AIrbnb endorsing sex workers by minimising the issue

[Selda58]

How do your get Airbnb to acknowledge that hiring out our rental to sex workers isnt acceptable? Im truly at a loss - Ive shown them indisputable evidence that it was going on and they have delibrately minimised it to "the guests missed their check out time". The entire experience was traumatising and then having to clear up after these people.

It wasnt until after this experience have I googled and found out that airbnb rentals have been increasingly been used as pop up brothels. Now with this experience  its really understandable how it happens. It comes across to me that customer service automatically wants to minimise the issue - thats an endorsement and an encouragement

Im at a loss - is it worth continuing to press this and wind myself up, or should I just stop using Airbnb considering that in effect they are endorsing and encourging renting out family homes to sex workers - would appreciate any views or experiences as I dont think I want to continue doing this anymore. 

Also would appreciate any experiences on how you stop this happening in the first place

[Colleen253]

If this kind of activity happens, it's because hosts let it, @Selda58 It's up to the host to vet and screen their guests. It's your place, your business, not Airbnb's. Don't let sketchy guests in.

[Selda58]

So be 100% on vetting guests and then when a bad experience does happen take it on the chin because AirBNB wont take action against it? and thats ok - all our fault

[Colleen253]

@Selda58 No, you don't let the bad experience happen in the first place. it takes effort, but it's entirely possible to keep the wolves from the door. Airbnb rarely takes action. Protect yourself. Reliance on Airnb should be ZERO.

[Sarah977]

@Selda58  While few hosts would want their rental used for this purpose, sex work is a legal business in most places, so it's better approached from the angle of guests not being allowed to carry on a commercial activity from your str. As well as their being random people not on the booking entering and leaving the home, if that's what was happening. 

One thing to know about dealing with Airbnb CS is not to clutter up your issue wirh extraneous stuff, like that the guest checked out late- you don't want to give them fodder to focus on the relatively trivial issue, instead of the major one.

Colleen wasn't blaming you- she was pointing out what many hosts have come to understand- Airbnb will not come to your rescue, so hosts need to vet guests well, pay attention to what is going on at their listings, and take action immediately if it's not okay.

[Ann72]

@Selda58  You can try a couple of things, but there's no guarantee it will never happen again.  Raise your rates.  You will be pleasantly surprised at the attendant rise in bookings from people who don't complain about value.  Making it economically unviable for sex workers to use your place is your goal.  If word has gotten around in that community that your place is a go-to, double your rate for a period of time, long enough to let word spread that you've become too expensive for them.  Only advertise 1 bed and 2 guests and only show one bed in the pictures.  If you are successful in driving the unsavory crowd to other listings, you can go back to where you are now.

Keep raising holy hell with Airbnb and if they don't respond, bring it to the media, Facebook, Twitter, what you will.  I agree that it's not acceptable.

[Linda108]

Hospitality business has always had a partnership with sex workers.  In spite of your moral outrage at this activity in your listing, it is best to approach this issue as a business person who wants to appeal to a particular market.  If the activity is illegal in your area, your house rules will forbid it. If the activity is a commercial one, your house rules should forbid it. Vet as best you can beforehand, which would include no single nights, no same day booking, no unregistered guests and greeting the guests at check in.  

Don't let your judgement as how to proceed as a business owner be compromised by expecting Air BNB to agree with your sensibilities or act on them either.  

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@Selda58  One thing you can do right away is clarify in your House Rules that only the guests named and registered in the original booking are permitted on the property - no additional visitors. You may terminate a booking and remove guests from the home if they break this rule. You may require IDs for all adults at check-in and actively monitor the entrance as measures of prevention.

But Airbnb itself is in no position to categorically denounce sex work The Terms of Service (12.1) do prohibit soliciting/offering prostitution through the platform itself (for example, you can't offer sexual services as part of a listing or profile), but I don't think this extends to guests' conduct in their rentals. It's really just up to hosts to set their boundaries and enforce their rules.