Hello, all!
Brendan is his first name. He has a 5 stars rating, but I am sure he never had a long stay with his previous hosts.
He spent 4 months at my place. The first month was great. It took me about three months to realize that I was dealing with the strangest person I have ever seen. I have always been very careful with most guests, especially, young adults; I monitor their behaviors, especially, how they treat the bathroom. That was not the case with Brendan. He is a middle-aged man and a PhD in biological sciences. The day that he arrived, I insisted that the place must be kept clean. I told him that it is his responsibility to, either clean it himself, or invite maids. If he chooses to invite maids in, then, he must be present, because I do not want to deal with thefts anymore. Because he is an educated mature man, I had total confidence that he would respect the house's rules, and that he would treat the bathroom the way he treats his own bathroom back home. I could not be more wrong.
To give a taste of how Brendan behaves, he spent more than 4 months without ever cleaning the bathtub once; the bathtub was extremely dirty and was covered with a very dark scum. When I saw the bathtub, I nearly vomited; I was so shocked and so mad at him that I wrote to him, avoiding to talk to him directly. A person like that must be very unpredictable. What civilized human being can stand in there and shower? I ask him how he can stand there and not have his feet covered with scum when he leaves? He responded with anger, saying that, I quote: " You do not have the right to go in my private area.". He added that he will clean when he is about to vacate the place. He does not see any wrong in taking showers for 4 months without cleaning the tub. He does not think that a stain and a scum become tougher and tougher to remove over time. He does not even imagine that contractors might enter the area when something needs repair. And yet, he knew that I was regularly supplying him with bathroom towel, paper towel, and cleaning items. He might be expecting me to close my eyes when I enter the bathroom! That is how his brain reasons! I could not believe it.
Another strange behavior: the day I welcomed him, I told him that I renew the bathroom towel every week; the bedding every over week and that he just had to throw those items in a corner of the hallway. Brendan asked for a new bedding only once, after 3 months; he never requested a new towel. Can a bathroom towel be used more than one week without smelling bad?
When he left, the microwave was completely browned with coffee spills. While any reasonable person would clean the microwave immediately after a spill, Brendan did not think that way. The whole time, he continued using the appliance with the spills in it. The heat caused the spilled coffee to be completely part of the microwave's material. All attempts to remove the stain with the toughest cleaners failed. The microwave cannot be used by guests anymore. Unfortunately, I did not open the microwave immediately after Brendan checked out on May 7, 2024. The maids came for a thorough cleaning on May 6, one day before the arrival of the next guest. They alerted me. I asked Brendan to help buy a new microwave. He refused, claiming that I made up the story. The Support Team declined to help me, saying that it was too late.
That is my experience with Brendan. I have been hosting with Airbnb for 7 years and I never had anybody like Brendan. Be aware! If you admit him, let it not be for a long stay. Because a person like that will not change overnight, you will be very disappointed. Also, always take pictures of the area and of any appliance immediately after a guest checks out.
Sincerely,
David Voglozin, Superhost.
**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]
