Emotional support after guest vandalized room in my home

[Rena3386]

Hi - I’ve been a host for 3 years with a room and bath in my home, and have had only one booking until now that was a bit troublesome. But, my last guests (4.5 stars on Airbnb), got drunk, got in a fight, kicked in the Airbnb bedroom door and broke multiple items, blood on the sheets, etc. My room is at the other side of the house so thankfully I didn’t hear it and intervene. I woke up in shock to a huge mess with a door and casing in shambles, missing and broken items, and their items left all over, inside and the yard, including a cell phone. They paid my  estimate for the damages immediately and apologized, and picked up their belongings. I’ve had no promised emails from Airbnb, only the payout for the damages - which of course I’m grateful for. But I’m having a hard time feeling safe now. I don’t want this to taint my feelings toward Airbnb- it’s my income and I love most of the people I meet. I’m afraid to leave an honest review in case of retaliation. I want Airbnb to ban them but have heard nothing. 
Any pointers on my feelings of insecurity now, and how to avoid people like these in the future?  TIA

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rena3386 I suspect anyone with this experience would consider giving up hosting BUT.... You said yourself you love most of the people you meet so don't let this one bad experience force you to stop meeting the good guys. Also, it seems to me, the guest is suitably apologetic if they have paid for the damage so they are not all bad either.

I'll let others comment on how to vet guests - We didn't host in-home so its a very different experience but I will say a fair review is needed. Perhaps as simple as 1 star and a comment such as 'XXX did significant damage to my home but at least had the decency to pay my estimated costs to repair'

[Rena3386]

Thank you for your supportive words. I will use that review approach. 

[Alicia753]

Hi Rena,

I'm sorry to hear about your troubling experience. It's understandable to feel shaken after such an incident. Here are some steps to help you move forward and enhance security:

1. Leave an Honest Review: It’s important to leave an honest review about the guests to inform future hosts. Airbnb’s review system is double-blind, meaning your review won’t be visible to the guests until they have left theirs, or until the review period ends. But I recommend to leave the review 12 days after the guest check out. Here's a sample review for reference:

 "Unfortunately, I must report a serious incident during this guest's stay. Despite their prompt payment for damages, the behavior exhibited was alarming and included excessive drinking, a physical altercation, and significant damage to property, including a broken door and various household items. While I appreciate the guests' immediate response to the financial aspect, the overall experience has compelled me to advise caution to future hosts."

2. Report to Airbnb: Ensure that you’ve reported the incident in detail to Airbnb. They can take further action, like banning the guests if their behavior warrants it.

3. Enhanced Screening: Consider setting stricter booking requirements, such as requiring government ID verification, or only accepting guests with multiple positive reviews.

4. Security Enhancements: You might want to invest in security measures such as better locks, security cameras (in common areas as per legal guidelines), or an alarm system.

5. Blocking Guests: To prevent specific guests from booking your listings again, you can block them on Airbnb. This option is available in the messaging thread with the guest by selecting the "block" feature.

Remember, incidents like this are rare, and most Airbnb experiences are positive. It’s good to take proactive steps to secure your property and peace of mind.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

** 

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[Rena3386]

I appreciate your response. However, outside of leaving a review, I have ALL of those safety measures in place. My InstaBook settings are for people with no negative reviews. Airbnb still let them InstaBook even with negative reviews. I thought a 4.5 rating was fine, but I have since read the reviews and two were negative. My cameras showed them fighting outside with the booker trying to choke her boyfriend. My porch camera picked up their yelling voices and the kicking in of the bedroom door. I have a large dog who sleeps in my room and internal security measures in place. I will use your advice with a review, but Airbnb needs to be more discerning. They have proof of all the damages and need to block them. 

[Marie8425]

@Rena3386 

Personally I would use the first review.  You are posting on the internet.  Post what ou do know noy what you assume.  It sounds like excessive drinking but you don't know maybe he is an idiot with one drink.  Publishing your opinions as factual negative personal about the Guest or Host is retaliatory.

[Autumn11]

What she does know is her home was disrespected and damaged.  That's not an assumption.  It doesn't matter if it's 1 drink or 15 hits of heroin, if someone behaves like that in MY home, I'm definitely going to leave a review of exactly what happened AND MY OPINION OF THISR BEHAVIOR.  hopefully it will ensure another host doesn't have to go thru that trauma and feel disrespected like that, or worse!

[Marie8425]

@Autumn11 

I agree what he did was disrespectful and damaging and painful.Negative statements on the internet if he is just a low life.

Will not cause a low life any discomfort

I am right and millions agree with me, it is still a problem I have to fix.

It is still my problem to fiance resolution

Future guest and businesses are forewarned if I think you did something to me, I will get even personally

[Helen3]

Hi @Rena3386 

What an awful experience

If I saw two negative reviews for a guest using instant book I would have called Airbnb and asked them to çancel.

what vetting questions have you set up as part of your vetting process on Airbnb? 

our responsibility as hosts to vet guests carefully to make sure they are a good fit.

please don't use @Alicia753 suggestion for a review it could be grounds for removal as it includes allegations you can't substantiate.

stick to a factual review including the damage caused . I would given them a low score . Hopefully with three negative reviews Airbnb will remove them from the platform 

[Autumn11]

I agree with what you said!  Also a good thing to do is cover all your bases, make sure you put in your house rules THAT THEY Agreed TO PRIOR TO BOOKING that while "casual drinking" is permitted, any visual signs of intoxication or belligerent or abusive behavior will result in an immediate termination of your booking with zero refunds!!! Also mention, this is a shared space and any abusive behavior is not tolerated by or to anyone.  

I had to put very specific rules and I don't care if the guests felt I was nit picky, or too many rules, GOOD, those are the guests you want to weed out anyways!  A decent human being isn't going to be offended by that, they are going to be like " well that's not an issue here" and still book with you.  I've dealt with a bunch of domestic violence stuff at my Airbnbs, I've had guests that trashed the house beat each other up, then went out and robbed my neighbors houses ON CAMERA, and I've also had a home invasion done by a guests "guests"at my house... Be strict as you need to be... It's your home, it's your right to feel safe there!!! 

[Rena3386]

Big hugs. Thank you so much. 

[Tonia687]

I had some guests that had a large group and the person who rented the property actually wasn't even here that night (don't know if that's even allowed).  The guests made a huge mess and I was worried about review retaliation, as you are.  I called Airbnb customer service and asked them about it.  They assured me that if they left a retaliatory review that it would be removed. 

However, I DID have issues with them leaving a bad review and since every time you call customer service you get a different agent, the new agent didn't want to remove the review.  I ultimately had to prove that the review was fraudulent because she didn't even spend the night there to get it removed.  Luckily, she admitted she wasn't there in the messages so I had evidence.  

So, even though Airbnb does not allow "retaliatory reviews", getting it removed can prove to be a real hassle and depending on who you get, might not even happen.  I saw another comment here and agree with them, leaving that sort of review sounds appropriate (with the 1 star and how they destroyed it but were apologetic and paid for it).

Just remember all the good people you have met and dealt with, vs the one.  Hang in there!  🙂