This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Doors??? It’s her own house!! She’s supposed to leave her own house? No she should not have let him in but honestly was he standing at her front door talking about pornography? No that didn’t happen until later.
If someone is in my house doing this, the last thing I will do is leave my own house. That’s giving up your territory, giving up your power.
I also would not call wanting the money she is entitled to “greedy.”
Go to a bedroom and shut the door, then call 911. The greed comes in when she decided to let him stay against her stated policy. To send him away meant losing the $$.
I honestly think the first post by Kathleen is being lost in this long trail of comments.
I am sorry I thought she was a troll - obviously Kathleen is a distraught host, and with valid reason to feel verbally threatened… Nobody should be subjected to, or have to tolerate that kind of behavior.
BUT…and this is a big BUT…the Kathleen never asked for our advice, or any lists or input, about how to handle something like this in the future, or what to do if this situation should ever occur again. She did not ask how she could have handled the reservation differently. ( I am NOT blaming the victim - just pointing out what she wants from us )
Kathleen never asked if she utilized all the procedures already in place for her protection, or what they are.
Kathleen posted and asked the participating group on this board for…"other suggestions for how to publicize this matter…… and
Kathleen wants to further **_involve the Boston City councilman and government into the local regulation of home sharing **
Many of our answers are (rightfully) empathetic of the scenario, and discussing future solutions, but they are not addressing what Kathleen wants and asked for.
I still think Kathleen’s approach of involving a councilman, and desiring to create publicity, are inappropriate solutions and steps.
Um, Kona is one of the moderators.
We can all disagree on something, as long as it’s respectful. It’s against the spirit of the forum to use obscenities or call names so let’s please not.
Oddly the Op did as well… So maybe we all should let this one die and call it a night. 
After a bit of an absence, I read this post, first. Honestly, I read only the first dozen. What I have learned: (1) don’t get sucked into these kinds of posts because I really cannot offer any help (she took the cash instead of turning the guy away in the first place); (2) if the guest is sketchy, turn him/her away – not worth the money; (3) before you go into business – any kind of business – do the research and know what the hell you are doing.
Short term rental is not easy. It is actually al lot of work and has a lot of risks. One of my favorite legal terms is, “Knew, or should have known.” I think this applies in this scenario.
Are you forgetting she was in the basement? She said “late Saturday night he came into my private space drunk.” And she had other Airbnb guests in the house. So yeah…I agree with Kona - the last thing I am going to do is walk away, and leave him in my private space! Why? So then he can start banging on other guests’ doors, and they cancel and I now have to refund even more money?
The OP was frightened, but I am certain she would have run out and called 911 if she felt it wasn’t something in her control.
Really, none of this has anything to do with allowing the guest to enter as a 3rd party booking. Or about her being greedy over her safety. The guy acted fine the first two nights.
The really greedy people here are Airbnb. Air won’t allow her to have a strict cancellation policy. Air likely would not have paid out the full 4 nights of a peak week, if she would have contacted them upon his arrival. It’s likely the Air rep. wouldn’t have just waited to see if the original guest would cancel. No…I bet the rep. would have canceled and just said they will not penalize the OP.
Air will insert themselves into the middle of a 3rd party booking…but that’s only when it benefits them.
Learn from this woman’s listing. She does not screw around.
I have been unable to respond because this forum shuts you out after a certain number of posts. It is also why I changed my login and deleted a couple of posts. (I would describe this as a bug not a feature.)
I came here looking for help. I don’t need attention or sympathy. I am a highly respected member of the Cambridge high tech and business communities. I started four companies. I understand terms of service, software, and technology because I was responsible for implementing them. I know that the way you set one toggle on one app can have profound consequences for the users. I know how business policies especially when they play out on a broad scale
I fully accept my failure to properly respond to this guest when he arrived. I should have asked him to leave. But this is the biggest earning weekend of the year here and I really need the money. That is why I am running an Airbnb. I also have so much traffic that it is hard for me to keep everything straight in my head. I was confused about this reservation. That’s my fault and I take full responsibility for it and for what happened as a result.
There is a little known cancellation policy that allows airbnb hosts on a case by case basis to have a fully paid for cancellation within 30 days. Airbnb says that it is for “high traffic areas” only. I have been asking for this cancellation policy for six months. I get no responses to my phone calls or emails. I am very flexible and if my guests need to cancel I give them a full refund for any reason–even if they don’t feel comfortable here. The week before the Grateful Dead were here in concert I had at least five cancellations as the Dead Heads looked for cheaper places to sleep. I honored every request.
I believe that if I had this little known cancellation policy in place I would have turned this man away at the door.
I also know enough about Airbnb’s software platform to know that it could also alert me to possibly fraudulent reservations. If it can scrub your email and phone number, it can do that.
I am the kind of person who when I make a mistake or get into trouble I try to understand why things happened and make sure they don’t happen again to me or anyone else. The dirty little secret of Aribnb is that we are trading off security for financial gain, especially as single women. And if Airbnb can make changes to its technology and/or its policies that inherently increase safety then they should do it.
I was hoping to get help here about how to deal with this problem. Instead my integrity and honesty were attacked. I was called greedy and a troll. I used my real full name and am not hiding behind an internet handle. I appreciate the support I got from the group but I am deeply shocked and hurt by the attacks I received on my character. It has made me realize that this is not a community I want to be part of.
As a business person I understand why Airbnb makes the choices it does. But it has a fundamental problem that got played out in my case. Airbnb thinks it is in the transaction business. It is really in the relationship business. We are the customer and the business should be organized around making us feel safe and supported. It isn’t. It is organized around getting as many people through the properties as possible. This will have long term implications especially if a large competitor enters the market which it will.
If this guy got in, there are holes in the system. As a host I may need a red flag when a reservation doesn’t look right from Airbnb’s side. That would help me be more vigilant. And I do believe that the nonrefundable 30 day cancellation policy (which I would mitigate through my listings) would have better protect me and my guests.
Instead, just like here, I got blamed and shamed and dismissed.
The city of Cambridge is responsible for licensing businesses to operate safely here. It is absolutely proper to take a safety issue that Airbnb refuses to acknowledge to the city. Then the city can use its leverage to push for better standards and better technology.
This whole experience has been revolting. I understand why Airbnb makes the choices it does. They are geared to make more money, even at the expense of safety. But Airbnb could also organize itself differently and make safety a top priority in how it designs its software and policies.
I read that Airbnb was having trouble with discrimination so I added LGBT friendly and people of color welcome. My business went up by 25%. These should be standard settings in the software but I figured a work around.
You people should understand that trade off between safety and profits better than anyone. I was hoping to find people here to help advocate for more safety even if it means less profits.
But this experience has been so revolting that I am going to shut down my Airbnb sell my house and move to Montana.
these are my listings:
I normally charge $99 a night. $250 for the regatta and the marathon.
see my post below. I changed my name because I was blocked.
It was very offensive of you to call me a troll. And I did ask for help and advice. I went to my city council first because I know people there. I came here to see if we could advocate for better safety. Thank you for apologiziing. I appreciate it.
I have a favorite saying in life: it is: " Be careful what you wish for".
Going to your councilman for help with airbnb safety issues falls under my favorite quote.
You may very well get the protection that you are desiring!
…your council can easily turn around and ban all airbnb based upon “Public Safety”.
Kathleen: I also googled your profile. I am aware that you hold yourself out as an airbnb expert, and strive to charge others to set up airbnb rentals. I also work closely with my city council. I suggest that you “pull back” and take a look at what is going on around the country before you hit the publicity button and get your council involved. That said, I am sorry for your experience and I hope you take a big step back, take a breath, and reevaluate things.
Also, re: the special cancel policy and early payment. Guests can still cancel a res claiming “extenuating circumstances” or if host cancels, then air still will either go into your bank account and remove the payment, or deduct it from the next payout. So the special cancel policy will not solve anything.
I know.
I’m not following how a local city council has any authority over Airbnb, which is not even based in their area.
All they could realistically do is limit or ban airbnbs in their area, which is probably not your goal.
Also wonder why a person who has ‘started four companies’ and knows all kinds of business stuff is desperate for a few hundred dollars.
I have never charged for Airbnb services. That is a two year old blog that I shut down. The city is not going to ban Airbnb. I have been working closely with them. But the city has leverage to insist on the highest safety standard.
People have financial disasters and lose everything. Mine was byproduct of two major illnesses colliding. You can choose to ignore me but if it happens to me it will happen to someone else I’m out. I closed my Airbnb effective immediately. My house goes on the market next week.
That was a half baked idea that never came to fruition. I have shut down that blog and never charged a penny for advice. I have been deeply involved in how the city of Cambridge regulates Airbnb. If Airbnb won’t protect me and if this community chooses to ignore the issues I have raised I will go to the city and beyond. We are taking about safety here.
What leverage does a local council have with an international company? My imagination is failing me on this one.
The city of Cambridge can’t make Air change its policies! It can only ban or limit airs LOCALLY. What my locality does to protect me is it makes 911 services available. They can’t go upstream and somehow make Airbnb do anything.