Guest Sending Threatening & Racist Messages

[Ahmad334]

I had a guest cancel a longterm reservation and for whatever reason they started making up excuses like the unit is dirty etc. Which is weird because all their complaints are issues they would have seen on the day they came to inspect the unit PRIOR to booking.

My suspicion is there was a Caucasian guests in the upstairs unit,  but ironically they only saw the cleaner when they came to visit.

So after the guest cancels and doesn't get their refund per the booking rules - he starts sending threatening messages and racist messages like * . Such odd racism. 

Basically blaming non-existent smells etc on the upstairs guests. When vents take air and smells up not the other way around. We've also never had these complaints ever before.

I really want this guest banned from the platform, Airbnb has been completely useless the threats are on the Airbnb messaging system and I've told them, they just there's nothing they can do all I can do is just block them?

**[Content removed inline with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Alicia753]

Hi Ahmad,

I'm sorry to hear you’ve experienced such distressing behavior from a guest. Given the severity of the racist and threatening comments, you have every reason to want stronger action from Airbnb, especially as these messages were documented on the platform’s own messaging system. Here’s a strategic approach to address this situation:

Report to Airbnb with Documentation: Revisit the case with Airbnb, focusing on the platform's policy against discrimination and harassment. Emphasize that the guest's behavior violated Airbnb's community standards, including racial and threatening language.

Escalate the Case: Contact Airbnb’s Trust and Safety team directly. This can sometimes be done by asking specifically for a Trust and Safety escalation in your host support messages or calls. Make it clear that this guest’s behavior is compromising the safety of your staff and future guests.

Use Social Media: If you're comfortable with it, sometimes politely sharing your experience on social platforms, such as Twitter, while tagging Airbnb Help, can bring visibility to the issue and prompt faster action.

Retain Evidence and Block the Guest: In the meantime, keep all documentation, including messages, photos, and records of any prior positive guest feedback that contradicts the guest's claims. Blocking the guest on Airbnb can prevent future contact, even if it doesn’t resolve the current issue.

Consider Alternative Reporting Channels: If you continue to receive abusive messages, you may want to explore reporting it locally as harassment.

This kind of guest behavior is absolutely unacceptable, and you’ve taken all the right steps to manage it professionally. Hopefully, Airbnb will respond more decisively when provided with this structured documentation and request.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

Upfish Management