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Curious, does any one know what action is usually taken against guests who host unauthorised parties in listings?
Had a guest last weekend (first in over 500 guests) who hosted what my neighbour described as “a very loud party with lots of people”, stole alcohol, stained furniture with drinks and broke a couple of things - the guest refused to pay for damages and carpet cleaning (still waiting to hear back from Aircover), but in the meantime Airbnb say they’ve “taken action” against the guest, but that they can’t tell me what action was taken.
Since it looks like Airbnb isn’t making the guest pay for damages, and they don’t look to have been banned from Airbnb as far as I can tell, I’m wondering in what way does Airbnb penalise the guest and make sure other hosts don’t have this stressful experience?
The best way for those parties to not occur is for the host, who owns the place, is to prevent them. Not to depend on the punishment Airbnb meters out, because for starters they have to prove it even happened and the most they can do is cancel their account, after the fact.
Cameras on the outside, some by parking, noise meters, friendly neighbor keeps in touch. I only expect airbnb to bring people to my listing and to manager money.
I would document it and send to Airbnb and ask that they cancel penalty free. Once cancelled, you can call the people to break up because they are trespassing.
@Reggie Easier said than done when we’re not on site - our lovely neighbours let us know there was a loud party going on, but we were asleep at 1am and didn’t get the messages til the next morning. Has never happened before in many years of hosting, and the guest had 4.5 star rating, so didn’t expect it. So after the fact, finding it hard to believe that the guest walks away without paying any damages nor having any penalty at all.
No doubt about it, this one had the element of surprise and Airbnb has to respond quicker. Perhaps nowadays hosts have to be on site, or have a designated watcher, not because they have changed, but the populace has. I no longer rent if away.
With a little bit of luck they leave no review, but yes then they totally get away with their behavior. I just had a lunatic guest get away with murder, and had them leave a scathing review on top of it all, which Airbnb was quite helpful in taking it down.
I don’t run into this much since I host in my home and only rent while away to trusted repeat guests. Even then I keep my cell phone on and handy so that guests or neighbors can contact me to address issues immediately. I hate doing it, but know that rapid response helps avert disasters. I agree with leaving a factual review with the negative information.
Beside sound meters and cameras with alerts you can also stop renting your home for a 1 night stay on the weekend dates. Make it a 2 day minimum or even 3.
All you can do is give him a bad review and take him to small claims court. I believe that taking him to small claims court would cost you about $500. If damages are not in the thousands, than it’s not worth it.
Unfortunately, Airbnb will most likely do nothing. You might just have to write it off as a cost of doing business and think of ways to prevent this from happening again.
It should no be a surprise, and the HOST has to respond quicker.
There is no Airbnb SWAT team. Not knowing how many folks show up and importantly not responding to a friendly text message puts the onus on a host that did not prepare.
Agree @Rolf, trying to give a fellow host a break, since the fruitcakes are all around us and every once in a while one could get through even our best defenses.
Small claims court might rule in your favor but if you are dealing with a bad actor, they won’t pay and then you have to pay to serve the person and still there’s no guarantee you will see the money.
They will never share that kind of info. If they ban the guest, you might not see that right away- check the guest acct. in a couple of weeks. A host who found bullet casings in the house and a pile of dead squirrels in the yard reported it, but it took some time before they saw the guest’s acct. had been closed.
While I have not had any guests who threw parties, I have written many honest reviews. I checked a few of the profiles and they are still there. I don’t think Airbnb cares. The review system is just a gimmick to make hosts and guests feel good. The party policy is just PR.
Other options for such people include third-party bookings, and asking their travel companions to book.
The third party booking is the most cunning one. They book and tell you on the day of check in that their friend will be checking in first. Yes, you can call Airbnb and get the reservation cancelled but you are unlikely to find another guest. So to preserve your business, you keep the booking and regret it later.
I’m thinking of instituting a large deposit in case of third party bookings.
The problem seems to be that you can’t claim the deposit unless the guest agrees to it, which I find very strange! I have a deposit, but the guest just declined the request and that was that.
