Guest had to be evicted today. Local police were very helpful. Airbnb was not.

[Joan2055]

I am a brand new host. I've been at this about a month but I'm getting bookings and good reviews. On my way to superhost status I hope! After five perfect bookings, I got my first bad one. Guest lied about why she was coming and where she was from. She had a brand new account and no reviews so that was a red flag (but I understand everyone has to get their first review). Long story short: she and two guests hung blankets over all the windows and were clearly using illicit drugs. Neighbors called with concerns about their behavior. My husband and I intervened and ultimately decided to ask them to leave after consulting our local police department, which were super professional and helpful. Airbnb staff were of absolutely no help. I made multiple phone calls and, despite promising they were escalating my call and someone would call me back, they never did. Once evicted, I learned the guest stole several items from my home. The police intervened and the guest returned some but not all of the items over two days. All in all, we think we got out easy. The guests were messy and dirty and stained some items and moved furniture around and stole items, but did not trash the house. And because of good neighbors, we intervened early and got them out before -- we think -- they were planning to cook meth. My point is -- you have to trust your instincts and take matters into your own hands. My husband and I did enough research during the ordeal to learn the cell phone the guest used was registered in a false name (we searched for, found, and spoke to the person whose name the phone was in and there was no association). We researched the guest on our statewide Casenet (registry of legal action) and found a history of drug offenses. Moving forward, I will be requiring a car tag number and driver's license number of the guest who books.

Any other tips or advice?

[Lawrene0]

Wow, @Joan2055 , you handled it all brilliantly. I love reading posts from wise hosts. 

No advice from me except that you will need to put it in your house rules that car tag/driver's license numbers will be required of the booking guest if you want to make that one stick. It has to appear on the listing. 

[Joan2055]

Thanks so much for your input. I had not thought of putting the car tag/drivers license in my house rules, but I will do so immediately. I appreciate hearing we handled it well. It was stressful, but we made it through and learned a lot!

[Helen3]

I think vetting of guests and CCTV are your best friends as you are hosting remotely @Joan2055 

Don't forgot you also need your own home insurance for STR.

[Joan2055]

Yes! We decided before we ever booked we would purchase a commercial policy with liability coverage. It costs three times the cost of a homeowner's policy, but we feel protected. I can't even imagine trying to get money out of Airbnb.

[Maree70]

Hi I am lucky with our airbnbs that although the house is complete seperate we stay at the neighbouring property so when I get a booking I reply thanks for your booking we are just next door should you need anything. This has saved me from three parties so far one was going to be a 21st !!! Maybe you could reply with thanks for your booking we are very close to the property should you need anything . This may weed out those that are going to use it for something other than a legit holiday. 

[Helen427]

lol @Maree70 ,  love the last sentence, typical NZ slang, "...weed out those..."

Welcome to CC  @Maree70 from a fellow local based in Auckland.

I always message my Guests asking them to advise how they are traveling to my home and to provide vehicle make, colour and registration number - is that what you folk in USA call a Tag?

It's also a wise idea if you are living next door or close by to take photos of vehicles parked at the property should any incidents arise where you suspect they may be up to no good

[Zacharias0]

Its a shame that AirBnB doesnt do more research before sending these guests our way. Oddly enough when we need the help of Airbnb we have to receive a text message and in that text message click the link to verify the number is valid BEFORE we can speak to an AirBNB rep even for SuperHosts. I feel like just that one step is MORE than any future guest has to go through.

Most of us are in agreement that we all take a risk accepting new reservations from each and every single inquiry or reservation request especially since we have no photos of the guests.

[Craig280]

Thank you all for sharing!  I have learned collected some great information from this thread.  I am sorry that you had to experience this but glad your property and you are ok.

[Marta-Stella0]

Siempre se aprende algo ! Gran idea placa del auto y licencia de  

conducir.  Gracias amiga

lo mejor de este año para ti y tu familia .

Cariños Marta Stella

[Ivan1490]

     Уважаемые Сотрудники и Руководители Airbnb !

     Я думаю, что у вас сейчас сложная финансовая ситуация из-за эпидемии коронавируса. Всем сейчас нелегко.

     Однако, вы своими действиями еще более ухудшаете не только свое собственное положение, но и положение доверившихся вам людей.

     С 01 марта ваши гости прожили у меня почти неделю. Деньги за проживание не переведены до сих пор. Я многократно обращался к вам с этой проблемой письменно и устно, но в ответ слышал от вас только : «подождите». Никаких разъяснений ситуации, причин задержки и сроков ожидания вы упорно не даете. Это вызывает наихудшие подозрения в вашей неплатежеспособности (банкротстве).

     Надеюсь, что это не так. Однако, ваши репутационные потери от подобных действий могут 1000-кратно превысить сумму ваших невыплат.

     Судите сами : 11 и 17 марта у меня уже на очереди новые гости. Я дорожу своей репутацией и не могу обмануть людей. Я вынужден буду предложить им отказаться от бронирования и порекомендую забрать обратно свои деньги от недобросовестного посредника, пока это еще не поздно. Они расскажут это другим людям, напишут в интернет и в СМИ.

     Другие хозяева могут поступить также,  пойдет огласка, и вы получите в результате настоящий обвальный процесс по принципу падающего «домино». От этого пострадают доверившиеся вам люди и ваши собственные сотрудники. Вы можете потерять самое главное, на чем строится наш бизнес – Доверие !

     Я настоятельно прошу менеджера-получателя в обязательном порядке довести мое обращение до сведения Руководства Компании. Сделайте пожалуйста  перевод текста.

     Прошу больше не писать мне многократно в ответах одно и то же , что моя заявка направлена куда-то на рассмотрение, это выглядит уже как неуважение ! Извинения и просьбы «подождать» тоже  не принимаются.

     Я ожидаю от моих уважаемых Партнеров конкретную информацию о создавшейся ситуации.

     Напишите мне пожалуйста конкретные ответы на следующие вопросы :

• Когда будет выплата (сколько еще предполагается мне ждать) ?
• Что мне делать с бронированиями на 11 и 17 марта ?
• По какой причине возникла подобная ситуация и сможет ли ваша

Компания в дальнейшем выполнять свои обязательства ?

В порядке рекомендации, как действующий адвокат с многолетней практикой, я посоветую вам не прятаться от людей за спинами ваших прекрасных менеджеров, а разместить на сайте полную и правдивую информацию о сложившейся ситуации и подумать о материальной компенсации за причиненные беспокойства.

С уважением и наилучшими пожеланиями

Иван Михайлович Хомышин

[Mariam160]

@Joan2055  Thank you for sharing. I have been in a few of these situations where the guest broke the rules and was absolutely  uncomfortable with them being in my house, but I didn’t know how to go about getting them out without infuriating them and them causing long term damage to my house. Can you provide a bit more detail on how you went about it. Did you and your husband go to the property while they were there at any point or did you have the police handle the whole thing? I’m concerned about my property getting trashed or them coming back after they leave and harm the property or me. Any advice on how to go about this while taking all the cautionary measures would be appreciate. 
just an added note; I believe most hosts on this site may not leave in their air BnB property but I do when I don’t have a booking. 

Thanks,

Mariam

[Joan2055]

Hi Mariam, we offer homemade cookies and lemonade with each booking. Because the guests asked to check in early, there was no time to place the treats. Once the neighbors called, we decided to deliver the cookies ourselves well after check-in  -- trusting a hospitality approach would allow us to get eyes on the interior of our home (especially important since there were blankets over all the windows). Had we not had that "excuse" and been so deeply uncomfortably after meeting them, things would have likely turned out differently. However, we could have simply knocked on the door and introduced ourselves and noted neighbors were concerned. I can say confidently that moving forward, I will wholeheartedly trust my instincts and not hesitate to take charge of my property. Anyway, we did nothing that night except research. That's how we learned they were using a phone with a stolen name. (We tracked the woman whose name the phone was tied to and she had never had the phone number nor did she have an association with the woman who booked.) We finally decided to go to local police with our concerns the next day. The officer said "It's your property. If you want them out, I'll go with you." It took the guests forever to answer the door and they kept stalling, but when I finally got to talk to the woman who booked (about 20 minutes after knocking and talking to other guests), I simply said "Based on neighbor concerns and our own, there are a number of breaches of Airbnb rules, including having extra guests, using a phone number not registered in your name, and inconsistencies in your stated reason for travel." She simply looked at me and said "Do we need to leave?" And I said "yes." I suspect they've been through this before and with a police officer behind me, there was no resistance. HOWEVER, I SHOULD HAVE stayed in the home while they packed. I did not. Nor did I watch closely as they loaded their car. As soon as they and the police left, I realized they had taken a number of my items with them. Two phone calls from police and two days later, they returned most but not all the items.

[Mariam160]

@Joan2055  Thank you very much for taking the time to explain and provide advice. Greatly appreciated. Your explanation to the guest when you were asking them to leave was very diplomatic and respectful and that’s exactly what I was seeking to learn how

to do. Thanks again. Best of luck. 

Mariam

[Gesia1]

If you are going to even with this Scare of The Corona Virus (Wich i dont recomend to do right now)

dont do Instant booking. AirBnB do not check peoplewhen you go for Instant Booking follow your instingst.

[Anonymous]

@Gesia1   There are a lot of reasons that hosts should be wary of Instant Book, but when it comes to coronavirus-related concerns, I think we're well past the point where screening booking requests can be effective in reducing the risk of exposure.