and it goes off the rails, you won't impact on all the rest of us like you have here!

Cheers.....Rob

[FiveStar1]

Hey Robin,

I appreciate your honest opinion,

I also would like to clarify that they booked my house as a group of 6, i was not aware that it was a group of 100 ppl, they went against my rules, i would never ever allow such a thing, i have self check in and didnt know that this was happening, i guess you learn from mistakes 🙂

Again, I truly appreciate your honest words, 

Regards.

[Mark116]

I think some of this criticism is a little over blown.  There is no law that says a property owner can't throw a wild party with 100 guests, the most that will  happen is the police will be called for disturbing the peace, no one is going to force the home owner to sell their house.  I'm not sure why a SINGLE such incident should be grounds for having a listing closed by the government.  This seems unfair.

Also, not everyone can afford expensive CCTV equipment for their property.

As for @FiveStar1 question, I'd say you will need to consult a lawyer to have much hope of getting the decision reversed.  There would usually have to be also some mechanism for an appeal, I would think, for such a measure to be legal, so you could try and find out the appeal process to at least stop things for a couple of months.

[FiveStar1]

Thank you so much Mark for your kind words!! I truly appreciate that.

I think that this will be my best option, will consult a lawyer.

Again, thank you very much for your good advice!

Have a great day 🙂

[Helen3]

@Mark116

That is not the point though is it?

As hosts we need to vet our guests carefully to minimise their impact on our neighbours.  If we have an Airbnb in a block of flats and receive a New Year booking then we should be vetting our guests carefully and having security measures and house rules in place to minimise the risk of a party or unsocialble behaviour happening.

CCTV is not expensive. At the rate @FiveStar1 charges she could have paid for each of her three places with a night or two stay in each and it is tax deductible.

If @FiveStar1 had done this she would have seen  within the first few guests arriving that a party was starting up and could have taken immediate action to have the booking cancelled by Airbnb and the guests thrown out.

 Unfortunately @FiveStar1 has learnt a harsh lesson for the costs of spending a few hundred dollars at each property and vetting her guests more carefully she has lost a business opportunity at one of them. I am sure going forward she will install CCTV and tighten up here house rules at the others.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

uh, great neighbors 😞 my neighbors would call me immediately

[Susan1028]

This doesn't just happen on airbnb, and it is unlikely airbnb will rrun the screws on us for this when they're already diong so on things beyond our control. 

This is a risk with all short term rentals and ordniances have been inspired by incidents like these.

It's the homeowner's responsibility to supervise the property.

[Inna22]

@FiveStar1  please disregard some of the really cruel comments from some of the perfect hosts above who of course never have anything go wrong at their property.   I know you did not allow  it to happen.  This happens to many good hosts. At this point, you need to see what your local ordinance says. I’m sure you can appeal this decision somehow.   If there is a process for appeal and still hope, make sure that you befriend all the neighbors, apologize to them profusely and make them aware of all the measures you have in place to prevent this from happening in the future. This is something I went through with my neighbors a year ago. It might be best to engage an attorney. Somebody who deals with zoning would be specialized in something like this. Good luck!

[Helen3]

@Inna22 Calling our comments 'really cruel' because you disagree with what we say is not appropriate.  I wouldn't dream of making such uncalled remarks to you or any other hosts here.

The bottom line is that @FiveStar1 could have vetted her guests better knowing that was New Year's Eve.  Are you really saying a one night booking from a young guy on New Year's eve in a major city location,  wouldn't have thrown up red flags for you?

And she could have CCTV installed at her properties to help monitor anti-social behaviour on  behalf of her guests.

@FiveStar1 is not a new host. She is an experienced host with multiple listing.  

[Inna22]

@Helen3

I did not call them cruel because I disagreed with them (which I also did). I called them cruel because your post was mean and there is absolutely no reason for that. Kindness will save the world.

[Helen3]

@Inna22 please stop with the name calling and personal remarks. It is unecessary and not in the spirit of this forum. If you really thought 'kindness will save the world' - you wouldn't make these sort of comments.

[FiveStar1]

Thank you so much for your practical advise! I really appreciate it! Was very helpful to me

I will try talking to the neighbors!

Hava great day 🙂