The Love Shack… Just Groovy, Airbnb

Posted on April 22, 2019

I live in a quiet suburban neighborhood in Farmers Branch, Texas. Homes in my neighborhood are 50-60 years old, some remodeled, many not, averaging 2,000 sq ft. It’s a quiet neighborhood with many elderly, some young families and mid-life couples/families.

In November 2018, a homeowner two doors down listed his home on Airbnb as “The Love Shack.” The home is very nice inside and has a great outdoor entertaining area with a pool. I would estimate he gets about 80% occupancy. Over the past six months, our neighborhood has increasingly become angry about the activity at this house. Here are a few examples of what we’ve seen and experienced:

Loud parties late at night and into the early morning hours
Many cars parked on our street taking up spaces in front of our homes
Cars racing down our street
Drunk teenagers
Marijuana use (resulting in arrests)
Trash left out for days, then strewn about by critters
Thug and hooker traffic
Vomit in the street
Beer cans/bottles and party waste in our yards and streets

There are often large teenager parties involving very large quantities of alcohol (hence the vomit). We see thug and hooker parties. Now we are beginning to see prostitution in the neighborhood this past week (April 13th).

One night, a bed was delivered to the home (there’s already three bedrooms in the house). Later that night, there were very bright flashes coming from the house. Based on the attire and thuggery in the house that night, there’s no doubt this was a porn shoot.

The owner has been contacted multiple times. He is disputing the city’s code violations for trash and he has revised his rules to disallow bad behavior. However, he isn’t actively monitoring the activity in this house for the sake of being a good neighbor. In fact, he has asked us to call him if we observe guests breaking his rules. I am not his personal security detail.

Airbnb invites activity into our neighborhood that people don’t want to do in their own neighborhood. Then what the hell makes you think I want it in my neighborhood? This comes in the form of drunken teen parties, sex parties, porn activity, prostitution, perhaps sex trafficking, drug use and generally, undesirable people and activities.

This is degrading the safety and security of our neighborhood, so much so that several of us neighbors have had to install security cameras and additional security lighting. Numerous complaints have been filed with Airbnb. We get nice letters stating they shared our complaints with the owner. Nothing changes. The homeowner could care less. He is getting his bone at our cost. I believe Airbnb has a good and viable purpose, but not in my neighborhood. This means war.

Airbnb Rents to Those Who Lie About their Age

Posted on March 26, 2019

We are realtors and property managers of prestigious properties in Palm Beach County, Florida. On February 24th, 2019, a guest booked one of our luxury homes. Our team tried to contact the guest 17 times in order to find out how many people/ages/etc. were booked. There was no reply from the guest until one hour before check in.

You may ask why we didn’t cancel the booking? Of course any cancellation by a host is penalized by Airbnb. We were suspicious and contacted Airbnb to explain our concerns, i.e. we smelt a rat. The naive Airbnb person, who could hardly speak English, said the standard phrase “I fully understand your situation and I will reach out to the renter.”

As we had no confidence in the Airbnb telephone assistant, we met the guest at a neutral location (Panera Bread). He is a 22 year old, with eight friends under the age of 21, a couple of whom were 17 years old. He admitted he did not return our attempts to contact him because he knew we did not accept groups of under 25s.

This is the wording of the contract he signed to obtain the booking:

Rental properties are for family vacations only: [the host] gladly rents to families or responsible adults over the age of 25 years old. [The host] has a “No-Group” Policy, which includes but is not limited to the following: SCHOOL, SPRING BREAK, PROM, GRADUATION, SORORITIES, FRATERNITIES, OR WEDDING RECEPTIONS.
[The host] may approve at the time of reservation and at our discretion to rent to groups, but you must disclose at the time of reservation 1) that you are a non-family group and, 2) the majority of the group members must be at least 25 years of age. [The host] will not enter into a Rental Agreement with anyone under the age of 25. Be honest!

The best way to avoid problems during your stay is to be up front when making the reservation. Any such misrepresentation, overcrowding, exceeding parking capacity, or sub-letting of Rental Property will result in both the forfeiture of all monies paid (including all fees) and immediate, expedited eviction.

In addition, if [the host] discovers any undeclared parties, prom groups, graduation groups, or underage groups, before during or after stay then [the host] will bill the guest credit card a minimum fee of 1 night`s rent and any damages or additional housekeeping charges. In addition, [the host] reserves the right to bill $150 per incident for neighborhood complaint calls made to the police or complaint calls to [the host] after hours emergency number, or any other neighborhood complaint regarding Guest noise, nuisance, and parties.
[THE HOST] HAS A ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY FOR ROWDY GROUPS-PLEASE BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR!”

Obviously, we were unable to allow him to stay in this multi-million dollar home with his eight friends. Airbnb then made a ruling, after having all of the above information, to fully refund the renter. Our client has now lost almost $5000 and the property cannot be rented at this late stage.

Here is Airbnb’s reasoning: “It is Airbnb’s policy not to discriminate on age against anyone renting a property over the age of 18”. This means the contracts you upload onto Airbnb are, apparently, trumped by the Airbnb policy of no discrimination against anyone over 18 years old, even if they are spring breakers looking to party in quiet neighborhoods. It is exactly this policy that gives Airbnb and local property managers a bad name, in quiet respected neighborhoods.

Would you really like this guest and his buddies next to your mother and father for a week? Airbnb: you are a disgrace and no wonder Palm Beach County is taking legal action against you. There is a real need and a responsibility to protect neighborhoods from Airbnb’s naive policies.

Airbnb Parasites who come to Asheville

Posted on November 28, 2018

Most of Buncombe County is blocked from Airbnb hosting. However, we still have the crooked landlords doing it and racking up daily fees. I’m a native here of western North Carolina and as a neighbor across the street from a home converted to Airbnb use, I’ve had nothing but private property/trespassing related issues. These are the most stupid and disrespectful people.

You get a neighbor once in a while from urban areas that walk their dogs on your property to pee or poop. You deal with these people accordingly to set the tone on the definition of “private property”. I get more traffic off it from the Airbnb guests just walking their dog on my property like they own the place.

Randomly I’d find a fast food cup or bag thrown in my lawn or a take-out container thrown in the bushes. I never had issues with neighbors littering on each other lawns before this. I was changing my spark plugs in my carport one day and saw the Airbnb guest flick their cigarette butt from their car window into my lawn as they pulled in. That guy became very aware I saw him and approached him, stating he should get over here and pick up his trash.

His Airbnb host contacted me and said if I harassed her guest she’d call the police. I stated she’d better get her butt down here and pick it up then if she’s giving her guests the green light to litter on my lawn. If I knew that landlord’s address I’d ship the trash I’ve been picking up straight to her. They don’t mind playing the hotel alternative but they certainly don’t like addressing the housekeeping problem outside their unit. Neighborhoods with even one Airbnb unit should shoot for a tax credit proposal because it’s making basic neighborhoods look like a refugee camp from negligent landlords.

One night when I was coming from work there was this car in my carport. I looked across the street and their Airbnb unit driveway was packed with cars. The distant sound of music and shouting and laughing indicated there was a party and a visitor was using my driveway. I didn’t even bother to knock and say move your car… I just had it towed.

Four hours later, a banging at my door and shouting woke me up. It was the car owner and the guest demanding to know where the car was. I filled them in and gave them the towing company contact information. They said it was inconsiderate and with the driveway being unoccupied why should I mind? I should have just asked them to move it.

My reply was: “You barked up that tree just from thinking you have some kind of right to use my property when it’s mine and I pay taxes on it… you have zero legal rights to use my land. Considering your parasitic behavior and ignorance I think you’ll get the message on what private property is. Asking you doesn’t send a message to your brain regarding your actions; it’s just tolerating your mindset that’s practiced wherever the hell you came from.”

It’s so stupid here in Asheville. They’re putting up more hotels and more housing developments which makes the landlords drool more for Airbnb. There are no big businesses here, so there’s no economic growth to take on the population influx. Airbnb is just so parasitic and nomadic in its nature… it’s just destroying communities. People need to get involved and get Airbnb out of their states and countries and cuff and jail the hosts getting by doing it illegally.

Airbnb Deletes Account Without a Reason

Posted on November 10, 2018

I, of course, first tried to quickly post this on the Airbnb community boards, but since I was permanently deleted, I can’t access any of that. Anyway, buckle up for this story. Some people have trashed me for this, but letting my apartment on Airbnb was a last resort for me: I was going broke and needed to make some money.

My place before was used as my recording studio as well as my apartment, so it needed some renovations to be converted into a proper rental space. Namely, my queen bed was lofted about eight feet up a 90-degree ladder, so that had to come down. Because I intended to keep using it as my studio in between rentals, and after I (hopefully) stashed some money away – to be able to record again once I needed less rental money – I made some renovation choices that cost more than they would have if I’d gone for the cheapest solution out there. Namely, I made my queen bed into a foldaway murphy bed.

The point is, I took my last $1,500 and made a beautiful, very cool rental space. Bookings rolled in fast, and the space was booked clean through January 15th for a total of over $15,000 in bookings.I thought my money problems were solved. Still, it’s a full-time job managing an Airbnb, and the first three weeks have been crazy busy. My third booking deserves a post all it’s own here, but it’s the reason this post exists.

Some guy books. He said the place seemed like a great place to take some photos of his “artist.” I assumed this was referring to a musician since my place has instruments on the walls and stuff. I reached out right away and told him that the piano he sees in the photos is being replaced (grand going to upright for space), and won’t be there during his stay. No reply.

The next time I hear from him is one day out. He asks me if I can “fire up the studio,” so he can get shots of his “artist” working with his “producer” and maybe even “record some freestyles.” My rules explicitly state that the recording equipment here (it’s really not much anymore) is off limits without “my supervision or my permission after we’ve discussed your background.”

Instead of saying it like that, I’m way too nice, and he takes it to be me pitching myself as his assistant to try and get more money. I basically suggested that I should be there for that and that he might consider paying me for my time. His reply is curt and I start to get a bad feeling. Still, the booking is on, even without “firing up the studio.”

On the day of, he shows up with four or five clearly 14-15 year old boys. I ask him what’s up and he says they are his “artist” and aren’t staying the night. Okay… fine. As I’m giving him the tour, I can tell he’s rushing me out. I’m more suspicious. Still, because I have a new listing, and am a new host terrified of bad reviews, I am kind and welcoming and then I leave.

Fast forward to 11:00 PM. My neighbor texted me saying there was a party going on next door. He’s seen lots of very young boys and girls coming in and out. I texted the guest and tell him that everyone needs to be out in ten minutes or I’m calling the police. To my surprise, he quickly gets them all out, but my neighbor overhears him loudly calling me “a piece of shit” in the hallway.

Earlier in the day I allowed him an extra hour check out time, so I texted to let him know my neighbor told me he thinks I’m a piece of shit and that he needs to be out at 11:00 on the dot, no late checkout. When I returned the next day my couch was ruined. There were stains all over it. Ten bags of KIND granola I ordered from Amazon for people’s breakfast were now zero bags. 40 bottles of water are now three in the fridge.

My Larrivée acoustic guitar is cracked. Counter top broken. Curtains broken. Ashes everywhere. Weed pieces everywhere. Empty liquor bottles and red solo cups in the garbage. I reported this to Airbnb. I followed their protocol of first claiming the damages to the guest, and then waiting 72 hours and filing a claim with Airbnb.

Meanwhile, this guest trashes me in his review and it’s full of lies that I can easily disprove by posting screenshots of our messages. There’s no place to do that except in the listing photos, so I decide I’ll put them there for a week or so and then take them down once they are no longer relevant. Bad idea. Airbnb suspended my listing, and told me to take them down. I do. I explained the situation and stressed that I didn’t know that was not okay. Hey, I didn’t. It’s hell getting them to turn my account back on. It took three days.

1.5 weeks go by and I’m in the middle of handling the claim with an Airbnb rep when I get a voicemail from another Airbnb rep saying that she has a report about something and I need to get in touch, but that she’s in Europe so I have to answer her call between 7:00-10:00 AM. She also emails once, and I replied to her email with information about when to call. I suggested we handle it via email since the calling might be difficult. No reply.

The next day I’m handling another Airbnb headache with a guest and a call comes in from a number I don’t recognize, and not even thinking about it, I let it go to voicemail. It was her. I tried calling back ten minutes later but as many of you may know, you cannot reach the “trust and safety” department unless they call you. I can’t be transferred to her. It’s impossible. Still I leave a note with guy on the phone to let her know I’m trying to reach her. I also go and reply to her email again. No reply comes.

Next day. No call comes, but I do get a voicemail from her hours later. The phone must have been off or without service when she called. The same exact process as the day before happens. She will not respond to emails.

Next day. I lost all the money I invested. I lost $15,000 in bookings. I cannot reach anyone. No one will call me back. Apparently, once you receive this letter, Airbnb ceases to discuss anything with you. However, during one call to try and get through, the “front line” phone guy slips and mentions something about a “bullying” report. The photos I posted. The guest must have seen them before I took them down and reported it as “bullying.”

That’s all I’ll ever know apparently. I had guests coming tonight, and every night until January 5th. I can’t reach any of them. They are all permanently deleted, so even if I magically get my account back, my bookings are all gone. This being my “last resort” way of making some money, I now have $3 in my checking account and no way of making more. I’m eating the last of my PB&J right now and then I don’t know what I’m going to do. Not much left here I can even sell to make some money to eat. I’m devastated.

Airbnb Guest Brings 34 People to a House Meant for 6

Posted on November 5, 2018

I would like to share my story with everyone. I recently published a listing on Airbnb that can accommodate six people. I had many guests who sent me inquiries asking if my place was available and many more questions.

After evaluating all the guests, I finally accepted one reservation as she had good reviews from other hosts. I immediately told her that my place can only accommodate six people and that she needed to pay an extra $30 for each guest she brings after the six confirmed guests. She agreed and promised me that only six people would be in my place.

Since I go to work every day, I was not there when she checked in but my caretaker welcomed them. Four hours after they checked in, my caretaker called me saying that there were 34 people in my place and that the guest told him not to tell me as she would be charged for such a big amount.

I called her right away when this was told to me and she admitted that there were 34 people in my place. I requested money from her via Airbnb but she refused to pay me and deleted her account. I called Airbnb and asked them to collect the money but they never helped me. They even gave me a deadline of 24 hours to send documents confirming that there were extra 28 people in my place when the guest already admitted it and even contacted Airbnb saying that she did not know what to do and how to pay me since she didn’t have enough money.

The case manager from Airbnb told me that they will not help me unless documents are sent when I told them a million times that I won’t be able to send documents as I live in a different place and that I had a business flight that day. Indeed the worse experience and customer service on earth.

Weekend Millionaires in Neighbour’s Airbnb Flat

Posted on October 2, 2018

Just another neighbour complaining about living next to an Airbnb, hoping that something might be done one day. If not, maybe it just feels good to rant…

For the last few months now, my partner and I have been living next to what is now some kind of party den for weekend millionaires who appear to have no regard for other human beings who actually live in the area. We’ve had it all: thudding music, screeching girls, boisterous louts, fights, shouting, swearing, glasses being thrown onto the street (from the 8th floor), someone almost being thrown off the balcony (again, from the 8th floor), police turning up, etc.

It’s simply unfathomable to me how people can be so oblivious or simply apathetic to the fact that it’s a Tuesday at 5:00 AM and usually people are asleep or about to get ready for work. The flat in question faces over a large expanse surrounded by several blocks and the acoustics mean that any noise quite literally echoes around the area. God forbid you want to open your windows to let some air in during the summer. Isn’t it lovely having the choice to either sweat to death in (somewhat) peace or be cool but slightly insane from sleep deprivation in your own home?

The host has refused to even acknowledge the problem and has essentially disappeared off the face of the Earth since I managed to contact them, demonstrating complete contempt for the fact they’re disturbing roughly near 200 residents for financial gain. What’s even more hilarious is that with each complaint I submit to Airbnb (regarding separate occurrences), I get a lovely auto response saying they’re not going to do anything because it’s been flagged as a “duplicate” complaint. Their “neighbours” system only permits you to complain once and then that’s that. Despite all this we are in the process of building up a nice, juicy “nuisance diary” hoping that the local authorities can do something… if not then god help us all. I suppose we’re just expected to put up with it. What a day and age we live in.

Living Next to Airbnb Pool House Worse than Hell

Posted on August 11, 2018

I’m too tired for words right now but it is total hell – worse than hell – living next to a Airbnb with a pool in the backyard. It’s like every weekend or every day there’s a pool party, living next to a water park, and kids screaming their heads off from 8:00 in the morning till 8:00 at night. It started out last night; I didn’t go to work. I work overnight shifts at Amazon and when I can’t sleep, I can’t work. During the summer, it’s particularly hot; we don’t have air conditioning. These houses were built with no air conditioning. We didn’t need air conditioning in Southern California when we moved here. However, now that it’s getting overcrowded there’s more humidity and it’s hotter than hell. Not only that, but this neighbor built a wall in his backyard on the hill so they can look right into our bathroom window, and my bedroom window. It is very uncomfortable and noisy and I’m tired of it. I don’t care where we go on vacation; my parents never allowed my sister and I to scream like that all day long anywhere. It’s ridiculous living next to an Airbnb property.

Popular Manchester Airbnb Doesn’t Get Damages Covered

Posted on April 16, 2018

Over the last six months we have hosted parties at our venue on Airbnb. Yes… we allow parties and our place holds 200 people and sleeps 26. It’s had national press to say that our venue is the “coolest Airbnb rental in Manchester.” In fairness, when things go well, Airbnb has been fine; 99% of our guests give five-star reviews. However, when things go wrong, they just shut up shop and refuse to pay under their guarantee, even refusing cleaning charges.

One case amounted to about £5000 currently outstanding for damages. The other day a guest took all the keys, resulting in a locksmith being called out as we had other guests arriving, a £521 bill that Airbnb has refused to pay. After all the damage, we were told by an Airbnb Trust & Safety manager that we could take a cleaning deposit straight from the client. This approach worked well up until the other day when Airbnb said this was a deposit outside the rules and that we needed to claim any cleaning fees from the host guarantee.

When we pointed out we have in the past and Airbnb didn’t pay they suspended our account and cancelled all the week’s bookings. This backfired somewhat as the guests just booked with us directly and left Airbnb bad feedback on social media. Has anyone sued Airbnb for damaged property? Or cancelled bookings? We have £40,000 in bookings until 2019. I posted some pictures of the damage on Airbnb’s social media (Facebook) and they were quick to try and get it taken down.

Football Game Turned Disastrous for Host

Posted on January 21, 2018

What was supposed to be a routine family stay for one night with two adults and two children turned into a nightmare for me, the host. The guest booked was coming from out of town for the evening to attend a Monday night football game. He was supposed to be leaving early the next morning.

First of all, they could not follow check-in instructions and attempted to get in the wrong door, resulting in an angry phone call to me complaining that they could not get in. I realized they were at the wrong door and instructed them how to get in – no big deal really. The next day I went to change the bedding, towels, etc, and the first thing I noticed was water dripping off the counter in the kitchen, running into a cabinet and onto the floor. The entire counter was flooded and the coffee maker was plugged in and immersed in water. It was a Kuerig and was totally flooded with water. It was ruined and had tripped the circuit breaker.

Next I found all the bedding piled in the center of the bed. I removed it to find a peed up blanket, comforter, sheets, and mattress pad; even the mattress was soaked. I decided to tour the entire house at that point and found surprises in every room. My entire home had been ransacked and searched –
every room, every drawer, every cabinet and closet.

The heat upstairs was left on at nearly 80 degrees. An unfinished attic space was entered, ransacked, and the lights were left on. This was a room no one should have any reason to go into (I have now locked that room down). I went to get the vacuum out of the utility room, and it was broken. It looked like it was ridden as a toy – not used, but just abused. The plastic parts could not be repaired and it was now junk.

I opened the blinds on the patio door and noticed my awning was half extended. It wouldn’t operate anymore. The remote for it had been hanging on the wall behind a TV and it was laying on the counter. It was cold and dark out when the guest arrived and there would have been no reason to even use the awning. It appears to be ruined.

All the while, I have been trying to get an estimate to Airbnb for a resolution. I began taking pictures and documenting. Everything pointed to my final conclusion that the parents arrived with fast food and several canned and bottled alcoholic beverages, left their 12- and 6-year-olds unattended in my home, and headed for the game. What could possibly go wrong with that? Who takes their young children to a strange city, in a strange home, and leaves them alone?

All of the damages were done by the children, unknown to the parents. They later said they didn’t even know about a vacuum cleaner or an awning. Of course they didn’t – they weren’t even there. After finding several used K-cup pods, I also concluded that the kids had several cups of coffee before they broke it. Kids jacked up on coffee and left alone in a home…

I was emailed by Airbnb yesterday denying my claim in full even after providing proof, pictures, receipts, and the like. I have been in contact with them multiple times, the whole time thinking they would settle for something with their host guarantee. I originally asked for $2,500 and got nothing? It is evident that Airbnb will not honor their host guarantee even with unrefutable proof of loss. I am now working out of Airbnb Hell and looking for other options for my house so this doesn’t happen again.

Airbnb Party Houses Are Out of Control

Posted on December 2, 2017

“I’m in hell. This is hell and I’m in it.”

That was the second to last complaint I left with Airbnb about the McMansion next door. The last one I just left a few minutes ago, at three o’clock in the morning on a Friday. I have to get to work in a few hours. I live in a residential area of Los Angeles. There’s a high school nearby, lots of homes and apartments, and it’s comfortably far from noisy areas and nightclubs. Within the past couple years, one of the properties right behind our apartment complex underwent construction, and when it was completed there was a massive open-plan mansion there. Just kind of wedged in among the other houses. It’s a quaint little neighborhood just off of Melrose.

Walled off, it’s like a fortress that you can’t see into, but you can certainly hear everything happening within. There’s a large pool area and a patio in the back, about ten or fifteen feet from the bedroom windows of every rear-facing apartment in our building, and you can hear the rushing of the swimming pool’s water feature with your windows closed. That’s actually quite nice… it’s like camping near a tiny, douchebag waterfall.

When there are guests staying there, you can hear the water feature and literally everything else, and that’s why I’m in hell. The property owner rents this property out at $600 a night. That attracts two types of clientele: people pooling their cash and looking for a place to party, and rich douchebags. The difference between the two groups is negligible. No matter who the guest is, it always results in some form of party, with shouting, blaring music, and general assholery until around four o’clock in the morning on any given night. It doesn’t matter if it’s a Saturday or a Tuesday.

These people paid $600 to party in a mansion in our back yard and – by god – they’re going to make the most of it. We can close all of our windows and crank up the volume if we want to watch a movie and it makes no difference; the noise carries so well and so aggressively that any music or shouting drowns us out in our own home. It’s like they’re bringing the party into our apartment, into our living room, into our laps, sitting right down and screaming in our faces.

To escape the noise, I’ve devised a lot of tactics, mostly involving a variety of white-noise devices and noise-cancelling headphones. What a future we live in. Several people in my apartment building have complained, either to the police or to Airbnb. It’s not like we were expecting much, but Airbnb somehow exceeded our expectations in not giving a single f#$k about us or our complaints. The police – I was told the last time I called – are generally putting up with too high a volume of calls to deal with noise complaints.

The property owner, who lives (I think) in France most of the year, is the kind of guy who charges $600 a night for strangers to party in his party mansion, so his capacity for caring about whether or not his neighbors sleep at night is buried away somewhere in the wretched cavity of his decomposing soul. One of our neighbors was talking about going to the local courthouse, but as of yet, nothing has materialized there.

I spent an hour one night just trying to make contact with the guests who were having the world’s loudest bachelorette party. Or maybe it was a birthday party. Or maybe I don’t give a f#$k what it was. All I really care about was the five hours of shrill screaming that started at 7:00 PM and somehow lasted throughout the entire night. I discovered that the wall surrounding the mansion is apparently very good at letting noise escape, but also very good at keeping noise out. I shouted, I pounded, I shouted some more. The front gate was locked, of course, and it wasn’t until the next day and I was speaking to a neighbor that I discovered the property owner had disconnected the front gate’s buzzer, so that if you buzz it for an hour in the middle of the night, no one inside the mansion can hear it. Ultimately, I wound up scaling one of the property’s walls in order to get the attention of the guests so they might be so kind as to shut up. Great times, all around.

The long and the short of the matter is, the poor suckers who live in my apartment complex – all of whom have jobs we need to be rested for, some of us having children who definitely do not manage well when they don’t sleep – are living within ten feet of a nightclub. A shitty, horrible nightclub. For me, the ordeal will be over on the 15th of December. That’s when I can move into a new place in a different part of town, where I’ll be able to sleep at night. My roommate is moving out on the 8th. For a moment we entertained the notion of sticking out the rest of the month, like normal people living in a normal apartment, but there’s nothing normal about this. There’s nothing normal at all about this. This is hell. I’m in hell.