How far to go in claim and review?

[Elizabeth566]

I just had my first experience with Airbnb, I was not there to receive the guests but I was free on Friday and decided to go home early than expected, to find a mess in my house (all around) tons of dishes dirty, a few boxes with food, they took over my kitchen, fridge, dinning table. My son (6 years old) and I walked into to house to hear them showering together so I decided to wait outside. I let an hour pass (hoping the guest would be fully dressed) to walk inside and find a naked man in my kitchen with the stove in HIGH and the water running. There was a weird smell all around the house and my son was covering his face because of it. A minute later my guest (now a lady) comes out of the room to say hi, I bimmediately ask about the smell, she says they smoked one in the morning right next to the window and apologize. I start cleaning and inspecting everything to find out they were using most of my kitchen instruments. I asked again about the smell, it didn't seem it was cigarettes, she responded (offended) saying they didn't smoke cigarettes, it was marijuana (like if that was better), in that moment I tell them that due to the lack of cleaning and smoking marijuana they violated the house rules, I have a son that I don't want to be in those surroundings. They accept to leave in 2 hours. I checked my laundry to find a couple of liters of vinagre, my salt (completely gone), detergent, two measuring cups and a whisk, I don't know for what they were using it, but I just googled it and it says those ingredients are usually used to change crack into cocaine, to alter drug and alcohol tests. After 4 big suitcases, 2 small suitcases, two boxes of food, a box of pots and pans they were finally out of my house all that for a 7 day stay. I don't know what to write as a review. I have to clean the whole house (2 bathrooms, the kitchen, the living room, the extra TV room and the room they stayed, the white sheets of the bed they used had a few stains when I took them out to wash it, they said it was chocolate, my sheets are now purple).I will submit a claim but I don't know how far to go in the claim and the review. HELP!! 

**[Post made into a new topic - title updated]

[Helen3]

Hello @Elizabeth566

You have posted in the middle of someone elses thread so few people in the community will see it.

This is an awful first experience and most guests aren't like this.

What checks did you make on these guests before they booked? Did you ask for photo ID? Did you ask them about why they chose your place and plans for their stay?

Leave an honest review - keep it factual (see Airbnb Help Centre for review terms).

Start with any positives.

Then make it clear that

1. you came home to find your kitchen and house in a dirty state and the sheets were heavily stained with marks that wouldn't come out after several washes

2. that the guests admitted to smoking marjuana in your house (contrary to your house rules - presume you have said you have a no smoking property) - which is a shared house.

which has children living there.

3. That when you came into the property with your young child you found a naked male guest in the kitchen.

4. That because of their behaviour you had to ask them to leave.

Make sure going forward you vet your guests properly before agreeing that they can stay. If you have Instant Book turned on, turn it off!!!!

[Momi0]

@Elizabeth566   The first thing I want you to do is call Airbnb!! (the contact link is below my name on this post for Airbnb)

THIS couple needs to be reported to the Safety & Trust Team.  Second, you have to 100% write an honest review.  Write what you wrote here on the post.  I am going to send you a VERY HELPFUL Private message to your community inbox.  Please be sure to read it. I too have had people break many house rules and had them removed from our family home.  And some of them were even removed from Airbnb for what I was able to prove with photos and videos and threatening text messages to bring harm to me or my home.  

And I don't agree with the host who said to turn off IB. I have IB now for over 2years and that's not the problem at all. I love Instant Booking. I also am very clear with my guests that I will not tolerate any misbehavior or breaking of my house rules.  I also vet every single person coming into my home even when I have received an IB.  I also ask many questions.  You are allowed to cancel an IB if for any reason you are uncomfortable with that guests.  OR the guests that is coming with them.   

if you are not sure how to check your CC Inbox, write me back here and I will help you. Or our the community manager can help you @Lizzie too. 

Its incredilby sad that you had to go through this, but keep in mind, that anytime you are removing someone from your home, you must contact Airbnb immediately to let them know.  They will document everything and send a report to the Safety and Trust team as well about this guests for their account. 

just curious, where were they from?  Please tell me in private message as I want to document their names into my list of "No Thanks". 

[Helen3]

Hello @Momi0

I am the 'host' you refer to - my name is Helen as you can see in my profile 🙂 I am a regular here on the community forums.

I said this because she is a new host and it is important that new hosts become familiar with how Airbnb works and how to vet guests before moving onto IB. All too often new hosts end up accepting unsuitable guests for their listing, because they don't know what questions to ask to vet their guests, or the 'red flags' that us established hosts are familiar with.

Yes you can cancel (up to three times I believe) with IB if you are uncomfortable with a guest - but you need to say what makes you uncomfortable. Unfortunately new hosts won't necessarily know what to look out for and therefore end up with guests who aren't a good fit for their property.

Of course when we become more familair with how Airbnb works we can move onto Instant Book.

[Helga0]

@Elizabeth566, sorry for you, that you had such terrible guests. Normally, I would proceed like Helen suggests, to start with the positive things and then write the rest. But these guests should not be hosted anywhere again, so you have to make sure of that:

1. Like Moni suggests, refer them to trust and safety via a call to customer service. That takes time. 

2. In the review, give a thumbs down to keep them from IB if the host choose recomended guests only, at least once a 3 star or less, to keep them from getting your own listing again. Then write very unemotional the facts of your experience. You do not want them to get the review removed on a technicality. 

I would keep the positive introduction to one line, so the start of the rest stays visible, when they have more reviews. 

Running around naked is disrespectful to strangers, but some people think it’s normal. Using a lot of supplies and leaving a mess is a red alert for most hosts. 

Producing crack is probably a crime in your country too? Formulate that very carefully, not to commit slander. Something like “they used huge/industrial quantities of ..., there was a lingering awful smell. The guest did not forward any explanation nor excuse for it and the most probable result on search engines were all drug related. I was very dismayed about this possibility and do not wish to host them again. I do not recommend X.” 

You could maybe report them to police - I would consider it. If it’s crack, police should be interested to have it on file, maybe take action if there are more suspicious incidents. 

Marihuana has an awful smell, but one or a few cigarettes at the window would not stink the whole house up. 

Do not refer to any damage claims with airbnb in the review, that is one of the technicalities, that get it taken down. If you wrote it already and they sid not yet, you can correct for 2 days, on a computer. 

[Momi0]

@Helga0 I am fairly confident you meant MOMI, not Moni. Maybe next time just click on the @ Symbol,  And choose  @Momi0 . That way, you will automatically get the list of hosts on this thread and the correct spelling of my name will pop up for your future posts. 

I mention this only because I very much detest THAT name “Moni” for various reasons. Just something to think about since names are so important to most people. (Including me). 

And yes, I already gave Elizabeth some helpful advice in my post AND in private messages when I recommended she file a police report and call the S & T team at Airbnb. She seemed to really appreciate the extensive help I gave over the phone too since she did call me. Unfortunately she is too upset to ever host again. 

Makes me so mad when guests do this kind of crap, and thankfully I now know who it is so if they don’t get removed, I have the heads up about their profile from Texas. Elizabeths’ poor young son was totally affected by this as well. 

For ALL HOSTS reading this, understand that your home is your home. No one has the right to just do anything in your home or break rules. Call Airbnb and have the guests removed. It’s that simple. And for god sakes, call the police too if drugs are being used in your home. (Guests admitted they had smoked a joint in her home... such an inappropriate guests! ) 

[Helga0]

@Momi0, sorry, did not mean to mutilate your name. I’m without Internet for a while and possibilities to surf and use the forum are limited to a phone or half dark crowded bistros. The matter seemed important, so I used my phone data for it. Hosts should not be exposed to such guests and we should work together, to keep them off the site. If not in jail, where drug producers belong. 

 Elizabeth, I hope you will be able to forget that adventure and take up hosting again. It’s improbable, that you get such bad guests again, most experiences are pleasant. (Sorry, I can’t address you directly, hailing does not work most of the time)

[Momi0]

@Helga0   

Thank you so much Helga for understanding how important it is to see my name Momi spelled correctly.  I have to say, you made me laugh out loud reading the part about being in half dark crowded bistros wondering if you were trading secrets with a spy wearing a Fedora hat.  LOL 

Going to the ABB Open in November?  I am literally dying to know where its gonna be.  I hope they announce when and where soon so I can block the appropriate dates to attend as last year and the year before, I already had bookings for the entire month and would not ever cancel on a guest to attend.  

My most recent Airbnb stay, which was at a Ski Chalet in Washington, was spent enjoying our time with our Superhost, her awesome dog Harry on the ski slopes.  Within 48 hours of being there, she asked if I would be her roommate for the Open.  Of course, I said yes, and she is one awesome human being!  We loved our stay so much, we extended it 2 more days.  She didnt' want my family to leave and even discounted our stay just to keep us there longer.  🙂  (I even became her CoHost). 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Elizabeth566,

I am so sorry to hear about your recent experience with your guests, this must have been very concerning to come back to. 

It is great to see you have recieved some great advice from @Helen3, @Helga0, @Momi0 here. 

I would also really recommend, if you haven't already contacting our support team at +1-415-800-5959 or +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free) or by visiting the contact page here: www.airbnb.com/contact and they will able to assist you with this.

Also, I hope you don't mind, as you received quite a few responses, I thought it would be easier to make your post into a new topic here in the Hosting board. 

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Isabel203]

Hi, @Elizabeth566. So sorry to hear about this really awful experience. Try not to let this one colour your thoughts about hosting too much, if possible.  Other hosts have given their perspectives on how to follow up with these guests, and there has been lots of talk re the pros and cons of IB, so I won't weigh in on this again. I think it is worth while to think a bit about other ways to discourage ne'er-do-well's from landing on your door in the future. I took a quick peek at your listing with this in mind and have a couple observations to share:

1) You mention in your listing that the house is usually empty during the day. I wonder if this could attract potential guests who are looking for a place where they can misbehave? Maybe it would be better to say something that leaves the impression that you will be keeping a closer eye on the guests (without sounding ominous). For example, "I am not always at home through the day, but check in regularly to ensure guests have what they need" or something like that.

2) For simuilar reasons, I would avoid encouraging people to do self-check-in. You may want to set check-in time so that you can usually be home to vet the guest in person and make sure you have an opportunity to review the key house rules. I have tried to word things in my own listing so that guests expect to see me and talk with me when they arrive before settling in. This way, I hope to discourage those who might want to get into the house with contraband (whether unregistered guests, drugs, huge amounts of luggage or whatever). I do have a self-check-in option, but I am careful to say that I usually meet guests on arrival, and that self-check-in is a backup, for times when I am unexpectedly called away - i.e., I don't do self-check-in at the GUESTS request, but rather when it is convenient for ME.

3)  From reading the through posts , it is my impression that many people who share their own living space make the kitchen off limits entirely, and just put a microwave and coffee maker available in the guests room. You may want to think about this as an option, since it may discourage guests from making themselves QUITE so much at home : )

I hope you'll stick with hosting at least long enough to see that not all guests are like your first! And I hope we'll still see you on the discussion boards...

[Sarah977]

Isabel- I agree with all you said, except for the suggestion to put a microwave and coffee maker in the guest quarters. If guests are allowed to deal with food in their room, hosts can find a disgusting mess (especially with guests like Elizabeth had, can you imagine?) There will be rotting food all over, squashed into the carpet, food stains on the sheets, plugged up sinks with food detritus, etc. Think cockroaches, mice, and ants. I host a single room with ensuite bath in my home. Guests have full use of the kitchen, and while they sometimes don't put items back where they found them, or might leave a dirty dish occasionally, most are super respectful.

Bad guests are just bad guests, they'll turn any area they have access to into a disaster zone. I'd rather have to clean up food mess in the kitchen than in the bedroom and bathroom.