Guest broke every rule and lied about reason for booking... threw party
Hello Fellow Hosts!
I am writing in hopes of gaining insight to prevent an event like this from happening again in the future. There is a lot of information so here is the brief summary:
*Guest booked for 2 adults and stated he was coming into town to bring the "kiddos" to the lake
*Our rental only allows for 2 vehicles to be parked at all times. There were SEVEN vehicles parked, two of which were BOATS and more cars parked around the corner
*Guest threw a party which last until the early hours of the morning at least until 2:30am. Our rules state no parties and quiet hours after 10pm.
The following morning I asked the guest to leave as we are not able to host anyone that is not sheltering in place. Upon entry in the rental we discovered marijuana, beer cans, dirty dishes, dirty clothes, trash and smoking paraphernalia strewn about. The rental REEKED of marijuana smoke despite best efforts to rid it having all windows, 4 ceiling fans, hood exhaust, essential oil diffuser and burning incense for hours. There were fluids spilled all over the floor. One bed was soaked in urine and the other vomit, both of which penetrated through the mattress protectors and into the mattress. A pair of urine soaked boxer briefs were left on the floor of one closet. Outdoor curtains were spit upon. Two trash bags were filled with four cases of coors light and truuly as well as vodka labels, joints and cigarettes. It took 7 loads of laundry and 6 hours to clean and sanitize the 650 sf space. When I requested money to cover the additional laundry and cleaning costs he continued to claim he was only there with his family and just had four guests. He also accused me of trying to make money off him and stated I must have a tiny washer machine. I have a Ring camera (disclosed) pointing at the entrance/parking with evidence of all the people coming and going all hours of the night as well as them smoking on the property (another rule broken).
When I called AirBnB the morning I asked them to leave the representative Barbara that I spoke with was quite rude and very unwilling to help. It has been over a week now and I have still not heard back from AirBnB! I am feeling so frustrated with the complete lack of support. As hosts we are assuming all the risks but when we need them they are never there for us! Luckily in the 3.5 years of hosting and 200 +/- bookings we have had very few incidences, however, each time that we have needed support they are always more willing to side with the guest even if they have ZERO reviews. Why oh why does AirBnB not do more to screen guests? Why do they not require everyone to simply upload their id? If you have ever tried to create a new account yourself and book a rental it literally only takes a few minutes. I did so by including nothing more than my email and a credit card, not even a photo or phone number!
I am disheartened by the experience to say the least. This is a family operation and we put our heart into hosting. I'd be grateful for any words of wisdom anyone would care to share or about your own less than favorable experiences you've encountered and how you handled them. Is it best to just the call the cops? I was not anticipating ever being in this situation.