Hi everyone,
I just want to inform you all of a nightmare guest I have come across recently. I blame my own complacency somewhat in not personally vetting this guest more closely; he was a young male from the UK called 'Bob' and he looked like a normal chap so I went ahead with the booking despite the fact that it was a first time booking and therefore he didn't have previous reviews - I simply presumed Airbnb would have requested his ID and other details.
Closer to the booking I asked him if he was definitely travelling alone - the reason why is that I have a 2 bedroom apartment in Central London so thought it unusual that a single male would book a 2 bedroom apartment. He confirmed he was alone and looking forward to his trip.
I'd better point out at this point I have a key box and self check-in as I'm not usually around.
Thankfully there was no disturbance reported from the neighbours but when 'Bob' checked out it was clear some kind of party had gone on in my flat. Furniture had been moved into the bedrooms, both bedrooms had been used and littered with used condoms.
Clearly I complained and requested that Bob pay for carpet cleaning. Airbnb called me and said that 'Bob' was operating under different profiles and now this profile had been deleted. The phone number he gave me was also deleted. Airbnb were very apologetic and refunded me the money for carpet cleaning but I asked how it was possible for someone to operate under different names when photo ID is always provided. They admitted that they don't enforce the guest to provide photo ID until the second booking. I was outraged - was anyone else aware of this rule?
Who knows who Bob was but I strongly suspect that something highly dubious occurred i my flat that weekend that could have involved drugs/prostitutes/people trafficking... I'll never know but why else would 'Bob' go to such extreme lengths to set this up? I shiver at the thought.
Anyway the moral of the story is beware of first time users and ask for photo ID before you accept a first-timer as clearly Airbnb have reduced their security and this puts us hosts at risk.
Kind regards,
Kristina