I need to vent

[Rachael171]

If I could create a meme on what it's like to be an Airbnb host, it would be something like this:

Host:

Spends hours creating an immaculately clean space and comfortable/hospitable stay. Creates highly detailed listing and guidebook, immediately responds to every guest text. Leaves complimentary snacks. Gives deep discounts for long term stays, etc. etc.

Guest:

*messages host* I found a crumb of dirt and an ant!! This place is a dump!!!!

Host:

*comes to clean after the guest checks out* ...Entire place is trashed.

Guest:

That's bull**bleep**!! I left the place in great condition! I refuse to pay for [fill in the blank]. *threatens host with bad review.*

*****Please share with me your nightmare guest experiences and help me feel better about the **bleep** I've hosted recently. 🙂

[Huma0]

I think @Ann72 is correct. I always knew that Airbnb did not hold a security deposit, but it was my belief that when the guest books, they agree to pay up to that amount and then, if the host makes a claim, Airbnb decides to collect it or not from the payment method provided.

However, I had one guest who ignored a request for extra fees (what she owed and why were all documented in the message history with the guest). When I escalated it to Airbnb, they told me they had been unable to reach her and therefore could not collect the money. Although they could see the evidence from the guests messages that she owed this amount, they said that they could not charge a guest without her permission.

Really, what is the point in a security deposit at all? I find that guests who damage things fall into two camps. The first will tell you immediately and offer to pay for a replacement. The second will never mention it and if you bring it up, pretend they know nothing about it. In many cases, the latter type will become hostile and defensive, whether you ask them for any money or not. This guest is never going to pay, so if you open a claim, you can only hope that Airbnb pays for the damages out of their own coffers, because if the guest needs to agree to them taking it from a non-existant 'security deposit', that's never going to happen.

[Rachael171]

@Huma0

You are exactly right!! That is what I'm slowly discovering over the past few days. The host-required security deposit basically means NOTHING. And I agree about the two camps of renters. 

Even your House Rules appear to mean NOTHING, because Airbnb includes this wording: "Exclusions may include general cleaning, ordinary wear and tear, and non-physical damages like smoking fines and broken House Rules."

Really very, very shady. Airbnb definitely doesn't care too much about protecting hosts, but they're happy to collect billions in service fees off our hard work.

[Yadira22]

@Rachael171 I am so sorry. 

I had once hosted a guest who was a recovering alcoholic but relapsed during the start of his stay at my place. Addiction is a serious illness and he needed help but he just was not ready for it. Both during the first and second nights of his 8 day stay he called me at 23PM as I for then worked into the night and from home (international buyer) had to real issue with this at first. He called to say that he was lost and can't remember the address and "did not have a smart phone", at this time I do not answer but he called about 5 times so just answered, by then he got back to the apartment fine. The next day he calls around 7AM to say that he cannot get out as the door lock is not working (pull handle down, keep in this position and pull door). We rushed there thinking something was wrong and he was waiting sat on the staircase huffing and puffing, shots his arms in air when he sees us almost in a WTF manner... we literally showed him there how to lock and unlock the door but he apologised so it was okayish- but we wrote to Airbnb to mark this incident. 

The second night he called again about 5 times asking to get help and given what we suspected, we went to look for him- literally drove around my area for 40 mins looking for him. We eventually got a message saying that a drunk man was sleeping on the staircase and his head was completely inclined backwards (if he vomitted in this position, it could have been serious). I am a trained first aider so have experience with all sorts of people in varying circumstances, and for when I got there he was there. With the help of some people I knew got him up and put him to bed, sleeping in the recovery position, a bottle of water next to him and a bucket if he is sick. 

I let him have it the next morning and I think AIRBNB did also but he managed to stay the remainder of his stay and cause no issues to anyone. A couple of days after check out his relative called me personally to check in on him and I told him what happened. Apparently, he went MIA for a few days after and it became a huge thing with AIRBNB getting involved- eventually he showed up but the damage was done. 

He was my worst guest and honestly after him I really did not want to host again- I am a businessperson not a babysitter and AIRBNB's response was less than impressive. I quickly ameneded my rules to include consumption of alcohol and drugs (need to state the obvious for it to count), screened a lot more thoroughly (all guests) etc. 

IMO most guests are lovely, some I genuinely wish I met them in my everyday and were friends. with but I sincerely try to not mix business and pleasure given other past experiences I have had- I prefer certain elements of my life to be one or the other but I suppose everyone is different. Something that got me through this is know what you want to achieve and plan to get it, adjust your tactic but not your goal but most importantly listen to your gut. I really do wish you well and stay safe. 🙂

[Rachael171]

Wow!! What a story. I've never had anything near that magnitude happen. You're strong to get through that. 

I'm at that point now... ready to stop hosting and ready to sell the rental unit. It's just gotten to be diminishing returns. When something bad happens, I don't feel I can count on Airbnb to back me up. 

[Huma0]

Thankfully, I've never had a guest with an alcohol problem as bad as @Yadira22 's. That sounds horrendous.

I did have a girl stay a few months back who, by her own admission, drank too much. She wouldn't just get drunk when out with her friends, but also by herself at home. One evening, I noticed she was knocking back the prosecco (laced with gin) and a speedy rate and had gone all glassy eyed and started swaying. She excused herself and went to the toilet and didn't come back out and didn't make a sound. I started to worry about her but didn't want to be intrusive, so waited.

After TWO HOURS, I became really concerned. What if she had choked on her own vomit? What if she had passed out and hit her head on the sink or toilet? So, I knocked. Turns out she was fine. She came out and went straight to bed. I am pretty sure she had fallen asleep on the toilet.

Another time, she came home early from a night out with the girls because the bouncer at the club told her she was too drunk to come in (but let in all her friends). Shortly after, I heard banging and crashing. She had collided with a console table, breaking some ornaments. I spoke to her about it the next day and she had zero recollection of it but said she would pay for the damage if I thought she had done it. I let it go.

This girl was a bright, hardworking, focused and ambitious individual with a highly paid job and high standards. She took care of herself, eating healthily and exercising, except when it came to the alcohol. I did worry about her as she was going on to live in an apartment on her own. I asked her to stay in touch but she never did. On the other hand, I was relieved when she left. I liked her but felt like she was a liability.

[Rachael171]

@Huma0 

Again, crazy!!! You Londoners have the best stories. 😉

That was amazing of you to be so caring and concerned. 

[Huma0]

@Rachael171 

If you want to hear about crazy, read this: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Condom-Girl-AKA-My-Weirdest-Guest/m-p/1223607

This was my strangest hosting experience and the only time I have had to evict a guest (although there were a couple of others that I should have asked to leave).

[Helen350]

If anyone was found collapsed DRUNK in my private home I'd throw them out! Same with anyone taking drugs. I do NOT consider 'alcoholism' to be a disease, its a personal CHOICE!,  rather alcoholics, like drug users are just  SCUM, and not welcome in my house.

[Cathie19]

@Rachael171 , @Ann72 , @Yadira22 , @Christine615  & @Bradford11 .

I had a guest that was just lazy messy & disrespectful.   If crumbs, corn chips empty water bottles landed on the floor or between cushions on the couches,  that’s where I found them. No attempt to wipe or tidy. Not to mention they dropped a full watermelon on the kitchen floor on the morning of departure. Because they couldn’t see a compost bin, considered my negative...  

I got a text saying they didn’t know what to do with it, so dumped it in the sink, leaving the floor a wide scaled, sticky mess............

The kitchen rubbish bin was under the sink next to the landing spot of the crashed watermelon. Also, the property’s large bin was maybe twenty five steps from the exit. They would have passed it on their way out! 

Just grrr...... They had the gaul to say they wanted to come back,  so I blocked them, back in the days when we could. Just clueless and disrespectful.

But I take documented images before every check in as well as immediately after checkout. These include the overall rooms and individual items of specific value.

Now that I’m following Airbnb and the CDC recommendation of not entering a space in the first twenty four hours, it’s good we have the 14 days to report.

[Rachael171]

@Cathie19 

That's a good idea to take photos before and after a guest's stay.

But geez, at this point look at all we have to go through just to protect ourselves as hosts!! I'm thinking, do I need to put up security cameras next????

I too like to wait at least 24 hours before going over to clean. So my recent problem guest used this as an excuse to say, "well someone else must have gone in and stayed at your condo after I left." i.e. some rogue person got my door code and came in and trashed the place in between my calendar bookings.

Then the aforementioned problem guest started to threaten me with: "I hope you can prove there wasn't anyone else there the night I left!! Because it's your word against mine! And I'm going to leave you a bad review now." Yadda, yadda, yadda. Fortunately, it's all captured in my Airbnb app messages.

Some people are just idiots. 

[Cathie19]

@Ann72 , @Ann72 , @Fred13 , @Yadira22  @Christine615 

@Rachael171 , I’ve always taken photos on the mobile phone and once everything is fine, I delete that batch. It’s proof of the sculptures etc, existing on the shelf as well. Just in case any were to walk, as it’s  hard to prove it’s existence, if not visible in the Airbnb room listing photo. For check in I do a room shot then the close up. I don’t consider it difficult as it takes very little time and is a bird’s eye reminder checklist, that everything is done.

So if I take the pre checkin  photos as I walk out of the space, they show the time and that everythjng is in order. I leave a personalised card, and I photograph that and the welcome on the chalkboard on the  fridge, as well. But we do live quite separately on site, which assists.  

[Huma0]

@Cathie19 

What is it with watermelons (see my post above)? Perhaps we need to add a house rule banning watermelons from our listings. People can be so ridiculous.

[Rachael171]

@Huma0 @Cathie19 

Yeah it makes me wonder how they act in their own homes.

[Huma0]

@Rachael171 

Ironically, this girl was also a host. She said that she would not have damaged my furniture because she had her own listing and appreciated nice things.

I do have a rule of no eating in the bedrooms, so when I bumped into her (and her father who was also staying) carrying a watermelon upstairs, I asked straight away, "You're not going eat that in the room are you?" They froze and the expressions on their faces was priceless. She said "no?" with so little conviction, it was like a comedy sketch.

The next time I saw her, she was in the kitchen disposing of the peel. However, it was clear that she had not used any of the chopping boards, nor cut that watermelon in the kitchen at all. 

Do people do these things in their own homes? I doubt it very much. I know exactly what this situation is. Some guests book my listing because they like the look of it and the price, but they don't actually want to share a space with a host, because they are not sociable people or just uncomfortable around strangers.  So rather than use the large, fully equipped kitchen/diner, they camp out in their rooms and eat everything in there, despite the house rules. Perhaps she had intended to take up a chopping board but decided against it after I caught her on the stairs as that would have given the game away!

[Fred13]

@Rachael171 I think you left out the final event in your clever narrative.

Host:

Spends hours creating an immaculately clean space ..

Guest:

*messages host* I found a crumb of dirt and an ant!! This place is a dump!!!!

Host:

*comes to clean after the guest checks out* ...Entire place is trashed.

Guest:

That's bull**bleep**!! I left the place in great condition! I refuse to pay ...

Airbnb - Gives them a full refund!

Ok, now the whole absurdity is complete.