Guests booking to use home for sex workers

[Brenda313]

I was unaware of this until today. After having to call the police to have guests removed, I googled and learned that sex workers are now renting airbnb spaces to work instead of hotels. 

I had my guests removed for violating my House Rules... smoking, using drugs in my house, and having unapproved guests over. 

However, it didn't take long to learn and realize the reason they booked. 

Since prostitution is illegal in my state, should I now include that in my House Rules? 

I do not discriminate against sex workers, but I cannot allow that activity in my home, where I live as well, .... I rent a room, not the whole house.  

I do not feel I am safe if people I haven't approved are in my home. 

Airbnb did not support me as a host, i am a superhost w 5 star rating.  Airbnb told me I had to reimburse the remaining days or I would have my rating dropped for cancellation.   

How is this ok?

I know this guest is going to give me poor reviews, and I am going to take the hit and warn other potential hosts w an honest review... this just isn't ok.

[Alice1248]

SESTA/FOSTA has caused so much harm to sex workers you have no idea. It has also INCREASED TRAFFICKING!! 

Sex workers are consenting adults and should NOT be criminalized or punished! Due to SESTA/FOSTA, many online sex workers were forced to go to the streets and endure violence, even death. 

Police are now going after massage parlors instead of actual traffickers due to trafficking going underground due to the law. 

I hope Airbnb & VRBO don’t punish sex workers nor have their own platforms shut down due to sex workers using & paying for their services. 

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/standard-deviations/201807/why-fostasesta-harms-those-it-sup...

https://rewirenewsgroup.com/article/2018/07/12/disabled-sex-workers-congress-anti-trafficking-legisl...

https://www.businessinsider.com/fosta-sesta-anti-sex-trafficking-law-has-been-failure-opinion-2019-7...

https://newrepublic.com/amp/article/162823/sex-trafficking-sex-work-sesta-fosta

https://www.vice.com/amp/en/article/xwmdkk/repeal-sesta-fosta-sex-work-suraj-patel

https://www.techdirt.com/2018/07/09/more-police-admitting-that-fosta-sesta-has-made-it-much-more-dif...

https://www.techdirt.com/2018/05/14/police-realizing-that-sesta-fosta-made-their-jobs-harder-sex-tra...

https://www.dailydot.com/irl/increase-sex-trafficking-sesta-fosta/?amp

[Sean433]

@Brenda313 

I don't think you need to mention that you don't discriminate again sex workers. I am not sure what that means? Who would accept sex workers in their listing? If it is discrimination to not allow sex workers, then I am guilty because I once had to kick out a sex worker who was later banned by airbnb. My experience was a lot easier then yours because I was easily able to prove it through text messages and advertisements I had discovered online.

The blowback from the prostitute was the wrose part, not airbnb's reaction of it which was pretty supportive (only because I had solid evidence through creative means).

[Tiffany398]

So if they never took clients in your house how do you know they were sex workers? And if one of the girls was underage why didn’t the police detain her? 

[Kendra114]

It’s not okay. Airbnb is taking crazy pills.

Put everything in your rules online & on-site & repeat yourself to guests if necessary.

Take a look at my ridiculous list of rules all created because of bad guess situations. I end up apologizing to my good guests when they show up because of all the rules and try to explain why it has to be that way. I don’t know what else to do at this point.

[Cristina2560]

Hi @Brenda313 , we have that issue in two occasions in one of our apartments. As normally all of them are connected within the same area, what helped us to stop them from coming was to call the police and retain the security deposit. So now they don't think on our apartments as a "safe" place for them 🙂 I hope that helps.