My guest asked if he could have a small, quiet get together for his friend who was leaving for the military. He promised a max of 9 people, no loud noises of any kind, and only 2 spending the night. I made it VERY clear that I do NOT allow parties. I’m not new at this, my house is rented 75% of the time and I’ve been doing it over 2 years now
At 10:30PM I got a text from a neighbor saying there was a big party going on at my house with super loud music, strobe lights and a LOT of people.
I viewed the backyard with my surveillance cameras to see a bunch of people dancing on my wet lawn (it had been raining all day). They had moved my patio furniture and set up a DJ station.
I called Airbnb for help and advice. I got through quickly but was transferred 3 times. The end result with them was they would send me an email and contact the guest the following day. No advice. I asked if if I should call the police and they said, “that’s up to you”.
This was a Saturday night that went into Sunday morning and was still going on at 6AM. The police were called 3 times, once by me and twice by another neighbor who happens to be a police officer.
Sunday the guest asked if they could stay late to clean up. I gave them an extra hour.
When I got there, 1/2 hour after they were supposed to be gone, they were still there.
My house was thrashed. Spilled fruit with wine drink everywhere. The laminate flooring had mud and grass all over throughout the house. They had moved my pool table 2 feet. You’re not supposed to move them at all. There was a lot more damage…
I had new guests due in 4 and 1/2 hours. There was no way I would make it in time.
Luckily, the new guests were very understanding and gave me an additional 4 hours which still wasn’t enough time.
The night before several Airbnb support representatives told me that even though I had guests coming in, since I had reported already I would be covered even if I put a claim in later.
I kept getting sent from one rep to another. The last one said that I had to get a claim in BEFORE MY NEXT GUEST! I explained to him what I have written above, and I asked if it was too late. Got a reply that did not answer the question. Finally they said I have to put in a claim with details, receipts, and estimates before they will decide whether they will even review it.
This has been a nightmare.
I suggest to everyone reading, have a plan on what you’ll do if this happens to you. Oh, I have surveillance cameras and a ring door bell. They wanted photos of everyone that was there. I offered to provide a written statement from my neighbor the police officer who said there were at least 50 people there but they said no, that’s not good enough.
Anyway, I could write a novel about this experience so I’ll stop here.
Anyone else have an experience like this? Any suggestions on how to deal with Airbnb? The guest no longer has an account
I have had other bad Airbnb experiences, but this was 10 times worse than the previous worst guests.
I’m 65 and do all of my own cleaning…