|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 23, 2016 13:53:30 GMT
So, this morning I went to make coffee. As I walked by the bathroom, shared between three people, I smelled what smelled like hair dye. That seemed really strange. I made the coffee and sat and waited for the person to come out of the bathroom. After the ammonia smell dissipated they began coughing a lot. I waited and waited. Then I heard the shower turn on. When I ran to the bathroom myself and returned, they were gone. Another guest contacted me about 30 minutes later, as they were leaving for the day, to let me know that they found a bunch of keys (my hous's key on a key ring of personal keys belonging to someone else) hanging in the lock of the front door. Yes. Outside the house.
Now, on that floor is a nice 40 something Brazilian lady here for a professional conference, my good friend the underage drinker who has done a 180 and is even now vacuuming his room, and just being all around helpful- who cares if it is for his review or because he saw the light (he was the one who found the keys and alerted me). And a young guy with no reviews.
So, I have these keys now and will wait and see who can't get into the house tonight. I assume that someone left them as they came in late last night, perhaps after partying all night?
In the last two months, I have had several serious issues, far beyond the scope of anything I've had to deal with before. One extortion, one underage drinker, one shower multitasker with side of trimmings, and now, someone smoking crack? in my bathroom. I have no idea what crack smells like, but I looked it up online. What I smelled smelled like burnt hair and ammonia.
But I did not see the face of the person who did it. I don't think it was the sweet Brazilian lady! And honestly, the underage drinker simply made some errors in judgement based on his own upbringing in a caste based society. I doubt 6 am drug smoking in the shower is something he would do. And Smoking drugs in the house after the enormous dust cloud I kicked up over under aged drinking, well, I just don't think he did it, especially given that the keys left in the door were not his.
But I can't prove it.
what should I do? The suspect leaves tomorrow morning, but no one should have to live in that environment at all and no one should be doing drugs in my house!
Dear fellow hosts, I am sorry to again be asking for help rather than offering jokes and info, but given that in both the extortion and the underage drinking Airbnb Customer Service did nothing but insult me, this is the go to place for good advice.
maybe one reason this is happening is that the Airbnb pricing now prices my place much cheaper than last year and the bottom of the barrel thinks this is a free for all.
This is my last month as a host in Chicago. I will be closing down all my listings and moving, but in the meantime, what to do about this.
thank you all!
|
|
|
Post by High Priestess on Jun 23, 2016 14:56:58 GMT
Hi Shaun -- sorry to hear you are dealing with this! Not nice to be heading into the sunset of your Chicago business with a series of problems like these! Each one sounds quite stressful. Smoking crack in your bathroom??? Sounds very unexpected....and yes, disturbing. I have to admit that my knowledge of drugs is extremely limited. Not only no personal expereince, but I also have no friends or friends of friends with experience or stories, so I know nothing about crack or its smell, or the kinds of places one would smoke it (and thus whether a bathroom would seem more suitable than some other place?).
I agree with your assessment -- I think thru your call to Airbnb about him, you put the Fear of God in the underage drinker, I don't think it was him. You said you didn't think it was the Brazilian lady but you didn't say much about the 3rd person -- young man with no reviews.
If the lead suspect departs tomorrow morning, I think that your problem is nearly over. One way I might handle this is to address it on the level of the smell, since you aren't sure what caused the smell. Just tell all your guests that you smelled something like ammonia smell in the bathroom and wanted to remind everyone that they should be using the bathroom ONLY for the normal uses of a bathroom, eg toilet, washing in shower or sink. No additional or other uses of the bathroom are permitted and nothing but nothing should be used there that causes a chemical odor to remain as that is not allowed and is inconsiderate in view of the other who need to use the space. ANd then, if you feel you really need to solve the mystery, perhaps be on hand to observe who goes into the bathroom tomorrow at 6am and what it smells like after they emerge?
I agree about the potential "bottom of the barrel" type problem we can inadvertently cause to arise when we price ourselves too low. It's best to not be offering the very lowest prices in your city for rooms for rent -- low prices can help, but not the very lowest.
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 23, 2016 15:30:44 GMT
Hi Deborah, thanks for your answer. It has been such a run that it's almost embarrassing to ask for advice any more! Perhaps the problem is that listings in my neighborhood have grown by well over 100% in the last year so competition is fierce and there is an oversupply. The nice people are booking at rock bottom prices too.
I am going to follow your advice. it will be a well deserved rest come August. When we open a new listing, it will be more upscale and a full apartment. Maybe that will be less stressful.
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 23, 2016 15:34:07 GMT
That's a great image, btw. Bottom of the barrel. I had coffee with the suspect and watched him closely to see if he was high. I don't have any experience with the smell or the demeanor either, so while I can't say for sure, he seemed awfully wide eyed and chipper and stupid. Apparently, he is a grad student here for a tech conference. Go figure.
|
|
|
Post by High Priestess on Jun 23, 2016 15:39:46 GMT
Wide eyed and chipper and stupid...could be a clue! And from rumors I hear, it's many of the "high living" people who are seriously involved in drugs. I've read that there are actually some cultures in some high-paying business echelons where illegal drug use is quite common.
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 23, 2016 16:05:21 GMT
Oy. Guess that's got to be another listed rule. "No illegal activity, including drug use."
|
|
|
Post by High Priestess on Jun 23, 2016 16:11:13 GMT
Yes, I guess something we all may need to list as redundant rule #187?!?!?
|
|
|
Post by helgaparis on Jun 23, 2016 16:44:31 GMT
Shaun, I think airbnb does a social experiment on you. When will the host crack? With a guy smoking rack? But nice to hear, that you reformed the 20 year old. If you treat him right (= a good mixture of praise and scolding), he will clean the whole house ;-)
I raised my apartment prices, when I got cheap guests and did the same for the room in February , when I had not enough bookings and airbnb proposed I go to half price. Helped in both cases. Even now, I added two more Euros, some nights 3, to enjoy a few free nights, but no, they are booked. Even though in summer, normal people rent their place during their holidays.
For the drugs, I don't know crack, only canabis and coke. Canabis, you aee very much in the eyes, they can't focus, and the person is slow and seems stupid but happy. Coke would not smell, the person is alert and the eyes are glittering a bit. Like fever. I read tgat crack is the worst drug, rapidly deadly and it can render you psychotic before that. Maybe airbnb should ban him, as the next host can have a big problem or he may turn violent for no reason. I'd probably call and tell them "I have no proof, but from the smell and the behavior and look afterwards, I beliefe he smells crack and may be a security risk. Plus the key incident. You decide, but please put it on the file!" Give him a thumbs down and maybe write the key thing in the review.
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 23, 2016 22:31:29 GMT
That gave me a good laugh, Deborah. You and Helga do a great job of keeping it funny.
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 23, 2016 22:34:17 GMT
You are right, Helga. "When will the host crack" in my case, when I walk by something at 6am that I have never smelled before and yet, I know! It must be crack. Well, at first I thought something was on fire and that someone was dyeing their hair, but a split second later.
Will definitely follow up. This is really outside of acceptable. No host should have to deal with him further.
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 23, 2016 22:39:08 GMT
Yeah, I guess anyone can use drugs. As you said, redundant rule 187!
|
|
|
Post by andrew on Jun 24, 2016 12:19:33 GMT
If the existing drug laws haven't deterred someone from smoking crack, surely an Airbnb host's House Rules wouldn't be any more effective.
What you smelled (ammonia and burnt hair) actually sounds a lot more like hair relaxer than dye. Relaxer is typically made of sodium hydroxide, and it works by breaking the disulphide bonds in the shaft of the hair (this is as smelly as you'd guess from the name). So the product itself smells like ammonia, and the result smells like burning hair. Hair relaxer is most associated with Afro-style hair, but people with plenty of other hair types use it too. Including nice Brazilian ladies.
Speaking of "Brazilian": some depilatory products also produce a similar smell, and unless you strip-searched your guests there's no way to know if any are using those.
Crack cocaine and crystal meth have slight and unpleasant odors when they're being smoked, but they dissipate rather quickly - if the odor was lingering, they're not the likely culprits. Also, neither substance is likely to be used casually in the morning on a one-time basis - if someone were using drugs like this while alone in your home, they'd probably be doing it regularly enough to be noticed. So if none of your guests are exhibiting behavior issues, I think you can put your worries to rest.
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 25, 2016 4:46:56 GMT
Well, he had curly hair and hairy legs, so that not it. It was definitely something burning. A chemical smoky smell. Not like anything ai smelled before, that's just what I thought at first. When I made him a cup of coffee while a friend who knows about this stuff came over, we had a chance to speak with him. He was definitely either wired and really weird. Saucer eyes,kept figetting, scratching, talked a mile a minute. Gave other guests the creeps.
He's gone now.
I love what Helga said, that Airbnb was doing a social experiment on me to see how long it takes a host to crack. I wonder if in ten years or so, the DSM XV "Hosting Anxiety Disorder"
|
|
|
Post by andrew on Jun 25, 2016 11:47:43 GMT
Ah ok. In that case, sounds like you had yourself a tweaker. Good thing he's out of there. I can only imagine how you'll review...
|
|
|
Post by Inanna (Shaun) on Jun 25, 2016 23:40:05 GMT
I think so too, Andrew. It's really hard for me to accept that thst was what it was, because I haven't been around it, so it's too far out of my experience to feel comfortable accusing someone.
I wonder what I should say in the review. The only thing I can think of is "am unable to recommend this guest" and write why in the private section/to Airbnb?
|
|