GUEST FROM HELL – NEVER PAID ME AND DESTROYED MY APARTMENT IN NYC

I had a man from Los Angeles, named KYLE XANDER HENDERSON stay in my apartment and we confirmed back and forth through email on a certain amount of money for the stay ($760 to be exact). For some horrible reason the reservation was booked for $150 total for 5 nights in NYC, not $150 a night. When I realized this error Xander was already enroute to NYC and I explained to him the issue. He promised me he would accept the price change so that I would be paid $760. He confirmed several times with me he would pay me and I have text/emails to prove it. The following day still nothing confirming he accepted my alteration on price and he started to ignore me. Sure enough day 5 comes and this jerk still hasn’t paid me or accepted my price change. I texted and called him every day and still nothing. He left on the 5th day never paid me and I came home to find my brand new hardwood floors completely destroyed. I immediately contacted Airbnb and after literally 45 Calls to them and hours of waiting, no one will help me. I did get a call from them but its back and forth rhetoric. NO ONE WILL HELP ME! Anyone who reads the conversation between me and Xander can see this guy screwed me royally on the price. He strung me along, never paid me when I trusted he would and then left my apartment a mess. AIRBNB doesn’t care about their host or anyone. Because I didn’t have a large deposit on my place, I am most likely unable to get any money. I thought the whole point people use AIRBNB is because we are backed by their 1 million dollar guarantee insurance. I am in shock AIRBNB has screwed me so much and I do believe in karma and I hope KYLE XANDER HENDERSON gets what he deserves.

Your listing will be tied up for up to 12 hours if guest isn’t verified!

We have been airbnb/VRBO hosts since November 2014. Yesterday we encountered a strange situation with a guest attempting to book with us via airbnb. I tried to decline them, but the site wouldn’t allow it, showing the dates were blocked (with “pending verification”). I called airbnb and they stated that the guest was still unverified and she needed to submit her online profile (and she has 12 hours to complete this, which ties up my calendar so that no one else can book during this time). Of course, I asked every question you can think of from “how is this possible?” to “how can I decline her now, so my calendar is open again for the next prospective tenant?”. All I got was that they understood that it was frustrating, but that’s the way it is. I had to wait 12 hours for the calendar to be freed up. Then, this morning the guest tried again – same problem all over again! For whatever reason, her profile wasn’t completed (or wasn’t being approved quickly) and our calendar was again tied up for 12 hours! I have had 4 conversations with 4 different airbnb customer service reps since yesterday, to no avail. They simply allow unverified guests who request a reservation before they’re verified, to tie up your calendar, therefore blocking anyone else from those same dates. The crazy thing is that your calendar is tied up, even if you’re just going to decline the guest anyway – you just have to wait to do it ! We haven’t had any trouble with VRBO – in fact, we used to think we’d like airbnb better, but VRBO wins by a landslide! We’ve had better experiences and we’ve gotten several more times the guests via VRBO than airbnb. We are seriously considering dropping airbnb altogether and just working with VRBO!

AN AIRBNB HOSTS HORROR STORY

I have been a Real Estate investor/landlord/agent for 40 yrs. I was contacted by Airbnb who found me on Craigslist 6 yrs. ago when they were just a few guys in S.F. renting out their couches, asking if they could list my rentals on their new website. I agreed. I was a loyal airbnb host for 6 yrs. I took total strangers from all over the world into my private Los Angeles estate guest houses, our Las Vegas vacation rental, and my famous W. Hlwd. Jim Morrison bldg. I accepted 1st time guests from all over the world who had no host reviews. I took their pets. I did this because Airbnb offered me a false sense of security, by holding guests security deposits and offering a host guarantee insurance policy which is currently $1,000,000.00. Yes, a million dollars! Lets talk about the “Bad” guests. They ranged from irresponsible nuisances to shrewd con artists. There were the ones who broke or stole a few minor items, the ones who violated our common sense/common courtesy rules, or the ones who required “special services” but didn’t want to pay for them after. The worst guests included necessary police intervention or major theft caught on CCTV cameras. There was the group of “squatters.” They were wolves in sheep’s clothing who came to me as short term vacation rental guests. Visualize “The Beverly Hillbillies” in a pickup truck with their dogs. They came off sweet as pie (landlord 101: beware of overly nice prospective tenants. No one is that nice! They are usually desperate people with bad credit, no job, who can’t get anyone else to rent to them!) He even took on the job as handyman around the apt. bldg. They were able to drag out their stay, doling out breadcrumbs by paying a few days at a time. When it came time for them to check out, these predators who apparently support themselves by “working the system” refused to vacate the premises screaming “permanent tenant rights” in the grand scheme of things to con me out of $13,500 in re-location fees and to be able to extend their stay for one more year under the cities rent control laws!!! As if this wasn’t bad enough, I also got sued by the city who extorted me for nearly $16,000 in perceived TOT fees, which ended up costing me nearly $5000 in attys fees (who took my money and resigned from the case after doing nothing) before I ended up having to pay the city nearly $10,000 in fines. THIS IS WHAT BEING AN AIRBNB HOST COST ME. And what support did I get from airbnb? Now lets talk about airbnb. They come off syrupy sweet, calling you an “awesome Superhost.” They act like airbnb is all about “sharing space” and “making friends.” If I were looking for friendship, I’d join a social club. Lets get one thing straight. It’s renting out space. Real estate. Real estate is a business. Bottom line, you are in business to make money. AIrbnb is in business to make money. They take it from both ends- their hosts and their guests. They block out parts of hosts and guests email correspondence if they suspect it includes sharing contact information. Don’t let them kid you. They expect hosts and guests to trust them with total stranger connections, lodging, and finances, but they do not trust their own hosts or guests to be able to communicate with one another in fear they will get cut out of the deal. As airbnb & their # of hosts grew during the past few years (as did their negative reviews which began popping up all over on various websites) due to their mass marketing campaign, they appeared to care less and less about their hosts and guests. The 1st big scandal I read about was the host in California whose home was totally trashed by airbnb guests. That’s when airbnb came up with their “$50,000.00 host guarantee policy” to provide panicked hosts a false sense of security. Most recently was the home in Canada that was totally trashed by airbnb guests. Airbnb upped the ante to $1,000,000.00. To be eligible for that type of host coverage, I suspect the entire family would need to be brutally murdered. I am a professional, honest, trustworthy, “to the book” type host. I never once went behind Airbnb’s back to try to cut them out of their original booking commission because I believe in karma and I believe everyone is entitled to their fair share of what they contributed. Also, never once did one of my guests ever make a theft claim while staying in our rental units. That speaks volumes for my honesty and integrity. Many guests don’t realize that when they book through airbnb, all payment is handled directly by airbnb. They never allow the host to be in possession of the security deposit. So when a guest commits damage, theft, violations of rules or requires special services, I exercised my host rights and filed a claim with airbnb under the guest’s security deposit. To avoid having to process claims, airbnb will attempt to discourage hosts by running you through the hoops. Think boot camp! 1st you have to go through the “Resolution request” (asking your guest to pay you.) This link is nearly impossible to find on their site. Once you have found it, filled out the form, and sent it to your guest, the guest will usually deny the damage/theft, etc., get angry that you “accused them,” refuse to pay, then leave you a false negative retaliatory review. If you don’t hear back from the guest or they deny the claim, you have to mark your calendar to remember to contact airbnb to “get involved.” (if you forget, you are out of luck on the claim as the deadline has expired.) In order to involve airbnb, they will require photos, witnesses, original receipts, and/or comps. As a real estate investor with multiple fully furnished properties in 3 locations in 3 states, I would have hire someone to pull dead files out of storage and spend days going through thousands of receipts through the years to find one for a towel, mug, pillow or whatever for the damaged or missing item(s) in question! Once you have completed the form & provided the “evidence” (they do not trust their hosts word, despite the fact the host trusted them to have these strangers in their home who broke/stole their personal property items!) you wait to hear back from airbnb. None of my claims were what I would consider “substantial” amounts of money. Some claims were processed, but as time went on they were either denied, reduced, or ignored. When a guest flooded my unit, I filed a claim for $2,500.00 for my out of pocket costs. This was my and only claim that came under the $1,000,000.00 Host guarantee policy. After I went through airbnb’s claim “boot camp” process, they said they were only willing to pay $500 firm (20% of my claim,) Final decision, no appeal. Shortly thereafter, with no warning they deleted all of my listings and cancelled all of my bookings for the rest of the year. They told my future guests that it was I who had cancelled their bookings, so I had angry guests contacting me not realizing the truth, that airbnb had lied to them and that I was as much an airbnb victim as they were! I still have approx. 1/2 dozen minimal claims airbnb ignored and never paid over the past year, along with the one and only claim I filed in 6 yrs. under the $1,000,000.00 Host guarantee claim for $2,500.00 that I was never compensated for. If you are an airbnb host who incurred damage, theft, or unpaid claims and you would like to be paid, please contact me. Email: cheriwoods1@yahoo.com Responsible guests are always welcome! See my websites below.

HOSTS BEWARE! AIRBNB’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS!

HOSTS BEWARE! AIRBNB’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS! LEGAL PROBLEMS: Airbnb has been banned in many cities. Hosts have been sued by the city, and fined thousands of dollars for hosting Airbnb guests. Neighbors and communities are protesting Airbnb hosting.

GUEST PROBLEMS: Airbnb hosts have had their homes totally trashed by guests, property damaged, stolen, requiring police intervention and legal action.

INSURANCE PROBLEMS: Airbnb’s “$1,000,000 host guarantee is a scam!” Airbnb runs hosts through hurdles, only to deny, greatly reduce, or ignore the claims in the end.

HOSTS USED, ABUSED & KICKED TO THE CURB: If a host exercises their right & files claims against guests security deposits due to damage, theft or violations of rules, they are kicked to the curb with no warning. Their listing(s) are deactivated and all bookings cancelled.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO GUESTS: When a host is kicked to the curb, so are their guests. Airbnb lies to the guests, telling them it was the host who cancelled their bookings, when in fact, both host and guests are victimized by Airbnb.

AIRBNB’S GREED: Airbnb collects a fee from both ends, the host and the guest. If a booking is cancelled, the only one guaranteed 100% payment is Airbnb.

SELLING YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL: For a little bit of money, hosts sacrifice their home, their privacy, their time, their freedom, their lives, and their pocketbook, only to be kicked to the curb by Airbnb after they have used and abused you, and replace you with new unsuspecting hosts that Airbnb pulls into their web of deceit.

Airbnb took 40% of host payment

As a host, I cannot know how much AiRBnB and their bank will take from my money, I got 40% less than expected!

AirBnB simply cheated me and after all didn’t answered on my questions, I as a host still don’t know how much money I will get after guests left. AirBnB payment option is not reliable so I had to double the price.. and still don’t know how much my payment will be.  It’s funny how much time I have lost asking AiRBnB to solve this problem.  Imagine, you want to rent a flat and don’t know how much money you will get after commission of AirBnB and his intermediary banks.  I sent all proofs and papers from my bank (my bank takes only 2 euro) to AiRBnB, and still have no answer.  This is bad, very bad experience with this site, for my first (and probably last) renting I got almost 40% less money then expected… and still without proper answer..  Be careful of their “pleasant, sweet word mails” without solving problems. 

do not host with AirBnB – security deposit means nothing!

I put my house on AirBnB. One of the first bookings I had was for a family of 4 visiting to have a quiet weekend. I was not able to meet the guest when he checked in and left a key. This person threw a massive college keg party/crawfish broil for 100+ guests according to neighbors. There was close to $2000 worth of damage from a $700 booking. I opened a case with Airbnb’s resolution center, submitted the invoices and was reimbursed $300 out of the $1000 security deposit. I have been trying to call Airbnb and speak to a supervisor for over a week and cannot get anyone to return my call.

AirBnB has no soul… caution

I had a guest who kept extending their stay. One month became two, two became three, and then he wanted to deal directly with me for a lower rate. I said it is what it is. I really bent over backward to help this guy who I found out later was cruising from airbnb to airbnb… After no complaints during his stay I left a nice review. After I reviewed him he left a defamatory review that AirBnB refuses to remove, even though it is against their own review policy. After getting nowhere with “Clementine” I discovered there was no way to escalate up the chain of command. So I left a comment to the review that warned hosts that this occurred to me.. Surprise ! now the listing is blocked. Apparently AirBnB can’t take their own medicine LOL CAUTION ! If your a Host count on AirBnB to put a knife in your back. Something better will come along than AirBnB thankfully. People rented and BnB’s existed for centuries before AirBnB came along, and it will continue after AirBnB is long forgotten.

Airbnb failed to pay over $4000 in cleaning fees

Hi, I have been a host since the first year of airbnb. It has been a positive experience.. until this discovery.The original info sheet from airbnb is not translatable(,so I suspect many have not discovered this.) My friend, a fellow host created a spread sheet for me on last years payouts. Both my friend and I discovered numerous bookings where airbnb failed to collect cleaning fee.. for me a total of $4000. My friend had only a fee, much rarer hosting, and she settled w/ airbnb for half of them as airbnb was so difficult to deal with. I am not willing to do that. I have been trying to find someone at airbnb who is in charge of payouts. I want someone higher up. does anyone know who that would be? Thanks, Joyce Garrity host of the orange house, the down home, urban cottage, seattle

airbnb has blocked our accounts

We are an apartments rental company with 5 buildings of apartments in property and management. We have several airbnb accounts (one for each building). The account details and bank details are the same for all the buildings. We reply to messages and change prices with the same computer located in our booking department. Unexpectedly, airbnb has blocked the accounts for “technical reasons”. Could help me explain what has happened? Thank you very much in advance.  Joaquim

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Ivan Vilches Quero – Liar, Cheater, and Hustler

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On Monday, March 16, Ivan Vilches Quero and his wife came to my apartment in midtown Manhattan. He looked around at the space, over 500sq ft two blocks from Grand Central Station. Expensive location, renovated apartment, in an elevator building. They stuck around for 20m asking me questions about NYC, and the apartment. The cleaning crew had just left, and I needed some time to prepare fresh towels and clean sheets. He left their luggage, took my key, and said he would be back in half an hour. Less than an hour later, he writes to me on whatsapp. He doesn’t write to me on airbnb. He claims the apartment is dirty, that the windows are not clear, and he asks me to come back to the apartment. The next day Airbnb approves their cancellation. They refused to return my keys for 3 days and 2 nights, occupied my apartment, opened their luggage, left dirty dishes in my apartment, and slept in the bed. This man is a liar and cheater, HOSTS BEWARE of IVAN VILCHES QUERO of Seville, Spain