Nightmare 1st Guests - Multiple Rental Agreement Violations

[Janelle53]

Well, I didn't think I'd be here so early but here we go...

Currently have my first guests in our personal home which is also listed for sale in a high-end area of Chicagoland.  We thought ahead and requested a formal, signed rental agreement in addition to the standard AirBnB rental.  The renter was to provide a list of names of who is part of their party and ONLY those people are allowed on premises. No smoking, no dogs, quiet hours, etc. 

They arrived very late on Friday night and were up all night in and out of the front door all hours of the night into the AM.  In the early AM (5am-ish), they tampered with the security camera so we could no longer see the front door/driveway. However, yesterday AM was when the real fun started.  There was a revolving door of people in and out of the home.  It looked like 40+ different people in 8-10 different cars.  Tons of suitcases in and out that I lost count. All day long, 4 cars parked in the driveway/across the sidewalk plus down the street, loitering in the front yard, etc. We watched the security camera pretty much all day. The listing clearly states no parties or events. At this point we did notify AirBnB of the excessive amount of people and they "escalated" the issue.  We never heard back from AirBnB.

The renters finally left for an event about 8pm last night.  From what I could tell, there were about 15 people who got ready in the home and left for the event at about the same time together (3 different cars).  I assume all of those people had planned to stay there as they took no luggage out with them.  Around 1AM, they came back with additional people in tow and had an all-night party. People in and out literally all night and my phone was going off from the camera every minute or two. The camera was actually reflecting off the glass of my door so I ended up being able to see a bit of what was going on inside too.  People carrying pillows to the living room and such. Total free for all. 

This morning when I saw everything, I contacted AirBnB AGAIN, but again was getting no messaging responses.  At that point, I messaged the renter that their party was reported by the neighbors and also reported to AirBnB. At this point they immediately covered the security camera again so I turned on the camera's sound to listen.  It was hard to understand but the reservation maker sounded a little worried (rightfully so, he signed a document saying I could kick them out, forfeit what they paid and have the police come) while another person said something along the lines of, "What can they really do? Don't worry about it."

At this point I CALLED AirBnB, finally got someone on the phone. She was zero help and was supposedly the manager of the person the complaint got escalated to.  I tried to ask my options, told her I really just wanted them out at this point and she said they could do that but that they would get a refund for the remaining days. I was like, "Oh, I don't think so." Then she said she would review everything I messaged in (I made an online album and uploaded tons of screenshots/videos plus the agreement). This was over 12 hours ago and I have yet to hear back even after following up via messaging several times. I'm about to open a new case with AirBnB and ask them to re-assign that case to someone else. Anyone have such a hard time with getting customer service help?

Anyway, they have several agreement violations:

1. Reservation for 6-8 people yet had at least 40+ and 8-10 cars in and out for 36 hours. The rental agreement was very clear that no one outside of the ones on the reservation were allowed on site.  I didn't even charge them the extra person fee above 6 as an "in good faith" gesture. Home's max capacity is outlined as 8 guests.
2. No tampering with the security camera yet tampered with 2-3 times.
3. No smoking on premises. Camera caught someone leaving the front door with a cigarette in his mouth. I'm sure there was a ton of smoking on the front lawn so we'll see how many butts are around.
4. No dogs. Camera caught a dog in the front yard. Also overheard them talking about the dog’s size and breed just after the video was recorded.  I'm sure the dog was inside when that discussion was going on.
5. Quiet hours from 10pm-8am yet people were literally in and out of the front door all hours of the night to the point my phone was going off every 2 minutes. LITERALLY all night. They watched the sun rise. 

I think there was one more issue but my brain is tired at this point. I can only imagine what the neighbors across the street are thinking. They just moved into their $1.75M home a couple months ago.

Anyway, I haven't seen the potential damage yet and am worried for that.  But my main question here is how to go about charging some extra fees after they check out?  I could care less about a bad review at this point as I have the evidence to back up my story. I do not want to mention the fees I plan to charge until AFTER they check out as I don't want them to trash the house because they are pissed about fees.  Does anyone have advice here?  Is there any way to make them pay or can they just say, "Not paying it."  Is there anything I can legally do?

My thoughts:

1. There definitely needs to be an additional occupancy fee. My reservation policy and one he signed says $25/person/night for any guests over 6. Is there a way to do this AFTER they leave? If so, anyone know where I go?
2. The agreement also mentions excessive cleaning fees which I'm sure will be necessary.  We had the house set up for 7 guests plus a child but I'm sure there will be much more to clean and launder now. 
3. Security deposit was $500. I think that is self-explanatory with any damage but does anyone have feedback/advice? Is it hard to actually get anything from it?

Really appreciate anyone who read this far and has any advice. I'm pregnant and exhausted. This totally ruined our weekend and I'm worried it will continue after they get back from the wedding tonight. Trying to prep myself the best I can.  They are our first renters and we have 5 other reservations after them.  UGH!  So worried. Thanks in advance!

[Beverly44]

I agree with the suggestion of VRBO for upscale, whole-house rental. It seems to attract a bit more sophisticated renter, in general, of course.

[Janelle53]

Updated: I have not heard back from Airbnb but did see that they updated the reservation from 6 to 8 people instead of my requested 10 (they had about 20 sleep there Saturday based on camera footage).  Surprise, surprise for minimal movement.  I did provide Airbnb his signed agreement where in his own writing it had 8 so maybe they told him that was the minimum.  Who knows.  That is an extra $250 (- ABB fee) so at least it is something.

I will wait until they check out in the AM before taking further action but I do have some contingency plans as I don't plan to let this go very easily.  I'm learning a lot testing out what works and what doesn't so it almost seems good that this happened first go around.

Future rental agreements will be updated further as well.  Does everyone else use separate agreements?  Curious as to what everyone finds as a "must have" on there.  I'm a realtor so I did do a pretty extensive one to start but it will be getting more detailed with an additional fee schedule added.

I really think we should band together and try to make some changes for hosts.  We should be more protected as the ones who absorb ALL of the risk.  

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Janelle53 

You are ahead of the curve with your private rental agreement. I can see that we will be heading in that direction too, equally for accounting for only named guests in our listing too. This will be a PITA for good, regular guests, but this is the way it seems Airbnb are forcing hosts to behave in order to protect ourselves from guests which Airbnb send. Banding together would be a solution if banding together was around one statement and your revised rental agreement might be the basis of that(?). Banding together could just be the sharing of a common Host Rental Agreement.

Apart from your private agreement, the only thing(s) Airbnb might concern themselves about would be those that you have in your House Rules. I had a look at those out of interest and in part, here are your action points regarding those:

Parties and undeclared extra guests are cause for extra occupancy fees, agreement termination, monies forfeited and in extreme cases, police involvement for trespassing. 
DO NOT tamper with the security camera.  Tampering with the camera is also cause for further action including extra fees, agreement termination, monies forfeited, etc.
Quiet Hours from 10pm-8am. Please stay in the home or in the backyard during this time. 
Please NO SHOES on the new carpet. Booties are provided. 
Pets are negotiable and must be pre-arranged. Please contact directly for info!

You must also acknowledge

Security Deposit - if you damage the home, you may be charged up to £393

I have not had to make any claim as such but I am one for firming up the House Rules and I will implement them if needed, this said I have read yours and can only reply based on previous responses made on these forums about making claims:

- When making your damage claim or extra fees claims, only one can be made at a time.

- If claiming for furniture or hardware then Airbnb will depreciate that item by the amount of years you have had it - or - depreciate the money you outlay on that same new item by 12.5% per year. (Choose your poison).

- Booties. You are responsible providing booties for each guest. Further guests are irresponsible and unaccountable and could well damage carpets or incur extra dry cleaning fees.

- Non-negotiated dogs could be the foundation of severe allergies of dogs by the home owners - which could mean complete and full cleaning by a specialised company. (You will need a quotation for that).

- Your damage claim may be limited to £393 ($500). Best to say 'unlimited' but quote $500 security deposit. In your statement you may be limited to a 'damages' claim of $500. That doesn't mean to say your 'other' claims are limited. 'Other claims' may be claimed via the 'Host Guarantee Scheme'. It is often said that the security deposit is not the fund which damages are claimed from - rather it is the Host Guarantee Scheme. The Security Deposit if set is now taken as a credit card 'scan' to the value of the security deposit 48 hours before guest arrival on the guests preferred method of payment in order to just prove credit limit headroom.

Hopefully some of that might help you in formulating your claim, hosts having already made claims might help further.

[Janelle53]

INCREDIBLY insightful @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0! THANK YOU for taking the time to write all of that. 

I actually went ahead and input a large portion of the formal rental agreement into the House Rules section as a CYA tactic.  Now, Airbnb likely doesn't see something so extensive there so I wonder how they would handle issues arising from it?  Probably the same old BS from what I've seen the last few days. So incredibly disappointed in their CS. 

Wish me luck tomorrow.  Cannot wait to get these people out of my house!

---

[Christine615]

First rentals are hard. But believe it or not, my first rental was 18-year old's whose mother booked for them (I know, I know) but they were darling, neat and so respectful. They can come back anytime.

It was the adult who came second who was a nightmare. Still, I should have - and didn't - bill him for the damages of the kids he was chaperoning. I don't think they meant to be bad, but they ate junk food, one kids had projectile vomit, used my brand new towels to clean and then threw them away, etc.... Then there was the entitled OCD family that left crumbs all over my house but complained my house was dirty when the person before and after said "sparkling" clean.  I had to learn to get a thick skin and make it clear people are staying in MY HOUSE!

A couple of observations -

1. take pictures and immediately send them to the GUEST. That way Airbnb sees your communication and a date stamp when you request damages..

2. If you had them sign a separate agreement - then it is enforceable in small claims court. Airbnb can't override it. They aren't owed any refund if they agreed up front.

3. You should have gone over there and thrown out the extra guests. At some point you said it is a high end house - you have to treat it like you own it. There are a lot of people who believe that "garbage" about Airbnb and their host protection and think you're running a business and they can just tear stuff up. Nope. Don't buy it. Protect yourself and throw the extra guests out.  If you have a lockbox, change the combination.

4. It does get better. I've learned to screen, ask questions, etc. And I've learned to say "no."

5. Big hint - if they're covering up the outer security cameras they're doing something they don't want you to know. I had someone try to book my space and I said he was the only one allowed to be in the apartment when he talked about having other people stay over. He said "I thought if I booked the place I can do what I want!" I politely told him it wasn't going to work out. Sigh.

Same with those who want discounts and concessions when they book. That's a red flag that things will not go well. With local people - there are sometimes good reasons for booking (friend reunion, mother-in-law has allergies or their place isn't big enough, etc.). So find out why they want the place if they're local. You'll get a feel for it over time.

But here is a hint - when someone books - see if you can find them on Facebook. A lot of people use Google or Facebook to log in and their personal pages can tell you a lot.

Still - Customer Service is not very empowered. So - unfortunately, it's up to the host to enforce the rules.

[Janelle53]

If this ever happens again, they will most certainly be removed immediately. I'm bummed that I gave Airbnb the chance to help before acting myself because I really didn't know how worthless they are in that regard until I posted this thread.

It took me and my cleaners 8 hours to put the home back together yesterday.  Some highlights:

- They pulled out some old drapes from my basement to use as blankets. They also used every single sheet, towel, throw blanket, etc. (obviously because people were sleeping everywhere).  Each bedroom has it's own set of extra sheets and even the extra fitted sheets were used. I still haven't finished the laundry. All the beach towels as well (wasn't beach weather!)

- I found luggage tags with names not on the contract (obviously I know there were a lot more there but these were actual airport luggage tags!)

- Nail polish stains and press on nails throughout vairous areas of the home. Obviously because people were getting ready in every corner.

- Used contact lenses in the utility room sink

- Stained pillowcase & towel

- Two bedframes with stains

- Long dark hair EVERYWHERE

- Also part of the signed agreement was they were to supply their own paper products - the contract included 4 rolls of TP and soaps per bathroom. The rest they needed to supply. Of course they used every gabage bag in the house, all but 3 solo cups, all paper plates, helped themselves to additional TP and paper towels, etc.  They even used my son's pull up diapers!

- The garbage was overflowing 

- Evidence of smoking (also against contract)

- Broken toys 

You get the drill.  All of the problems were mainly because they had the home so over capacity.  This is why the contract has an extra person charge for every person over 6.  Anyone have advice on re-couping additional cleaning/extra occupancy fees?  I can post the contract if anyone cares to see what they signed and abused. Airbnb won't allow those items from the security deposit.  

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Janelle53 

Anyone have advice on re-couping additional cleaning/extra occupancy fees?

Now, probably not a snowball chance in hell... but...

You can try by sending a payment request to the guest. You can send a payment request listing all the costs as a single claim, but not multiple claims. You need to provide evidence with your payment request. Iimagine it will be a battle not worth having. I expect your private agreement would be a better way to sort things. In your case I would consider 'mentioning' that your payment request is due payment otherwise 'these' costs listed and covered separately in the private rental agreement will be persued 'in accordance' with the private rental agreement. Make it known, not threatening.

You will need evidence in whatever you intend to claim.

A copy of your rental agreement would be be appreciated. PM or post here ?

Edit: ...and STRICT cancellation.

[David6]

@Janelle53  I honestly believe Aibnb are just desensitised to these kind of issues. Hosts have had their listing totally trashed. Myself included. Thousands £ damage, smashed up furniture, stole all items, forced a lock and  urinated over all the clean stored linens.   Smashed windows.

So yep, it’s incredibly frustrating as I’ve had more minor type damage too. I involved the police and filed a police report and then contacted a senior manager at  Airbnb and told them a national newspaper was contacting me for a story re my place being smashed up. Airbnb covered me for the full amount under host guarantee. 

I do believe hosts are going to need to come together and fight for our rights. As individual hosts we are nothing, but if a few thousand of us created a collective type community and included maybe hosts who are lawyers or could act as spokespeople we could collectively approach Airbnb with our concerns? because these issues concern us all and day after day we see the same problems hosts around the world are all experiencing.  What do other hosts think? 

[Janelle53]

Wow, David.  That is INSANE.  I'm so glad to hear you were protected but I cannot even imagine the feeling seeing your property that way. Thank you for sharing.

This is exactly what I'm talking about with coming together.  I actually started a facebook group to aid in this discussion but have not totally finished setting it up yet as I'm still dealing with the issue at hand (plus pregnant and juggling a 3 and 5YO to boot). So a little crazy here.  But the group is https://www.facebook.com/groups/3135181329828925/

[Janelle53]

Also, sorry for all the questions but you all are so helpful....what is the most preferable cancellation policy and why?  I'd really like an option in between Moderate and Strict as neither fit us all that well.

[Ann489]

@Janelle53   the only thing that comes to my mind is, "why did you not call the police and have this "lot" removed?!?!?!?    They would not have lasted five seconds on my property.   And unfortunately, Ute is right....don't expect any help from Airbnb.   Their "million dollar host protection guarantee" is just a gimmick, designed to put hosts' minds sat ease.   😕

That being said, I'm truly sorry that this happened to you.  When I first started hosting, I had a guest who broke half of our house rules. I sat next door, fuming, waiting for Airbnb to respond to my message(didn't happen until the guest left two days later).  I definitely learned my lesson from that.

[Janelle53]

Everyone keeps saying, "Why didn't you have them removed?" but as I said, this was my first rental in many years and I wasn't really sure how to handle the situation -- expected more input/assistance from Airbnb which I now know doesn't exist. I also didn't really want to involve the police and have them think there is a STR problem in the neighborhood. I learned A LOT over this rental and it certainly won't happen again. What is done is done and now I need to move forward and try to recoup as much as I can and update my rental agreement to be even more specific in the future.