Your stories all sound AWFUL. My story is not as bad as yours but it did keep me up all night. I called Airbnb, and they were LESS than helpful!
This happened less than a year ago...
The guest booked as a single guest the evening before. His instant booking response was "Hi am C j". None of his messages during our interactions were ever written in complete sentences. He got lost while finding my place and was very angry over the phone because it took him 'hours' to find it...he was definitely overexaggerating things. I live in a cul-de-sac with a very distinctive name for a street. It should take no more the 1 minute to find even if you do not have the house address. You cannot get lost with Google maps. It didn't feel right and so I recommended that he talk to Airbnb to cancel the reservation (I did not want to be penalized for cancelling the reservation at the time). He said it would be fine and so I gave directions over the phone. I was very confused about his problem because my listing provides detailed directions and the exact address. He later realized that he didn't click the right spot on the email where the house number would show up. He never said 'sorry'.
Later that evening, he kept walking in and out of the house every other hour. I saw women's shoes at the door after a taxi cab had pulled up at my door. No introductions. It was dark out. I was watching tv at the time and didn't see her face. She had quietly went into the bedroom. I called Airbnb because things didn't feel right. The female Airbnb representative was helpful and did keep me calm. She said that if anything happened, to call Airbnb again. Then they proceeded to have LOUD sex in the middle of the night. I freaked out! I knocked on the door and told him that I was going to call the cops. They were quiet after that.
Yea..I called Airbnb again. This time, a male Airbnb representative picked up. He found my story funny. He laughed and snickered the entire time I was on the phone. He said the guest was not harming anyone in the house and stayed in the room as rented on Airbnb. I told him that the guest did not respect the space by letting a stranger in and that it affected the safety and privacy of other people in the house. He said that it could wait until the morning, as he needs to discuss matters with the guest since he was accusing me of invading his privacy. "just from knocking on his door and warning him"...He was so dishonest and disrespectful.
I did not even feel safe in my own house! The representative had the audacity to warn me that I would be penalized if I cancelled the 2 night reservation (and lose my superhost status) and that I would be losing money from the reservation. I was ready to pay someone to get him out of my house, quit Airbnb, and call the cops!
It was so NOT funny for me and the other people at my place that night.
A few hours after the ordeal (which was the next morning), he came downstairs and acted like nothing happened. I politely asked him to leave, and he was shocked. He said, 'ok' and went back upstairs. It took him about half an hour to leave, but it felt like a lifetime! Then he tried to come back in again, luckily I had a smartlock and had just changed the code so he was locked out. He had all his belongings though...He messaged me later and asked for his money back for the second night and I gave it to him. He did not apologize.
This was a guest with 'positive' reviews and a photo ID. He had a couple of positive reviews from new Airbnb hosts who had very simple accomodations with not so great listing photos and limited profile descriptions. He had poor communication skills and definitely could not take the time to write complete sentences when he instantly booked my place.
The reason I got a smartlock was for that very reason! When you change the door code, they cannot come back in! I was very happy that I had that.
What I learnt from this experience:
1) You cannot vet for the people who have weird ID photos (i.e. pictures of animals, cartoon characters, weird faces, weird poses). Seriously, their photos says a lot. Their eyes says a lot.
2) They need to elaborate on their intentions for staying.
3) They need to be cordial and be respectful in their inquiries and actually write words like "Please" and "Thank-you".
4) They also need a substantial number of 'positive' reviews that are from experienced hosts with listings that are similar to your listings.
5) I had too many good experiences with Airbnb guests that I did not want this one to prevent me from potentially meeting some great people. This is the only reason why I did not quit Airbnb.
Some reliable guests had mentioned that they typically look for listings without the 'instant' booking option since it required proper interactions with the host. They too wanted to find the right fit before booking. I turned off "Instant" booking after that ordeal. My long-term guests and my boyfriend were relieved.
It's been less than a year and now that Airbnb has updated their policy for hosts that the 'cancellation is penalty-free', I decided to give instant booking another try again, but now...on my terms.
I have added a few additional rules for Airbnb guests. The rules require that they give me substantial information to vet for them or I will outright cancel their reservation.
In addition to my other house rules; I have added the following:
1) They must identify who they are, purpose for their visit, and names of the guests staying.
2) Airbnb guests that are inquiring must have ID photos of themselves and a complete profile description.
3) Additional guests that have been identified are only allowed to stay.
4) Government ID and positive reviews from other hosts are required.***
***'Reviews from other hosts' is a tricky one. I don't know how to clearly write out my criteria just yet. I just know that they should have more than 3 elaborate reviews from hosts with listings that are similar (or better than mine). A superhost review should be a requirement too.***
I hope my new instant booking boundaries help.
