Guest break house rules

[Kelly1553]

Hi everyone. I'm fairly new to Airbnb. I've really enjoyed being a host and have had a few not so great experiences but none as bad as this one- 

I recently had a guest book for 4 nights with 5 guest on the reservation. The guest showed up with +4 (which there's normally an additional fee for that). The guest then decided to tamper with an outer perimeter camera by covering it with a item. If that wasn't enough, the guest decided to have a 15+ gathering without notifying us- all of this within the first 24hrs of the reservation beginning. I will say that all these things are listed under our rules and policies on the Airbnb site and in our host home. Airbnb was notified and immediately they canceled the reservation and the guest, along with everyone else, left the home but not before threatening to get a lawyer involved. I can't seem to get a supervisor from Airbnb to contact me to see how I'm protected/covered by situations like this or if I'm on my own. 

Any advice, specially on similar experiences are greatly appreciated.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kelly1553 Airbnb is basically just a listing site. They have no in-person presence on the ground so it is important that hosts recognise they need to arrange their own local security if needed.

In the very unlikely event the guest does sue you then you will need to rely on Airbnb's liability insurance (part of Aircover). I suggest you read the terms of Aircover to ensure you notify them if (and its a big if) the guest involves a lawyer.

[Helen3]

When a guest covers cameras its normally because they are about to break your house rules, so I would have been on the phone to the guest straight away to tell them to remove the covering immediately. @Kelly1553 

As Mike said Airbnb is simply a booking platform. It's your STR business and up to you to enforce your house rules.

Bad guests can threaten legal action but it is usually an empty threat. What are they going to say to their lawyer I want to sue a host because of covered up their cameras to hide I was having a party contrary to the house rules for the property?

[Laura2592]

@Kelly1553 its hot air. The guest got caught. When people get caught breaking rules a typical go to is "I will sue." You can probably hear my eyes rolling. 

This guest is trying to intimidate you into not leaving an honest review, but you owe your fellow hosts one. I would do something simple that does not violate any policies calling for its removal. Like the following:

"This guest arrived with additional people beyond what was listed on the reservation, tampered with exterior security cameras and threw a gathering in our no parties space. Communication was aggressive, house rules not followed and the reservation ended early. Extra cleaning was needed. This is not a guest we recommend or would welcome back."

Then do below 3s in all categories and select "would not host again." Your guest can only see your forward facing review and not your star ratings or that you would not host them. This will prevent them from using instant book. They will have to request a reservation in the future, giving other hosts time to check out their scores. 

Wait until the 11th hour to leave your review. They can leave theirs anytime..let them. Both people have to leave reviews for them to go live before 14 days. If you wait, other reviews you might get in the meantime will be on top of this poor review (because I am sure they will blast you.) Be ready to respond to their review with the same sort of factual, unemotional message that you left in their review. And if their review uses profanity you may be able to get it removed.

Next time vet your guests better 🙂 Come to the forum for advice, use the Host Circle for non-searchable delicate situations. Best of luck!