Yikes… when we are talking locks on our bedrooms… just makes you wonder… Is doing Airbnb inside your home really worth all the risks??
So sorry to hear you experienced such a traumatic nightmare of a first guest. Clearly mentally unstable. As Yana demonstrates with her story of patiently waiting until the next day for payment and then they run off without paying, yes, you absolutely did the right thing. How could you possibly know you were dealing with a nut job? I find the way she suddenly claimed leukemia (as if you could tell from looking at what seemed like a somewhat normal person, and as if it precluded her from having to pay to stay in someone’s home) particularly disturbing, and possibly like she had tried this one before.
Questioning yourself on whether you handled it correctly is pretty typical after suffering a trauma, and having someone literally freak out at you in what has always been your safe zone, and start violently slamming doors and behaving as if anything could happen IS a trauma. However there is no reason to blame yourself for someone’s totally unexpected violence towards you just for running your business just like anyone else on the planet does.
As far as accepting this kind of guest in the future, I’m pretty sure you will steer clear of anyone that doesn’t have clear plans, and is unable to state a set of dates that works for you and doesn’t go on indefinitely. These kind of guests can be trouble for lots of reasons, including squatting if the stay is longer than a month in certain states.
I hope to hear that Airbnb has been helpful to you as far as making sure you were reimbursed for the last night and providing support for your horrifying experience. Personally if it was myself confronted in my home alone with a woman acting erratic and aggressively and refusing to pay for her accommodation under my roof, I would also have had a very uncomfortable and panicked night. I’m sorry you went through it. It seems that guests prey on new listings, knowing that they will be anxious to get good reviews and thus not as sure how to stand up for themselves when being pushed around, and not sure what kind of behavior is normal and to be expected. What you experienced is certainly not acceptable.
I hope you get some rest and support from friends in real lie also.
Hi everyone,
thank you so much for the detailed and thoughtful responses, I probably didn’t do enough homework about hosting and since reading through your messages and some other posts on this forum I think I am a lot wiser now.
I think from now on, I’ll have a policy where if somebody books, I will simply say that I have a booking the day they are leaving, so that they know staying any extra days is not possible. Like somebody said this sort of thing will discourage people who are planning on hanging around.
To answer Mo_In_TO, I agree she could have had lots of stressful things going on, but just before I left my house she had been in high spirits, we had been talking and she seemed in a good mood, which was one of the reasons her behaviour was so shocking to me (I was only out for a few hours). I think the high stress in her life was that I woke her up when she was sleeping.
To Kirsty_Jane, they just apologised and said they have somebody looking in to the incident, I didn’t expect them to do much but I wanted them to maybe keep an eye on this person as I would feel bad if this happened to somebody else, but again I’m not sure there is much they can do.
To cabinhost, nope I didn’t get penalzed by airbnb, I could still review her but if I did I KNOW she would leave a crazy review about me, then it would get into a long winded process involving airbnb, and I really don’t know if I want that considering she would be my FIRST review!
To konacoconutz, I don’t collect a deposit but absolutely will from now on! Also, all of your advice is spot on and I wish I had known it sooner! But thanks so much for it, it all makes sense and I’ll be taking all of your suggestions on board in the future.
And to GoodbyeSandy, thank you for the kind words and advice. I think you are right about some people preying on new listings, especially people who know they are a handful and so they know experienced hosts will see all of the red flags straight away. At least I learnt a lot from my first hosting experience!
The only thing I would add, Blind, is that you need to have a firm check out time, so someone can’t linger around deciding what they want to do. And by the way, late check-out is something I never grant. Why? Because it is a perk that never benefits the host. You are letting them stay free in your house longer… why? For better reviews? I don’t think so. When I was a newbie host, I’d let people have late check out, hoping for a good review. What I got instead was an extra messy place (they had to cram another beach day in of course, and then rush around to get to their flight, leaving sand and messes everywhere,) AND a smack in a review for some other trivial thing they thought wasn’t up to par! So now, sorry, no late check out. I’m not a hotel. I’m a single-room host with only one room for sale. Late check also means you can’t rent it that night usually either. You have to do what benefits you. Late check out does not. Some hosts disagree with me but I take a hardline on this. And on early check in. Have just had guests take advantage and now I am older and wiser!
More info than you wanted but to summarize… add the check out time, have a policy of no late check-out, and add a deposit and cleaning fee. It doesn’t drive away business and you usually get a better brand of guest.
I’ll shut up now. And we should do a virtual champagne toast now that the psycho is gone (it was probably a drug binge… if she was uncharacteristically combative, possibly angel dust and/or meth.)
Ding dong, the bitch is gone!
“she had been in high spirits”
Sounds like the spirits may have been in her! As one of my favourite bands (Reverend Ken & His Lost Followers) used to proclaim, “Let the spirits enter the body!”, and then take another long draw from his beverage of choice.
By the way, I meant to say that if I had had a guest who was dicking me around on the money, I would have been livid and would not have let things go unresolved so late. I didn’t mean to imply that you were wrong to be so upset. Just that things being as they were, I would have let her sleep and sorted it out in the morning. Worst case, she gets a free night that you hadn’t booked to anyone else anyway. (Well, really worst case would be trashing the place, etc., but that’s unlikely with the host present.)
cheers
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Glad you are safe and sound. You don’t need to tell them you have a same day booking (because they may legitamately extend their stay). You just need to tell them that they must have rebooked by check out time because you need to have it ready in case someone else books same day.
Once they have completed their Airbnb reservation, you can just collect cash. That’s what I do. I just provide them a handwritten receipt.
It’s true. Collecting in cash is good as long as you can trust the guest.
Glad you’re feeling ok. I don’t believe she was asleep for one second. She might have been trying to be to get out of paying! What a trick. Don’t spend another minute thinking about this ridiculous tactic and how it should have been handled. Of course you don’t let people that haven’t paid to spend the night in your home just sleep in your home. It’s hilarious how she called you selfish for wanting to be paid for putting up a stranger!
As for Airbnb, they can make sure you get reimbursed for the night she slept in your home. I would definitely push for that for starters!
Blindpacemaker
You must review her. She does not see your review until she’s left hers so it won’t be retaliatory - you know her review is going to be harsh (or she’s not going to leave one) but she’s already bullied you once don’t let it continue by being too afraid to be honest.
Other guests cannot see the review you leave her - so don’t worry about that. It doesn’t make you look bad as a host. The only people who can see your review of her are you and future hosts. YOU MUST ensure that people are forewarned and if they choose to rent to her then it’s an informed decision.
Bad experience - I’m sorry to hear it.
Well let’s just hope Air has shut her down. One thing to add. The review should be left at the last possible minute, which is midnight on the last day of the review period IN THE GUEST’S TIME ZONE! Get this info from the Air CSR so you have the time ready. Write it before hand and at 11;58 or so cut, paste, submit and let it fly.
That’s so someone is not prompted to write a review in return. (They will get the email. “XX has left you a review, To read what XX has to say, write a review of XX.” )
If it’s been a bad experience and you write and post a review (hidden until the other is written or until 14 days) well then surely they will smack you back, because they know it can’t be good. Wait until the last minute to do it.
dont forget to give her a proper feedback.
You’re too kind. I have not had this kind of luck… And as I say, the ones asking me for the favors like late check out tend to be the high maintenance ones… and also the same ones who were unhappy with other small things and left me a smack after I did them a favor. I guess it soured me on offering perks.
I just had a high maintenance couple stay. Of course they asked for late check out. Their other check in on the other side of the island was at 3, and they had time to kill.
Sorry, not possible. No late check out. ( I actually had a guest coming that night.)
Well can we leave our food in the fridge while you clean?
Um no, sorry.
But it will go bad.
Sorry, perhaps you can get a styrofoam cooler?
Can we leave our luggage here?
Sure. Outside is OK.
Not in the room?
No, I have to clean. It will be safe in my carport. I’ll cover it for you.
Can we use the snorkel equipment? We’ll bring it back in an hour.
No, sorry, I’d rather not allow that.
Why not? It’s just sitting here?
(Feeling pressured) Yes, I guess, but just make sure to get it back to me before noon.
(2:00, 3:00, 4:00) rolls around, no snorkel equipment back!
4:00 new guest checks in; and pushy checking out guests have not brought the equipment back.
Finally show up at 4:30 after several texts.
I tell him he left all his clothes in the closet and I had to bring it up and fold it over his luggage.
He asks to go down to check the room.
No… the new guest is already here!
Clomp around packing what they had forgotten and then getting their luggage out of here…
Left no review, no thanks for anything, no nothing.
That’s an example of pushing back on the definition of “sorry no late check out” answer to the extreme! With no benefit to me. Their reservation ended hours ago, yet I was still dealing with their crap at 4:30pm… while trying to get the new guest checked in.
You are understanding and nice to do that. It takes me all day to get the house and property ready… and even if it’s not a back-to-back check in , sometimes I just want to get it clean so that (a) I can rent it that night if I have to and (b) I can take a teaching job if one comes up so the room is done in case there is a guest coming that day.
Plus… getting burned on a long late check out… they were 9-10 extra hours in my house for free, left a mess and a backhanded review. (Good review with a few smacks inserted)… Kinda got me jaded. 