ODD GUEST

Alison86
Level 1
Phoenix, AZ

ODD GUEST

Hello, we are new to Airbnb and would really like advice on a guest. Our first guest came and went no problems, now our second guest is really freaking us out. First she came to us under someone else's account (odd, but we were fine to overlook it). She immediately just seemed really odd and uncomfortable in social settings. Her first day here she put blankets up over our windows to completely black out our house. Then, she turned our AC off completely (we live in AZ it's over 100 degrees). Next she unplugs our water cooler (it makes a slight humming noise apparently that bothers her, but any normal person wouldn't even hear this), then she turned off our refrigerator and we lost the food in our freezer! We figured it out when water was all over our kitchen floor because the ice melted in the freezer. She sits in the dark living room all day (no lights, tv, sound, etc) and I've found her crying a lot. She says she recently got divorced and I am not sure if she is on medication, but it certainly seems so. If she isn't she should be! Anyway, she doesn't have a car either, so she litterally just sits here all day. My husband and I don't even want to come home it's so strange around here. Her clothes and food bowls are all over the place and we are just wondering if odd behavior like this is just something we need to get used to as an Airbnb host? We are clueless as to what to do. She is still paid for another 7 days. It's only been 2 nights so far! I finally drove her to the library just to get some peace in our house from her. While she is gone, I took down all the blankets, turned on the refrigerator, lights, water cooler, AC, etc. I don't know what to do?! She's just super odd?! Help! 

17 Replies 17

Allison,

Sorry to hear about this experience and I have to say this is extremely odd and not common. I don't know what your financial situation is but I would contact Airbnb to terminate her stay and refund her the days she has not used. Make sure you talk to an Airbnb rep and get their take on the situation. No money is worth feeling like a stranger in your home.

Good luck

This guest is not "odd" she's in a serious crisis.  None of what she's done is "normal" and because your own profile has no details or a picture (HOW??????) she's picked your profile and location to behave badly.  

Call Airbnb immediately - what if she commits suicide while she's in your home.  Write a review of her behavior and all the details immediately, mark her thumbs DOWN.  This is inappropriate and no other host needs to be a part of her (and, clearly, your) destruction.  

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728%...

Lori44
Level 1
Fort Lauderdale, FL

No Way! That is unacceptable.
Do you have any house rules.
I have never had anyone that behaved like that. The dead give away was she used someone else's account. You have no credentials on her?
She will probably never leave.
Tell her you have a family emergency and she must leave. Give her her money back.
Louise84
Level 1
Toronto, Canada

I would contact the Airbnb line asap and have them cancel her stay. I had to do this only once in the past. You will get some compensation from Airbnb. They will help you deal with this issue so everyone comes out a winner. Hope this helps.
Audrey58
Level 1
Denton, TX

No, this is not just a normal thing you should get used to. Your post actually makes me wonder if this is a prank post, it sounds that absurd!

Yes, this person is clearly going through something. Most of us have been there, but hopefully not in a stranger's house. You need to set some boundaries. If you can do this in a calm, compassionate way, that would be ideal. Try and see this lady with kindness and assume she means you no harm when you talk to her. Think about the way you talk to children, people who are ill, or people in mourning if you have experience with those. Ideally, keep your tone caring, even if you're confused and angry about all this stuff. Tell her you have a few requests and the completely logical reasons why you need to keep the fridge plugged in, etc. Figure out what is ok for you and what is not- are you ok with the blankets, but not the unplugging? Do you want absolutely all of it to stop? Ask her clearly if the reason she unplugged the fridge is because it's too loud for her, and whatever other things you decide are not acceptable to you and tell her you're sorry but we really have to leave it plugged in so the food doesn't spoil. This sounds like a person battling for their sanity and you can try to be supportive if you have that in you. Decide for yourself if you're ok with her using your room for her mental health retreat. It sounds like you're not. It would probably be better for both of you for her to be in a place she can cry and make messes to her heart's content without you or your husband passing judgement on her behavior.

 

It also sounds like you do not have very good communication with her. Are you able to simply talk to each other? Does she comprehend things when you talk? Does she talk like a reasonable person? Remaining in mutual awkward silence helps no one.

 

Your other option is to let her know that your space is not just compatible with their needs and they will need to find another place within a reasonable amount of time- you would be within your rights technically to ask her to leave immediately, but you might want to talk to her and find out what the situation is and whether she can find another place to go within, say 24 hours. You can bring up the noise being non-negotiable or the windows being unsuitable for her, really. A hotel or weekly motel might be a much better option. She might act angry about it, but try not to get upset yourself. She will probably calm down if you leave her alone for a while. You can tell her it's nothing personal, you're sure she's a good person but it's just not a good fit for her needs. You can even help her pick out a motel if you can do it in a kind way, assuming your place isn't on a remote mountaintop or something.

 

She might end up leaving you a bad review no matter what path you choose, but you have an excellent case to get it removed, or you could just start a new account using a different email when you want to continue since you've had so few guests. Definitely don't get involved in a bad review war with her. There's nothing to be gained from fighting with people online, especially when they're going through a breakdown. And remember, only there by the grace of god go the rest of us "stable" people!

To avoid this in the future, yes, post a profile photo of yourself. And consider raising your rates so they're somewhat above the cheapest hotel around, you don't want to attract folks who just want to save money by staying with you.

You are very compassionate person.

Less0
Level 2
Milwaukee, WI

Alison I had a guest who came was a dean in Tampa brought his so called daughter with him. He walked around in boxers and him and his daughter where way to touchy feely. I Calld Airbnb abd they had him leave. After that day I no longer host anyone in my home for more then a night. I realized my place will get booked and if they are weird strange I only have to deal with it one night. In the future please take this advice ,You have the control not the gust it's your home.Your not obligated to anyone. In the future don't accept a guest for more then two days. If you ever feel uncomfortable call Airbnb they will help .

Zandra0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Not at all normal behaviour; this person is going through a personal crisis.

I'm going to stick my neck out here and say I don't think this person chose you based on your lack of profile; this person was just looking for anything to escape their situation.

Really I see you have two choices; give them some human kindness and empathise with what's happening to them or get Airbnb to evict the guest.

Up to you, no right or wrong in this situation; if it was me I'd want to look after them 🙂

Um, no.  You do not have to allow the guest to alter your premises.  No to turning off any appliances, no to putting blankets on the windows and no to arriving and remaining without transportation.

 

"Julie, this is not working for us.  We're going to help you to relocate to a motel or shelter.  Do you think you need to see a counselor or get some help?  No?  OK, I'll help you pack and drive you to wherever you want within a half hour of here.  Let's figure this out now, because you can't stay here tonight."

Cynthia-and-Chris1
Level 10
Vancouver, WA

You definitely should not have to live like a prisoner in your own house.  I would keep the blankets down and let her know she needs to clean up after herself.  No way would I ever let someone turn off my AC or unplug my fridge - that's just absurd.  She's obviously dealing with something - something serious.  She needs some kind of help - maybe more than you can give her.  If you are unable or unwilling to (nothing wrong with that!) you can call Airbnb and have them rehome her.

 

My biggest fear would be her refusing to leave.  Yikes!

There is no way this would happen. I will throw her **bleep** on the street and get fined/arrested before allowing her to stay here past the schedule date. 🙂 Thanks for your tips, everyone is so helpful on here, it's awesome! 🙂

Christine1
Level 10
Glenbrook, Australia

@Alison86, it sounds as if this woman needed some emergency accommodation which has been arranged for her by a friend. You were aware that it was a third party booking and not quite a regular situation and decided to go ahead.

This is a challenging situation for a new host, but if you personally do not feel threatened or at risk, then I am inclined to endorse the advise of the writers who suggested compassionate compromise and trying to continue the accomodation. There are a couple of great responses that focus on negotiated behaviour and crisis support.

In the end, if you can stay the course until the end of the booked stay, you will probably feel better about yourself and the way you handled things and your respectful conduct will likekely have long term benefits for this woman as she moves towards recovery from whatever crisis has brought her to your home at this time. 

You might also write to the person who made the original booking and respectfully express your concern and ask for their advice in supporting the guest during her stay.

Let us know how things work out for you all.

regards, Christine.

Alison86
Level 1
Phoenix, AZ

Thank you everyone for your help. I feel better just knowing there is a resource for people like us that are really newbies! We will work on updating our profile. One note; we were on automatic booking with Airbnb through verified listings only and this woman booked under her friend Julie's account. Julie IS a verified user. This woman I am sure would not be. So I didn't even know what to do when a confirmed booking came in a few hours prior to her arrival and it wasn't even actually her coming. 

To update the situation, I am trying my best to work with the cards we've been dealt, but I have put my foot down on the "house rules". I even wrote them down for her on the table so no confusion: AC must stay on, Refrigerator and Water Cooler are not to be touched and have even had to tell her to stay out of our other spare room (no idea why she keeps going in there an just sitting on the floor). So far those things have not been touched again. I will continue to put my foot down on any weirdness over the next few days. Also, I am not necessarily worried for my safety (we have two pitbulls in this house that I am sure she would not want to mess with)...this is definitely more of a concern for her safety. We've decided to not cater to her needs either so I have opened all the blinds, turned on the music and pretty much made HER uncomfortable instead of us. And to answer, no she isn't someone you just have a "normal" conversation with. Someone doing all these things is NOT normal to begin with. And to the other post, I can only wish this was all just a big joke and a fake post, but it sadly is not. She is definitely in crisis. I will be reaching out to Julie (her phone number is on Airbnb) and letting her know what's going on so she can possibly come get her friend. Thank you everyone for all the help, so appreciated.