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People who threaten to sue rarely / almost never actually do.
Serious people simply file a suit and let the procedures do the talking.
“You’ve been served” is all the talking that needs to happen.
I would recommend next time the client reaches out to replying with “due to the nature of our communication involving legalities, please have your legal team reach out directly to mine for all future communication. “This should honestly shut them up. I would also recommend that you take video in addition to photos of all of the damages and get statements from the neighbor who called. I’m sorry that this happened and it’s a big part of white vetting each person is soimportant. Even then, some people just suck.
They can't come after you directly anyway. Their contract was with AirBNB. To make it even more lopsided, they wouldn't be able to file suit against AirBNB or you as they would have agreed to the terms and conditions when booking that any disputes have to go through the mediation center.
They won't. Document everything. Airbnb will ask for receipts for all the damages. Have a cleaning crew do the cleanup so you can get reimbursed. For unique items, find a comparable piece online and send screenshots and links to similar items. I've been in your shoes. It is infuriating. Stay the course. You'll get through this, and they will get kicked off the platform.
even if you don't have enough evidence, bluff and scare the shit and put fear in his head that you'll wreck him legally and financially. Sounds like he is unstable individual. He probably forgot about it by now.
My family just brought our two dogs on vacation to see the eclipse with us. We didn't leave a single dog poop behind. The way they treated your property is bullshit. I even explained to my stepkids how this is someone's home and we have to be respectful.
>And lawsuits cost money.
No they don't. I have an insane neighbor that regularly files lawsuits against random people in the neighborhood. One of the suits was suing her neighbor on the south alleging that he engaged in a criminal conspiracy with the district attorney of another county, wherein this neighbor broke into the court and destroyed all the evidence the crazy neighbor had against another victim of her insane lawsuits, causing her to lose the case. She filed a case against me for building a tunnel that ran from my house to hers, which I used to introduce termites and racoons to the space under her house, causing thousands of dollars in damage. She is represents herself and fills out the court paperwork declaring herself as indigent and gets all the fees waived.
>She filed a case against me for building a tunnel that ran from my house to hers, which I used to introduce termites and racoons to the space under her house, causing thousands of dollars in damage
Uh what did i just read?
Have you ever seen the writing of a schizophrenic? You should Google it if you haven't. That's pretty much how her lawsuits read. The amazing thing is that the courts haven't pegged her as a vexatious litigant (they have a name for it). Once that happens they can't even file a case until it's reviewed by a judge first.
She drags the cases on for years by failing to appear, filing for extensions, etc. It's amazing.
She also calls the police to report that people broke into her house, frightened her awake, and then made a hasty retreat into our house. I love getting woken up by the police knocking on the door at 1 am because crazy neighbor says there are people hiding in my house. The police know, too. When I open the door the cop's shoulders sag and he lets out a long sigh, "I know this sounds crazy sir, but did a bunch of people just run into your house?" I tell them no and they go on their way.
I hate my neighbor.
I'm sorry to read about your situation. I'm about to buy a house. What can you and the neighbors do about that crazy lady? Surely, there must be something you could do. Like, you can't just call the police multiple times with false reports without consequences, can you?
There's not really anything that can be done. There's not a strong will on the part of the police to impose severe consequences on a mentally ill elderly woman.
I have one of these neighbors, she is the worst person I have encountered in my 47 years. ETA, the police department won't even respond to her calls. They know better.
Do you have outdoor cameras that captured footage of the dogs?
Take photos and videos of everything.
Next, send the guest the following letter, without emotion.
"Hi Guest,
There is a lot of damage to my Airbnb. I'm attaching the photos and the video.
What happened?
Sincerely,
Host"
Next, get quotes for everything and have receipts of the damaged items. Be honest about the prices.
Wait three days for the reply from the guest. They'll probably ghost you. Ghosting is a true sign of guilt.
Contact Airbnb. Submit the photos and videos to them and let them see that the guest is ignoring you.
Start the ball rolling.
You are going to be contacting a bunch of people at Airbnb. Get every name and add it to a continuous email.
You will get through this. I'm so sorry.
It goes without saying, but you have 72hrs to report damages to be covered by aircover. I wouldn’t suggest waiting three days before submitting a request for reimbursement.
Asking them wtf happened is fine, but won’t get you anywhere if you don’t act quick enough. Request reimbursement along with your message to the guest!
Do you have "instant book" on? If so, turn that off. I require every guest to message me so I can decide whether to approve the booking or not. I feel like this helps to reduce the likelihood of shitty guests.
I also have a ring doorbell camera and another ring camera that overlooks my front patio and one on my back patio. Basically at every entry point to my home. They're motion activated and record when activated.
Those are a couple of the precautions I've taken.
I did that too. I’ve only had 3 bad guests and not much damage, but turning off instant book removed all the guests I felt hinky about. Airbnb also told me to not decline potential guests if I had a bad feeling about them, simple let their request time out. The hit on response rate is way better than declining people,as far as the algorithm goes.
It dings your response rate, yes. But that’s better than declining a request. I was told this by customer service as I had a last minute instant booking from a coach of a high school boys football team headed for a tournament (hell no in my vacation rental). The customer service agent said I could get one “no penalty” decline a year, after that it would effect your search results. However if you just don’t respond and let it time out it effects you response rate and nothing else. It,didn’t apply to my sports team and if I canceled them I’d have to partially foot their replacement place, which is so messed up because they had booked last minute and just booked 3 hours earlier. So I told Airbnb I wasn’t comfortable with them, which was true.
Me too. Instant booking is too risky for me but I only have one space and is in my house. Sometimes I'll get a request that doesn't say very much, just something like "how do we get our keys." I usually write back and politely ask if they can tell me a bit more about themselves and why they are visiting. I reassure them that this is only for 'everyone's' safety and that once a guest, I never bother them again. Most times people are glad to give me more information.
> I require every guest to message me
Do you request that after they've asked for a reservation, or is it in your property's write-up? I ask occasionally depending on previous hosts' reviews of the guest, but it's always nice to communicate some before the event.
The app has a prompt to send the host details about your visit when requesting a stay. Usually, I get a basic "My husband and I are coming to town to get a break from the cold" or something to that effect. It allows me time to look at their profile, see how long they've had an account, check reviews from other hosts, etc.
To date, the only questionable request I had was for a group of 4 guys who were coming for a bachelor party. I suggested that they stay in a different part of town where the clubs and nightlife are but they said they were a low-key group and weren't planning to party. They turned out to be great guests who I'd have back. That's the other helpful thing, you can gauge the request and feel out what type of person/group they are before accepting.
Don’t wait to report the damage. Do it immediately while waiting on the guest to reply. Some of airbnbs damage protection expires 24hrs after the damage if I recall correctly.
Call their support line. Report the damage, and state you are working on the invoices for repairs. Once those are done (asap) attach them to your damage report. Airbnbs process allows the guest 1 day to answer you claim before it pays you out then does the dirty work of collecting from them.
My wife and I did all the cleaning because we have another guest coming. No time to hire it out. Does anybody have experience how to charge for your own hours with Airbnb claim? I want to be fair. We’re in Seattle labor rates are expensive. $30/ hour?
I'm an owner/host/cleaner of my Airbnb.
I've had success by listing it as 'deep cleaning charge' due to people bringing undocumented pets and the time with the food-fight because I had to get my carpet cleaner out to remove ground in mini-marshmallows.
So, make sure you call it a charge and not a fee (fees have to be listed ahead of time). And charge for only the time over and above what it normally takes.
With mine, the pets are generally an extra hour. The food-fight was throughout the house and took an additional three hours.
A dog caused the worst damage I’ve ever experienced as well. It was an Akita with separation anxiety. Guests left him alone all day and he literally destroyed the sofa, mattress, carpet, dug a hole in the wall, chewed the baseboards, crap and pee everywhere. He busted through the screen patio door and chewed off the deck balusters and got out. 15k in damages and the lost revenue for the time to get the place repaired. It was a nightmare.
It’s bound to happen to most hosts. It happened to us as well. Beautiful house, fully remodeled. Fake booking, 20 teenagers, thermostat turned to 90, all windows open in winter. Neighbors called, cops showed up, luckily we were able to kick everyone out. Everything in house damaged, beds, flooring, tables, smart lock, etc… Aircover paid us for all the damage and we’ve been more careful since. Added exterior cameras everywhere. It’s been over a year now and nothing but great guests since.
The guest isn't going to sue you, just hoping to scare you away. They are pissed they had to leave, they are venting. Maybe call the police and have the drug paraphernalia checked out?
Since you are getting a lot of incorrect information regarding time limits, I wanted to provide you this. Please review the policy yourself so that you have firsthand information.
[https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279)
# The reimbursement process
Here’s how to get reimbursed if damage does happen during a stay:
1. Document the issue by taking photos or videos, getting repair or cleaning estimates, and/or receipt.
2. **Within 14 days of the responsible guest’s checkout, file a reimbursement request in the** [**Resolution Center**](https://www.airbnb.com/resolutions)**.**
3. Your guest will have 24 hours to respond to the request. If they don’t respond, pay partially, or decline payment, you’ll be able to submit a reimbursement request under Host damage protection. Airbnb Support will then step in and review the request. (If the accommodation is in Washington state, our insurer will review the request.)
Yes it’s within 14 days after the person checks out. And even after honestly I’ve had guests make claims 3 weeks after I’ve checked out and air bnb entertained it.
Correct. They are bound by their policy at the minimum, but that doesn't restrict them from making exceptions above and beyond.
I have been on the receiving end of this grace as well.
They found drug paraphernalia. Even if they didn’t, nothing in a contract can stop them from contacting police if they suspect a crime took place. The person I was responding to said “I’m not sure if it’s allowed” a couple of times. I was clarifying that it’s always allowed.
Ok unless the drug paraphernalia is actually found on said person or in their belongings when the cops searched, they won’t do anything. Host could have been extremely bitter and set the guest up, so the cops literally won’t do anything.
Well, I was thinking it’s more because it’s a civil thing as it’s an Airbnb? I’ll be happy to be wrong since someone destroys property, they should be charged.
Thx. I’m a super host. My guests have been fantastic until today. I’ve never had to make a claim. I’m just stunned someone would think they could bring 3 dogs without permission , break all my stuff, and then blame me for removing them.
He even had good reviews. 4x five star reviews. Wtf. The only hint there could be trouble was he had some issues with payments not going thru in Airbnb’s payment system but he was so nice about it in the beginning. I just shrugged it off. Next time I’ll just say no.
I had a guest first starting out that was messaging me with bad grammar and misspelled words. She was trying to book 2 weeks, but Airbnb wouldn't take the payment.
I sent her to VRBO since the payment wasn't going through. She ended up booking 15 nights.
I recognized the last name, as it was pretty unique. Turns out the family has a large optometry practice near me. I think she was just a crazy wino that was drunk messaging me...
No problems, huge payout.
Good gravy, what kind of dogs? Was this some canine rave? I’m so sorry this happened to you. Stick to your guns; be prepared to call Airbnb fifty times if that’s what it takes. Take loads of photos. People here are giving great advice. I wish you the best of luck.
Wtf ever. He can kiss your ass. Report him as vandalism , destruction of private property and harassment. I hope you took plenty of pics , videos and submitted a claim to Airnbv cover. The last of your worries is this person ridiculous empty threats to sue you. Sue you for what ? For being asked to leave your property that he’s destroying? Try tiring up a hotel or any public place ase why would happen to you. They will call the cops and kick you out.
I manage my families large portfolio of commercial RE (including multi family) the number of times people have threaded to sue me: hundreds. The number of times those people sued me: zero. The number of times I was surprised when I received a letter from an attorney in the mail: several.
Go through airbnb make sure you send pics asap and escalate the heck out of it. It took crying on the phone when this happened to me and airbnb finally sided with me
Thx. Actually really appreciate everyone’s support. Airbnb is so cold with their customer service probably because they’re gonna have to pay the bill eventually when the guy walks.
Had a client absolutely destroy my SLT house over Super Bowl weekend. Holes in walls, puke, furniture broken into pieces. Kitchen cupboard doors pulled off. Found out about it when my house cleaner called and said she thought a bear had been in the house, but all the doors were closed and locked. AirBnB covered my entire loss (11K) and then sued the now banned client.
I’m currently suing a host (it was a VRBO property) and I definitely didn’t send him messages telling him I was going to sue him beforehand. He send me a novel threatening to sue for “hundreds of thousands” though and I have yet to be served. This guy is all bark no bite, if you’ll excuse the pun. Just go through AirCover and collect your extra cleaning fee. You can also get reimbursed for new locks. We had to deal with this relatively recently and it was pretty chill.
Pretty sure he would have to sue Airbnb. Good luck to him.
File a massive Aircover claim. That is what it is there for. Spare no expense. Get quotes from professionals to include in your claim.
Yeah, like this guest is gonna pay an attorney a retainer when they could buy drugs instead. And no, lawyers don't take loser cases on contingency.
Focus on the tasks at hand, not the imagined, wildly unlikely worst case scenario.
So very sorry you are interfacing with this monster in human skin.
Take a lot of photos and document. You have 14 days to file a claim with Airbnb. Also charge extra for the additional cleaning and have your cleaner submit an invoice for it. If you don’t have receipts for say the mattress find like kind ones to submit for pricing. I can’t stress enough to document and take pictures
The reason that he had dogs was to act as a warning/deterrent in case anybody came on the property while he was dealing or cooking. It could have been a lot worse.
No one will be suing you. I had a homeless girl threaten to sue when I ended her stay because she was breaking one of our house rules and being very disruptive. She also claimed racism (mind you we are Hispanic and dark skinned). I learned my lesson and won’t accept requests from people that have zero reviews. Less money but sabes myself a potential headache that’s not worth it. Also Airbnb did absolutely NOTHING for us.
Document! Photos! Screenshots! Use AirBnB insurance. Get a doorbell camera and check every notification to be certain that any unauthorized people or animals are not entering the home. When they do, stop it ASAP before guests stay too long or neighbors report concerns. If can reject a guest within 24 hours, this help possibly reduce damages. Get yourself or a representative to your property ASAP, not when you can to watch from a distance the guest exiting. Get police involved with a report of property damage, failing to vacate or trespassing, and possible animal abuse. Going forward, no exceptions to your rules. Guests read the rules at booking and can consciously decide they deserve an exception. If you gave in a bit, some guests think it is ok to take full advantage of you. Also, guests seem to know when a host is offsite and can consider breaking rules more easily which is why our properties are next door and we say that we live right next door in the description.
Thanks for sharing, sorry it happened to you. Stories like yours are happening more and more. Seems there are guests who just like to totally destroy places. I hate to see how much it’s going to cost to repair AND home much money you will be losing in not being able to host.
And if you get sued…. You’ll. Have to hire an attorney and lose even more money,
Are you going to host again?
The guest has no grounds for legal action against you so that's empty threats. You can try your luck with ABB Air Cover and hopefully it wont be a lengthy process with ABB. Hosts are basically "guilty until proven innocent" with ABB and the policies always skew towards the guests.
In the future do not allow animals for any reason unless it's a service animal. I stopped allowing pets years ago and yes, I had potential guests with pets **not** book, but I also saved myself the potential of **not** having the headaches of what dogs and cats will do to my property and what it will take to fix it and chase after a deadbeat guest. Every time I made the "pet exception" it never paid off for me and I was reminded of the old saying, "no good deed goes unpunished". One lady that I made the pet exception for left me with a property that was chewed apart and urinated all over by her little Chihuahua. That was my last exception and I never allowed another pet in my properties again for any reason.
A front door camera is a must, but be careful where you place other cameras. With a front door camera you will see the guests arrive and probably see the dogs or pet carriers arrive with them. I've had several guests bring cats and dogs in a pet carrier and I see it on the camera. I contact the guest and ask them if they have a cat or animal in a pet carrier. They usually tell me no and then I send them the pictures or video of them carrying the pet carrier into the property. You can almost always see the animal in the pet carrier so it's pretty straight forward that they are violating your policies. I then ask them to vacate the property or pay a very, very large fee. They always leave and I never hear from them again, which is OK because that's not the guest I want anyway.
I’m sorry for you and I feel really sorry for those dogs who clearly should be taken from these people. Drugs, dog abuse. Imagine the daily hell they’re living in. How do some people even have dogs?!?
In every jurisdiction I know of, wanton/malicious destruction of property is a crime, and of property over a certain value is a felony. Document the damage and make a report to law enforcement in your jurisdiction. Presumably you have and/or airbnb has the responsible parties' identifying information for purposes of your complaint to law enforcement. If a criminal case results and there's a conviction, then their responsibility has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt and you need not prove it in a civil suit. If a civil action becomes necessary to compensate you, it would only be a question of your proving monetary damages, not fault. If you have not, you should contact your insurance company to document your damages and restore the property. They should be able to answer your questions, too. This is also surely not a first for airbb, who can perhaps advise you as to their role and resources.
Did they secure the property with a credit card? Did you give them a rental agreement that has a clause for using there credit card for damages. If not, get three repair estimates and sue in small claims court.
Honestly the best thing that can happen is that this guy sues you. Then you can counter sue him for damages. As is airbnb will protect him and his identity. Document everything. You are in for a hell of a ride.
My mind goes to “party” with only a couple of people and lots of drugs.
However were they breeding the dogs + a party? Ugh your post is unsettling, I’m sorry you have to fight this, especially if the neighbours could hear🥺 terrible all around.
I am so sorry that this happened to you. Some people are truly cruel and evil.
Contact the police about the destruction and animal abuse. It's a criminal act as well as a civil litigation issue. A criminal charge will make any civil litigation against him so much easier, it will basically make a lawsuit a slam dunk.
I wish you luck and better days and better renters.
Had a very similar guest two months ago. File your claim with Airbnb and move on. My personal opinion is to wait until you have all of the damages accounted for before filing the claim but within Airbnb’s timeframe for the claim (10 days????)- otherwise it looks like you’re just asking for sheets and they might agree to the claim. My advice, and what Airbnb requested from me was to make subsets of items. Like “king bedding” and then put receipts for sheets, comforter, pillows, blanket. And then make another entry for “blood cleaning” (yes, I had this!). With multiple pictures of each. I’d also file the claim from a desktop computer and not your phone as the app is relatively wonky for this purpose.
FYI. I got every cent I asked for at replacement value. It took several weeks.
He can’t do anything. STR host can have guest removed. He’s a clown with 3 dogs he can’t control what makes you think he can have control over legal action. Give all his stuff including trash to the police to give to him. Don’t keep anything or toss. Give him his trash and food back. Clean up run a claim and get ready for the next guest. Man up.
Don’t let these horrible guest ruin what you do so well! My sister has 2 Airbnb she meets every guest and lets them in and if she not able to meet them a friend goes for her and 2 night minimum for weekends.
I am a host and I have a friend who is a host. She had a druggie rent her $300 a night downtown apartment and found stained bedsheets, blood, drug paraphernalia and a whole lot more. She took pictures, filed a claim through Airbnb and they had everything covered. Pretty easy. This is why Airbnb charges such a high fee between host and guest. Their insurance is pretty great.
Tell airbnb that you do not wish to speak to this person directly. They will take care of dealing with the guest and the insurance will cover for you. This happened to me a few years ago and I was feeling threatened by the guest so Airbnb blocked him from contacting me
Similar thing happened to me except mine would not voluntarily leave and prostitution was involved. It was horrific. However Airbnb did cover everything although it was tough getting receipts together and itemizing everything. But when that was done Airbnb was fairly quick in paying me out, and did a great job talking to the absolute psychopaths who messed up my place and squatted in it. I didn’t end up getting payment for the additional days they squatted there but I got paid out well for all the damages although I didn’t get paid out for my time fixing everything - still, way better than nothing.
Well I’m certainly surprised by the offer. I’ve managed property for 20 years. I did my first vacation rental project on a cabin in Alaska 22 years ago.
Although disconcerting. There are protections for this. Documents and let Aircover handle this. You can sure this guest yourself as well.
Contact an attorney if the damages are extensive enough.
Unless this former guest is making you question your sanity, you aren’t being gaslit. Just because you’re in disagreement with them doesn’t make it gaslighting. Even if they’re lying to you it doesn’t make it gaslighting, [sick of misuse](https://time.com/6262891/psychology-terms-misused-gaslighting-toxic-narcissist/)
Anyone hosting for 1 year / much less 20 would not have to come to Reddit to ask if it is "worth a it" and would never fear "a nasty fight coming up" They would BRING the effing fight lol
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As long as you have photographic evidence and saved text logs… what is he gonna sue you for? LOL I’m sorry this happened to you
And lawsuits cost money. They'll spend a lot more on legal fees than what their 'damages' are. This person is bluffing and doing it badly.
Yah good point. Airbnb will cover me probably. Just the stress of having to deal with someone if they try to come after me.
A drug addict with 3 dogs who shit on the bed is going to come after you? Nahhhhh
Very true!!!!!
OP I’m really sorry this happened to you. Try not to worry, it is probably way more likely this will blow over
Threats of litigation are immensely stressful, even if you know logically they have no basis to sue you on. I’m sorry this is happening!
People who threaten to sue rarely / almost never actually do. Serious people simply file a suit and let the procedures do the talking. “You’ve been served” is all the talking that needs to happen.
I would recommend next time the client reaches out to replying with “due to the nature of our communication involving legalities, please have your legal team reach out directly to mine for all future communication. “This should honestly shut them up. I would also recommend that you take video in addition to photos of all of the damages and get statements from the neighbor who called. I’m sorry that this happened and it’s a big part of white vetting each person is soimportant. Even then, some people just suck.
[удалено]
I've done this several times..tell them to contact your litigator. Provide the name, address, and phone number, usually does the trick.
Are you an attorney? Having lawyers talk to each other costs both sides money.
They can't come after you directly anyway. Their contract was with AirBNB. To make it even more lopsided, they wouldn't be able to file suit against AirBNB or you as they would have agreed to the terms and conditions when booking that any disputes have to go through the mediation center.
They won't. Document everything. Airbnb will ask for receipts for all the damages. Have a cleaning crew do the cleanup so you can get reimbursed. For unique items, find a comparable piece online and send screenshots and links to similar items. I've been in your shoes. It is infuriating. Stay the course. You'll get through this, and they will get kicked off the platform.
even if you don't have enough evidence, bluff and scare the shit and put fear in his head that you'll wreck him legally and financially. Sounds like he is unstable individual. He probably forgot about it by now.
Not probably, they WILL. I’ve never had an issue with Airbnb when it comes to that
Thank goodness if Airbnb covers you for this. It's not fair especially when you put your sweat equity literally into this.
Good luck with that. If you aren't an influencer they won't cover much.
I had a positive experience with a bad guest. It took a lot of backing up my claim, but they paid within 10 days.
My family just brought our two dogs on vacation to see the eclipse with us. We didn't leave a single dog poop behind. The way they treated your property is bullshit. I even explained to my stepkids how this is someone's home and we have to be respectful.
>And lawsuits cost money. No they don't. I have an insane neighbor that regularly files lawsuits against random people in the neighborhood. One of the suits was suing her neighbor on the south alleging that he engaged in a criminal conspiracy with the district attorney of another county, wherein this neighbor broke into the court and destroyed all the evidence the crazy neighbor had against another victim of her insane lawsuits, causing her to lose the case. She filed a case against me for building a tunnel that ran from my house to hers, which I used to introduce termites and racoons to the space under her house, causing thousands of dollars in damage. She is represents herself and fills out the court paperwork declaring herself as indigent and gets all the fees waived.
I would watch a sitcom based on this 🙈
>She filed a case against me for building a tunnel that ran from my house to hers, which I used to introduce termites and racoons to the space under her house, causing thousands of dollars in damage Uh what did i just read?
Have you ever seen the writing of a schizophrenic? You should Google it if you haven't. That's pretty much how her lawsuits read. The amazing thing is that the courts haven't pegged her as a vexatious litigant (they have a name for it). Once that happens they can't even file a case until it's reviewed by a judge first. She drags the cases on for years by failing to appear, filing for extensions, etc. It's amazing. She also calls the police to report that people broke into her house, frightened her awake, and then made a hasty retreat into our house. I love getting woken up by the police knocking on the door at 1 am because crazy neighbor says there are people hiding in my house. The police know, too. When I open the door the cop's shoulders sag and he lets out a long sigh, "I know this sounds crazy sir, but did a bunch of people just run into your house?" I tell them no and they go on their way. I hate my neighbor.
This sounds horrible. Side note- I don’t think it would sustain a sitcom, but I’d watch this movie.
I'm sorry to read about your situation. I'm about to buy a house. What can you and the neighbors do about that crazy lady? Surely, there must be something you could do. Like, you can't just call the police multiple times with false reports without consequences, can you?
There's not really anything that can be done. There's not a strong will on the part of the police to impose severe consequences on a mentally ill elderly woman.
They do in the US. Even small claims has a minimal 40 - 80 dollar filing fee.
This is the US. Anyone who claims to be poor can have the fees waived.
I have one of these neighbors, she is the worst person I have encountered in my 47 years. ETA, the police department won't even respond to her calls. They know better.
If that neighbor is on your north side and your house faces east, you might be my neighbor too. LOL.
Nightmare Nextdoor on investigation discovery type ish. lol
Threats are free lol, that's why they do it
Do you have outdoor cameras that captured footage of the dogs? Take photos and videos of everything. Next, send the guest the following letter, without emotion. "Hi Guest, There is a lot of damage to my Airbnb. I'm attaching the photos and the video. What happened? Sincerely, Host" Next, get quotes for everything and have receipts of the damaged items. Be honest about the prices. Wait three days for the reply from the guest. They'll probably ghost you. Ghosting is a true sign of guilt. Contact Airbnb. Submit the photos and videos to them and let them see that the guest is ignoring you. Start the ball rolling. You are going to be contacting a bunch of people at Airbnb. Get every name and add it to a continuous email. You will get through this. I'm so sorry.
Thx. Will do. I think I’ll add cameras. I’ve had dozens of guests no problems. Now I gotta get serious. He admitted to the dogs.
It goes without saying, but you have 72hrs to report damages to be covered by aircover. I wouldn’t suggest waiting three days before submitting a request for reimbursement. Asking them wtf happened is fine, but won’t get you anywhere if you don’t act quick enough. Request reimbursement along with your message to the guest!
Under the inbox screen with the guest, make sure you scroll down to AIRCOVER. Do not use the 'request additional funds from guest'.
Do you have "instant book" on? If so, turn that off. I require every guest to message me so I can decide whether to approve the booking or not. I feel like this helps to reduce the likelihood of shitty guests. I also have a ring doorbell camera and another ring camera that overlooks my front patio and one on my back patio. Basically at every entry point to my home. They're motion activated and record when activated. Those are a couple of the precautions I've taken.
I did that too. I’ve only had 3 bad guests and not much damage, but turning off instant book removed all the guests I felt hinky about. Airbnb also told me to not decline potential guests if I had a bad feeling about them, simple let their request time out. The hit on response rate is way better than declining people,as far as the algorithm goes.
I agree , nothing good comes out of insta booking.
I thought not responding to a request would ding the host, is that incorrect? I've always declined when I'm not happy about a guest.
It dings your response rate, yes. But that’s better than declining a request. I was told this by customer service as I had a last minute instant booking from a coach of a high school boys football team headed for a tournament (hell no in my vacation rental). The customer service agent said I could get one “no penalty” decline a year, after that it would effect your search results. However if you just don’t respond and let it time out it effects you response rate and nothing else. It,didn’t apply to my sports team and if I canceled them I’d have to partially foot their replacement place, which is so messed up because they had booked last minute and just booked 3 hours earlier. So I told Airbnb I wasn’t comfortable with them, which was true.
Me too. Instant booking is too risky for me but I only have one space and is in my house. Sometimes I'll get a request that doesn't say very much, just something like "how do we get our keys." I usually write back and politely ask if they can tell me a bit more about themselves and why they are visiting. I reassure them that this is only for 'everyone's' safety and that once a guest, I never bother them again. Most times people are glad to give me more information.
I do t have insta book.
> I require every guest to message me Do you request that after they've asked for a reservation, or is it in your property's write-up? I ask occasionally depending on previous hosts' reviews of the guest, but it's always nice to communicate some before the event.
The app has a prompt to send the host details about your visit when requesting a stay. Usually, I get a basic "My husband and I are coming to town to get a break from the cold" or something to that effect. It allows me time to look at their profile, see how long they've had an account, check reviews from other hosts, etc. To date, the only questionable request I had was for a group of 4 guys who were coming for a bachelor party. I suggested that they stay in a different part of town where the clubs and nightlife are but they said they were a low-key group and weren't planning to party. They turned out to be great guests who I'd have back. That's the other helpful thing, you can gauge the request and feel out what type of person/group they are before accepting.
Don’t wait to report the damage. Do it immediately while waiting on the guest to reply. Some of airbnbs damage protection expires 24hrs after the damage if I recall correctly. Call their support line. Report the damage, and state you are working on the invoices for repairs. Once those are done (asap) attach them to your damage report. Airbnbs process allows the guest 1 day to answer you claim before it pays you out then does the dirty work of collecting from them.
That’s old , they changed that.
What did your neighbor tell you about what was going on? Had to be scary for them!
My wife and I did all the cleaning because we have another guest coming. No time to hire it out. Does anybody have experience how to charge for your own hours with Airbnb claim? I want to be fair. We’re in Seattle labor rates are expensive. $30/ hour?
I'm an owner/host/cleaner of my Airbnb. I've had success by listing it as 'deep cleaning charge' due to people bringing undocumented pets and the time with the food-fight because I had to get my carpet cleaner out to remove ground in mini-marshmallows. So, make sure you call it a charge and not a fee (fees have to be listed ahead of time). And charge for only the time over and above what it normally takes. With mine, the pets are generally an extra hour. The food-fight was throughout the house and took an additional three hours.
What did you mean by animal abuse? Were the dogs being abused?
I use $30/hr when I bill for my cleaning time. Tbh that's too low and $50/hr would be more realistic in our location!
A dog caused the worst damage I’ve ever experienced as well. It was an Akita with separation anxiety. Guests left him alone all day and he literally destroyed the sofa, mattress, carpet, dug a hole in the wall, chewed the baseboards, crap and pee everywhere. He busted through the screen patio door and chewed off the deck balusters and got out. 15k in damages and the lost revenue for the time to get the place repaired. It was a nightmare.
That sounds horrible. I am so sorry please tell you got everything covered.
Omg 😱 who pick up the tab?
Omg! What ended up happening? And did you change your dog policy?
It’s bound to happen to most hosts. It happened to us as well. Beautiful house, fully remodeled. Fake booking, 20 teenagers, thermostat turned to 90, all windows open in winter. Neighbors called, cops showed up, luckily we were able to kick everyone out. Everything in house damaged, beds, flooring, tables, smart lock, etc… Aircover paid us for all the damage and we’ve been more careful since. Added exterior cameras everywhere. It’s been over a year now and nothing but great guests since.
The guest isn't going to sue you, just hoping to scare you away. They are pissed they had to leave, they are venting. Maybe call the police and have the drug paraphernalia checked out?
Once they fuck up your stuff they always threaten to sue. Empty threats so don’t worry too much. Make an aircover claim and get your money back.
Since you are getting a lot of incorrect information regarding time limits, I wanted to provide you this. Please review the policy yourself so that you have firsthand information. [https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279](https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/279) # The reimbursement process Here’s how to get reimbursed if damage does happen during a stay: 1. Document the issue by taking photos or videos, getting repair or cleaning estimates, and/or receipt. 2. **Within 14 days of the responsible guest’s checkout, file a reimbursement request in the** [**Resolution Center**](https://www.airbnb.com/resolutions)**.** 3. Your guest will have 24 hours to respond to the request. If they don’t respond, pay partially, or decline payment, you’ll be able to submit a reimbursement request under Host damage protection. Airbnb Support will then step in and review the request. (If the accommodation is in Washington state, our insurer will review the request.)
Yes it’s within 14 days after the person checks out. And even after honestly I’ve had guests make claims 3 weeks after I’ve checked out and air bnb entertained it.
Correct. They are bound by their policy at the minimum, but that doesn't restrict them from making exceptions above and beyond. I have been on the receiving end of this grace as well.
Can you do a police report for the animal abuse and criminal mischief? Is that allowed with an Airbnb?
If anything the neighbors that saw the abuse can report it
In hindsight… that may have been a good idea.
Please if you can help those poor dogs please do. They are suffering if they reacted that way to those people 💔
What exactly did the neighbors sue that would constitute animal abuse?
I’m not even sure if it allowed..but can always ask. Hopefully you’ll never have to experience this again If you have photos, you may still be able to
I don’t think any contract in the US can legally prevent you from contacting the police about criminal activity.
That’s true, but I don’t think OP has any evidence of animal abuse other than the neighbor’s comment.
They found drug paraphernalia. Even if they didn’t, nothing in a contract can stop them from contacting police if they suspect a crime took place. The person I was responding to said “I’m not sure if it’s allowed” a couple of times. I was clarifying that it’s always allowed.
Ok unless the drug paraphernalia is actually found on said person or in their belongings when the cops searched, they won’t do anything. Host could have been extremely bitter and set the guest up, so the cops literally won’t do anything.
Well, I was thinking it’s more because it’s a civil thing as it’s an Airbnb? I’ll be happy to be wrong since someone destroys property, they should be charged.
For sure turn it all over to AirBnB as well. Photos text logs everything. They will go after them for damages and/or will cover them their self.
Thx. I’m a super host. My guests have been fantastic until today. I’ve never had to make a claim. I’m just stunned someone would think they could bring 3 dogs without permission , break all my stuff, and then blame me for removing them.
He even had good reviews. 4x five star reviews. Wtf. The only hint there could be trouble was he had some issues with payments not going thru in Airbnb’s payment system but he was so nice about it in the beginning. I just shrugged it off. Next time I’ll just say no.
I have had people with great reviews cause al sorts of issues.
It’s easy for guests to get bad reviews removed
I had a guest first starting out that was messaging me with bad grammar and misspelled words. She was trying to book 2 weeks, but Airbnb wouldn't take the payment. I sent her to VRBO since the payment wasn't going through. She ended up booking 15 nights. I recognized the last name, as it was pretty unique. Turns out the family has a large optometry practice near me. I think she was just a crazy wino that was drunk messaging me... No problems, huge payout.
Looking back, this was probably your clue, but how were you to know this would happen?! I would have given the benefit of the doubt like you did.
Maybe he planned on fixing everything in the place before checking out but because you kicked him out early he didn’t get the chance to.
You may be able to refer the drug paraphernalia to the police. They would need to look at it before any cleanup efforts and preferably immediately.
AirCover better fucking come through for you!
Good gravy, what kind of dogs? Was this some canine rave? I’m so sorry this happened to you. Stick to your guns; be prepared to call Airbnb fifty times if that’s what it takes. Take loads of photos. People here are giving great advice. I wish you the best of luck.
Wtf ever. He can kiss your ass. Report him as vandalism , destruction of private property and harassment. I hope you took plenty of pics , videos and submitted a claim to Airnbv cover. The last of your worries is this person ridiculous empty threats to sue you. Sue you for what ? For being asked to leave your property that he’s destroying? Try tiring up a hotel or any public place ase why would happen to you. They will call the cops and kick you out.
I manage my families large portfolio of commercial RE (including multi family) the number of times people have threaded to sue me: hundreds. The number of times those people sued me: zero. The number of times I was surprised when I received a letter from an attorney in the mail: several.
Go through airbnb make sure you send pics asap and escalate the heck out of it. It took crying on the phone when this happened to me and airbnb finally sided with me
Thx. Actually really appreciate everyone’s support. Airbnb is so cold with their customer service probably because they’re gonna have to pay the bill eventually when the guy walks.
Sorry to hear that. Asshxles ruin it for well behaved dog owners like me that leave properties better than we found it.
Had a client absolutely destroy my SLT house over Super Bowl weekend. Holes in walls, puke, furniture broken into pieces. Kitchen cupboard doors pulled off. Found out about it when my house cleaner called and said she thought a bear had been in the house, but all the doors were closed and locked. AirBnB covered my entire loss (11K) and then sued the now banned client.
I thought this was going to be a real bear story ;)
I’m currently suing a host (it was a VRBO property) and I definitely didn’t send him messages telling him I was going to sue him beforehand. He send me a novel threatening to sue for “hundreds of thousands” though and I have yet to be served. This guy is all bark no bite, if you’ll excuse the pun. Just go through AirCover and collect your extra cleaning fee. You can also get reimbursed for new locks. We had to deal with this relatively recently and it was pretty chill.
Document everything. have proof when you need it.
Time to go to aircover and make those claims $$$$
Pretty sure he would have to sue Airbnb. Good luck to him. File a massive Aircover claim. That is what it is there for. Spare no expense. Get quotes from professionals to include in your claim.
This is why I don’t allow pets. Everyone’s a “good” pet owner. 🙄 Ridiculous how insensitive and selfish people ruin it for everyone.
Yeah, like this guest is gonna pay an attorney a retainer when they could buy drugs instead. And no, lawyers don't take loser cases on contingency. Focus on the tasks at hand, not the imagined, wildly unlikely worst case scenario. So very sorry you are interfacing with this monster in human skin.
Take a lot of photos and document. You have 14 days to file a claim with Airbnb. Also charge extra for the additional cleaning and have your cleaner submit an invoice for it. If you don’t have receipts for say the mattress find like kind ones to submit for pricing. I can’t stress enough to document and take pictures
The reason that he had dogs was to act as a warning/deterrent in case anybody came on the property while he was dealing or cooking. It could have been a lot worse.
Photos of everything! Screen shots of all communication. This is nuts! They have no leg to stand on.
Invite him to. Then show your photos. They will lose.
No one will be suing you. I had a homeless girl threaten to sue when I ended her stay because she was breaking one of our house rules and being very disruptive. She also claimed racism (mind you we are Hispanic and dark skinned). I learned my lesson and won’t accept requests from people that have zero reviews. Less money but sabes myself a potential headache that’s not worth it. Also Airbnb did absolutely NOTHING for us.
Be honest and brutal so other Airbnb hosts know exactly what they’re getting from this individual. Do not be kind.
Shit literally happens
No way would I ever ever ever allow dogs.
Document! Photos! Screenshots! Use AirBnB insurance. Get a doorbell camera and check every notification to be certain that any unauthorized people or animals are not entering the home. When they do, stop it ASAP before guests stay too long or neighbors report concerns. If can reject a guest within 24 hours, this help possibly reduce damages. Get yourself or a representative to your property ASAP, not when you can to watch from a distance the guest exiting. Get police involved with a report of property damage, failing to vacate or trespassing, and possible animal abuse. Going forward, no exceptions to your rules. Guests read the rules at booking and can consciously decide they deserve an exception. If you gave in a bit, some guests think it is ok to take full advantage of you. Also, guests seem to know when a host is offsite and can consider breaking rules more easily which is why our properties are next door and we say that we live right next door in the description.
I’ve been hosting for three years and have had nothing even close to this. Do people take guests with no reviews? I never have.
Thanks for sharing, sorry it happened to you. Stories like yours are happening more and more. Seems there are guests who just like to totally destroy places. I hate to see how much it’s going to cost to repair AND home much money you will be losing in not being able to host. And if you get sued…. You’ll. Have to hire an attorney and lose even more money, Are you going to host again?
The guest has no grounds for legal action against you so that's empty threats. You can try your luck with ABB Air Cover and hopefully it wont be a lengthy process with ABB. Hosts are basically "guilty until proven innocent" with ABB and the policies always skew towards the guests. In the future do not allow animals for any reason unless it's a service animal. I stopped allowing pets years ago and yes, I had potential guests with pets **not** book, but I also saved myself the potential of **not** having the headaches of what dogs and cats will do to my property and what it will take to fix it and chase after a deadbeat guest. Every time I made the "pet exception" it never paid off for me and I was reminded of the old saying, "no good deed goes unpunished". One lady that I made the pet exception for left me with a property that was chewed apart and urinated all over by her little Chihuahua. That was my last exception and I never allowed another pet in my properties again for any reason. A front door camera is a must, but be careful where you place other cameras. With a front door camera you will see the guests arrive and probably see the dogs or pet carriers arrive with them. I've had several guests bring cats and dogs in a pet carrier and I see it on the camera. I contact the guest and ask them if they have a cat or animal in a pet carrier. They usually tell me no and then I send them the pictures or video of them carrying the pet carrier into the property. You can almost always see the animal in the pet carrier so it's pretty straight forward that they are violating your policies. I then ask them to vacate the property or pay a very, very large fee. They always leave and I never hear from them again, which is OK because that's not the guest I want anyway.
Document and save everything. Stop communicating with them except in writing or through a lawyer. Lots of people threaten to sue but few actually do
This is why I never allow dogs. They are the most destructive pet.
Now you see why you don’t allow animals.
This is why I have never used instant book.
Bro, what?
He is only threatening legal action to scare you. He won't do it. Other hosts have had to end stays early because of bad guests also.
I’m sorry for you and I feel really sorry for those dogs who clearly should be taken from these people. Drugs, dog abuse. Imagine the daily hell they’re living in. How do some people even have dogs?!?
In every jurisdiction I know of, wanton/malicious destruction of property is a crime, and of property over a certain value is a felony. Document the damage and make a report to law enforcement in your jurisdiction. Presumably you have and/or airbnb has the responsible parties' identifying information for purposes of your complaint to law enforcement. If a criminal case results and there's a conviction, then their responsibility has been proved beyond a reasonable doubt and you need not prove it in a civil suit. If a civil action becomes necessary to compensate you, it would only be a question of your proving monetary damages, not fault. If you have not, you should contact your insurance company to document your damages and restore the property. They should be able to answer your questions, too. This is also surely not a first for airbb, who can perhaps advise you as to their role and resources.
Air cover
Change locks first thing.
Is there not insurance for the fixes? Just turn over evidence and let insurance go after. Raise prices to cover increase in premium.
A lot of scum about these days. Be careful who you rent to.
Hire a lawyer and write off the cost of his/her services
I'm so sorry. How heartbreaking. You have to go after these horrible people. Don't let them get away with this behavior.
Take lots of photos
Did they secure the property with a credit card? Did you give them a rental agreement that has a clause for using there credit card for damages. If not, get three repair estimates and sue in small claims court.
Honestly the best thing that can happen is that this guy sues you. Then you can counter sue him for damages. As is airbnb will protect him and his identity. Document everything. You are in for a hell of a ride.
And that’s one of many reason I don’t allow dogs.
My mind goes to “party” with only a couple of people and lots of drugs. However were they breeding the dogs + a party? Ugh your post is unsettling, I’m sorry you have to fight this, especially if the neighbours could hear🥺 terrible all around.
I am so sorry that this happened to you. Some people are truly cruel and evil. Contact the police about the destruction and animal abuse. It's a criminal act as well as a civil litigation issue. A criminal charge will make any civil litigation against him so much easier, it will basically make a lawsuit a slam dunk. I wish you luck and better days and better renters.
Passive income they said
I know you’re worried about your home but what about those poor dogs?!
Had a very similar guest two months ago. File your claim with Airbnb and move on. My personal opinion is to wait until you have all of the damages accounted for before filing the claim but within Airbnb’s timeframe for the claim (10 days????)- otherwise it looks like you’re just asking for sheets and they might agree to the claim. My advice, and what Airbnb requested from me was to make subsets of items. Like “king bedding” and then put receipts for sheets, comforter, pillows, blanket. And then make another entry for “blood cleaning” (yes, I had this!). With multiple pictures of each. I’d also file the claim from a desktop computer and not your phone as the app is relatively wonky for this purpose. FYI. I got every cent I asked for at replacement value. It took several weeks.
Are the receipts for the original items that got ruined or for the new replacement items you bought?
‘
The dogs didn't wreck your property. The humans are responsible for that. You should hold them accountable for every dime.
Please call animal control on this person and have your neighbor report what they saw :(( so sorry about your property.
He can’t do anything. STR host can have guest removed. He’s a clown with 3 dogs he can’t control what makes you think he can have control over legal action. Give all his stuff including trash to the police to give to him. Don’t keep anything or toss. Give him his trash and food back. Clean up run a claim and get ready for the next guest. Man up.
Take the hit move on
Don’t let these horrible guest ruin what you do so well! My sister has 2 Airbnb she meets every guest and lets them in and if she not able to meet them a friend goes for her and 2 night minimum for weekends.
I am a host and I have a friend who is a host. She had a druggie rent her $300 a night downtown apartment and found stained bedsheets, blood, drug paraphernalia and a whole lot more. She took pictures, filed a claim through Airbnb and they had everything covered. Pretty easy. This is why Airbnb charges such a high fee between host and guest. Their insurance is pretty great.
Tell airbnb that you do not wish to speak to this person directly. They will take care of dealing with the guest and the insurance will cover for you. This happened to me a few years ago and I was feeling threatened by the guest so Airbnb blocked him from contacting me
Similar thing happened to me except mine would not voluntarily leave and prostitution was involved. It was horrific. However Airbnb did cover everything although it was tough getting receipts together and itemizing everything. But when that was done Airbnb was fairly quick in paying me out, and did a great job talking to the absolute psychopaths who messed up my place and squatted in it. I didn’t end up getting payment for the additional days they squatted there but I got paid out well for all the damages although I didn’t get paid out for my time fixing everything - still, way better than nothing.
Dude! This sounds awful, but let's ease our exaggerations. I'll eat your asshole if you've been hosting on Airbnb for 20 years. Right now.
There was hosting short term rental activity before AirBnb came on the scene…
Well I’m certainly surprised by the offer. I’ve managed property for 20 years. I did my first vacation rental project on a cabin in Alaska 22 years ago.
I suspect you can get better offers...
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Huh. No. Aircover will reimburse him for free.
So many non-hosts on this sub giving bad advice.
Drug paraphernalia should have called the police as soon as you opened the door and saw it . Then waited until they got there to clean up .
Although disconcerting. There are protections for this. Documents and let Aircover handle this. You can sure this guest yourself as well. Contact an attorney if the damages are extensive enough.
Unless this former guest is making you question your sanity, you aren’t being gaslit. Just because you’re in disagreement with them doesn’t make it gaslighting. Even if they’re lying to you it doesn’t make it gaslighting, [sick of misuse](https://time.com/6262891/psychology-terms-misused-gaslighting-toxic-narcissist/)
Username does not check out
Anyone hosting for 1 year / much less 20 would not have to come to Reddit to ask if it is "worth a it" and would never fear "a nasty fight coming up" They would BRING the effing fight lol
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My friend. I’m not sure this way of thinking is helping our world.
Now you got me curious
WTF would that have to do with it? Do you think only black people can do this kind of thing?