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With so many horror stories about really bad guests can somebody please start a list of bad guests. This would really help hosts evaluate guests correctly. It does not have to be explicit just simple wording ie did damage/disregarded house rules/non serious cancellation etc
I recently had a guest book, she had 4 great reviews, so I felt comfortable in hosting her. She cancelled her booking because she could not use our home to host her friends. Non-paying visitors are strictly prohibited from entering our property. This is in our house rules and was put on her booking confirmation. Airbnb allowed her to cancel without any penalties. We have a Strict Cancellation policy in place. I have not be penalised apart from not having a booking and I probably wonât be able to fill the dates. I thought you could only cancel a booking without penalties if there was a death, delayed flights etc. Cancelling for flippant reasons seems unfair to hosts. If there was a list of bad guests she would be put on there to warn future hosts that she cancelled for non serious reasons - I know for a fact regardless of good reviews if I saw a guest flagged for flippant cancellations I would decline her booking. Look forward to any comments.
Al
This is an international PUBLIC forum. If you put up someones nameâŚdo you really think they wont find it. Then there are the suits for slanderâŚetcâŚetcâŚetc.
Not a bad idea, no one wants a bad guestâŚbut a PUBLIC listâŚin my view - very very dangerous
Suppose there was a list of Bad Hosts and she put your name on it as an act of revenge for you putting her name on the list of Bad Guests or just a guest who didnât like you for asking them to turn their music down or their non paying guest to leave at midnight. Can you see the problem?
To be fair I donât find that many horror stories at least here. Sure, there are posts that are alarming and people share some horrible guests and stories but always remember that we seldomly post the great stories just for the sake of it. Ppl post to vent or to get advice or help when they experience problems not happy-times.
Personally Iâve had 98 % problemfree guests and good times hosting but I remember those bad ones as it was yesterday.
A list of bad guests is problematic for many reasons. How would it even be administered and maintained?
Sorry that you had a bad experience but it comes with the territory.
Re. this I would call Airbnb and be assertive and demand your payment as it doesnât seem right.
Have you been in touch with CS or was everything handled via the platform? Iâd call and raise this issue to a human and explain that they donât follow their own extenuating circumstances policy.
What are reviews for if not to tell other hosts about âbad guestsâ?
Rather than look up a list of tens of thousands of people (which, as @Christian says would be impossible to administrate, maintained and verified) Airbnb has created a system where potential hosts can see potential guestsâ review. This is part of what peer-to-peer means - that they are reviews by their peers, ordinary people. Itâs not the fault of Airbnb that some misguided hosts choose either not to review some guests at all, or to write inaccurate reviews.
And who would decide what a âbad guestâ is? Someone booked with you then cancelled when she realised that the place wasnât what she wasnted because she was looking for somewhere that would allow her to entertain guests. That doesnât make her a âbad guestâ and eligible to be added to some blacklist.
Most experienced hosts would agree with this or even put the figure higher (99.9% in my case).
If they had good reviews, how would a public forum be more reliable?
You can subscribe to a people search service to at least try and verify names/ addresses. There are a few. I think intelius and ussearch, something like that.
@alkira - Did she cancel within 48 hours of booking and at least 14 days ahead of the arrival date? If so, you may be on the âStrict with Grace Periodâ cancellation policy.
I say you avoided having a bad guest. I agree itâs frustrating to have someone hold your place and then get to cancel at no cost, but itâs better than having your place trashed when she holds a party.
Yes such lists exist. I canât imagine it would be worth my time to look at them for the reasons already pointed out. Best I can tell these lists exist as another way for unhappy hosts to vent and share their stories with some fellow hosts who care because Airbnb doesnât.
Do not allow this to stand. Tell Air they need to honor your policy. I am guessing there is more to this story, did Air call you and ask to waive policy? If not the minute you realize they broke the policy you need to be proactive and stand firm.
I donât see this as a bad guest situation. She wanted pals over, you said no, end of discussion. The strict policy can be overridden by Air. And faced with a miserable guest, it was probably the right choice for you, too.
I agree and I think itâs something that most hosts have quite often. Guest books, asks if they can bring their dog (or whatever else isnât permitted by the host), guest cancels. I would have thought that the person is a thoughtful guest. Itâs better than sneaking her guests in and entertaining them without the host knowing. The person simply chose a place that suits her needs better.
If the guest cancelled and the strict cancellation policy was void, then I see one of 3 possibilities:
Airbnb allowed a cancel without extenuating circumstances, meaning they violated their own policy and the problem is with Airbnb, not the guest.
The guest had real extenuating circumstances, meaning all policies were followed and thereâs nothing more to say.
The guest fabricated extenuating circumstances and Airbnb accepted their evidence, meaning thereâs a problem with both the guest and Airbnb since the guest lied and Airbnb accepted their lie with no proof.
Do you know for a fact which case it was?
Only one case would the guest be âbadâ and I really donât see reason for placing a guest on some blacklist for the possibility that they fabricated extenuating circumstances.
But you may not live in a major urban area, where whole house rentals are booked for parties every weekend. The AirBnB Hosts Blacklist has warnings about the folks that put on these big house parties for a living and actually charge those attending $10 or $20 admission!
Itâs only for hosts. A number of the members post party invitations they find on Facebook and other social media. If I had a whole house rental in or near any large city, or in a resort area, Iâd be checking it every day. The amazing thing is that even after AirBnB is informed about these party hosts, they donât kill their guest accounts.
Even if I did I wouldnât check a blacklist. The chances of me finding someone on that list that tried to book my place too would be miniscule. There are other things I can do to prevent parties at my place like being an onsite/intown host and having cameras.
If I had that kind of time to waste Iâd find a forum to join.
Airbnb recently purchased a background check type company. They supposedly wove it into the booking process and will auto cancel problematic Bookerâs.
