First Creepy Guest, Considering Surveillance Cameras

Well, we’ve had 70 good to great guests, and now we have a creepy guy who knows no boundaries. He keeps trying to use doors other than the one we’ve told him to use. We have a keypad on the garage door, and all of our guests use that instead of a house key. He keeps knocking on other doors instead of doing what we said. He hasn’t figured out how to use our shared bathroom as we’ve described multiple times. It’s easy. The bathroom opens to the living room on one side and to his room on the other. When not using it, keep the living room door open and turn off the light. He shouts at our cats. He gets too close to us physically (no understanding of a proximity barrier) and he talks to himself loudly, all the time. Not to mention various body function noises constantly coming from him.

All this to say, he creeps us out while not strongly violating our rules. We have had him here 2 nights, and he has 9 to go. He’s appeared in our dreams in creepy ways. I don’t have grounds to kick him out, but I’ve kept all communication on the Airbnb system, even though he doesn’t read what I’ve written to him. I’ve said it all repeatedly in person, too.

Now that we’ve experienced what a creepy guest is like, we’re thinking about cameras. Obviously, not in guest rooms. But should we think of them in the living room and great room (kitchen/dining)? Any suggestions?

Probably a good idea, but you have to inform guests in your listing that is the case or I believe it is illegal to do so.

Yes, you’ll have to disclose it in your listing. But I’m not sure what good it would do in this scenario?

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I don’t know if it’s illegal to have undisclosed security cameras, but it is one of Airbnb’s rules that hosts must disclose the existence of security cameras. Also, doesn’t it defeat the purpose of having them if you don’t disclose it?

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Good point! But I wonder in this case what difference it would make to this guest. He seems to have ‘issues’ or at least seems to be lacking in some basic social skills for whatever reason but I don’t think that cameras would make a difference?

The problem is that we all have ‘creepy’ guests at some time. Often we see them as creepy simply because they’re not what we’re used to or are accustomed to different cultures or a different way of life.

What I think is creepy, others might not. I might have stayed with hosts who think I’m creepy, who knows? :slight_smile:

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Just in case our sense of his creepiness turns into something worse. With him or with other guests in the future who aren’t so great.

I certainly will help your peace of mind. Ours is a separate apartment (and I can see the door from my own) so I’ve never considered it but if it makes you feel more secure go for it!

@LizinMN, you say he doesn’t strongly violate your rules but it sounds like he is violating your rules. Could this be the basis for asking Air to relocate him? Personally, I would have a big problem with a guest shouting at my pets.

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Update. I went back to how I was feeling when we first started hosting, and I realized I had to take back my home while still being a good host. So I went to the guest’s room and knocked on his door. I told him that while being an Airbnb, this is my home, and I need to feel comfortable in my home. I told him clearly (and loudly, since he’s pretty hard of hearing) exactly what was going wrong and what I needed. He took it much better than I expected, and he took instruction on how to use the garage keypad. He asked some more questions about things, and it looks like this might work out.

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From your initial description, I’m wondering whether your guest might have some sort of autism. Standing too close, looking into areas that are closed off, etc. If he is, he’s probably harmless.

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I think it might be living in China so long, and unlearning US proximity barriers. He’s also very hard of hearing, which could account for his loudness.

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This was my first impression from the OP comments. I’ve had one deaf person stay with me and his behavior was similar in that he was noisy. He was totally deaf but he did read lips very well, so he didn’t have to get close to hear.

As for the security cameras, I’d forget about that for now. This guy is just a bit bumbling and annoying. I’ll bet it will all work out just fine.

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@LizinMN:

You are far more tolerant, kind and patient than I. I am not an on-site host so would never experience anything similar but I asked myself, why are these hosts willing to put up with blatant disrespect in their own homes?!

Had it been me, I would have told the guy, ‘Look buddy-boy, enough is enough. Pack your bags and get out.’ However, you approached it differently and it appears to have solved the situation ~ a much better result than I would have had.

Hope his attitude adjustment and following the rules lasts throughout his stay…otherwise, I’m going back to my Plan A.

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I agree. Things seem much better since I talked with him yesterday afternoon. He’s even trying to remember to keep the bathroom door to the living room open.

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But many times it is not intentional, so we have to be careful to not overreact. This is where patience comes into play, but not so much if you are not living on site.

We “put up with it” because we want to make $. And it’s rare–at least for me–to have a trying guest. I’ve had a pretty good run of amazingly nice, tidy, thoughtful people. I’m probably over due for a problem.

I do have a Chinese girl from Beijing coming for a week before she moves into the dorms. She’s been quite needy already with questions about airport shuttles, Uber, where to catch a bus, the cost, changing the res to 4 days then back to 7, should she go to the uni first then my house.

I’m hoping she’ll cancel before the 15th if she finds something cheaper.

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It certainly sounds like you will be her first experience with a homestay. Hope you can pin her down on the number of days so you can open up the extra days she doesn’t take.

Hope you have a floor drain in your bathroom (recalling other hosts saying how that ethnic group leaves the bathroom sopping as if a seal had been in there).

I had a couple from Hong Kong stay for a week in October and I wondered whether I’d hear from the eagle-eyed housecleaner but she said they left everything immaculate…and dry.

The bathroom door thing seems to be a cultural difference. Like most Americans that I know; I leave the bathroom door open when I’m not using it. Many of my guests from Europe and Asia close the door when they aren’t using it. I believe this is probably because in places where houses are smaller the bathroom door is likely to open on to the kitchen or a bedroom.

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Yes, it must be a cultural thing to some extent anyway. I insist on the bathroom door being closed at all times. I’ve no idea why, it just seems ‘tidier’ somehow.

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My only problem with guests leaving the bathroom door closed is that I’m not always sure if they are in it. We have a lock like in restaurants that is red and says occupied when it’s locked and is green and says vacant when it’s unlocked. I still worry that someone may be in there but leave the door unlocked. Yes, this has happened.

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This is just a practical thing at our house. We know the bathroom is available to us if the door from it to the living room is open. The guest knows it’s available to them if they see the light is not turned on. They can see that from under the door to their bedroom. It’s just a sharing thing. If it’s closed, we don’t know if we’re walking in on someone, and we don’t want to ever do that. Also, if it’s closed, they’ve sometimes forgotten to unlock it.