Guest trying to extort but no proof

[Laila124]

Hello,

My name is Laila and im pretty new to hosting. Ive had so far nothing but a dozen of 5 stars reviews, and just started experiencing the “fun part” of hosting.

Ive had a guest with only positive reviews who started complaining the minute he had checked in. Biggest of his concern being there aren't black out curtains (it was specified in the listing they weren't any). I found out that he was upset about it after I called him to check if all was fine. He didnt contact me first. Our phone conversation was basically a monologue, he was shouting, called me names, said listing was a “fraud”, threatened to leave me the lowest review possible and threatened to destroy the place if I didnt give him a refund. I was shocked. I offered him to leave with a full refund couple of hours after check in. He chose to stay!!

Nevertheless, after the call incident, Ive been nothing but nice and polite to him during his stay, as I was actually scared he would destroy the place like he said he would. I was just patiently waiting for his stay to be over in peace. I contacted Airbnb and told them everything, but they did nothing as it was a phone conversation. What I did tho, is I sent the guest on the chat a recap of our phone conversation, detailed all his threats and said it is unacceptable. His only reply to my message: “i need the wifi password”. Couple of days later, he has also apologized for “all he said” on the airbnb chat. To me, this is enough evidence to prove that indeed ive been blackmailed and threatened. Still, airbnb doing nothing about it. Is this normal for hosts to find themselves in such sitations with no support from airbnb?

[Sarah977]

@Laila124  It is  unclear what you are expecting Airbnb to do at this point.

Is the guest still in residence?

[Laila124]

Luckily, he is not anymore and just checked out. However, Ive been seeking help from Airbnb since the day guest checked in, but did not get any support. Guest was allowed to stay. Only way I could end it, is if I had cancelled which would entail a cancellation fee and a hit on my cancellation rate. I think its not fair. I would like to know if there is anything I can do if I ever find myself in similar situation.

[Mark116]

@Laila124   First,  know that you have to be strong and persistent with Airbnb, and that whatever they tell you can as easily be wrong as right.

In the future, if you have a guest who is verbally aggressive and makes threats, do as you did, if they are made in person or otherwise off the platform, write up a recap on the Airbnb message system of what the conversation was, what the guest said.  Then, you can contact Airbnb, tell them the guest was abusive, unhappy and threatening and that you feel uncomfortable and unsafe and  you want a PENALTY FREE cancellation done by Airbnb.  Also make sure you put this in writing on the platform as well because they won't give you the telephone recordings.  If one says no, close the case and keep going until you can find someone who will do the penalty free cancellation.

[Laila124]

Thanks for the advice. Indeed, you really have to be persistent. Some guests you just cant please no matter what you do. I was also thinking to keep all communication on the platform going forward, as I always reply within half an hour anyways. Thats one lesson learned

[Mark3557]

I had a similar issue with a guest. He checked in and said he was going to a wedding and would be back later that night. The next day I went upstairs to the room and it didn't look like he had stayed overnight. The next day he left a horrible review. I asked him why he didn't text or call me when he was there. I offered a refund but airbnb had already done a payout to me so I couldn't refund him. I stopped doing airbnb hosting after that and am trying it again after a airbnb guest had stayed a year as a room mate. It's a crap shoot with airbnb guests, I think they expect a hotel stay when this is just a room in my house where I live full time. I would suggest turning instant book off and when a guest requests to stay you email a few questions before you okay their stay.

[Laila124]

My place is actually a whole apartment, fully equipped with toiletries, bathroom basics, snacks.. its actually in my humble opinion same as a hotel, if not better as you get an apartment instead of a room. But some people you just cant please. There are many flaws in the system that guests can take advantage of. I hope I have learned my lesson. Im sorry for what happened to you. I also thought of giving up at some point, but don't let one bad experience ruin everything. Luckily, there are still genuine people to deal with. I would also try and keep all communication on the platform

[Sarah977]

@Mark3557  I'm not suggesting that you should have refunded that guest- it isn't your fault he never stayed after you prepared the room for him, but you should be aware that you always have the ability to refund a guest even if you have already been paid. You just use the "Send Money" option in the Resolution Center. 

But even if you feel a refund is warranted, never send a refund until you have been paid- some hosts have gotten screwed by using the send money option, and the scammer guest then asked Airbnb for a refund as well. So not only did the host not get paid for the booking, the host was out of pocket and the guest got refunded twice.

[Yvonne735]

I am sorry you had to experience that. Airbnb do have a policy in place regarding guests attempting to take you as a ` review hostage`, its called extortion. And sadly there are a few cases. 

He never gave you the opportunity to recitify. 

He never contacted you, you contacted him and he was verbally abusive in tone and wording. 

You never listed his requirements as being in your premises. 

Even if he had left a negative review, you can counter his review with facts on what actually transpired. 

You can also request that a review be removed if it is not factual. 

If he verbally threatened you with extortion of funds over a negative review. Message him and send him a synopsis of the conversation....` following on from our conversation, can I clarify that you require.........based on you stating........`. If he reiterates what he said in writing then that evidence for you against him. 

Or he may realise that you are onto his thieving scam and backdown. 

I`m also new ( had previous account, and I`m seeing a lot more of this kind of scam than previously years ago). And I think some folks actually target new listings, as they are banking on us, not knowing. I have only been re-opened with a new listing 2 months. And I already had a person attempt to encourage me to breach my own terms and conditions. She had zero reviews and yet worded herself in a way that said she was experienced guest. When I said no, she resorted to emotional manipulation. It was still a no. 

If you do not have a co host , I recommend you get one, so you have a wingman to take some of the experience from your shoulders. Also as a woman, I do not have an image of myself on my profile, because I do not want to be looked upon as a potential soft touch based on my gender and age. Believe me, there are professional scammers out there. Good luck and be direct when you contact Airbnb. Bullet point all his actions and yours in comparison. 

And you can cancel without penalties, if the guest is abusive or causing you fear, or making you uncomfortable. Wish you all the best, every guest is a learning experience. 

[Laila124]

Thank you for your reply, appreciate the advice. Ive actually installed curtains for him, from my own pocket. Also seemed like he backed down a bit when I sent a recap of our conversation on the platform. But still, I find it outrageous that Airbnb didn't do anything about it and just let him stay. His review has been submitted, still did not read it.  Fingers crossed

[Sarah977]

@Laila124  "Ive actually installed curtains for him, from my own pocket. "

Never do this. Do not kowtow to guest demands for things that were never mentioned in your listing as provided. Entitled, pushy people see those who run around trying to please them as weak and easily taken advantage of. 

There is nothing wrong with doing something special for a polite, apreciative guest, in fact their suggestions for what would make the place better for guests are often good suggestions you might want to take on board.

But with the demanding ones, do not let them intimidate you. Stay polite, but professional and firm. "As you could see in my listing description, I do not offer blackout curtains. If it is crucial for you to have them, I suggest we shorten this reservation right now, and I will authorize a refund for unstayed nights, so you can find a place that meets your needs."

Aggressive, demanding people, whether guests or in any walk of life, are used to getting their own way by intimidating others. When they realize they are dealing with someone who won't allow themselves to be pushed around or disrespected, you'd be surprised how many of them back off. They respect people who stand their ground, they disrespect those who keep being nice in the face of their intimidation techniques.

I certainly hope you don't shy away  from leaving a review for this guest. It's important to warn other hosts of his behavior so he doesn't just go on to do this sort of thing to other hosts.

[Laila124]

You are totally right, ive learned my lesson.

update: the guest in question left a glowing 5 stars review. Well at least, patience paid off in some way. I have also left an honest review, which I tried to keep polite and composed. I hope future hosts will be able to understand it. Here is the review I left below, would appreciate your feedback:

I regret having to mention this, as xxx turned out to be a pleasant guest to host, but I think honesty is the best form of review.

We started off from the wrong foot as xxx was very upset upon checking in, when amenities he thought were provided were actually not. The listing has always been accurate, so xxx might have omitted to read it. It resulted in a chaotic check in and conversation (to say the least!). I found the words and form used by xxx quiet distressing. xxx provided lots of feedback, too. However, we managed to come to an agreement, and xxx did end up apologizing afterwards for the exchange we had.

[Kim2978]

Yes unfortunately.  I’ve hosted almost 200 stays and had my first scammer on 3/26/2023.  The person was local, now in hindsight appears to be fairly poor and a student and I believe the motivation was some free time in my unit at minimum and more likely the chance at what was mentioned below:  ‘some hosts have gotten screwed by using the send money option, and the scammer guest then asked Airbnb for a refund as well. So not only did the host not get paid for the booking, the host was out of pocket and the guest got refunded twice.’

This person went as far as initially damaging a shower handle and when that  just resulted in low water flow to the shower, she actually shut off the water supply to the bathroom and videotaped no water coming out if the shower (again only because she shut it off!) and Airbnb support gave her a full refund even though they could see a picture that guest had sent earlier of the shower working.  

This person yelled at me, threatened me with a bad review at first she wanted me to send her half off her stay and then she called my cell 4 minutes later threatening the same but wanted the whole stay to be free.  

I refused, had the shower handle she had broken fixed the next day by 7am and reported the user to Airbnb and they did absolutely nothing to protect me from this person. It was very sad given the prior good history I had with Airbnb and this scammer had no history with Airbnb.  

One would think that with that many stays and 160 5 star reviews and one 4 star review and nothing else lower than that single 4 star (by someone who had a perfect stay), that when this reported user left a one star, maybe what I said would have held some weight given all the facts but it did not.  

Instead I just keep getting emails from Airbnb saying I need to address issues with my listing (which there aren’t any - we have 31 5 star reviews before this guest and 2 5 star reviews after this guest, and Airbnb is threatening to delist my listing. 

It is just incredibly sad that this is allowed to happen when you have a demonstrated reputation and history (and proof from the person who fixed the handle the next day of the damage and the water being turned off by the guest) as well as security footage that no one else came into the unit other than this guest. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kim2978 You should quote Airbnb's revenge review policy at them. With luck you will succeed.

[Kim2978]

Yes, I thought they would have my back with regard to this guest blackmailing me, but they do not.