Have someone who misrepresented his booking in my place. He stated four adults and two children. He came for four days beginning yesterday, and is scheduled for another 19 days in August. He lives in a suburb of Chicago, I live in Chicago. I asked him when he arrived the nature of his stay and he said he is a director/publisher/writer and was shooting an episode for an online show. I met the production assistant and she mentioned they were shooting the scene in my house! Ten of them held a meeting last night in the house. After tossing and turning all night, I wrote the person who reserved the house that my husband and I were terminating the contract due to misrepresentation of the stay, a City of Chicago mandate that only allows five people on the premises due to COVID-19, and to cease all production, effective today. As of yet I havenāt heard from him, so I plan to go over at noon and ask for the keys. BTW, I live directly across the street from my Airbnb so that makes it easy.
Hello @francinebentley1
Your āguestā has behaved appalling. He knows if he had been honest you would have refused or charged him a commercial rate for commercial use of the listing which he was trying to avoid.
Hopefully you have already been in contact with Airbnb to cancel the booking for this week and for August, so you can ask the guest to leave.
Yes please do go over and make sure the guest has gone, take photos and videoās of the condition of the property and leave an honest review.
I suggest you add a rule that prohibits photo or video/film shoots, without prior approval from you. Under normal (non-Covid) conditions, we would consider either of those, but not for our standard room rate. The room rate would be much higher.
I hate to say this, but I wonder if they were filming porn. He sounds very shady. Call Airbnb and have them contact him since heās not responding to your message.
Porn is big business, they should pay commercial rates.
RR
And commercial cleaning rates! 
Continuing the discussion from Misrepresented stay; Production Shoot:
Thank you. I have texted him several times about cancelling the contract due to violations, told him we will collect the keys this afternoon and to make sure the guests and all equipment are gone. I contacted Airbnb and explained the situation. The rep referred my case to the department that handles those issues. Waiting to hear from them.
Ritz3, I specifically asked if it was porn! The series he is referring to is on YouTube and has about 7 episodes.
Good idea, Rebecca. I will make it known upfront. Guests keep you on your toes with being specific about rules and violations when you catch them in the act. I tell them I live directly across the street from my Airbnb so itās hard to sneak anything past me.
Go get 'em, Francine. The nerve. Imagine the damages/liability the āguestā was happy to expose you to.
The guest, production crew, family and friends have left my place!! Didnāt put up a fight when I reiterated he misrepresented his purpose of the booking, had a large group of people in the house despite city mandated COVID-19 restrictions (only 5 people), and I did not want commercial filming in my house. Thanks for your advice and words of encouragement everyone!
I see that you have resolved the situation. I also noted the comments about potential porn. That was my first thought when I saw your post. A local ice cream stand, with a tiny indoor seating area, in my area let a company use their facility during the off season. They obviously didnāt ask enough questions and were embarrassed when a porn film clearly showing their place was released. Quite a shock to people who brought their kiddies there! I have also had inquiries about filming in my old Victorian house which I declined.
Well if the parents are watching porn good for them. My cabin can be found on Pornhub, if you know where to lookā¦
Best guests ever, they are respectful and leave the place clean.
RR
I spent about 10 years working on big feature films, as well as national commercials and music videos. Many were shot inside peopleās houses that we rented for the purpose, and included detailed contracts worked out in advance.
I donāt think Iāve ever met another film person who would be willing to rent their own home to a film company. There is ALWAYS damage, plus things get moved or disappear, and having 20 people in your house for days on end is just a recipe for disaster. Not to mention all of the vehicles clogging up your neighborhood and possibly long nighttime shoots, guaranteed to piss off the neighbors. Well done, kicking this group out when they didnāt tell you in advance. But, as I think another person here mentioned, it can be lucrative if you know and agree up front, and charge a much higher rate.
Years ago a friend of mine was a location scout in Los Angeles. He used to say: āNever, ever let a production crew film on your property!ā
We havenāt had any porn shoots yet, but weāve definitely had a lot of nude photo shoots.
We must have short term rental permits for our listings, and commercial uses are definitely not allowed. Glad you worked it out.
Iāve been in the film business for 28 years - I used to say that, until I saw how much people I knew were getting for letting a crew shoot in your house. Anywhere from $2-6k PER DAY. Plus, they restore everything back to the way it was, and fix all damage. Thatās a real show. My modified advice is, never let a STUDENT FILM shoot in your house. Thatās keystone cops territory, and they have no money.
I just got a request for filming. Itās not the first. First time was a student film and after reading this Iām glad I said ānoā. I preapproved and then quickly withdrew stating a need to discuss details and fees.
After withdrawing the approval I asked a bunch of questions.
So now what to do? How much to charge if I do it? Because they found me through Air I canāt make any separate contracts.
Food for thought. Iām no expert with this circumstance.
You can tell them you were skeptical about their original booking request and declined it because your current insurance doesnāt provide coverage for the property to be used for other than rental.
Then you ask them to verify the show & how they intend to use the property & proof of their providing insurance to cover your property in the event they do damage or are injured. If they are real they will have production insurance.
After youāve verified they are not a porn shoot or other misuse of your home, figure out pricing. You can send them a special offer.