Unchecked guests that Airbnb allow to use their service! POSSIBLE RAPIST!

[Fazila0]

I don't know if anyone has had this kind of experience with Airbnb but let me tell you what I just experienced.

A guest came to stay at my home (I live in the space and rent out a private bedroom and bathroom with a shared livingroom and kitchen).

This guest came and was scheduled to stay for one week.

I usually give my guests lots of space and seldom engage in personal discussions or issues.

I started to feel uncomfortable when this guest started asking me personal questions about my life such as, Do you have a boyfriend and why hasn't he come by to visit you? Has your boyfriend ever abused you?, and is he possessive with you?  

 He would take a shower in his private bathroom and then come out with just a towel around his waist and sit down to watch television. I expressed my feelings of being uncomfortable with his behaviour and he would pretend to not hear me. 

He tried to insinuate that many of my personal habits and ways of doing different activities were unhealthy or wrong and that I should not ask him to clean up after himself when he used the kitchen and left a mess.

The whole visit was strangly uncomfortable but not absolutley wrong or against Airbnb rules....just very weird.

Then, out of the blue he decided to leave one day early.

On the one hand I was relieved to see him go. I checked my Airbnb listing and found that he left me an absolutely horrible review claiming I didn't respect him and treated him poorly and so on.

The very next day two Police officers showed up at my door asking about this guest and if was still staying at my place.

I told the officers that he had left unexpededly the day before and did not know where he went or why.

The Police told me they wanted to find him becasue a woman had filled an attempted rape report against him!

My God I said! and this person was staying in my home and behaving all the time in a way that made me as a woman feel uneasy and concerned.

I contacted Airbnb and talked to a supervisor about what had happened and told them that my security is at risk and that Airbnb is suppose to check on people they send. I had had another visitor earlier this year who came to my place (a woman this time) who was not the person on the profile page that she was using to make the booking. She told me after she arrived that she had used her secretaries profile to make a booking. When I approached Airbnb, all they said they would do is 'look into it' and nothing ever happened about that case. 

In regards to this male guest, Airbnb told me that they would not remove this mans negative review against me and they didn't even appologize to me for what could possibly have been a life threatening event for me.

Clearly Airbnb does not respect and has no concerns for the hosts safely and wellfare and all they seem to care about is getting their money and punishing hosts who receive negative reviews from people who are clealy unstable and misrepresented by Airbnb in the first place.

I have come to the point where I have decided to drop Airbnb and simply go back to trying and find a responsible and honest room mate.

BE VERY AWARE IF YOU ARE A HOST, THAT AIRBNB IS NOT PROTECTING YOU AND DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR SAFELTY....PROTECT YOURSELF AT ALL TIMES AND AT THE VERY EARLEST INDICATION OF SOMETHING BEING UNCOMFORTABLE OR WRONG WITH YOUR GUESTS ,CONTACT AIRBNB AND ASK THEM TO LEAVE FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL SAFETY!

[Victoria567]

@Faz0ila

This is very unsettling.

I was under the impression, that if the host asked Airbnb for guest to provide Verified government ID, then air bnb provided reassurance to the host the guest had verified government ID.

I assume also that verified government ID is verified and that you don’t have some nut job guest, staying with you.

If I were a young person in your situation with this man making inappropriate comments and dress, I would have contacted air bnb asap, to get him OUT.

Even if it meant losing the money, my safety would have been paramount and my priority would have been removal of this pest.

[Victoria567]

@Fazil0a

You have a hosts right to reply to his negative guest review.

Dear guest XYZ

Thank you for your review.

There is an element of trust in being an air bnb host and sharing your home with a stranger, until they act like this.

This trust was broken, as were very intrusive, by prying into my personal life.

You were parading around just wearing a towel in the shared space, this made me feel strangely uncomfortable.

I appreciate feedback whether positive or negative, so others can see the entitled guests I sometimes have to deal with.

[Rebecca0]

@Victoria0, you might want to check some of the other reviews on the listing before you give any more sensible advice.....  (not being sarcastic btw!)

[Victoria567]

@Rebecca0

The poster asked for advice regarding an unsuitable guest......I don’t read the hosts reviews from guests, as Im now aware that guests as well as hosts reviews are subjective.

I don’t wish to be judge and jury regarding her reviews from guests, as it’s basically it’s a case of he said, she said.

I was giving a woman, straight up advice, where she found herself in a very sticky situation......whether the very sticky situation is, fact or fiction is another matter.

I have given the poster the benefit of the doubt and suggested that if XYZ happened then she should use her right to reply accordingly in a factual manner.

Please don’t feel you are walking on eggshells in replying to me regarding sarcasm...I have quite a thick skin😉

[Rebecca0]

OK, fair enough.

[Ute42]

.

@Rebecca0, no, it's not fair enough.

.@Victoria567 ,   wrote:

"I have given the poster the benefit of the doubt"

She should just read the reviews this host has gotten from her guests and her doubts will be gone in a minute. She is just too lazy to do so.

[Suzanne302]

@Rebecca0 @Ute42 

Oh my! Her bad reviews are pretty darn consistent in their descriptions. Even with the few good reviews she has how anyone could book with her after reading those is beyond belief. Wow.

[Victoria567]

@Ute0

Yes indeed, I certainly have given, the poster, the benefit of the doubt, for the reasons I have already, very clearly stated.

I suggested she use her right to reply, to clarify any doubts, about a guests review.

Surely the original poster must have had some positive reviews, written about their hosting abilities?

Otherwise how does this host get bookings?

As I said previously, I have stopped reading host reviews of guests, as they are subjective. NOT just because I’m too lazy to do so.

In return, I am just giving you, the benefit of the doubt, that perhaps your comment is not .......you in this instance, always hovering somewhere, waiting to be offended, but someone being ironic!

[Fred13]

"I have come to the point where I have decided to drop Airbnb and simply go back to trying and find a responsible and honest room mate."

   Perfect solution.

[Alexandra316]

@Fazila0 Airbnb does no background checks on your potential guests. If the ID has been verified, it just means that they supplied an ID and it matched the guest's info. They don't do a criminal background check or any other type of check, nor do they imply that it's something they do. It's up to you to vet your guests and choose who you want to host.

It really sounds like based on your guests' reviews that it might be better for you to find a long term roommate who you can vet and approve in a more thorough way.

[Emilia42]

"BE VERY AWARE IF YOU ARE A HOST, THAT AIRBNB IS NOT PROTECTING YOU AND DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOUR SAFELTY" 

The same can be said about guests putting their trust and safety into the hands of their hosts.