Guest makes false claims of surveillance equipment on premises

1

We have no surveillance equipment on these premises.
How well are AIRBNB guests vetted?

With airbnb acting on false statements made by their guests, at this point it feels like an uncomfortable liability.

2

I’m sorry a guest made such a claim.

Yet my readings of Airbnb’s approach to such claims is to take them seriously, as they should. Presumably they haven’t acted other than to hear the claim, right? It’s possible that they will suspend your listing until they resolve the truthfulness of that claim. Unfortunate but on reflection understandable.

So, what to do now?

With the caveat that my guidance is one voice of many here, and that many here are more experienced than I, please hear my thoughts but wait for others to chime in before you send anything to Airbnb. Do not take their calls until you’ve heard more guidance here.

  1. Make your communications with Airbnb in writing.
  2. Stick to the facts succinctly.
  3. Summarize any facts that might suggest that the allegation is in the nature of a retaliatory review in anticipation of your calling out a guest violation. Has the guest violated a House rule? An Airbnb TOS? Done something wrong? Have you said something to the guest that the guest might not have liked? Make your draft in a Word-type document and edit for clarity and facts. You can post here (no identifying information) for comments.
  4. Might the guests have misinterpreted something inside your listing, or possibly being hyper technical about something in your unit that could be surveillance related? Do you have a Nest thermostat? An Alexa device? A nanny cam (this would be a surveillance device for sure)? If they’re not absolute liars, is there anything that they could be seeing (a smart device) that is arguably surveilling them?
  5. Think about what you have outside? A doorbell cam? No cameras? That should be easy enough to document by taking pictures around the outside of the property (without going into their yard).
  6. We can debate the vetting of guests another time.
  7. Work on your draft.
  8. Wait for the cavalry – other members here with suggestions.
  9. Post here your draft note to Airbnb, without any information identifying you or the guest.
  10. I think that in the end if there were no surveillance devices this will end well but it is inconvenient and you might lose bookings you might otherwise have made if/during the time when your listing might be temporarily suspended while Airbnb evaluates the guest’s charges.
  11. This is not the time to decry the injustice of it all (not to say you would, but I might if I were you) but to hold that off till it’s over, and get to work on your draft note to Airbnb and the outside pictures. Even if you already talked to Airbnb you can preface your note that you wanted to put in writing what you communicated but in a more organized fashion and with more reflection and without the shock at hearing the outrageous accusations by the guests.

Stay tuned and good luck.

P.S. A note on style. You generally want to capitalize each word in a title unless a preposition, article or conjunction. But capitalize the first and last words regardless of part of speech. [Just lightening the mood here. :crazy_face:]

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I wouldn’t trust Airbnb to vet guests at all. You as the host need to vet guests. And cameras don’t have much relationship to vetting guests- they are primarily used to catch guests sneaking in extra guests or pets, throwing a party, or behaving badly, i.e. being loud or inappropriate outside and disturbing neighbors.

Just because guests do such things doesn’t mean “vetting” will prevent that. It’s not like someone who sneaks their dog in is going to have a criminal record.

And how does one “vet” for liars?

Yes, as long as Airbnb considers hosts guilty until proven innocent, it is an uncontrollable liability.

@HostAirbnbVRBO The OP did not indicate at all that a guest has made some claim or that he is being threatened with suspension. Just sounds like he’s asking a general question.
Oops, never mind, it seems to be in his title.

4

Oh?

I took the title statement "Guest makes false claims of surveillance equipment on premises’ as the declarative statement it is rather than a ‘What if?’ But I sense that although seldom wrong this time you might be right!

Any thoughts on what ‘it’ is? Being on Airbnb?

@Mike2 Can you help us out? What is the liability?

VRBO has a good page on this. Take a look: Vrbo's policy on surveillance devices at a property | Help
They say this: Exceptions: Smart devices which may not be activated remotely are allowed provided the guest is informed of their presence and given the option to deactivate them.

Airbnb says this: Informing guests about security devices - Airbnb Help Center

Might you have any smart devices that could arguably be considered a surveillance device? Note; Airbnb says "Rules about devices apply to all cameras, recording devices, smart devices, and monitoring devices. "

,

5

" liability- noun (RISK) Something or someone that causes you a lot of trouble"

You don’t think a guest lying about cameras and having one’s listing suspended, with Airbnb considering hosts guilty until proven innocent is a liability?

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6

I didn’t know what the ‘it’ referred to?

Still don’t.

I think that a guest lying about surveillance equipment is shameful and actionable, that having your listing suspended is costly and the costs of that Airbnb suspension to be evaluated against the benefits of being on the platform.

If all the costs of being on Airbnb added up together outweigh all the benefits of being on Airbnb all together then being on Airbnb is a liability; if not, an asset.

7

I think [HostAirbnbVRBO] has made some great points.

In regards to only responding in writing, and I’m a big caveat of this, if Airbnb has shut down your listing then if you get a call late at night about this, you might want to answer. I remember reading that the security department is overseas and you don’t want to hold up the release of your STR.

I would absolutely have your answers written out to reply and also send it in writing after you speak with them as a follow up message such as Per our phone conversation on XX date, etc.

Finally, I would make sure that you ask for evidence via photos and those photos should show parts of your STR show that you know it’s your space and not randomly taken off the web. Basically, if there are no photos or just a picture without a reference of where it was taken, I would calmly mention that it’s hard to prove a negative and you respectfully request evidence of this claim.

Keep all emotion out of your replies and be very respectful.

Good luck.

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Thank you for your reply.
This must have been motivated by anger, paranoia, or whatever.

The girl just asked questions about another guest, and I replied “it is not legal form me to give out any persons personal info to anywhere”.
That was the only communication we had after a polite and formal check in procedure.
…and no Nany cams, nest, or ring equipment of the sort. (I should at least put an outdoor cam).

ABNB restored my account yesterday.
They have not yet answered my questions on exactly what words were contained in the “report”, nor what actions may be taken to avoid future disturbances from false information being submitted.

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Improperly vetted guests could turn out to be individuals looking for frivolous laws suit opportunities.

I may have lost a booking during the account suspension.

10

I’d almost bet that the girl asked CS something like “How can I be sure there are no hidden cameras in this listing?”

And then the low-quality agent replying “What?! They have hidden cameras?! AHHH?!” DELISTED!

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:thinking:If I was a guest concerned about it, I imagine would simply ask if any exist.

12

Don’t hold your breath waiting for an answer. And if you do get an answer, it will no doubt be along the lines of " We can’t share that information as it would violate our privacy policies".

You aren’t allowed to be informed of what you have been accused of, nor who made the allegations. Airbnb runs like an undemocratic dictatorship, where hosts are basically arrested without due process, and why they have been arrested is not shared with them.

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13

Very glad to hear your account was restored! Meanwhile, will you have the opportunity to review this guest? It will be wonderful if you can write a dry, factual account:

“This guest asked personal questions about another guest, which I informed her I could and would not answer. After that, this guest made a false claim to Airbnb about my home. Airbnb investigated and determined that the claim was false. I experienced emotional distress and financial loss as a result of this host’s false claim and her attempts to violate the privacy of other guests. I cannot recommend this guest to other hosts.”

I have suggested framing it in terms of the impact (“distress”) on you so that there can be no question about the facts in your review. I didn’t suggest mentioning the nature of her false claims in case that somehow frightens a possible guest, but maybe other people would advise otherwise. In any case, it would be wonderful, for you and for other hosts, if you could accurately review this guest who frankly sounds like a host’s nightmare.

14

Mentioning an Airbnb dispute decision in a review can lead to the review being removed.

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15

Oh dear. So what you would recommend the host say in the review? Simply the bit about the guest asking for private information about another guest?

16

The host doesn’t really know if the guest’s false report had anything to do with her being told he wouldn’t share private info about other guests. Those things seem rather unrelated to me. I understand guests who’ve been called out for bad behavior during a stay “getting even” by making a bogus report, but to do so as a reaction to just being told private info can’t be shared seems strange. Could just be an all-around weirdo, nasty person.

I don’t know that I’d specifically mention either the request for private info of another guest or a false report at all. I might just say I experienced the guest’s behavior as unsettling and that I wouldn’t recommend her. While it’s always helpful to know what a guest did that made them not welcome back, sometimes a situation with a guest means hosts have to be a bit vague and hope that other hosts get the message that this isn’t someone you’d want to accept.

I don’t see anything necessarily wrong with a guest asking something about another guest who is sharing the home- it depends on what info they are asking for and if it seems like a reasonable question. I could understand, for instance, a guest asking the host how long the other guest has been staying and if the host feels they are trustworthy- people can be wary in a shared-home situation.

The OP didn’t say what the guest specifically asked about the other guest. Maybe it was reasonable, even if the host didn’t feel it was his place to answer it, or maybe it was something very personal and inappropriate. If the latter, I might then say in a review that the guest asked inappropriate questions about another guest.

Perhaps other hosts here have a different opinion and suggestions.

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I’d like to point out that many insurers do not allow surveillance cameras in many parts of your STR. This does vary by state. Just be aware that some insurers will not cover claims for invasion of privacy. Hopefully nobody here has had an issue with this type of claim or incident.