How do I know when to report a guest?

[Danielle732]

What criteria do you guys use to know when to report a guest?

I had a guest stay with me for nearly 6 weeks. She was ok but I work from home

and she would often be home during the day and want to come up to my space of my home and chat. I rent out the entire lower level of my house and 

the upper level is my space. I've been hosting for 3 years and never had a guest intrude like this. 

I gave her a key so she could come and go as she pleased but she lost it. After that I would ask her when she planned to be home to be sure I was home and the door was unlocked. Many times she would say she was coming home at 7am but not arrive until 10pm (so 15 hours later than she said). I understand she is completely free to come and go as she pleases but it was more that she was inaccurate about her times. 

There were many instances of the guest not recognizing boundaries. She tried to go into my daughter's room when my daughter was asleep in her crib but I stopped her. 

On check out day, she checked out several hours late which I normally don't mind as long as my guests let me know ahead of time which she did not. When I asked her when she planned to check out, she got mad. She did check out and leave but has been sending me rude messages via Airbnb's messaging since check out. I have not responded but I feel like I should do something to warn future hosts. 

What is the correct way to handle this? 

Thank you!

[Kelly251]

Review this guest accurately and fairly , to allow future hosts to make their own decisions. Sorry to hear of this kind of behaviour from your guest, seems we all get these kind of class acts.

[Danielle732]

Glad to know I'm not alone! Thank you for your response. I did give a fair review which angered her but I felt like I needed to be fair to future hosts.

[Anonymous]

@Danielle732 The place where you warn future hosts about the guest's behavior is, of course, in your public review. You don't have to recount every incident in detail, but you can concisely say that the guest did not consistently respect your boundaries and rules, and her communication after the stay was hostile. 

Without knowing the specifics of what went down in the last messages your guest sent, it sounds like the problem was not so much that she was violating Airbnb policy or breaking the law, but rather that she was taking a lot of unwelcome liberties in your personal space. That's a personal matter between you and your guest, and the only case in which I could see a reason to get Airbnb involved is if you wanted to terminate the booking early but the guest refused the alteration. However, if the guest's messages cross the line from rudeness and into harassment, and give you any reason to be concerned for your safety, that would definitely be something to report.

[Danielle732]

This is helpful! I was concerned at first about my safety because obviously she knows where I live but she has been quiet today (no new messages) so hopefully she calmed down. Thank you!

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Danielle732 

It seems more like an issue with boundaries - IMO, as a host you may have to be more upfront and firm about what you allow/tolerate and don't in terms of guest behavior. If certain areas in your home are off limits to the guest, be firm about it and make it clear to them from the start. It's your home and as the host, it's up to you (not Airbnb) to communicate what you see as appropriate guest behavior and make sure the guest acts accordingly while staying in your home.

If you want to warn other hosts about the guest having boundary issues, you can leave a public review - my suggestion is to just state the facts as clearly and concisely as possible without too much detail and don't make it personal. 

[Danielle732]

I appreciate your reply! Makes me feel like I did the right thing. I did state boundaries up front and remind throughout her stay. It got to the point that it felt like nagging so I stopped (she stayed 6 weeks, so the first 3-4 weeks I would remind and after that I kinda just thought I'd stick it out haha!). When I would restate boundaries she would act offended. She actually wrote me a note at the end of her stay (via airbnb messenger) that she thought this was a type of charity and not a business. It was all strange. Anyway, thank you for this helpful response!

[Sarah977]

This guest sounds like she has some mental issues or perhaps is on the autism spectrum- that could account for not understanding boundaries. I'm sure you breathed a sigh of relief when she left. Do leave an honest review- all you need to say is that the guest seems to be challenged when it comes to respecting boundaries, became offended when you re-iterated them, and that she would be better suited to an entire place listing than one with an on-site host. And also that she sent you rude messages after she left.

@Danielle732

[Christine615]

I had guests recently claim they were robbed of the spare keys. Waited 48 hours after checkout to tell me. Wouldn’t answer when I asked for police report. I changed all the locks and billed them through the resolution center. 

I would trust your guest to not be in possession of them.