Problem guest, my first in 7 years

[Dee33]

I usually accept guests without an Airbnb history and never had a problem in 7 years, until now. I want this person out of my home (shared home)!

During his stay he has repeatedly broken so many house rules that it got to the point where I suspected he'd never even read them. The rules are both in my listing and in the Welcome Book in his room.  In the process of me trying to address his multiple issues, he has become increasingly combative and now he has become threatening. He has already called Airbnb for a refund, and when that didn't work he opened a Resolution Center request for refund, which I denied.

Since then, he has taken a sudden interest in the exact details of my Short Term Rental Permit (which I am not required to have -- it's a long term stay) and threatened in writing to go to Small Claims Court against Airbnb unless he receives a $500 refund so he can leave early.

In the three weeks he's been here, he has done the following (all of which are broken rules):

1. Parked in the neighbor's exclusive reserved parking spot

2. Blocked my own car in by double-parking behind me and refused to move

3. Helped himself to the thermostat without permission

4. Had packages delivered without permission

5. Demanded free maid service in his room

There is more but I won't bore you... today's tirade started when I denied him access to the laundry room, because it is already in use (told him he can use it tomorrow).

He wants to leave immediately (fine with me) but on principle I am not gonna let him break yet one more rule by waiving the long term cancellation refund policy.

I have submitted a request to Support, but the question is, will Airbnb assist in removing this person without requiring I give him a refund as well?

Thanks

[Basha0]

do you feel safe?  Best to get him out

[Lorna170]

@Dee33  If it is a long term stay, he has only paid for the first month.  He has already stayed for three weeks.  Tell him that he is to leave at once, and that there is no refund as per AirBnB's rules for long term rentals.  Print out the rules for him.

If you’re a guest, you can check your confirmation email for more details. Learn more about how to change your reservation.

If you change or cancel a longer stay:

Your first payment might be nonrefundable, depending on the listing and when the reservation is made
If you cancel after the trip has started, the following 30 nights of the reservation are nonrefundable

Get him out before he has stayed for more than 28 days and could become a tenant.  Then you have to go to court.

[Dee33]

That didn't work. Airbnb made me give him a refund.

[Sybe]

Hi @Dee33 , I'm so sorry to hear about the situation you're in. I hope @Lorna170 and @Basha0 tips have been useful! How has it been with your guest since you made your post? 

[Helen3]

I'm amazed you have let him stay for three weeks 🙂 @Dee33 

Is there a reason you haven't contacted Airbnb and asked them to cancel the booking in the three weeks he has been breaking your house rules 

Just reference the messages you have sent to the guest on Airbnb where you have flagged with him about breaking house rules and tell them you are fearful for your safety citing where he has been threatening.

[Dee33 · Accepted solution]

UPDATE:

I got him out but am unhappy with Airbnb support.

The guest was willing to leave, and put that in writing. But he refused to cancel himself. I contacted Support to have them do the cancellation so I wouldn't  get penalized. They were willing to do it but not unless i gave the guest a refund of the unused days in the reservation, which is ridiculous. I had a Long Term Cancellation policy so it should have been non-refundable. Instead I was forced to refund $300.

Support was also unhelpful in getting his 2-star review removed.

[Huma0]

@Dee33 

I think it depends on two things:

1. The agent/s dealing with the case. Airbnb CS is hit and miss and you never really know how they are going to handle things, especially things such as guest refunds.

2. What case the guest put forward v what case you put forward. In theory, you can get Airbnb to cancel a booking tell a guest to leave if they are breaking your house rules and not have to refund them. However, the only time I've done that, I freely offered to refund the remaining nights because I just wanted the guest out ASAP. The CS reps told me I didn't need to refund her, but I suspect because I had everything documented in the message thread with the guest and CS therefore didn't believe her version for a second, but I wonder how it would have gone if I'd tested the theory.

Now, if the guest has put forward a case for ending the stay early due to issues at the listing, in theory the guest is supposed to contact Airbnb about this within 72 hours of the issue being discovered. But, if you are asking them to cancel and the guest is telling them at the same time that the listing is lacking advertised amenities or whatever, it starts to get complicated and they might waive that clause and issue the refund under the guise of Aircover. The reps are trained to try to close the case as quickly as possible and issuing the refund is the easiest way for them to do this.

It surely is annoying to lose the remaining payout but, on the other hand, this guest sounds like a nightmare and some things are just not worth the money.