Exactly! In this case, it was:
“You booked the [bedroom on the first floor], but you mistakenly are occupying the [entire 900sq space on an entirely separate floor]. I’ll link the Listing of the space you’re currently in, which you’ll notice is entirely different from the photos, details, and description of your Reservation.”
Good news! Airbnb backed me up more than necessary (maybe CS was happy I didn’t cause a real scene at 1am last night when the guests were sending me hostile messages…?) - they’re charging the guests for the full reservation and cleaning fee of the space the guests decided to occupy. I would have preferred to just charge them the difference between the fees, or just the cleaning fee, but I’m not arguing. Documentation of their check in and clear communication definitely helped.
I think the “they’re just dumb” excuse got thrown out the window when they: successfully found our building, navigated the lockbox and keys, and communicated with me about purchasing a bottle of wine (my cohost has a vineyard, and we offer bottles to guests with some written descriptions). If they were dumb and apologetic I would be so happy to host them! Scammers unfortunately have a tougher time pulling one over at a host-occupied listing.
My partner and I both work in hospitality and this is definitely not the kind of experience we want to provide our guests, so it’s a huge bummer all around. Again, I’m just glad no other guests were booked for the space, it could have been a disaster!
Thanks again for your help, I was dreading the day I came to this forum to post a problem but have found the variety of responses really helpful.
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Great news.
Being smarter than the scammer guest is always to your benefit.
If only more hosts could appreciate that and not just demand an echo chamber…
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Wow, what a strange and alarming situation. So, a guest could enter the other room/unit anytime they wished? No security of any kind? Seriously?
I find it pretty dubious that there is a law that prevents use of door locks. Would you mind sharing a URL that details such?
There’s already a link posted by me.
Do you supply a door wedge or something so there is a feeling of security when people are actually in residence behind those non Lockable doors?
If you look at the link @KKC posted, my understanding is that not having locks on the separate listings enables the host to get around restrictions for whole listing STRs in NYC.
@Barley is that correct?
That’s exactly correct, @Helsi!
@Jefferson Private Room listings are extremely common in urban, metropolitan areas; lots of young guests/workers/travelers don’t feel the need to book an entire apartment, and can’t afford to do so. They’re often out exploring and just need a place to crash and relax - for example, my kitchen facilities are very, very rarely used. Folks are here to check out a cool coffeeshop or restaurant, not hang out at home!
A casual, cozy “homeshare” is very common, and I’ve hosted all age groups and families who are interested in booking a historic home in a desirable neighborhood with friendly hosts.
“No security of any kind”? We have multiple locks on the home doors and other security measures, and I have yet to have a guest either violate or complain about security provided. This is an urban area after all.
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I offer temporary locks (they fit on the doors, and guests have a key with them) but only one guest out of hundreds has used one, and that was to secure valuables after a big shopping trip!
As it’s not a massive building or hostel and feels spacious and private yet also home-y, I’ve found that groups feel confident. “Homeshare” type stays are extremely common in metropolitan areas.
Hello @Barley
You are correct offering rooms in a shared home is common with STR whether in metropolitan areas or not.
I think the key difference is that if it is truly a shared home situation , rather than what it appears you are offering - self-contained accommodation in a building, that you live in, but completely separately rather than in a homeshare situation and - where you don’t have locks on doors of your listings to get around the NYC STR legislation.
It seems strange to say you are offering your guests what you say is a ‘safe, legal space’ when there is a safety risk for guests, that guests from the other listing can enter their accommodation at will and you are operating contrary to STR regulations in your area?
Apologies if I have misunderstood and you and your co-host share communal facilities such as a lounge, kitchen and bathroom with both listings.
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It seems that Barley has threaded the needle rather adroitly in conforming with NY city and state rules (if that’s indeed where they are). The “no locks” requirement I view as a provision, the clumsiness of which is outweighed by the virtue of being clear and enforceable, meant to prohibit running an illegal hotel, rather than an invitation for one lodger to rifle through the belongings of and sleep in the bed of another lodger.
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It’s a tough space to communicate without photos, but it’s a historic multi-floor brownstone if that helps envision the space. We absolutely don’t indicate that spaces are self-contained, but carefully indicate what is open-access/communal and what is shared. It’s never hosting troupes of different groups, either.
I call it safe and legal because we have STR insurance, safety measures on the property, and used the help of a housing lawyer (a neighbor who often has his family stay with us) to set up the space. We are a historic building on a landmarked block, so contractors, permits, and C of O legality can all get tricky (and contradictory) around here!
@dpfromva Happy to send you more links or info via message, but as the issue I had brought up has been resolved I don’t feel it’s valuable to continue pushing this thread up in the forum, particularly if it’s about topics I’ve already covered.
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Look - I totally do not care if you are compliant or not. Offering temporary locks seems to violate the regulations - but again I don’t care. I expect that you are a great host.
I personally do not think the govt has any right to regulate small hosts (except rent-controlled units).
It is a given that the exterior door has a lock on it. When guests have access to the entire suite, including your area, then that is not secure for you or other guests.
We have stayed in several shared apts, and always locked our room when we were out. The host areas for the same units were secure while they were away. As it should be.
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Glad everything turned out OK and Airbnb backed you. Guessing it was all very intentional, with the thought - “We can play dumb!”.
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What messages were they sending you at 1am?!
I have stayed in numerous private rooms and have never had one with a lock on it. I never even thought about it. I have even stayed on a couch and that certainly didn’t come with a lock. I did get a cubby for my stuff though. And a helluva good dinner homemade by the host 
I don’t think that this idea that the bedroom should have a lock is as obvious as you think.
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We would be ok with no locks, if we had the only private room for guests. That is reasonable.
We would not stay in a private room where other guests could violate our space and steal our property.
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I wouldn’t have an issue having a private room in someone’s home that I shared with a host not having a lock. But that isn’t the case here @JJD
From what the OP said they offer two separate sets of accommodation in a brownstone house type setting in addition to their own private accommodation. Neither of the Airbnb guest listing has a lock so is vulnerable to being accessed by other guests. I would not stay in accommodation with this sort of set up.
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There are quite a few hosts who have multiple rooms booked out with no locks. When I first came to this forum and it was still more home sharing hosts, there were frequent posts about no locks. Some people were offended by the idea, many said they lived in older homes where modifying the door to fit a lock was undesirable. More than one host has been walked in on in their bedroom by a guest. I’ve tried more than one lock solution on my guest room door that leads to my part of the house. Lots of cities still have hostels with bunk beds and mixed groups sharing the sleeping rooms. I’ve seen listings with no doors at all, just curtains or room dividers.
As long as a host discloses the situation, probably in the house rules, and prices accordingly, it’s fine. It’s up to guests to read the listing and rules that they agree to.
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For a guest to feel they need a lock on their door to lock when they are out, if they are only sharing the home with the host, is patently absurd, because of course a host would have keys to every room in their own home. I can see people wanting a way to lock it from inside- lots of people are just nervous about anyone coming in when they are there. And it would make sense to want a lock on the outside if there were rooms being rented to unrelated guests.