Need advice dealing with Airbnb and Destructive Guest

[Catherine1274]

Can anyone help me deal with this situation? 

1. Red flag:guest asked to pay me by check for the rent before moving in for an extended stay (I said no).

2. Yellow flag: guest asked me to move my bed out so she could move her bed in (I said yes). 3. Red flag: guest said she had a lot of boxes and a printer and her stuff to move in (I said no).

3 Red flag: guest told called at 6:30 am and left a message that she needed to cancel her reservation and then changed her mind at 7am. I called Airbnb and they said I'd be penalized if I processed the cancellation because guest had a mind change.

4 red flag: after she moved in,  she told me (didn't ask me) that her daughter would be staying with her in this tiny suite (I said no or she'd have to pay extra).

5 red flag: guest sent a photo of rust liquid all over the sink faucet. Plumber said it's obviously something she spilled on the faucet as there are no metals in it which rust.

6 red bright blinking light: guest refused to let the plumber in to look at the sink begging me not to let anyone in with her being there and wouldn't tell me a time I could go in (she was always there).

7 red flag: looking in the window it looked like a hoarder house with a ton of crap stacked in the small space.

8 red flag: she said the heater was broken and I said someone is coming the next day to fix it and look at the sink.

9 Red flashing light again: she said nobody can come in without her there and again she wouldn't give me a clear time as to when that would be good for her.

10 red flag: I called airbnb and they called her to get a solid time which they agreed to let her have till Wednesday (it was Saturday) and I'd have to wait to fix and assess my own property that she said is broken. And she told them she was going to be away for a few days, that's why.

11 red flag: she wasn't away she was there most of the time as usual and I texted her and messaged her that we were ready to go in and look and fix things and she ignored it.

12 red flag: Monday morning (remember she told Airbnb she's going to be away till Wednesday) and she called airbnb that she's freezing and heater is broken and all electricity is broken (again).

Obviously she's making up stories again as she'd have hypothermia in an unheated place at 19 degrees outside and I know my electrical works and I know there must be a reason she's refusing to let us go look at it and or fix it.

Airbnb agrees to give her a refund and a few hours later, she's out of there.  We went in that afternoon to discover that all the electrical worked perfectly and the heater was on. But in the week she was there, she managed to ruin a shelf with water damage, break my stone sink by putting nick in it, break the threads on the shower by torquing it too hard, splatter small bits of concrete on the glass doors which we're still trying to scrape off with a knife and her photo of rust on the sink was pure theatrics that make no sense in reality as there is no rusting metal anywhere near that system of a year old stainless steel sink with pvc piping and ss faucet. She poured rust around it obviously in an effort to make it look rusty. She also set my chairs and my broom and mop out on the dirt and in the elements.

And now airbnb is telling me they've escalated my claims and will get back to be but so far nothing, no word from them. Also, she called me a liar in the review and threatened "I will shut down your business" in her last  message responding to my request that she pay for her damages.  And in that same last message from her she mentioned that she fell and hurt her knee in my driveway. She's a scammer from red flag #1 but I'm pretty concerned by airbnb's lack of concern for any of this.

Any advice? 

[Catherine1274]

@Robin4 @Colleen253 @Pete69  I agree with you all that I need to get to know the policies, but all I'm asking from them is to repay her damages and take her review down. Airbnb are the ones who decided to give her a refund even though they had lots of evidence and I told them clearly many times that she was lying. Airbnb also  said I couldn't go in and assess or fix my property without her authorizing it and she wouldn't authorize it unless she was there, telling them she wouldn't be there till Wednesday and it was Saturday morning. And then she was there all weekend, so I messaged . her on this app asking to check out her reported electrical and plumbing issues. But she wouldn't respond. Then when she called them telling them she was freezing and the heaters weren't working on Monday morning, they chose to give her the refund, despite all the inconsistencies in her story (she said she'd be away till wednesday) and the fact that I told them she's lying (she could never have stayed in there without heat as it was far below freezing out that day, about -10 celcius or 18 f) and she's the one who blocked me from going in all weekend to fix it. And airbnb just ignored all that clear evidence of my messages and gave her a refund. Now I need to have her damages covered. And her lying review taken down. And so far...crickets from airbnb. I do have one last window cleaning receipt to send them. So maybe they're waiting for me to do that. I have to follow up with the cleaning service. 

[Catherine1274]

@Robin4 I'm just asking Airbnb to get her to pay for the damages she did. Now she has agreed to pay $15 but she ruined my shelf, took a chip out of sink, torqued the shower so hard I had to get it repaired and splattered something on the windows which caused them to have tiny cuts on the surface. I told Airbnb she seemed to be showing no regard for my property as I could see things stacked up and she'd put my furniture and broom outside. I also told them I needed to get in and they agreed to her stipulation that I had to wait a week because she said she wouldn't be there for a week. she was there the whole time and not letting me in. Then after blocking me all weekend and refusing to let me in to fix and assess stuff, she says on Monday morning that she's freezing and the heater isn't working. I know it's a lie. For one thing she would have hypothermia had there been no heat and even the fact that she was in there was a lie as she told everyone at airbnb and me that she'd be gone till Wednesday. And there's no way she was entitled to a refund? And, as it turned out, she was lying and the heaters worked just fine and it was warm when we went in an hour or so after she left. So what I want from airbnb is for them to take care of the damages. They gave her a refund even though there was plenty of evidence in our message feed on the app that backed up my clear word to them that she was lying about the listing. So when you say they won't help me, do you mean they won't pay for the damage she did. It was their mistake to refund her money. All they had to do was look at our messages on here to see all her lies and I told them to look and they refused and told me "nope...we are giving her her money back". She'd paid for 150 days or something and they gave her back all but the days she stayed (which I think turned out to be about 6 days) plus they gave me 3 extra nights payment which doesn't come close to covering her damage. 

[Colleen253]

"They gave her a refund even though there was plenty of evidence in our message feed on the app that backed up my clear word to them that she was lying about the listing. "

@Catherine1274 This is what folks are referring to when they say don't rely on or trust Airbnb to 'have your  back'. They may, or may not, come through for you/take your side. It's a very 'guest-centric' outfit. Have a read through posts on this forum and you'll see boatloads of stories where Airbnb has taken the side of the guest, even with irrefutable proof from the host. It is demonstrated to be very much an arbitrary thing. This is why it becomes so much more important to vet your guests as thoroughly as you can, and prevent these types of people from even getting in your door in the first place. All you can do now is do your best to provide thorough documentation and see what happens. Best of luck.

[Catherine1274]

I'm pretty shocked at this cavalier attitude toward accountibilty. I thought they were better than that. They tell us in their policy that they protect us for damages. 

[Colleen253]

@Catherine1274  Unfortunately, you're learning the hard way the reality of hosting on this platform. 

"They tell us in their policy that they protect us for damages". 

This platform reassures and lulls hosts with a warm blanket thrown over the shoulders in the form of guarantees and reassurances. Then when things do go wrong, many find that blanket abruptly pulled off. Again, have a search through posts on the subject on this forum and you'll see. To be fair, sometimes thing's DO go in the hosts favor (those posts are titled 'surprised and impressed with host guarantee!), but apparently not often. If I was asked to give one piece of advice to new hosts, it would be 'familiarize yourself with the policies, spend at least a month hanging out daily in the CC forum, THEN hit publish.'

[Catherine1274]

OMG, what about ethics? What about full disclosure? What about accountability?  When you say they lull you in with a blanket of guarantees and reassurances, and then rip it off when it's convenient for them? Wow! I know you're trying to help me and you're saying that as a reality check for me. But still, that's actually pretty intense. I believe people can do MUCH better than that for each other. And we have an obligation to do better and to insist we are treated better. I can do better research, I will admit to that part. But this opportunistic system you describe of using others, essentially misrepresenting yourself for the for instant gain and then leaving them when they need you... that is not acceptable.  And It makes me sad. Is the world really this deceptive? I know...I grew up in Canada where the social contract is more about taking care of each other,  honoring your word and others' word, telling the truth etc...but what you describe is such a far cry from those principles and I don't want to allow that slippery slope to continue. Maybe I'm a voice in the wilderness, but I'm going to keep this voice up. 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Catherine1274 poor you, what a nightmare!!

You moved your bed out?!

Rob has great advice here.

[Catherine1274]

Yeah...I definitely won't do that again. What a pain!! She told me she needed her own blow up bed because it was better for her back. I said, "wow...a blow up bed is good for your back??" And she just nodded and smiled and said, "it's very specialized". And she did book for a long time, so I thought itmight be worth it. Come to think of it, she was probably lying about her back and she just needed all the room in there to run a meth lab or something. I mean..what does a person do in a small room with no bed and lots of boxes stacked by the window for 6 days?...how does a person ruin a shelf with water damage in 6 days? How does she ruin a window? 

[Catherine1274]

@Colleen253  So, it's up to us to vet them, yet we get penalized when we try to vet them (I got the picture before she moved in and I tried to cancel). They tell us they're going to help us with vetting and with damages yet it's arbitrary about whether they follow through or not? They cannot be this bad and remain in business. How can their policy be THAT geared toward allowing guests to abuse premises? I mean hosts are their bread and butter in away. I am so confused. What are their policies???? 

[Colleen253]

@Catherine1274 "They cannot be this bad and remain in business. How can their policy be THAT geared toward allowing guests to abuse premises? I mean hosts are their bread and butter in away. "

@Robin4 said it well, go back and read his comment. Really think about it. Where do you think the 'money' is?

This platform actually gives hosts very little in the way of tools to vet guests. Hosts have to be on their toes from the outset, taking control of the process. Protect your interests, you're the only one who has your interests at heart. Pay very close attention to clues, cues and red flags,  be proactive  in keeping the door firmly shut to certain guests. Once they're in the door, it's too late.

[Catherine1274]

LIke I said, I have no problem doing this if it were a person on Craigslist, she never would have gotten in my door. But Airbnb told me they'd penalize me for shutting the door on her. I agree I could have been more insistent with them, but it seems like now I have to both vet the guest and then also fight with Airbnb about my vetting criteria? I told them she was bad news and asked if I could cancel without penalty They said no. And they gave me assurances I'd be protect. I mean...obviously all the reasons for my wanting to cancel got a little lost in translation. I told them she was bad news and they were like...whatever...deaf ears. 

[Colleen253]

@Catherine1274  She was pretty much already through the door when you tried to close it. It's better to decline a request if you get any red flags.

How do you accept reservations, IB or request to book only?

As @Robin4  said "try paying a bit more attention to that initial message, be it a booking request or an IB message .....learn what to look for in that initial guest approach for next time."  If you get any red flags, just decline.

[Catherine1274]

@Colleen253  You say "she was pretty much already through the door when you tried to close it" and that is not so. She had not moved in and we were still several days out from her check in when I called airbnb to tell them of my concerns and ask them to shut the door, and they didn't care about my concerns. They blew them off and They told me I'd be penalized. So...I don't know how you define "pretty much through the door" but I'd say that's not through the door if she hadn't checked in. But they wouldn't cancel her as per my request, and they didn't listen to any of my concerns. It must be nice to be so sure of everything all the time, and be able to judge guests after one email, but It took me a few messages and conversations before I was sure she had sketchy intentions and that I didn't want her to check in and essentially airbnb said no. She's an expert. She danced around her sketchiness without being outright sketchy.And it wouldhave been so much easier if airbnb had listened to me before just summarily deciding I had to let her check in or I'd be penalized. 

[Sarah977]

@Catherine1274  I think what Colleen means is that hosts need to learn to vet their guests before ever accepting their booking. That's why she asked if you use Instant Book or Request to Book. Once they've booked and you are faced with having to cancel, it's kind of too late- hence "pretty much already through the door". Many hosts use Instant Book successfully, but it's not that recommended for new hosts until you learn how to vet effectively.  If you do use Instant Book, you could have just insisted that the booking be cancelled by saying you were uncomfortable with the booking, and used it as one of your 3 free cancellations.

I've never used IB myself- i like to exchange a message or two with prospective guests before pre-approving or accepting their bookings.

[Catherine1274]

I have it on instant booking, and  it was airbnb who convinced me to do that. They said they vetthe guests and only allow certain ones to instant book, so I agreed. I know how to vet my guests. I've got a sense of people and I can handle that.  I don't need to learn that. I just need to learn to figure out airbnb policy and I don't appreciate them telling me they'd penalize me if I cancelled. Could I have insisted harder but it's a rude awakening that I have to both vet the guest and fight with airbnb about cancelling. You guys seem to make it sound like you think this is acceptable that they don't care at all to help us and make it so hard on us to cancel when we know a guest is scamming. And they don't have to look at any emails or do any work in vetting anyone or helping hosts with their vetting process.