Sexual harassment by a guest

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Leharna0
Level 1
West Footscray, Australia

Sexual harassment by a guest

I recently had a guest who drank quite a bit and then tried to kiss me

This happened on two occassions over a week of his stay. 

 

The first time I was so shocked I just ducked his advance and left it at that.  The second time I called his behaviour out, told him it was inappropriate that we werent friends, he was renting a room off me for a few weeks that was all.  He replied saying other women would welcome his advances.  I told him that no woman would welcome that kind of behaviour. 

 

He then went upstairs to his room and starting  banging and crashing about.  I was really frightened.  I had locked myself in my  room by that stage and decided the only safe thing to do was call the police.  I then called Airbnb.  Airbnb's response to the situation has been appaling.  I have sat on hold waiting for a 'safety' case manager for over an hour with still no progress.  It is 18 hours since the incident last night.  Airbnb have refunded this mans accomodation fees despite hot having spoken to me about the situation.  He will be making bookings with other airbnb hosts at their peril.  He needs to be banned from the platform. 

 

Having waited for 45 minutes to speak to a safety case manager, the line went dead.  No one rang me back  I cant believe how incompetent and dangerous Airbnb's handling of this matter has been.  I have now called four times.  I am yet to speak to anyone who can actually take the complaint and take any action on the matter. 

 

Has this happened to anyone else?  How do you keep the host community safe when these kinds of people are allowed to keep on booking accomodation??

1 Best Answer
Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

Dear @Leharna0 

 

If feel bad for you having to deal with this situation with no support from airbnb and even losing money over it.

 

When it comes down to safety always have a man who you can call if you don't feel comfortable with a certain kind of guest(go by your intuition, first 5 minute impression says enough). 

 

●Invite your friend/boyfriend/brother for a cup of coffee without telling it to your guest. It will make your guest feel uncomfortable and will back off. 

 

BIG HUG

 

kira♡

 

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32 Replies 32
Ana1136
Level 10
Ohrid, Macedonia (FYROM)

@Leharna0 I am sorry that happened to you, I hope he is gone now. You can flag his profile and write an honest review warning other hosts but be careful how you word it in order not to have Airbnb remove it. How I personally would handle the situation : I would call Airbnb and cancel the reservation the first time he tried something and of course he could have the rest of his money back, I wouldn't even care about that, safety is a priority. But I would have some male companion while doing it or I would call the police and escort him out. I understand that you were trying to be a good host and understanding but there is no playing with there kind of situations, who knows what might have happened. Also if you are a single female hosting you could choose to only have female guests if you feel more comfortable. I agree, Airbnb should remove him of the platform but what could they possibly do except that? They canceled the reservation, the risk of removing people from the property is on you, they can't personally remove him. Even if they block him from the platform, he could also make another profile. We have to be out top priority, no money or reviews are worth our safety. 

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

I totally agree with @Ana1136  but I also agree with you, guests who behave badly or break house rules shouldn't be rewarded with a full refund and allowed to continue using this platform.

 

The irony is - if a guest cancels his stay he is refunded according to host's cancellation policy, but if he breaks house rules or behave inappropriately and the host has to kick him out then he is awarded with a full refund. So what message does Airbnb send to our guests ???? No wonder the quality of guests deteriorates every day.

@Branka-and-Silvia0 they shouldn't be refunded at all but I would rather refund him than keeping him and feeling unsafe just to keep the money. Until Airbnbs policy changes, I would always cancel rather then keep someone for the payout. I agree though, it makes no sense at all to be fully refunded for the unused nights for breaking the rules, guests will just do enough for the host to cancel and have their money back if they want to leave sooner for some reason. 


@Ana1136 wrote:they shouldn't be refunded at all but I would rather refund him than keeping him and feeling unsafe just to keep the money. ... it makes no sense at all to be fully refunded for the unused nights for breaking the rules, guests will just do enough for the host to cancel and have their money back if they want to leave sooner for some reason. 

That's so true, what a dilemma.  If you want to leave early all you have to do is make a pass at your host!  Or play loud music at night or just act really annoyingly!

 

Having said that, most "normal" people probably wouldn't go to such lengths... would they?

Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

hello @Leharna0 @Susan1188 @Ana1136 @Branka-and-Silvia0 

 

@Leharna0  sorry to read of your unfortunate experience.

 

May I suggest you file a complaint or info also with your local Police so they have it noted on his records even if no action is taken, although they should at least contact him to warn him about his unsolicited behaviours - it will be there in his file should any other incidents arise involving this guy.

 

Make sure you give him a Thumbs down in his review as I understand it may make it more difficult for the perpetrator to book in future.

 

You may also like to reach out to @Laura_C via PM and raise your concerns with her as she's Head of Customer Services and very approachable.

 

All the best

Take Care from over the blue ocean in Auckland, New Zealand

Geevaka0
Level 1
Auckland, New Zealand

I had a problem with a guest as well. She has an Auckland address but booking Airbnb rooms. When she stayed at our place I notice she was using my place to entertain men. She is clearly a sex worker. 

Then she booked again & cancelled her booking & then she booked again & cancelled again. 

I complained to Airbnb customer service because I thought I will loose my super host position. That’s exactly what happened lost my superhost position. 

My complaint to Airbnb was forwarded from one person to another but to date no results. 

I think Airbnb has come to a state of just earning money at the expense of the host who has to face all the unwanted problems with some guest.

one of these days another good competitor will come along & that’s when Airbnb authorities will wake up.

I am so annoyed when I read phrases like " Airbnb is just a booking company"

THIS IS NOT TRUE!

Airbnb is the judge and the jury!

 

I have no problem to deal with bad guests by my own BUT AIRBNB SHOULDN'T PENALIZE ME FOR IT and SHOUDN'T LEAVE ME POWERLESS. without any "weapon" for defense.

 

Hosts should be able to:

collect the real  security deposit

Get guests ID and pictures from all guests in a group as soon as the booking is made

Be able to cancel the reservation by themselves without penalty if the guest misbehave

Be able to decline as many requests as needed

Be able to block the guest easily

If the house rules are broken or the guest harass the host then the host should be able to kick the guest out and keep the money

Delist bad guests immediately and for good without any possibility to open a new profile in the future.

 

If hosts would have more power I am sure Airbnb would get a better reputation and bad guests would leave Airbnb or behave better.

 

By protecting bad guests, Airbnb becomes a synonym for "trash party house" and it is banned from more and more cities and communities around the world. I don't understand this business practice, it makes no sense, Airbnb is shooting itself in the foot

 

 

 

 

 

more than judge and jury, they act as the prosecutor, defense, judge, jury and executor.

 

had a case where no support or response from them for 2 weeks.  after they resolve matters on their end (2 weeks later and on sending out another message to them), they finally release the payout.

 

Now, the final case manager sends out a review form for resolving the matter for herself.  No reviews form issued for those that didn't respond and left me high and dry.


She is clearly a sex worker. 

 


She was booking when she had a client then cancelling when client cancelled !

 

Wait what?  If the client cancels repeatedly, you lose your Superhost?

 

If I were you, after the first incidence, call client support (call not text) and get that person blocked from your account!

 

 

Ana1136
Level 10
Ohrid, Macedonia (FYROM)

@Susan1188 no, only if the host cancels they loose the Superhost status and @Geevaka0 has 2 cancelations. 

Geevaka0
Level 1
Auckland, New Zealand

Yes I have 2 cancelations but of the same person because I was not comfortable with the way guest used my home. To entertain men. Airbnb should check with the host for the reason for cancellation without just depending on a automated system.

On one of the cancellation I did mention the season for the cancellation but that did not come into account most likely because it’s an automated system which detects only the number of cancelations.

For that reason I send a message to customer service but to date no result 

, just my message was pushed from person to another.

Ana1136
Level 10
Ohrid, Macedonia (FYROM)

@Geevaka0 yes it is an automated system. The right way to go is to call Airbnb and have them cancel the reservation penalty free. 

Thomas1033
Level 10
North Tonawanda, NY

@Leharna0 Join the Facebook Airbnb blacklist group and name the man and @Geevaka0 you should join as well and name the professional wh*re.  There is a searchable data base for really bad guests there.  Yvonna (cohost)

Quincy
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hello @Leharna0, I am so sorry to hear that this has happened to you. As per your post I can see that you've already contacted Airbnb. Due to the sensitive nature of this, I have also escalated this to our support team. 

 

For anyone reading this needing assistance, please contact our support team at +1-415-800-5959 or +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free) or by visiting the contact page here: www.airbnb.com/contact as this is not a dedicated Airbnb help channel. The Community Center is a forum for hosts to connect with other hosts or travellers to ask and share advice.

 

Quincy 

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