Post by High Priestess on Nov 15, 2015 16:01:55 GMT
Helen shared Nov 15 2015
Big party thrown in my house
I just had the worst experience with some AirBnB guests. The reservation was for 2-4 guests. They brought in about 100 people to my house late Sat night for a big party. Two doors were damaged. Most furniture on first floor got moved and caused scratches on the floor. Drink bottles and spilled drinks everywhere on the floor and on the wall. People sleeping on the floor. Bathroom malfunctioning. House key not returned. Leather jacket and cell phone taken/stolen. Heavy smell of smokes in every room. My house rules clearly states no smoking and no shoes allowed in the house and I specifically told the guests no party allowed. I called AirBnB customer service and the rep was of little help. She refused to give me my own guests' contact information despite I personally met them and they stayed in my house and caused such big mess. I used to trust people with "verified ID" because I thought AirBnB would keep the identity of my guests and share with hosts if there are disputes. It turned out "Verified ID" is almost meaningless to hosts. I now have no information about the people who caused such big mess in my house. I just opened a request via resolution center and I hope AirBnB can really help their hosts in such horrifying situation.
Clare
WOW, such a beautiful place and such a horrible experience! I'll let more experienced hosts tell you what to do, but I hope you took lots of pictures. Do you allow self check in and check out? I would also go to @airbnbhelp on twitter to escalate things. They respond pretty quickly. Please keep us posted on developments.
Helen
Thank you so much Clare!! This could be the worst nightmare that an AirBnB host could have imagined... It would be great to spread my story to more people in the AirBnB community so hosts can take precautions when accepting requests. In addition to "No party with outside people allowed in the house" rule, I've also added "Guests must be related to each other" rule. I can not afford another incident like this and I'm sure lots of hosts can learn from my experience as well. Thanks again and I will keep you posted on developments.
Helen
Yes I did take some pictures .... thanks again!
Clare
Those of us who offer entire homes are particularly susceptible people wanting to party. I receive my guests personally and retrieve the keys personally so if there is damage, I note it right then and there while the guest is still there. In addition, before accepting a reservation request I require that all persons staying in house be listed by name and age...only those people are allowed on the property. Not sure what "guests must be related" will do for you. Might discourage two unrelated couples from staying at your place. Knock on wood, (my head!) I haven't had this experience. Can't wait to see what other hosts say!
Helen
Thanks again Clare! I will now only accept a group of guests within one family going forward due to this experience, thus the "guests must be related" rule... Maybe I'm overacting but I'd rather be safe than sorry...
Helen
"require that all persons staying in house be listed by name and age" - I like that and will do the same! Thanks!
Aj
Gosh, so sorry to hear this surely the resolution centre will favour you, like Clare said, take pictures, lots of them!. I just updated my house rules to > no parties.
Helen
Thanks Aj! Yes "No Parties" rule may help, especially for entire house rental...
Deborah (High Priestess)
You just HAVE to have a NO PARTIES rule if you rent out an entire home!!!. That's about as necessary as having beds for guests to sleep on. (Unless you are one of the rare hosts who actually welcomes parties --- which I strongly suggest that no one do!)
And really if you rent out an entire home, there are many problems you can have that those renting out space where they live, are not as likely to have. Unfortunately, even though the host community is here and has been here for some time to help hosts get well prepared and take precautions via house rules and other means to avoid these kinds of problems, what happens is that many hosts end up learning things the hard way by having a bad experience. It often seems that hosts get lulled into a false sense of security by having everything go well many times. Unfortunately having great guests 97% of the time or even 99% of the time, doesn't eliminate that 1 to 3% of problem guests. House rules and other precautions need to be oriented toward the problem guests, not the good guests.
Deborah
Another rule you need, is to state quite unequivocally that NO PERSONS who are not named and paid for in advance, and who are not part of the reservation, may enter your property at ANY time, for any length of time. THis means guests cannot bring in their friends. This rule alone is very important and can help eliminate multiple problems. See my tips for new hosts here to get more advice to help avoid problems:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/456/tips-new-hosts
Big party thrown in my house
I just had the worst experience with some AirBnB guests. The reservation was for 2-4 guests. They brought in about 100 people to my house late Sat night for a big party. Two doors were damaged. Most furniture on first floor got moved and caused scratches on the floor. Drink bottles and spilled drinks everywhere on the floor and on the wall. People sleeping on the floor. Bathroom malfunctioning. House key not returned. Leather jacket and cell phone taken/stolen. Heavy smell of smokes in every room. My house rules clearly states no smoking and no shoes allowed in the house and I specifically told the guests no party allowed. I called AirBnB customer service and the rep was of little help. She refused to give me my own guests' contact information despite I personally met them and they stayed in my house and caused such big mess. I used to trust people with "verified ID" because I thought AirBnB would keep the identity of my guests and share with hosts if there are disputes. It turned out "Verified ID" is almost meaningless to hosts. I now have no information about the people who caused such big mess in my house. I just opened a request via resolution center and I hope AirBnB can really help their hosts in such horrifying situation.
Clare
WOW, such a beautiful place and such a horrible experience! I'll let more experienced hosts tell you what to do, but I hope you took lots of pictures. Do you allow self check in and check out? I would also go to @airbnbhelp on twitter to escalate things. They respond pretty quickly. Please keep us posted on developments.
Helen
Thank you so much Clare!! This could be the worst nightmare that an AirBnB host could have imagined... It would be great to spread my story to more people in the AirBnB community so hosts can take precautions when accepting requests. In addition to "No party with outside people allowed in the house" rule, I've also added "Guests must be related to each other" rule. I can not afford another incident like this and I'm sure lots of hosts can learn from my experience as well. Thanks again and I will keep you posted on developments.
Helen
Yes I did take some pictures .... thanks again!
Clare
Those of us who offer entire homes are particularly susceptible people wanting to party. I receive my guests personally and retrieve the keys personally so if there is damage, I note it right then and there while the guest is still there. In addition, before accepting a reservation request I require that all persons staying in house be listed by name and age...only those people are allowed on the property. Not sure what "guests must be related" will do for you. Might discourage two unrelated couples from staying at your place. Knock on wood, (my head!) I haven't had this experience. Can't wait to see what other hosts say!
Helen
Thanks again Clare! I will now only accept a group of guests within one family going forward due to this experience, thus the "guests must be related" rule... Maybe I'm overacting but I'd rather be safe than sorry...
Helen
"require that all persons staying in house be listed by name and age" - I like that and will do the same! Thanks!
Aj
Gosh, so sorry to hear this surely the resolution centre will favour you, like Clare said, take pictures, lots of them!. I just updated my house rules to > no parties.
Helen
Thanks Aj! Yes "No Parties" rule may help, especially for entire house rental...
Deborah (High Priestess)
You just HAVE to have a NO PARTIES rule if you rent out an entire home!!!. That's about as necessary as having beds for guests to sleep on. (Unless you are one of the rare hosts who actually welcomes parties --- which I strongly suggest that no one do!)
And really if you rent out an entire home, there are many problems you can have that those renting out space where they live, are not as likely to have. Unfortunately, even though the host community is here and has been here for some time to help hosts get well prepared and take precautions via house rules and other means to avoid these kinds of problems, what happens is that many hosts end up learning things the hard way by having a bad experience. It often seems that hosts get lulled into a false sense of security by having everything go well many times. Unfortunately having great guests 97% of the time or even 99% of the time, doesn't eliminate that 1 to 3% of problem guests. House rules and other precautions need to be oriented toward the problem guests, not the good guests.
Deborah
Another rule you need, is to state quite unequivocally that NO PERSONS who are not named and paid for in advance, and who are not part of the reservation, may enter your property at ANY time, for any length of time. THis means guests cannot bring in their friends. This rule alone is very important and can help eliminate multiple problems. See my tips for new hosts here to get more advice to help avoid problems:
globalhosting.freeforums.net/thread/456/tips-new-hosts