Homeless person and now sex worker guest, should I carry on with short term rentals?

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I’ve had just one guest at my short term rental.

The room was booked by someone saying it was for her daughter.

It wasn’t her daughter. In fact the person that booked it is a lawyer in the city I live, the lawyer advocates for homeless people.
The person was transgender, but still sat in front of the kitchen window topless for all to see. Lost the keys on the 2nd day and was climbing in and out the bedroom window. Dropped a drug smoking pipe outside that window which I found after she’d left. Set the smoke alarms off at 11.30pm when we were all in bed. Left lipstick and mascara smudges on the walls. Was still in bed at checkout time and left behind clothes and leaflets on local resources for homeless youth.

And my place is nice! It’s no way a dump. I’m new to this and so I’d set my prices according to suggestions from VRBO and AirBNB.

So OK, looked at what was wrong and decided to set my house rules and raise my prices some.

Now my 2nd booking is on AirBnB.

She has 4 good reviews.

When I could see her full profile. I could see her name. The name sounded like a porn star type of name. So I googled it, and sure enough… there she is! An account on ‘Only Fans’ and an Instagram and YouTube account as an ‘underwear’ model. It’s not just underwear, it’s soft porn underwear trying on.

So she’s supposed to be coming to stay with her ‘boyfriend’… I have no idea what they intend to do at my place? Do the intend to make ‘movies’ here??? I really don’t care to find out.

I’m thinking to cancel her booking and close down my account.

I live in the city and my friend had hookers using his air bnb. I just don’t think it’s worth it to have random people showing up at my house.

Any thoughts?

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RAISE YOUR RATES. Low rates attract low lifes.

Add amenities. Redecorate to upscale your place. And raise your rates.

Change to a 2 or 3 night minimum and limit stays to a week or 10 days. That discourages locals which are often where most problem guests originate.

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Raise your prices again to start. I would message the guest something along the lines of, I see you are a model I just wanted to let you know the place is not available for any sort of commercial use. We are looking forward to your stay, I am always close by if you have any questions or need anything.

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Hope you gave a bad review to the 3rd party booking for the drug user. That should prevent more such bookings that will affect other hosts.

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Not only raise your rates but also increase the min. stay to 3, 4 or 5 nights. Try to cater to young families. On your site include family oriented places like amusement parks, etc.

I’m at the Jersey Shore and included along with the house pictures are pictures of boardwalks, beaches, and parks.

Hang in there. Don’t give up yet.

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It depends on what you consider to be acceptable. Prostitution is decriminalized here. I know a very discreet escort who has used Airbnbs. I myself would not offer a place because clients may continue to visit.

The facts are that your guest is messy and inappropriate. Ciao, babe.

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Don’t Give UP!!

What City are you in?

  • Get you rates and minimum stays UP. Look at other AirBnbs with similar characteristics within a mile or so of your location and price the same.
  • Minimum 2 or 3 nights.
  • Do not Instant Book until you get some experience as a host.

Setting prices low to attract guests when you’re new is not a good idea IMHO.

Look seriously at the wording of your listing. Could it be that somehow that wording is attracting “less than desirable” guests. Have someone not familyor friends look over your listing. Or give us your listing after you’ve made a few more posts (there’s a min. # posts before the system lets you post URLs and such), and we’ll look it over with experienced eyes.

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First rule: no 3rd party bookings.

Second rule: Ask if you are concerned about what will be happening in your airbnb. Many sex workers have lives, boyfriends, and even old-fashioned desk jobs, and they don’t work 24/7.

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Cancel her booking? But she already checked-out so … ???

Lesson learned. 3rd party bookings are not permitted by Air TOS. You would be well-advised to spend a lot of time reading here quickly and get up to speed.

Vet your guests! Immediately after booking, get for all guests full name, age and addresses (as required by insurance). If possible, do in-person check-ins, get cameras and disclose properly. Etc. “Thank you for your booking - what brings you to our area? Do you need any recommendations for restaurants, etc?”. Build out great Host Rules (lots of examples here). The list goes on.

Silver lining is that you can get the review removed (if they leave one), as the booking guest did not stay (3rd party booking).

New hosts are often targeted by nefarious types. They KNOW that you are new and look for that. Be very wary and look for red flags. Hosting can be great - just be more careful.

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It’s true that they don’t work 24/7. But it hardly creates a nice relaxed feeling in me. Do I wait and see if they bring ‘camera’ equipment etc :wink:

After the strange episode with the previous guest, I don’t know what to think.

A side note here; I bought a bed for my short term rental, almost new from a women who had been doing AirBnB in a nice apartment in a nice part of town called Coal Harbour here in Vancouver BC.

She told me that she liked the money, but the final straw was when a guest arrived. The guest identified as a women, but according to this person I bought the bed from, was a large man. The guest wanted to bring in a partner to sleep in the bed.

I know that she could have set that no guests in her rules etc… but I’m thinking who needs things like that in their home?

If you don’t live in the home it’s a different thing. But random people and their ways… I don’t know.

In the city I live there are a lot! of strange people.

If it was travellers and interesting people that’d be a different thing.

But ya know… internet underwear stars and topless transexuals smoking drugs and climbing in and out of the windows… I mean… lol… it sounds like a recipe for an ulcer.

In my job I deal with a lot of people. One of my old clients was a full on pimp. His brother was in jail for murder, the pimp was also a money launder and violent.

It’s my experience that people in this line of work, they aren’t some kind of innocents that are ‘just putting themselves through college’ They’re into all kinds of stuff, and none of it’s wholesome.

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I hear ya, but… it sounds like more work than I’d be willing to put in. Checking this and that and watching them etc…

Honestly I’d rather go to work an extra couple of days a month and leave the space empty.

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Without a link to your listing it’s hard to advise you, but home-sharing definitely isn’t for everyone. What’s crucial, I think, is to market towards the type of guests you want and make your listing suitable for that, not just list it like some anonymous room in someone’s home.

I’ve been home sharing for over 3 years (not currently, due to COVID) and all my guests have been great. I live in a touristy beach town in Mexico, so that’s what people are coming here for, so it’s quite different from yours, in a big city.

But my town is also known as a big party town, and that’s what lots of people who come are into- there’s tons of bars and restaurants and late night scene. However, my listing isn’t in town-it’s a 20 minute walk. And I don’t want the partier, stumble home from the bar at 3 AM wake all the neighborhood dogs up type of guest. So I market towards the type of guests who are suitable for me and my place- I say it’s good for those who want a quiet tropical vacation, want to do yoga, read, write, work on their art. And that’s a lot of what I get. The ones who aren’t still aren’t partiers, they might be outdoorsy types, or just looking to relax someplace warm. The point is, they fit with me, my place and my lifestyle.

So if you can find yourself a niche in offering something a bit different in some way and attract those who are looking for that, that’s the best way of getting the right kind of guests for a home-share, I’d say.

I started hosting because I had a guest room that just sat empty most of the year, and I enjoy meeting these guests from all over- a few have become friends and many I spent quite a bit of time with while they were here. I also kinda like the whole hospitality thing- creating a comfy, pretty space for guests, getting it all set up and cleaned for them, cutting flowers from my garden to make up a small vase for their room. And of course the extra income is welcome.

But if you only decided to sign up to make some extra cash, that’s probably not a great base point for being a home share host. You have to actually enjoy it and not mind having people in your home. And like you say, you could just work a couple more days a month ad save yourself the hassle of dealing with strangers in your home.

Also, I have never used Instant Book- I want to be in control of who I accept. And I exchange at least a couple messages, usually more, with guests between the time they request to book and when they arrive. So I have a pretty good sense of them before they ever show up just by the way they communicate.

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Best advice ever. 20202020

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Thanks so much for your reply.

Actually your place sounds like the kind of place I’d like to stay. And I totally hear what you’re saying about wording it in a way that would attract the kind of guest you’re looking for. I’m going to change mine tomorrow.

Also I should turn instant booking off by the sound of things.

I like hosting too, and I’ve hosted over 100 international students at my house over the last 12 years or so. My house has 8 bedrooms, and I’ve had students from all over the world stay here.

Things were going great until Covid hit and then they went home and it took a while before it became apparent that things weren’t going back to normal anytime soon.

My friend suggested to try short term renting, the same friend liked it when he did it. He did it for about 5 years and said he only had 2 bad experiences in that time.

He figures that, seeing as people can’t travel internationally then that’s why I’m getting the people I am, they’re not really travellers.

I have a couple coming to stay for 14 nights on the 1st November, from VRBO. I could see the persons name and email. email address is ******@SFU which is a local university. A quick google search and I see this person is a professor at the university, so their story of needing the place for 2 weeks in between apartments checks out. I have no anxiety about it and fully expect things to go well. But the underwear model with the ‘Only fans’ account and her ‘boyfriend’ I just red flags waving at me.

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Hi all, perhaps you can find my listing by doing a quick search on VRBO?

VRBO 2060389

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/44996662?s=67&unique_share_id=efe2a63e-eaf9-49f3-b4b8-da37e61faaf1

This is what I’ve written for my listing, any thoughts appreciated!

This semi private entry space is accessed through the shared hallway to the laundry room and the suite.

The one bedroom, 1 bathroom, garden level space, is most suitable for 2 guests.

Right beside a bus stop and 4 minute bus ride or 12 minute walk to the nearest skytrain.

If no traffic, drive to downtown (13 min), Metrotown (10 min). Lots of free street parking. Neighborhood is quiet and safe. WiFi and NetFlix makes this cozy suite the perfect place to relax.

The space

The Private Entry one private Bedroom comes with a stove, oven, pots, pans, blender, toaster, drip coffee maker, and rice cooker, private Bathroom with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and has it’s own clothes Washer and Dryer. Wi-Fi and TV with Netflix provided. The suite is for two people. The house is located on a fairly busy street, though the windows face away from the street, there likely will be muffled noise during your stay.

Guest access

Not the front door. Suite is accessed by walking down the right side of the house and the entry is at the back.

Other things to note

The parking is free with unrestricted time. Please make sure to park at least 6 meters from the corner and stop signs.

There are extra blankets and pillows in the bedroom closet.

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The real issue isn’t what someone does for a living, it’s not wanting strangers/unregistered guests.

Making sure your house rules prohibit unregistered guests may help. At least it gives an easy way to get them out.

Btw. This summer my renters tended to be Younger than in prior years. I was surprised at the number of profile pics I would expect from Tinder instead of the usual LinkedIn style.

I don’t care what people wear. We have THAT body for such a short time. I regret covering up all the time instead of wearing 4 triangles and dental floss in My 20’s but there is a time & place for everything. I guess the guests don’t realize the message they are sending to the homeowners/hosts.

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It’s not what they do for a living that bothers me… Actually I have to edit this… It is what they do for a living that bothers me. It’s that they might be using my place for some kind of porno shoot or something.
I used to have a female employee who had a side gig doing porno. I personally know 2 women that are currently stripping for a living. All 3 of those people also do heavy drugs, 1 has been in jail, 2 of them have dumped their kids so they have more time to snort coke and hang around with the gangster types that they like.
They’re unsavory people. I don’t want people like that in my house. I don’t feel good having people like that around.
I’m more than happy to host people that are on the fringe, I’m a kind of musician, artist, tattooed type of person. I’m by no means a nerdy type.
I don’t mind unusual, but! I really mind criminal low life types!

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That’s cool that you hosted all those international students. I lived on Vancouver Island, up in Courtenay, for 25 years before relocating to Mexico (lived in Vancouver, too, for a year, way back in the early 70’s- used to sell my leatherwork on the street down in Gastown, just when it was started to get gentrified) and I also used to board students, although they weren’t exchange students, they were from Cortes Island.

I did look at your ad- nice place, definitely not housing for drug addicts and sleazebags.
I would try to put more of yourself into your ad- it’s quite impersonal, just describing the space as if you don’t live there as well. I realize its a private suite, but still, lowlifes are less attracted to listings where they are made aware that the host is on site. Talk a bit about what you like about living in your area so that hopefully you get the kinds of guests who are attracted to the same sort of stuff. Speak a bit about the neighborhood, not just what your place is close to- is it a quiet area, lots of families, a mix of professionals, artists and musicians?

Funny story- I once took a trip to Vancouver from Courtenay with my then about 11 year old daughter. She’d never been to the big city before- small town Courtenay kid. We had driven off the Horseshoe Bay ferry, we’re driving through downtown West Van, and she’s looking around with wide eyes at all the crowds and says “What do all these people do here?”

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This is a great topic, its got almost everything… sex, drugs… just need the rock and roll!

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JF

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Then cancel the booking.