Whelp, they threw a party and the police won't trespass. Help!

42

This is a great thought. Certainly this was a Fri-Mon stay and may have caught that if we did another day. Good idea and thanks for the input.

We are at the point where we know the place will be booked on existing reviews and need to start saying ‘screw this, they are messing with the rules and the business… out’

43

The contract is between the Host and the Guest.

So firstly you terminate the contract, which can be done verbally.

Then you have trespassers on your property, you ask them to leave.

If they refuse to leave then the practicalities of the situation would no doubt vary by location, some people might be happy to enforce their departures others may wish to involve the authorities. No simple answer.

44

Funny you asked; my wife just sent a referral to a security business and if they do an on-call service. I was going to go down personally with family, I am not a small person, though wanted authorities there to be sure they knew it was serious.

We had stuff printed out for the police and were ready to go… I guess we should have just pulled the trigger and dumped the guest and told the police they were trespassing, leaving the Vacation Rental ‘not a full time rental’ aspect out of it.

45

This is what I need to start pounding in my head. I need to modify the contract/rules so that there is absolutely zero wiggle room and when we, the host, say it is done (based on obvious rule violations)… they are gone.

46

SIDE NOTE: We went back through the communications and after everything we sent to her and request for more information the only thing she provided us was what she wanted for a door code.

This leaves me to believe she knew what she was going to do the entire time. We are certainly going to watch out for this in the future.

47

Truly worth a thought… thank you.

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48

You can do it this way @Como but then of course you would have broken Airbnb’s T&Cs.

49

Have you read the previous replies on this thread to this question @Michael1?

50

1.2 As the provider of the Airbnb Platform, Airbnb does not own, create, sell, resell, provide, control, manage, offer, deliver, or supply any Listings or Host Services, nor is Airbnb an organiser or retailer of travel packages under Directive (EU) 2015/2302. Hosts alone are responsible for their Listings and Host Services. When Members make or accept a booking, they are entering into a contract directly with each other. Airbnb is not and does not become a party to or other participant in any contractual relationship between Members, nor is Airbnb a real estate broker or insurer. Airbnb is not acting as an agent in any capacity for any Member, except as specified in the Payments Terms.

51

This doesn’t mean Airbnb will back you up if you throw a guest out without going through their process which you sign up to when you list with them @Como

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52

In other words, Airbnb isn’t the nanny/mummy figure that they give the impression of being. No surprise there then…

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53

Reality is somewhat different, when it comes down to it they are just a booking system with a few frills, your business you are the one that carries the risk.

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54

UPDATE: Thank you for all the help… we had a long talk with AirBnB and I think we have things dialed in.

Moving forward;

  • We are updating our rules so that they forfeit their full security deposit upon breaking house rules. (so read them)
  • We are reaching out to our current guests and informing them of an update to the house rules and request their confirmation… if they don’t wish to comply (which means they were planning on breaking the rules, likely), we will gladly offer a full refund, penalty free. The dates we have booked currently should go quickly.
  • We are going to require the names/ages and license plates for all registered guests. If they cannot provide these, we cancel the reservation.
  • We will allow one day guest per every 3 people, with written permission from the host. (We will have a sign up form that we will give them in the walk-thru that they can fill out and photo/send to us)

If this happens again;

  • Hey, guest, knock it off.
  • Guest: No
  • AirBnB: Hey guest, you’re done/cancelled.
  • Guest: No
  • Host: Yo, 5.0.

I made the mistake of calling the police first, which made me gun-shy to do anything. (The guest knew dang well what they were doing as I told them earlier in the day, specifically, they weren’t allowed extra guests)

At this point, we don’t care… last night my wife and I couldn’t sleep while she was shaking. We love our home, it’s still a baby, and seeing others just walk over us and it was sort of the last straw. If being strict costs us $4K/yr, so be it, those guests I will gladly watch book elsewhere or find a hotel.

Thank you for all your help and my apologies for any airheadedness, I’ve been trying to pull so much together.

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55

I agree. And any hosts who believe otherwise are being ostriches. However, the advantage of Airbnb - a huge one - is that that are the brand leader and being listed on their site gives a great visibility.

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56

I swear I’m not trying to be Debbie Downer but…you didn’t talk to Airbnb. You talked to a customer service rep, or maybe a “supervisor” who won’t be the person you talk to if you have a problem enforcing these rules. So just be prepared for the threatening email after you cancel on a guest or them not charge the security deposit for you or whatever.

There is no reason not to have the rules, just don’t expect Airbnb to be super helpful if you have another issue.

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57

No worries, you aren’t… I know I have to have everything documented and agreed to 100% so there is no squeezing out by any party. That is our plan. We are done with being taken advantage of and if they are going to screw us over on the rules now, thanks for your security deposit and so long.

And appreciate the setting of expectations with AirBnB, which is why we are stepping up a few notches to make sure we are covered.

Thanks, again.

58

Good luck, but I would be shocked if Airbnb actually agrees to this practice. The security deposit is not collected up front and is only paid out based on the discretion of Airbnb.

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59

That is not how the Security Deposit works, you have no control and it seems somewhat unlikely that the Guest would agree.

60

I don’t know who you talked to but security deposit must be used for damage and a claim made through resolution. I think it would be better to think of an amount to put in your RULES as a fine for breaking the rules. Don’t use the deposit.

One other thought on your new rules. Why allow anyone to bring ANYONE not on the reservation onto the property at all? This is where you got into trouble to begin with, by orders of magnitude.

I say,

Sorry absoultely no additional guests. If you are not an official part of the reservation you may not be on property or in the apartment.

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61

Thanks for posting this. I’m book marking for future reference, though crossing fingers I won’t need it.

Sorry, but what doe this mean?