In Free Union, Virginia, there is a couple who have fraudulently described their property as a working farm stay and this is not true: “This is a small working farm – we have cows, chickens, honey bees, a dog and a cat. Consequently, while we are here at Rockfield Farm we tend to stay very busy with chores, so you will be left alone for the most part. We are happy to assist or answer questions anytime, however.”
It is not Rockfield Farm nor has it been a working farm for several years, like when their momma gave them the property 25 years ago. You will be left alone because they will stay hidden to make it seem like the farm chores you see being done are by them when in fact that is not the case.
They do not own a farm nor the animals described on their listing. They lease their pastures to a business that farms the property and has wrongfully told you have access to the property, being the fence. If you are found on the property you will be asked to leave, if you do not leave, you will be trespassing on the property as the lease these scammers signed clearly states they nor their guests have access to the farming area.
They are not busy with chores, other than perhaps their own laundry or doing their post-college age kids’ laundry for them. They do not have a dog, or a cat or a cow or any of the things described in their Airbnb as they have been making a profit off of the farmers’ actual hard work.
Please note, there are photos of Airbnb guests on camera trespassing on the leased property, touching animals, messing with pens, fences, etc. Airbnb guests who bring dogs please note that if your dog gets off their lease and damages farming property or livestock, you will be held liable. Virginia code §3.2-6402 gives us immunity from any damages incurred by Airbnb guests or their pets, including but not limited to severe injury and death. You will be filmed should you step foot onto the leased property and these images will be used in legal action against the Airbnb hosts.
Now I’m just sure the little loft under the building is as cute as can be, but you have been warned: they are profiting from other people’s hard work and lying about it, putting you and your family at risk of legal repercussions.
Yes, it looks as if you didn’t read the rules very well. With so many great reviews and superhost status, why hasn’t this come out before? I think you’re mistaken.
I just checked the listing link out to see what this place is like. I was a WWOOF host for a couple years, and some of our guests had similar complaints. I advertised very accurately as a homestead that is also attempting permiculture and growing flowers as well as helping on improvement projects and an airbnb rental. What happens is that guests do not read any rules, fail to follow directions and just expect to show up any time like a motel.
When you look at the listing these folks are super hosts with many excellent reviews.
I am thinking this is a situation with a neighbor that is tiered of guests trespassing, and also jealous of their great small STR business. There is no recent negative review, suggesting this person never stayed at this airbnb.
Airbnb does not help or listen to rural communities and try to deal with these, or way worse nuisance problems like damages during trespassing, lost guests waking up neighbors late at night, and extra noise. Airbnb actually hides locations and promotes “lockbox operations” with the host absent as well as promoting over occupancy. Just some education and changing the platform to reward responsible hosts would be a first step.
My worst experience for a farm stay was booking at an eco-resort (before airbnb existed) that claimed to be a bird watching reserve. It was an operating ranch, with similar problems on taking guests on private property for nearby farms. It was near Quito Ecuador and we only got about 1/2 of funds returned after leaving in just 2days from a 1 week booking. This was after a near death experience which is a whole story in itself. It was booked by a travel company in NewYork or we would not have gotten much of anything returned.
This posting should be on the Neighbors category.
So how are they super hosts. Then nobody complained before?