What the Heck!

[Summer64]

Well....it finally happened after great experiences hosting in my home. I finally came up against craziness.

I got a booking request for 2 guests to stay in my guest room.  After I accepted the booking, the trouble began. First I was emailed and asked if instead of the 4pm check in time, if they could check in at 10am. I said no. To be nice, I compromised based on my work schedule and said I'd allow them to check in at 2pm. The guest shows up with her mom. She explains then that it is actually her parents staying there, not her. Umm...what? I explained that was against Airbnb Rules and that I don't even know the names of her parents. She sent those to me and explained that she couldn't find an Airbnb with 2 rooms so she is staying someplace else. I called Airbnb and explained the situation, asking if they damage anything if it is covered. I'm not even off the phone with them and she is gone, leaving her mom behind who barely speaks English and wants me to find her shows on youtube. 

Flash Forward to later that evening. I go to the store. I come home to find 5 people (2 of which are kids-another violation of rules) in my home. The other daughter had shown up with her father and brought her kids with her. SHe's helping them settle in. She admits she went upstairs (yet another rule violation) to my bedroom and then realized that she wasn't supposed to be there. She apologizes and said she found the rules and read them. I explained that I didn't feel safe knowing someone had been in my bedroom upstairs and that she wasn't even supposed to be in my home. She then said she was helping her parents settle in and would be back tomorrow to pick up her dad for work, and would leave her mom (who she said had dementia) to watch TV in the room. I explained I have a home office I work out of and can't babysit her mom.  I called Airbnb again where I'm told if I cancel the reservation I'm penalized and now that they 'checked in' they can leave me a review.

Help....at this point....what do I do?

[Summer64]

I should add, the guest that booked had all 5 star reviews!

[Laura2592]

@Summer64 I would call Airbnb again and again until you get someone reasonable to speak with. 

I would also encapsulate what you said here in a message to the guest in the ABB app. Cite the various rule violations and explain that your space is not safe for a guest who needs supervision whether it be an adult or child. Fall back on fire or occupancy codes in your area saying that you are only legally allowed to host so many people.  Insist that she cancel the stay and provide her a refund of any unused nights. Give her a deadline to do so. 

Failing that I'd take the bad review in this case. There are just too many issues with hosting these people. Cancel them if they refuse. You aren't running a halfway house. 

[Elaine701]

@Summer64 

Hmmm.. I've had these. In every case, they were actually all staying in the house, using the excuse that she's staying elsewhere. As you can expect no support from Airbnb in these cases, I normally just don't say anything, and write it in their review, while letting them write a glowing review of our place. 

But we're not a homeshare, so it's more difficult to get away with it in your case. You might be able to find someone at Airbnb who might listen and do the responsible thing. But that's a long shot. 

What @Laura2592 says is correct. Tell them they have to cancel. And failing that, cancel them yourself and take the hit. The only other alternative is to demand more money, but you'll still get a bad review, so cancellation is probably the lesser of two evils. 

I wish Airbnb could at least >try< to support hosts when they're being taken advantage of by guests. But apparently it's just not in their DNA anymore. 

[Marie6762]

Did you mention how long they’re staying?  If left with no other feasible option, Icould “grin and bear it” for 1-2 days, wait the 14 days drive put it all in the review.  Any longer andI agree, better to just take the bad review. Too many moving parts to this little mess!

Sorry for your first AirBnb Looney-Tunes…. daaaYATdadadadaaaa🤪🤓🥸

[Sharon683]

I home share in my house.  This is called 3rd party booking.  It is against Airbnb policy.  I  had 1 incidents with a 3rd party booking.  I nipped that in the bud immediately.  I insist they set up an airbnb account before arriving.  You must screen all guest prior to their visit. I have a pre-written script that I send all new guest after the book my room.  It goes like this. 

 1.  Is this your Airbnb account or did someone book it for you. (If they are booking for someone else, I inform them  3rd party bookings are against Airbnb rules).

2.  Is the reservation for 1 or 2 people? If so what is the name of your guest? ( Here the reservation shows 1 guest but two people are arriving.  I charge PER DAY for the 2nd guest. I inform them they must add the 2nd guest.)

3.  Do you smoke substances of any kind. If so this is a non-smoking environment. Please refer to my house rules. ( If they smoke I encourage them to cancel their reservation giving Airbnb permission for a fulI refund).

I hope this helps.  Good luck! 

[Gillian166]

you might want to update that to "or chew" or "smokeless tobacco products". We had a nightmare group (who only booked as a couple) but turned into 10, who broke every rule, and we could smell smoke a mile away (as all non-smokers can), but they also had some kind of weird chewing tobacco product. It's not available in Australia (probably illegal tbh), it had arabic writing all over it (this group was immigrant Australians, only the women spoke english) and they were foolish enough to leave the packet in my kitchen. I threw it in the bin but then an hour later when I returned I could smell it, and the bin absolutely reeked of tobacco.  Disgusting.  Honestly, i didn't even know this was a thing!

[Summer64]

These are great suggestions. It was a 3 night booking-to answer the question. Airbnb was no help (as predicted) and the one that booked the room in the first place is MIA. Haven't heard from her at all until earlier today when she wanted to extend the booking. Her older sister apparently is coming by my home (with the code to the house) and dropping off her father and food. Tonight she came after 9pm to drop off food and I explained that I wasn't extending the booking as her sister requested and they would need to leave in the morning. She asked me to reconsider and tried to give me a sob story.  I just refused. I explained that people who didn't respect me (lying to me), my home (they've been a mess) or my rules (several broken) weren't welcome to continue staying here. If they leave a bad review, I'll argue the person who left it wasn't who stayed in my home, therefore it wasn't honest, and should be taken down. I doubt there is anything else to do. The older sister took the suitcase with her tonight, so hopefully that means I won't have any issues with them leaving tomorrow. 

Yesterday the elderly mother walked into my home office twice and interrupted a meeting. So, I began locking all the doors (I have keys for the locks) inside my home since apparently a sign and explanation that they are not to come into the room isn't enough of a clue. Today I locked up my home and left for a good portion of the day. I've mainly been upstairs behind a locked door. Really considering no longer hosting after this experience. 

[Laura2592]

@Summer64 I'm not sure why you didn't just cancel these people? This sounds like a total nightmare. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Summer64 

What happened to the instructions we used to follow about asking Customer service to re-house guests who are totally in the wrong place? 

[Sarah977]

@Summer64  So sorry you've had to deal with this really annoying and aggravating booking. 

But "Yesterday the elderly mother walked into my home office twice and interrupted a meeting. So, I began locking all the doors (I have keys for the locks) inside my home since apparently a sign and explanation that they are not to come into the room isn't enough of a clue"- if the woman has dementia, signs and explanations are of no use. 

[Gillian166]

Are you waiting until the final moment to leave a review? 

[Summer64]

@Gillian166  Yes, Ma'am. I will be reviewing but plan to wait till the last moment. I don't need her review when she didn't even stay in my home and don't have faith Airbnb will remove it if left. 

[Linda108]

@Summer64   I am confused as to what you expected from Air BNB when you got stuck with a third party booking.  Unfortunately handling this situation is all on you and it seems you accepted the matter and tried to make the best of it.  I think the it is very difficult to draw the line and refuse to let people in come in your door when they show up, but that is exactly what you needed to do.  Most of us, especially those hosts who have a shared home listing like you and I have, tap into our personal hosting values which probably don't include turning people away.  I am not a fan of "make the best of it advice" but in your case that seems your only choice.  A negative review for not extending the reservation is the least of your problems.   Be sure to review the booking guest and alert other hosts to the guest's devious behavior when booking a third party.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Linda108 @Summer64 

This is the issue, well stated: When we host, we must establish healthy boundaries with our rules and policies. When someone violates them, we have to work really hard on ourselves to muster up and make them stick. Third party bookings are an ambush. Fortunately we have others' policies assisting in enforcing them: the platform and our insurance companies. We do our best to vet our guests for a good fit, as we hope they are doing when they choose us as hosts. There is no way for us to vet a 3rd party, and chances are high that they have no clue about us, our homes, or our policies, either. The only way to deal with them is to usher them to the door at the moment of arrival. It is against our nature, but necessary.