I am a point of contact for my neighbor’s property. He has been stranded in Puerto Rico for the past six months and needed an intervention on his home to generate income. One of the first guests to stay from Airbnb was from LA. After multiple requests to check in early and check out late, I explained to her we had guests checking out on her check in day and guests checking in on her checking out day. Despite illicit check out instructions with emphasis on punctuality, she took it upon herself to check out four hours late. The guests scheduled to check in had to be diverted to another property.

To add insult to injury, upon entering the property it was immediately evident that she had not bothered to lock any of the doors, failed to turn off any of the lights or AC, left all the windows open and garbage, cigarette butts (the property was listed as non-smoking) and refuse all over the house, lawn, landscaping, etc. There was human feces, human blood and food left in beds, bath towels had been used to mop the floor, and cough syrup/alcohol bottles were everywhere.

When she was confronted with the damages, she didn’t even deny she had done them. She stated:

“Not locking the doors and the smoking rules I do take responsibility for. I should’ve remembered to lock up. As far as the mess, you already said you had a cleaning crew coming so why would I take it upon myself to clean the house when the rate includes a cleaning service? Unfortunately being a female at times comes with unexpected surprises like a period. So I’m sorry that it happened but also can’t control Mother Nature.

You also did not have any paper towels in the house so when we did spill we had to use the towels there to clean up. The cleaning crew never came to knock on the door or came up. If they had come then we would’ve left immediately. Unfortunately, we couldn’t leave right at 11:00 AM. The car we parked we did move. We were told to park closest to the trash cans so we did. We were told that having the truck there would not be an issue. I did not check this thread for instructions on self check out. I feel the morning we were leaving is a little late to do that; I wouldn’t have thought to look here on how to check out. Usually hosts are a little more prompt with that information. I apologize for not locking up and forgetting to turn off the A/C.”

True to form, Airbnb diverted my calls to their call center mill abroad where ineptitude seems to be bred in a flurry. A “trust and safety” bot, ignoring dates, photos, and previous conversations with other agents responded:

“I’ve been notified of your recent call. I understand this is not the outcome you were hoping for. I want to reiterate that this decision was made after careful review of all documentation and communication from both parties, and is in alignment with our policies and procedures. Please be advised that, per our Terms of Service, Airbnb reserves the right to make the final determination with regard to these disputes.

We are unable to reconsider the decision made in this case — we’ve issued our final decision and will uphold it accordingly. As further communication will not change the outcome of this case, we must respectfully disengage from further discussion.”

Zero regard for facts, evidence or just simple common sense.