Prostitution

[Justin144]

I've encountered several instances where i've put my apartment up for rent and after some research it becomes apparant that some last-minute bookings are being made by prostitutes.

I've come to this conclusion after cross-checking their stories and asking questions about odd arrival times and wide-gaps between message response time.

I understand it's not right to accuse someone of this, but how can i decline a booking based on the fact that i've become uncomfortable with the guest without violating discrimination policies.

[Clare0]

@Justin144 That's a tough one!  I see you have changed your minimum stay requirement to 3 nights.  That should help.  Also, have you set Verified ID required to book on your listing?  I would also suggest that you set your booking window to require at least 1 day notice to avoid last minute, same day bookings which I would imagine hookers would want. 

You might also consider enabling Instant Book.  With IB Airbnb is much more forgiving on cancellations when a host is not confortable with the guest.  And, with Instant Book, you can require that guests have previous positive reviews from hosts.  That should cut out the unseemly overnighters I would think.  

Here are some links concerning IB that might interest you: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/i-m-a-host--what-penalties-apply-if-i-need-to-cancel-a-reser...

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/484/what-are-instant-book-settings

Hope this helps!

[Zacharias0]

Its not illegal to ban a Lady of the Night or Man of the Hour from staying in your property. Especially considering you dont run a brothel. On the upside allowing them in I suppose you wouldn't have to worry about a lot of cleaning the kitchen or the apartment. Investing in cheap disposable sheets may make it easier. Do they make those? Probably not, but thrift stores have tons of cheap sheets.

Prostitutes and the like don't like to give a lot of information about their affairs so perhaps stating you'll be there upon arrival and checking ID and verifying information upon arrival may make them think twice about staying there. Also, changing your check in time to be only between 11am-9pm may also make them reconsider. If someone states they plan to arrive late charge them a $50 or more late check in fee. If its just prostitutes hitting you up that late then the only people turned off are them.

[Linda1222]

I am in the middle of a situation right now, but there is no typical way to know what's up beforehand and I am just trying to figure out what to do now. I have a minimum of 2 days.. the woman booked 4 nights. The woman is apparently military and this is what she does part time? And she booked a suite in MY house. I am there while this is going on! I already have IB, and the woman had a review which was positive. I can now look back and see that maybe there was a coded message in there but it wasn't obvious at all! I am very concerned right now. Upon arrival, the woman asked about having a few fellow army friends over for a couple of hours that evening and explained that they were leaving to their destinations. The problem is that after this, there were men coming and going in my home and I know what was going on. I can't accuse but from now on I am posting on my house rules, no illegal behavior, and no extra visitors without prior approval and and subject to i.d. check. She could be bringing criminals into my space. I no longer feel safe in my own quiet neighborhood. This is a problem.

[Bernadette373]

You have brought this trouble not only to yourself but to your “quiet” neighborhood.   Your neighbors don’t want a hotel in their neighborhood, let alone a brothel. Shut down your operation or find a house in a commercial district. People like you are ruining “quiet” neighborhoods.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Bernadette373 Get a life! And also think about responding to posts slightly more recent than 2018. Oh and thankfully Linda will probably never see your ridiculous post.

[Adriana100]

wow! I never heard of this before. I would say dont charge a late arrival fee. I, as a guest, am always late because I drive after work and I wouldn't like to pay 50$ for this. I would - and will install - a Ring doorbell with camera so I could see who is coming into the house. In your shoes I would enable instant booking so at least you see other people's reviews. I do not allow visitors. I allow parties if it's like family reunions, bachlorette party that type of thing but it all depends of the tone and the email of person who does the booking and asks me for it. If they state what the party is for and they tell me who they are and have good reviews I allow it. Grandma's birthday, nephew's graduation, family get-together, etc, etc. Single lady allowing male visitors... that would be a red flag from the start. Did she have any reviews? I personally allow one night stay but only if people tell me the reason of their visit, if they are polite and articulate and raise no red flags. I stayed one night before so it's not uncommon. There are situations like games, job interviews, stop on the way when you drive long distance etc... I'd say use your own judgement.

[Sarah977]

@Adriana100  I never understand why hosts think you can't see a guest's reviews unless you use Instant Book. I don't use IB and I can click on the profile photo of any guest who sends an inquiry or booking request and see all the reviews they've received.

[Clara116]

@Linda1222 wow.....that has to be totally uncomfortable! I'd call Airbnb and tell them what is going on and have them contact the guest to LEAVE.  You just have to be sure this is what's up! sounds like it is! You should NEVER feel uncomfortable in your house. AND now since you know - you actually can't be allowing a crime in your own home, right??? What if one of those guys does something evil to this woman??? Oh my, awful situation. I'd have Airbnb take over and make myself scarce until she is gone. keep up posted. Good Luck, Clara

[Clare0]

@Linda1222, @Clara116  Seems to me that the host is responsible to ask the guest to leave if they believe that something illegal is going on.  If the host is unwilling to take action, how can Airbnb?  The host is closer to the situation.

[Clara116]

@Linda1222@Clare0 u know how cancelling someone creates negative for the hosts. I'd say let Airbnb do their thing and cancel this guest. Why should the host have to be concerned at all about being penalized.  plus i would not be there to even deal with this.  I think this is one time they  ABB will move quickly to help as press would not be good. My take on it

[Linda1222]

Thanks everyone. I especially appreciate a couple of you (Thanks Clara in Florida!!!) expressing your understanding of how this impacts hosts negatively when we take matters into our own hands and ask a guest to leave. I have already had my share of problems with air bnb and their automated computer ratings that impacted me negatively when it was something out of my control.

Also, I have no proof of illegal behavior so I wasn't going to accuse unjustly or have some negative outcome as a result of my actions. And I am new to this, but I did contact airbnb to ask for assistance but then lost the message and never sent it out.

So, I thought about several things I could do and several outcomes. I chose to hold off, pray,  lock my bedroom and living area doors and deal with it later.  My background is mental health so I observed, used some wisdom and then ended up just chatting with this young woman at an opportune time. I didn't bring up the matter of her "guests" as she is leaving shortly now and I didn't see it as productive at this point. And there were no more visitors. If there had been, I may have said something using my "skill set." I did get to know her a little bit. All I can say is that she is young and has a very sad story. Without getting into the details, I will connect with her later and offer some advice.

I have listed extra info under my house rules such as no other guests without prior request.. and if I approve I have the right to ask for i.d's or ask them to leave. I just agree with Clara from Florida-- that Airbnb should deal with any problems since they refuse to give us details about the guests. If they are going to be the "controller" on these things and leave hosts without info on guests, then they should have to deal with it. And again, without getting into more details, Airbnb could have done better with info provision in this case.

I do appreciate the support and input from you all because sometimes that's just what we need when anxious or frustrated. Thank you! 🙂

[Janice146]

Wow.  I 100% understand how you would be uncomfortable with this and scared.  I have a number of units listed and they are private units with separate entrances in a building.  Couldn't imagine this happening in my home.  My bigest issue as well isn't necessarily their personal moral choices.  It is the people that they are drawing into the buidling (or home in your case),  Hanging around doors and the noise factor.  My first experience accidentally hosting a "lady of the night" ended in a violent fight, blood everywhere, multiple units being startled in the middle of the night and the police.  This was my first airbnb booking ever.  I was pretty green then and didn't quite have a grasp or understand the instant book options, etc.  Needless to say I learned a lot, but ya.... It is a dangerous trade for these girls whether they want to admit it or not.  I added "no illegal activity" to my house rules, but the reality is the ones breaking the rules... don't really care about the rules, but at least I know I said it 🙂

For the most part instant book has been working well for me.  

[Karina-Каринa0]

Why is it a problem? If they keep the place tidy and do not break anything, why should you worry about it? A lot of "normal" customers also have sex.

[Linda1222]

This has less to do with morality, but everything to do with several other factors. If someone has sex with partners or multiple strangers, that increases the liklihood of leaving behind "pests" for the next guest. Second, it is illegal activity and sometimes also brings with it other unwanted situations or crimes. Third, when a person comes in as 1 guest but there are multiple guests coming and going, this is deceptive to the host and not respectful of the host and their listing. It also creates additional work and worry.  Fourth, if there are unregistered guests coming and going, that becomes a security issue. You don't know who these guests are and neither does airbnb and possibly not the guest who is providing sexual services. Are they going to case my house? Who is responsible? I have no name or contact information. There is no accountability because no one knows who they are and no i.d.'s have been provided. Fifth , if you're going to run an illegal business out if someone's home, shouldn't the host be aware? Why hide it? Sixth,if there are other people in the home, this presents additional issues such as exposing children or other guests to something that may be inappropriate or make them feel uncomfortable. My last comment is that if someone wants to use my personal house as a brothel, they should ask. The answer will be no as I will feel anxious with various unknown "guests" coming and going at any unpredictable hour.