dangerous guest

[Jc13]

I cancelled a reservation of a guest who looked like a criminal.

Now he threathens me on the phone to come beat me.

He has my address, what can I do ?

[Judy1]

Hi @Jc13,

If you feel unsafe, you need to contact the authories (police) immediately. Telling you that he will beat you up is a threat of physical violence. Then you need to flag his messages if they are on the Airbnb platform. You should also call Airbnb right away so that they can flag his account and they are aware of the on-going situation. It is imporant to notify Airbnb immediately since physical harm is being suggested. 

Please keep us posted. 

Best,

Judy 

[Steve143]

Hello @Jc13,

Threatening phone calls like that are definitely a matter to report to the police.

If you haven't done so already you should also contact Airbnb and explain to them the reason you cancelled and plead your case so they won't penalise you for the cancellation.

I hope all goes OK and that you stay safe.

Steve.

[Jc13]

Thank you both for your response.

I contacted AirBnB and they removed the dangerous guest account.

He's not calling anymore so hopefully it's over.

I learned from AirBnB helpdesk that there's an option to filter on guests who have confirmed government ID, so I enabled it for safety.

Greetings,

JC

[Julie889]

So this is not going to an easy digestible post. I have been an airbnb host for nearly 2 years. I've met amazing people from around the globe, I'm a "Superhost" meaning I've had a lot of positive reviews and it has helped me pay my bills through a serious health care crisis. Two weeks ago I had a guest by the name of ** from Marina Del Rey book 2 nights at my home. This man nearly raped me, he harassed me for 3 days via text thereafter. The evidence is further backed up by his head-up-ass text messages. I called the police 2 times. That's right, 911 called twice, and the cops never showed up. I stood my ground as this man threatened me in my own home with his violent words, sexual threats and some pretty crazy hate crime speech. I survived without getting raped, but the aftermath of dealing with inept the cops, inept Airbnb "trust and safety" department got me revved up so much that I feel as though I want to be violent. And I am not a violent person. As I spoke with police officers later, I realized they are so traumatized in their own line of duty that I actually found myself comforting them. WTF? As I dealt with Airbnb/robots I found myself having to advocate daily on behalf of myself even though the evidence is literally in writing. I'm a strong woman and if this man had any sense at all he knew I would shred him if he laid a hand on me. I tell this story not to brag about surviving a violent crime or state I'm a victim, because I am not. Though I was victimized-very different. I wish but to expose this man to the public as being a highly dangerous human being and I will blow the whistle on him through any avenue it takes so no one else gets hurt. Again his name is **

**[Name hidden due to privacy reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Jc13]

Sorry to hear about what happened to you. I hope Airbnb "trust and safety" blocked that criminal from their website and reported him to the police. As I wrote earlier, there's an option to accept only verified guests. I'm afraid crime will keep rising because of general moral decay so Airbnb hosts should be prepared.

[Julie889]

Thank you and I agree. Again his name is **. Please no one let him slide past you and stay at any of your homes.

**[Name hidden due to privacy reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Julie889]

Hi JC- I'm in agreement with you which is all the more reason that community boards are to behave as a tool when the powers that be don't seem to help hosts or guests out in a dangerous situation. I'm not talking about small stuff such as where's the soap, or unreasonable  guests, or we don't like your sheets. I'm talking about full on dangerous situations. The fact that this community board blocked the man that nearly raped me is horrendous. No one should live in fear in there own homes. 

Thank you for reaching out. What are your suggestions for preparing for moral decay? I'm trying to make a living and my guests have been wonderful, but one very rotten apple has got me livid and uncertain as to if I even I will go back to hosting or being a guest. Perhaps it really is too dangerous.

[Julie889]

Dangerous guest name is ** from Marina del Rey, Ca Interesting that airbnb blocks his name in my posts.

**[Name hidden due to privacy reasons - Community Center Guidelines]

[Jess78]

Hi Julie,

I am so, so sorry and alarmed to hear about your experience. Have you done a background check of him yourself yet? Verified user doesn’t mean anything, as I recently found out.  All it means is that his profile pic matches a gov. ID. Let me know and I can run his name if you’d like to see. Please take care of yourself. Get on the local news and a lawyer if needed. It sounds natural to have a lot of anger about this.  Other hosts are also in the line of fire 

I know because I recently had a guest host an illegal drug injection party at my rental house and Airbnb trust and safety team did less than nothing. No help. No advice. He is still on this site booking reservations. I did a background check of him myself and he has a criminal record from August 2015.  Now I’m worried about retribution for a bad review.

It makes me extremely worrried about the quality of guests that the site is attracting. I’ve been hosting since 2014 but this danger isn’t worth it. 

[Tim448]

how and where do you run a background check and what information do you need from the person?

[David126]

i was wondering the same, how much does it cost?

[Jess78]

Hi Tim,

I have been using instantcheckmate for the past week and it tells me everything i need to know about whether to trust a guest. You can do it for a month to see if you like it, or longer subscription for cheaper. I'm chalking it up to one business expense that's not wise to skimp on.

[Tim448]

thank you Jess

[Julie889]

Hi Jess, Thank you so much. This man just returned to my house with a gun. The cops showed up 60 minutes later and he was gone. Yes please run his name for me. Call me at ****.

Holy moly we have to stop this behaviour some how. What we both shouldered is truly horrifying.

Julie

*[Personal information hidden for safety reasons]