Guests who think anything electronic is suspect

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Why is it the guests think that anything electronic is suspect? Why, with no concept of electronics, or any kind of theory, do they think that they can look at an electrical outlet, a wall switch, or even an empty wall and think there is electronics there that spying on them, that’s giving them EMS radiation, that can turn their skin, blue, or any of the above?

I had the usual four day stay by a guest in a private room in my home. The guest went into my bathroom and physically unplugged the bidet from the wall. I texted the guest to tell them that it is a shared space and that other guests and myself share the room and use that bidet.

Later that day, I walked around, and noticed that my electric toothbrush, toaster, and Keurig machine were also unplugged. I asked my guest to not unplug these things. Of course, now I anticipate a weird review, referencing the tin hat theories that this guest must have, with some sort of star degradation.

I guess this is normal in some areas of the United States, considering that there are people who walk around in red baseball caps, thinking that paying 100% more for products that we import somehow helps our economy, but I just needed to vent here.

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and nothing in the guest’s Airbnb reviews to indicate behaviour characteristic of mental illness?

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There will be, when I review. Sadly, there are still hosts who give pleasant reviews of crazies because they ‘don’t want to hurt the guest’s airbnb ratings’.

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I unplug some electronics or turn off the surge bar they are connected to when not in use, if they have a red light or clock that is on, even when the device isn’t “on”.

But that’s just to cut down on needless electricity usage, which I doubt is of concern to guests.

FYI, EMS is not “tin hat”. I had a guest who didn’t use a cell phone who explained to me why. She had experienced weird tingling in her arms and other unexplainable physical stuff for years that no doctors could figure out. It was finally diagnosed as electro-magnetic sensitivity.

She wasn’t some fanatical nutcase, she said of course she uses her laptop sometimes, because you can’t really get along in the world these days without being “connected”, unless you live like a Luddite, but she only uses it when it’s necessary- she wouldn’t just surf the net, for instance. But every time she does use the laptop, or borrows someone’s phone if necessary, she gets that weird tingling in her arms.

She certainly didn’t go around unplugging things, though. She wasn’t so ignorant as to think a blender or toaster that’s plugged in was going to cause her any problems.

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For guests like these, you should start selling protective hats, wizard robes and gloves, marketed as shields against 5G, mysterious waves, government mind-reading, or whatever spooky stuff keeps them up at night :blush:.
I had one who unplugged the router for unknown reasons and then complained for not having Internet…
And yes, electromagnetic sensitivity is a real problem for some people, but I believe it’s not the case with this guest.
I also had guests who unplugged everything before leaving the house, maybe they are overcautious (fire protection measures) or they are used to make economy at their houses…
For people who live in traditional houses, seeing your automarted and smart one might be a huge surprise, so @Rolf, you should stop spying on your guests :joy::joy::joy: :hugs:

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I had a guest about 8 years ago ask if I would turn the wifi off at night so they could sleep better. I didn’t have smart home devices at the time, but I told them I needed to have access to the internet at night.

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So ChatGPT and Copilot list a whole bunch of reasons for this behavior ranging from safety and energy efficiency concerns to distrust of technology. I learn something new every day :woman_shrugging:t2: The only thing someone unplugged once in our house was our WiFi booster… I didn’t think anything of it but then I also didn’t check the trash can for discarded tin foil hats :thinking:

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I’m surprised that after all these years I’ve never had such a strange guest.

I’ve never had anyone unplug anything at all. Is this some thing that is becoming more common these days? Is it a relatively recent thing?

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There are plenty of videos on social media suggesting that “every” Airbnb should be thoroughly checked at the time of check-in for any (hidden) recording devices showing a number of products where they can be hidden.

I’m not even sure if those are just a marketing tool for the manufacturers of said devices in order to get free “rage-baiting” reach on social media…

It’s mind boggling what those videos imply (although there might be the black sheep in the herd not playing by the rules…).

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Delusional Disorder (Persecutory or Grandiose Type) : In the persecutory type, individuals may believe they are being watched or targeted. In the grandiose type, they may have an exaggerated sense of their own importance or abilities.

This describes those folks who come to stay at an airbnb and think that somehow they are so special that an airbnb host will risk their livelihood to see the guests candidly sitting in the living room of the airbnb…

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I’m guessing you come across as sketchy, I have never had a guest out of around 300 stays who mentioned anything about this

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I guess maybe I misread them when they thanked me for taking great care of them

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Then again I dont ask what color hat they wear

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Oh interesting- my cell phone and laptop make my hands tingle, it’s quite unpleasant and sometimes painful. I just always assumed that happened to everyone.