Is It Time to Boycott Airbnb's Anti-Host Stance?

Julieanna0
Level 10
San Antonio, TX

Is It Time to Boycott Airbnb's Anti-Host Stance?

While it's true Airbnb wouldn't have a platform without guests,--neither would they have one without good hosts.  There seems to be a big problem,--guests can be as good or as rotten as they wish,--however, hosts had better be top-notch.  After my experience this month, I don't believe Airbnb cares enough to support their hosts,--they would rather just replace you, (if you're a host).  This sounds odd as any good business model usually includes KEEPING your best employees as they are the "face" and experience you present to the world.  Airbnb wants new people to use their platform, yet due to their lack of supporting hosts,--most of us are afraid to accept bookings from new, (especially young), potential guests.  I tried, yet again, to host a new Airbnb user and will, most likely NEVER do so again.

 

I had a guest that stayed the first week of this month, (August), and in spite of going over the rules with her specifically in messages prior to her entering my home, (she was a first time Airbnb user), my house was left with missing and damaged items and 2 additional people were brought into my home.  Although my guest would not admit the additional 2 people until I provided Ring Doorbell video footage, Airbnb has refused to back me up or provide any type of compensation at this time.  The additional people hid their black truck almost out of sight of the Ring Doorbell, so it is impossible to see at night. They also blocked my Ring  Doorbell while the sneak ins entered my home.  Thankfully, they forgot to block the Ring Doorbell when they left and I was able to see 9 people leaving my home.  Nine people partied in my home for 2 days.  I have provided Airbnb links to the videos.  I also do a video walk-through on the day guests check-in, preferably within 2 hours of check-in.  I sent them the before video and after video.   

 

I have provided Airbnb with proof of a missing vertical blind, (especially irritating as these are special order blinds and I have to order from the manufacturer), and photos of my home.  A blue paint-like substance on my towels and one bedroom wall.  Trash was left all over my home including in the beds and in a kitchen drawer!  (There were 7-9 bags of trash created in less than 48 hours,--and my house rules clearly state; no parties!)  Worst of all was a sticky substance in my kitchen on the floors, down the front of cabinet doors, and all over my family room.  This entailed HOURS of painstaking cleaning, dismantling my glass/tile coffee and end tables and cleaning each piece as well as trying to salvage my tourist books and magazines which were also stuck together.  

 

Of all the ironies, someone in this party left a wedding band in my home.  The guest asked if this person could return to my home to get it.  After seeing the condition the home was in, I said no, I would mail it.  Guess who took the wedding band and mailed it back PRIORITY mail?  Yes,--I did!  I cared enough to not only return the ring, but in addition pay for expedited shipping.

 

Upon confronting my guest with the Ring video footage, my guest had the audacity to tell me that the sneak-ins were uncomfortable in my home because they had to sleep on the couch.  I am OUTRAGED that Airbnb can see this and has done NOTHING to back me up.  9 people puts me in violation of my STR permit and Airbnb apparently doesn't care about that either.  My house can only host 8 people max,--but the guest only booked it for 7.  After I asked my guest if she was seriously going to blame me for the discomfort of sneak-ins, she then changed her story and claimed my house had roaches and spiders everywhere.  I provided her with the walk-through of my home, done less than 2 HOURS before they arrived showing it was sparkling clean and perfect.  After viewing this video, she has now accused me of name calling.  I always keep ALL communication with my guests on the Airbnb platform, and have NEVER engaged in name calling, (even though there are times when I have surely felt like it!)  Only God knows what this guest will say in her review!  After she accused me of name-calling, I clicked the "Involve Airbnb" button. 

 

I am so very angry at Airbnb.  I have asked for a supervisor to become involved and hope this helps bring resolution to this.  For the first time since signing up to become an Airbnb host, I want to quit.  I have only been a host for about a year and a half, and have definitely noticed a decline in the way they treat me as a host.  I don't know if this is because the only other claim I have ever had was when I was a very new host or not. 

 

So, for those hosts out there who feel frustrated that they can't provide proof,--cheer up!  I HAVE provided proof and have received ZERO compensation from Airbnb.  It appears they won't even take the time to read the messages between the guest and myself where she not only ADMITS the sneak-ins, but complains about their supposed discomfort!

 

Also of interest, this will be the 3rd time attempting to publish this post as twice now, it has failed due to various reasons.  (I keep getting told I have to sign in again even though I have not signed out).  Good ol' Airbnb philosophy; first, ignore the problem(s), and if that doesn't work, try to suppress the truth if it's negative!  Why not simply address these problems??  As hosts,--has anyone every thought what would happen if we joined together and went on a 1 day  boycott??  What if we all paused our listings for 8 hours?  Airbnb would lose millions if not billions,--but perhaps they would start supporting and listening to their hosts the same way they do their guests.

Julieanna
48 Replies 48
Andrea2711
Level 3
Oklahoma City, OK

It appears this morning that the CSR that helped me yesterday was able to talk his team into reviewing our request to not issue a refund to the guest who had opted to make our House Rules a Check off list. He told me that he felt the fact I would likely lose my Superhost due to the guests retaliatory review was bad enough, I shouldn't have to incur the financial loss as well.

 

So far the money is still on our books...we shall see what happens if the guest takes it to the Resolution center. 

 

The Guest that did the 12k worth of damage is an interesting one.

 

She, herself,  was a wonderful Guest and has 5-5 star reviews. The Alarm that was set off for us was by our Pool Cleaning Company who called to let me know that an entire case of Blueberry Muffin wrappers had somehow found their way into my pool filter and that our pool filter motor appeared to be non functioning. 

 

We immediately left to go and meet him to see what the problem was.  The Guest whom was booked with me was the Grandma, her son, his wife and their children. After hours of reviewing our security footage and our neighbors, which thankfully points right into our backyard. It was made very clear that the damage done to our home was by the teenage grandkids whom had been left unsupervised. 

 

There were 3 very large teenage boys that basically turned our home into a wrestling cage. They broke the tree in a brand new sectional sofa, ripped the sliding doors off their track and did irreparable damage to the frame while attempting to lock eachother out, emptied trash bags of food into our pool from the second level deck, used the PVC plumbing lines running to our pool filter as a diving board which resulted in cracking plumbing parts that left our pool filter running with no water for a period of almost 24 hours. Took ropes and tied them to opposing ends of ALL of our pool floats and ripped them to pieces in games of tug of war.

 

All of our 2 year old sons Little Tykes toys had to be fished out of the deep end of the pool....even the motorized ones. 

 

While they weren't outside destroying everything in sight, they unpacked all of our winter bedding out of our attic room (that was locked) and drug it through who knows what. Winter bedding that has was purchased new this year for the 2019 Holiday Season. I know this doesn't sound like a big deal, but in the holiday season we have 14 fully dressed beds in this home, most of which are king or queen sized.  In what I think was an attempt to wash Blueberry stains out of one of the Velvet King Sized comforters, they burned to motor coupler out in our washing machine. This was after they used 4 of the 9 beds in the home as indoor trampolines, breaking all of them in the process. 

 

In one of the security videos from our neighbors backyard you can see them in the upper level windows Jumping from the daybed onto another sectional sofa as if playing a game of "the floor is lava". Kids that were well over 6 ft and 200 lbs mind you.....

 

The damage these kids (which is a term I use loosely as 2 were obviously older than 16) did #1 would have been a mystery on how happened if the entire back of our home was not picture windows, balconies and decks and had we been without security cameras. Also, I can honestly say that they had covered enough of it up that grandma might not have even noticed other than areas being messy. 

 

She was attending an event with the son and DIL for most of the daytime hours they were at our home. I'm honestly unsure if she even saw the pool area or the 2nd and 3rd level of the home during the day. 

 

So does she earn a negative review for the conduct of her grandkids?

 

We note on the security cameras that dad was clearly aware of what was going on (Dad who flushed all of his Jule Cigarette cartridges that had to be snaked out by our plumber)  but we never see Grandma on the exterior of the home.

 

Do I think she should be able to rent again? Absolutely, as long as she leaves the savages at home OR supervised. 

 

I can also tell you that I believe she would have been happy to cover the costs of repair after watching the security footage. As a mother of 3 boys myself, I would pay the bill and those kids would be working that tab off until Jesus came back.

 

However because of the amount of the damages, it went directly to Airbnb, whom to our knowledge has done nothing with it as of today even though we requested to have a claims representative come to view the damages immediately so that there were no issues with time lapsing and other guests checking in ....My fingers are crossed we happen to come across another CSR who sees it the way we do and sides in our favor. 

@Andrea2711 That is one of the most hair-raising stories I have ever read about hosting.  What a nightmare you've been facing!  I'm so sorry - I can't even imagine the level of cleanup, not to mention a kind of heartbreak.

 

I hope you'll double if not triple your nightly rate.  I have a much smaller house that is almost three times as much.  Nevertheless, I'm not sure if even a much higher rate could deter a few unsupervised teens from wreaking havoc.  After all, they're not footing the bill, nor, from the sound of it, will they ever be.  I'm with you on how I would react if my children had done something like that.  But it's pretty clear the parents didn't have that approach with those children from day one.

@Andrea2711  I sincerely hope that your case with Airbnb is resolved to your satisfaction and your nightmare ends sooner rather than later. 

 

That's a tough question re Grandma being able to rent again... maybe you should just state that honestly in your review; Grandma is welcome sans son and grandchildren.  However, if Grandma regularly travels with son, DIL and grandchildren, it seems hard to believe that she hasn't ever observed any bad/destructive behavior.  Of course, maybe that's the reason Grandma had to book your house; dad, (and children), already has/have bad reviews.....

Julieanna
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Julieanna0 I'll join the boycott.  And I would do it for 24 hours, not 4.  It will take a lot of planning, but I'm sure it can be done.

@Ann72I'm sure it can be done too.  I would happily go for 24 hours as well.  I can't imagine any host, (who has been left unsupported by Airbnb), who wouldn't want to join in.  The level of customer service is appalling.   As hosts, if we treated our guests on the same level as Airbnb CS reps treat us,--they would be OUT of business!  Don't they rate us on our response time?  I have been waiting almost 2 weeks now for resolution with the guests that checked out on the 4th....

Julieanna
Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

You should have kept the wedding ring though.....as leverage 

 

Kira♡

@Kira32I hope there isn't a "next time",--however, if there is, I certainly will!

Julieanna
Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

I would give a calm, factual & utterly damning review.

Grannie should have known that those house-apes would run amok- she raised their dad & he was clearly part of the problem. Those rotten kids should have been left with a sitter-I'm thinking retired Marine sergeant perhaps?

The person making the booking has the responsibility to make sure that every single person or critter on that stay is able to behave in a reasonable & civilized manner, otherwise keep 'em home.

These kids were not well raised and aren't suited to stay in a hotel, motel or campsite, let alone your pretty house (do consider raising prices!) A dog house is where they belong & that's being generous.

  I'm snoozing at the end of September & going DIY but I think the one day boycott is a great idea & would be happy to participate. I can understand about sending the ring back- on top of everything else you didn't want those nasty people to change your sense of decency and right behavior and a wedding ring is different that an expensive camera or other possible collateral. The best of luck and lovely future guests, Sally

Raimund14
Level 1
Arona, Spain

second time it happens to me.

Last time Aurbnb Customer Service called me at night that a guest wants to leave the place after three nights and claimed indemnisation . No lamp posts to my place outside the village which is clearly in the advert . Don’t want to put to many details. end of the story I get a 2 star valuation and my word doesn’t count anything only the professional complainer and lyre is the one.

 

Really strange to me to that airbnb has the philosophy that the customers are the Saints and the hosts are the bad once .

Mayte ** and party were guests at my little house “Casa Lina” on the outskirts of Arona.

She was a dificult person for personal and emotional reasons.

She obviously demanded all her rights but ignored her responsabilities.

She lacked empathy and respect for others.

She moved in with her three children, her brother, her two parents, and also her sister's family.

The initial booking was for 6 people, and laterly it was agreed that the maximum would be 7, but it was evident that the were at least 11 people in the house.

They used and abused the whole property and did not respect our belongings.

They ate and drank leaving their rubbish (trash) discarded on the floor, the garden and swimming pool area.

The swimming pool games seemed to be their only activity during their holiday, which resulted in the breaking of the pool light which was dislodged from the wall of the swimming pool (in the water).

Neither did she admit responsibility nor offer to pay for the damage, and wanted to claim back the full amount of the deposit.

She was given two sets of keys but on leaving only one set was returned.

She sent many messages requesting new keys.

Finally she called the police and made a denouncement, claiming that the rental activity is illegal because of the lack of an official complaint sheet.

All the legal documentation of the rental business was shown to her, demonstrating that there are noirregularities.

The estimate of the damage to the pool could posibly be over the 500 Euros, (pending a professional assesment).

 

Regards Raimund

Tenerife Canary Islands 

Superhost

 

I'm sorry, @Raimund14 to hear of your experience. The answer to your question is this,--the guests are the "saints" as Airbnb views them as their source of income while forgetting that without hosts, Airbnb would not exist. I hope you are able to resolve your case with Airbnb to your satisfaction. 

Julieanna
Alice595
Level 10
Concord, CA

@Julieanna0  I feel your pain since I went through the same nightmare with a group of guests partied in my Airbnb rental house. The guest registered only three guests but might have over 20 people because more 20 bottles of liquor were consumed. After the clean up, there were six 13 gallon trash bags stuffed with trash. Wood chair, shoe rack were totally broken into pieces. They smoked cigarettes and pot. 

 

Don’t give up. Eventually I was able to claim a little over $600 for damages and extra cleaning cost. But Airbnb never gave me claim for extra people. They wanted evidence. Those people took off power to the router. Therefore, my video doorbell could not sent recorded video to cloud storage.

 

 

Thanks, @Alice595 for your encouragement. It’s been almost 2 weeks and every time I hear anything, (via email), from CS, they say they need to speak with my guest. It just feels like one big run around.  I’ve wasted so much time and energy.  Airbnb, (another department), agreed to compensate for the sneak-in fees, (thankfully no one disconnected my WiFi, so I do have videos), so maybe there is hope that they will compensate for damages and missing items as well.  I still wonder at the end of the day if they are really charging the guest for this or if they, (Airbnb), are paying.  I suppose it shouldn’t matter one way or the other, however, I do wish the bad guests would actually be held accountable for their actions just as they would be if they smashed up or stole items from a hotel room or a department store.  

Julieanna
Jill556
Level 1
Los Angeles, CA

Thanks Julieanna.  Sadly you are not the only one.  I only wish Airbnb stops seeing hosts as robots since often times feel that way.  

Daniel2923
Level 2
Bayside, WI

I’m brand new and read your post and I think I’ll use the security deposit to make people think twice about damage or theft to my property. 

@Daniel2923 It’s not a bad idea to have a security deposit in place,—just keep in mind it, as you say, it might only make them think twice.  Two weeks after my guests left, I’m still waiting for my security deposit for damages and missing items.  The CSR I was working with seems to have gone radio silent.  On the bright side, most guests are great.  

Julieanna