Managing expectations

@Yana_Agapova, I said to him “I’m sorry but I don’t think I’m a suitable host for your stay as I am not comfortable with the level of contact that you expect. My fiancee and I think it would be best if you cancelled and found somewhere else. I hope you understand.”

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He did sound like a total creep! And he cancelled! Now, he’s probably scouring other places to stay based on ABB profile photos. I’m glad he cancelled. PS…the one and only time I had a problem with a male guest…just goes to prove that harassment has absolutely nothing to do with looks/age/weight. He was a man 20 years younger than me. I didn’t get any indication he would be such a creep till he was already here.

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Super creepy, glad you got rid of him. I think my family (parents & siblings) have constant anxiety because I live alone and rent out two rooms… “get a big aggressive dog,” “put a lock on your bedroom door,” “post a pic with a shotgun,” lol…

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“put a lock on your bedroom door” is pretty good advice, actually, if you don’t already have one. But you need to use it, of course. I’m a big fan of locks.

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In my younger, single and dafter days I would have hosted him to see what developed :wink:

But the real issue here is that no female should feel threatened. Way back in the UK I had a job that involved going to people’s homes. Often, they were single men and yes, on a few occasions it felt threatening. But we’ll get nowhere if we give in.

That was thirty years ago - I do wish that things had improved from those days. A woman should not feel threatened under these circumstances. How do we fix this?

Well, she made the right call to get him cancelled. If he doesn’t wake up eventually then who knows, but it took calling these guys out in college for them to realize how inappropriate they were. That’s the problem with using movies and TV shows as a basis of what you think any culture is like (and shame on some of these movies and shows, BTW). And, possibly he wasn’t being inappropriate but it seemed that way because of cultural differences. But we have to be comfortable in our own homes.

This post had a serious subject but made me laugh! The “profile pig” part was hysterical! You are a beautiful young lady and – yes – get a beefcake to pose with you :wink:

I dont know but if he is good looking and he sees a girl he thinks he is obligated to flirt, or get too personal. Italians are like that, they think its impolite to not flirt:)

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Yes, when I read that post, I was thinking to myself: that sounds like the beginning of one of those Romance novels. You know, those things with a cover depicting a bodice-wearing lady swooning away in the arms of a handsome bare-chested gentleman.

But I suppose real life does not resemble romance novels much.

Also, of course, it does not necessarily follow that the photos you see are of the actual person, or if they are, he might not look like that. My current guests have photos that make them look like film stars. It isn’t fraud as such; they’re recognisably the same people, but they’re really flattering photos.

But I’m just rambling…

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I put a key lock on my bedroom before my first
guest & their’s as well. My sister, who suggested I do Airbnb, asked me, after 2 months of hosting, lol, what precautions do I take? I told her about the lock and most importantly if I didn’t feel comfortable I would be spending the night at her house, or one of my many other friends and relatives as a backup. In 2 seasons of hosting it hasn’t been an issue yet! Oh, I do have bear spray in my bedroom as well, but because of where I live and go in the wilderness, but I could use it if I had to, but it would affect me as well in such a confined space!

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I’ve never felt endangered but in addition to my bedroom having a simple interior style lock I have 2 dogs of my own and usually some guest dogs, pepper spray, citronella spray and a shotgun. I know @brook2adks had a bad experience but for the most part I think someone with ill intent wouldn’t want to have their ID verified (I require govt ID for instant booking) and a credit card on file. There are just softer targets available.

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Agree with your point about those with “ill intent”, these other folks, such as the guy the OP talked about, and the guy I encountered, are such chauvinists that they see absolutely nothing wrong about their behavior.

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I understand. I was mainly responding to Amy’s list of strategies she would use after a guest was in her home.

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3 things:

  1. Avoid booking single men if you are a single woman --saves a lot of grief…couples, women only. (done that with great success). Exception --the men are half my age --likely no problems will arise. (found them to be very polite, respectful!) Sorry, but older men staying with single women --sometimes the men think you are open for business–not just the hospitality business!
  2. Put a lock on your bedroom door --for many reasons --keeps your stuff safe and removes temptation of all kinds.
  3. As others have said–pose with a partner–stand close together --NOT a father figure, but someone your own age. (but again, better NOT to host single men in the first place–bad idea!)
  1. Let’s all raise our sons to not be sexual predators. (I know - wishful thinking)
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Let’s all raise our daughters not to be frightened of men (and teach them karate).

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I bet no men would hit on Lorena Bobbit if she were an Airbnb host…lol.

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If I don’t host single men I’d lose over half my business. I’m right next to the financial district in London and men travel more for corporate work. I like having them here, they are out all day and go to bed early. I have a guy here now, super nice, no interest in me at all. I think I just need to do what I did here, pick up on the vibes in the messages. I will however try to find a mate to pose with me in photos. I know a fair bit of Krav Maga…

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@jaquo – the majority of women are no match against a man physically --a self-defense instructor told me that–he said women are deluding themselves by thinking taking a self-defense course will save them from a predator/attacker --in fact, he says it gives them a false sense of security…better to have pepper spray or a stun gun handy! (and never cry “help” when in trouble --yell "FIRE! CALL 911!) (throws of the attacker (confuses him) and more people are likely respond (self interest!)

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Now that is a funny typo in this case.