Guest is demanding I drive him places, make his meals and that he stays until past his check out.

[Ashley175]

Hello all! 

I'm new to hosting and this is the 4th guest I've had. I have a single gues staying and he's from out of the country. He is demanding I make him meals and drive him places. He also is demanding he stay until 2am the day after his checkout time because that is when his flight leaves. He does not speak english well, and I live alone. I've shown him my policies and the policies of Air BnB and he pushes them away and says "I'm not listening and he's not reading that"

Any advise on what support I have through Air BnB? 

[Kate157]

Hi @Ashley175, I would immediately contact Airbnb. The first page of the Help section in this forum has all the means of contact. I would try to call them, as this jerk is in your house and is threatening. You need their help to remove him immediately. If necessary, don't hesitate in calling the police for help in getting him out. Do not cooperate with this guy, stay away from him until you get some help. I am worried about your safety in this situation! Call Airbnb at:  1-855-424-7262 or 415-800-5959. Please let us know how it goes!

[Jann3]

@Kate157 put it better than I did. 

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you EVER feel like this in your own home!

[Ashley175]

I am so greatful for this support!! I've been worried about what to do! He's demanding so much that I should not be responsible for. I'm going to speak to him about the rules one more time and if he is hostile tonight I'm going to call the number for Air BnB that you provided. Thank you so much, this has been more than helpful!! 

[David126]

I find it diffult to imagine being in such a situatiion, but it would be a very short conversation and I do not think language difficulties would be much of issue.

Some people just like to push to see how far you will go, the only way to deal with them is not to budge an inch, or 25.4mm.

[Jann3]

@Ashley175, FIRST send a message through AirBnB messaging telling him you would like to discuss a few things. That will timestamp the goings-on, then IF YOU MUST, talk to him again...but really, get him out!

[Jann3]

At least bring along a friend for your "talk" and have them stay in another room or something...close enough to be there if you need "support."

[Kirsten41]

I've been feeling this way too due to a recent guest. I've had such great experiences I'm trying to remind myself that I've had great experiences. 

So, I hope you're 3 prior guests were awesome and that then next ones you have are as well.

Also, call Airbnb now, let them know what is going on and if the guest is hostile, it's easier to call them back and reference this previous call. I did this yesterday and my agent (or at least her name) sent a follow up email yesterday and then again today and gave me a couple of other suggestions. If it ends up being nothing, you're good. But if it is something, might be easier to already have them on call for a potential issue. It really takes just a minute.

[Lawrene0]

Will you let us know what happens, @Ashley175? Worrying about you.

[Jann3]

@Ashley175:

Question 1: Are you willing to lose the guest.. ie: Are you willing to have AirBnB ask him to leave (and lose the rest of the $ for the rest of the reservation - and possibly lose a portion - if not all - of the current reservation)?

If so, call AirBnB and tell them ONLY THIS: "You are uncomfortable with this guest!" PERIOD! If they ask why? Tell him you are a single woman and living alone and he is abusive and harrasing. NOTHING MORE. 

They have shown a willingness in the past to help single women living alone that feel uncomfortable with the guest.  As a matter of fact they SAY this during host-sign-up. "Do you feel uncomfortable with the booking? Cancel and click 'uncomfortable with guest'" (not exact wording)

I would go through customer service tho... If you have twitter use that, they are more amenable to hosts that need help than the phone number.

[Rosemarie9]

Please follow the advice Ashley, and get him to leave. I host as a single female and would not tolerate this. I have had some hairy instances but I am glad to say that it gets easier to spot the troublemakers after a while. This is the reason why I will not enable instant book. Stay strong and do not let him walk all over you.

[Louise191]

Hey Ashley,

I've been a host for 5 years now and am a single female. Under no circumstances should you put up with that sort of behaviour in your own home. Always remember THIS IS YOUR HOME and some guests would do well to remember we are not hotels. 

You should not be cooking meals or driving him anywhere unless it was agreed and is either good will on your part or paid for. 

Do not allow him to stay till 2am the following day- he's technically asking for a free night!

if he will not speak to you it is wise to record everything through written communication through the Airbnb system- do not use email or text- always use Airbnb mail- that way Airbnb can see you efforts to speak to, be reasonable with and resolve any issues. In my experience of difficult guests (3 in 5 years of hosting proving that this is a rare thing and as your confidence grows, so will your boundaries) when you contact Airbnb they will be extremely supportive of you, the host. You are their lifeblood and steady income- it is in their interest to look after you. They will help you remove him immediately if that's what you want, and again, in the one instance when this actually happened to me, I did not lose any money, my arsehole guest lost out, hopefully teaching them not to be an arsehole again in the future! So please don't worry about that. Good luck and do let us know how you get on. Sorry that this has happened so early on in your hosting career, but there's a saying in horse riding that you're not a proper rider till you've fallen off 10 times... there will always be difficult and demanding guests- this experience will help equip you for the next time and get those boundaries in place!

[Fred13]

@Ashley175Out of the country? Maybe out of this planet or century. Once in a while we all get hit with one of these nutcases. Like many have suggested - perhaps it is time to bail out of this no-win situation.

@David, so true, how long of a conversation will it be if the only phrase spoken is - "You are OUT".

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Ashley175

Other hosts have given great advice. I'd just like to add, no amount of money is worth putting up with what you are going thru right now. 

Make sure you leave evidence on Airbnb by messaging the guest that you cannot and will not accomodate his unreasonable EXTRA requests. Call and tweet and email (don't relay on just one method) that you feel threatened by this bully and do whatever you can to get ABB to get this guy out of your house ASAP. Get a friend to come over and stay with you until this is resolved. Make sure you emphasize you are a single female host and a single male guest is causing problems, making you feel UNCOMFORTABLE in your own home! Good luck~!! 

[Steven614]

There is an overstay policy as well that pays double the rate for a guest who overstays.  I would not drive a guest anywhere. If you eneddd up with this guest overstaying I hope that you at minimum were reimbursed at double your rate for the trouble. But people should be respectful of your property and person. Especially being a man in a woman’s home one needs to consider that they’re in a position where they need to to respect the rules in place.