Guests trashed our cabin, is this common?

[Cheryl133]

Last weekend we had our very first rental at our cabin in South Lake Tahoe.  We worked on it for over 7 months to make it a nice relaxing getaway to enjoy.  Cabin is very small...630 sq ft. 

His request was for 4 adults.  Our max occupancy is 4.  I responded to be sure he understood it has one queen and two twins.  He stated no problem they were going to be hiking around the lake and would be outside most of the time.  They arrived Friday.  Held a large party.  Neighbors didn't notify us until Saturday afternoon and we have an hour drive to get there.  There were 8 men there and 4 cars.  Cabin was completely trashed.  Vomit everywhere, they stole items from cabin, chunk of wood out of baseboard, pipe insulation pulled off hot water heater.  It was unbelievable and devastating. 

Is this common?  We have more reservations scheduled.  Not sure what to do.  

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

So sorry this happened to you.

It's not a common occurance.

I believe some properties are more at risk for being overtaken and trashed by a party crowd.

From similar sad tales..... it seems that guests who plan this kind of activity look for listings that are: an "entire place" rental; hip pad or resort or ideal vacation spot or an otherwise quite impressive location; remote; the hosts are new, the hosts don't live close by; and self check-in is an option. The type of guest who does this perhaps doesn't have any reviews or very few; may be from the local area; are not easy to find by an internet search; and may be using an alias name. Of course not all of these factors would apply, but it seems when I hear of this kind of travesty, many do.

You should immediately contact Airbnb. Do so by phone so you can have a dialogue and receive the guidance you need to file a claim. Time is of the essence. If the first ABNB representative doesn't serve you well, call back and talk to another one. Some reps are better than others, more experienced and willing to go to bat for you. Tenanciously pursue compensation. Be sure to read up on the policies that will cover you and the procedures required. Present photographs of before and after. Stick to facts. Document well. File a police report too. File an insurance claim as well. Dog Airbnb until they do the right thing for you. If Airbnb doesn't come through for you, take it to the media. That's one way some hosts have prevailed.

Good luck. We're rooting for you.

[Dan225]

I find that typical of Airbnb renters. 

[Dan225]

Airbnb seems to attract a good number of renters who do not respect property. They hiold security deposit money which is almost impossible to get when the tenant trashes your place. They leave it up to the renter to decide whether or not you get reimbursed for damages and extra cleaning.  I have been very dissapointed with Airbnb policies. 

[Rachelle24]

So sorry that happen to you. I was wondering how that worked. So Airbnb leaves it up to the renters/guest to decide if they should even pay you the deposit which prob wouldn't even cover depending on the damages and mess they made. I sure hope they change those rules soon or I'll definitely have to opt out or go to another listing. As Airbnb host we wann feel protected and covered as well. Thanks for sharing. 

[Rhonda34]

I have other properties, but would never rent a whole house on here.  I live close to both other houses, and have tried the holiday rental and paid the price.  

Its a nighmare when things go wrong. Accross the road from me are three houses connected and they are on Airbnb and also have other ways to get bookings. 

I am their best friend and worst nightmare when it comes to who they rent to. I will call them when I see tons of cars pull up , and the beers come out and the skimpy girls.

One was a bucks do , when there was a big family festiville in town. They thought it was great to leave the drapes wide open while they got lap dances and had a portable spa they put up as well.  Kids walking past could see right in and thats not quite the way some folk want to give the little nippers sex education 101.

My husband wept when I had owner tell them to shut the drapes. Poor old fart, he was to late to see the show as he was out the back cooking the bbq.  Get the support of a neigbour that can keep an eye on the place and report quickly back to you.  But if its out of hand call the police as drunk folk dont often care what they do or who they hurt.

[Karin123]

I am so so sorry for what you have been through, this is horrendous behaviour and so upsetting for you.  It is not common, so keep on going, I have only been doing airbnb for 2 months and have so many wonderful guests, some who have become friends from all over the world.

hope this helps you to keep going

Karin

[Lisa723]

We rent our cabins remotely and have never had this kind of problem. A couple of things we do:

- we have a local co-host, who can arrive with a few minutes notice, and manages cleaning, etc.

- our house rules, which each guest must agree to before booking, include quiet hours 10pm-8am

- nobody can instant-book without providing government id

- we know the property's neighbors, and they have our phone number as well as our co-host's

- in the property descriptions we stress attraction for families and couples

Not sure if any of this makes any difference, or if we are just lucky.

[Mo24]

I have had the exact same thing happen me. After many wonderful guests. It's over 2 months now. NOTHING FROM AIRBNB, not even a phone call. $5000+ of damage and theft. This guest continued doing it. I called Airbnb warning them of him.

The call centre talked about some "Trust" team that will get back to me. NOTHING. 

Wow!! If your house burns down - don't expect help. I'm truly appalled 

Mo Han

[Nikki-and-Danny0]

We also host in SLT and have hosted over 100 guests. This happened to us about 5-8 times within those 100 guest. We installed a nest camera in the front and a noise aware system in the back near the hot tub. We also put in our rules that they will be charged $100 extra per person per night if they break out 8 person rule. We also put our deposit up to $2000 due to one pretty bad guest. Sorry that happened to you.