5 ms·

Airbnb guests constantly rent my place to party. It's been a problem for years, at both of my homes. I block many of them, but can't detect them all. The other

Airbnb guests constantly rent my place to party. It's been a problem for years, at both of my homes. I block many of them, but can't detect them all. The other day an airbnb guest held a party, and they trashed my neighbor's balcony (below mine). They need to get partying off the platform. It's terrible for neighbors and hosts, and it's not even much revenue; the partiers usually book for one night. Regular guests on average stay 4-5 nights.

mcbruiser3 10y ago
Seems like most of the complaints about Airbnb that result in new ordinances banning short term rentals probably originate from bad guests (or irresponsible hosts who allow bad behavior and ignore the impact to their neighbor's peace) who are ruining it for everyone else.
- AlexandrB 10y ago
  Yes. It's almost like hotel regulations happened for a reason and not because "the man is out to get entrepreneurs".
  - jpttsn 10y ago
    There is a reason. It would make sense if those regulations happened for that reason. But I'm not convinced that's how politics works.
  - exclusiv 10y ago
    What regulations are you referring to that would prevent this? You can just as easily book a hotel and throw a party there and do all sorts of damage. They don't take much of a deposit either (or they hold a card) because there's a fine line between protecting yourself and a sensible amount for your average guest. The problem here is that AirBnB takes a good chunk of a booking and doesn't do much to vet guests. They also haven't shown to be friendly and trusting with hosts that make claims even though they market a policy to protect larger losses to make you feel more willing to add your home to the pool. I've been lucky; only had a few bookings I wouldn't want back and mostly they just destroy the hot tub with spilled drinks and I have to refill it. I try to avoid one-night stays as much as possible. I set a higher deposit too to filter our the partiers and don't do instant book. They'll choose a place with a lower deposit and instant-book instead. I also have 3 outdoor cameras so I can see what's going on at my place and how many people are showing up. I'm legally approved to sleep 16. So if it gets crazy; I'll call the police. I think it's stupid to rent out a condo unless you vet every guest manually. However, I'd still ban it if I was on their HOA. It's a real security issue. You have to trust the person who books and everyone they bring. AirBnB should enact a sizable fine for exceeding their approved guests. Then we could just submit video/image evidence of how many people came and AirBnB could hit the guest with the fine and not be so stingy with their "insurance" policy for hosts.
    - princeb 10y ago
      don't think regulations will help, but this definitely does: hotels can charge the renters' credit cards for damage done to the property, but airbnb hosts cannot do that to renters. so the risk to the hotel is minimized. i'm sure if someone damages a room so badly that they have to refurnish the whole thing, they'll happily bill the guest for replacement, item delivery, labour, yield loss, the whole thing - mark up the whole repair job the same way they mark up the peanuts in the minibar. the other thing that helps is that whatever happens in a hotel is not happening to a place of permanent residence- someone's home. if partygoers cause damage that spills into my room, I can get another room. if partygoers next door cause damage that spills into my house, i'm out of luck (not to mention so is the host).
      - exclusiv 10y ago
        You can set a security deposit and charge the renter on AirBnB [1]. [1] https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/59/how-do-i-add-a-security-deposit-to-my-listing https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/59/how-do-i-add-a-securi...
rdl 10y ago
There should be a separate "AirBnB for parties and events" option. If I had a space designed for such activities, being able to rent it out on the same platform would be great.
- michaelt 10y ago
  Loads of pubs, bars, hotels, village halls, restaurants etc rent out space for parties and events. This thing took place in London, a market which is reasonably well supplied with such things.
  - rdl 10y ago
    Yes, but I would rather use the Airbnb interface and Airbnb reputation system to book those spaces.
    - vkou 10y ago
      As someone who lives in a condo with Airbnb rentals, I'd rather you didn't.
      - rdl 10y ago
        Why would you be bothered in any way by someone booking a pub, meeting hall, restaurant, etc. from the airbnb website for an event?
  - PeterisP 10y ago
    As the market shows, renting out a space that's actually intended for parties and events is much more expensive than a one-night apartment rental.
    - michaelt 10y ago
      Many event rooms can be reserved simply by guaranteeing a minimum bar spend - if your attendees spend a few hundred pounds, you needn't pay anything at all. Of course, if you want to bring your own booze, openly use illegal drugs, invite guests who are under the legal drinking age, or have access to beds, you might choose to rent an apartment anyway.
vkou 10y ago
Welcome to running a hotel. This is one of the reasons why, in a condo, your neighbours may not want an AirBnB next door.
nradov 10y ago
It's sad that you abuse your neighbors by treating your home as an unlicensed hotel and allow random people in for short-term rentals without proper vetting or supervision. If I was your neighbor I would certainly complain to the HOA, complex management, or city code enforcement to have you fined or evicted. Hopefully you at least paid for the cleanup and repair, with some additional compensation for their trouble.
- kyleblarson 10y ago
  How are you certain that the host has not gone through the local permitting processes and is in a building that disallows STR's?
  - FireBeyond 10y ago
    Well, aside from your issues above, "It's terrible for my neighbors, but I keep doing it, even though it's not much money" certainly isn't going to win any friends.
    - deleted 10y ago
      [deleted]
- CptJamesCook 10y ago
  My neighbors don't have a problem with me running the airbnb. They do it themselves, too, or at least like having the option to. The balcony was a mess but it wasn't damaged, nor did it cost anything to clean.
  - pbhjpbhj 10y ago
    >nor did it cost anything to clean // Free time!? You're not getting that time back you know, perhaps it cost little; I gather from this you're not an experienced landlord.
    - CptJamesCook 10y ago
monort 10y ago
Why you don't use a minimum stay option?
- CptJamesCook 10y ago
  That seems to hurt me in the Airbnb ranking algorithm. I probably should.
yomly 10y ago
What kind of settings do you have for reservations? Are you doing any kind of screening of guests? Forcing guests to register their passport on Airbnb and/or asking a bit about what they do for a living tends to be a decent signal for whether or not they will trash your place.

mcbruiser3 10y ago

Seems like most of the complaints about Airbnb that result in new ordinances banning short term rentals probably originate from bad guests (or irresponsible hosts who allow bad behavior and ignore the impact to their neighbor's peace) who are ruining it for everyone else.

AlexandrB 10y ago
Yes. It's almost like hotel regulations happened for a reason and not because "the man is out to get entrepreneurs".
- jpttsn 10y ago
  There is a reason. It would make sense if those regulations happened for that reason. But I'm not convinced that's how politics works.
- exclusiv 10y ago
  What regulations are you referring to that would prevent this? You can just as easily book a hotel and throw a party there and do all sorts of damage. They don't take much of a deposit either (or they hold a card) because there's a fine line between protecting yourself and a sensible amount for your average guest. The problem here is that AirBnB takes a good chunk of a booking and doesn't do much to vet guests. They also haven't shown to be friendly and trusting with hosts that make claims even though they market a policy to protect larger losses to make you feel more willing to add your home to the pool. I've been lucky; only had a few bookings I wouldn't want back and mostly they just destroy the hot tub with spilled drinks and I have to refill it. I try to avoid one-night stays as much as possible. I set a higher deposit too to filter our the partiers and don't do instant book. They'll choose a place with a lower deposit and instant-book instead. I also have 3 outdoor cameras so I can see what's going on at my place and how many people are showing up. I'm legally approved to sleep 16. So if it gets crazy; I'll call the police. I think it's stupid to rent out a condo unless you vet every guest manually. However, I'd still ban it if I was on their HOA. It's a real security issue. You have to trust the person who books and everyone they bring. AirBnB should enact a sizable fine for exceeding their approved guests. Then we could just submit video/image evidence of how many people came and AirBnB could hit the guest with the fine and not be so stingy with their "insurance" policy for hosts.
  - princeb 10y ago
    don't think regulations will help, but this definitely does: hotels can charge the renters' credit cards for damage done to the property, but airbnb hosts cannot do that to renters. so the risk to the hotel is minimized. i'm sure if someone damages a room so badly that they have to refurnish the whole thing, they'll happily bill the guest for replacement, item delivery, labour, yield loss, the whole thing - mark up the whole repair job the same way they mark up the peanuts in the minibar. the other thing that helps is that whatever happens in a hotel is not happening to a place of permanent residence- someone's home. if partygoers cause damage that spills into my room, I can get another room. if partygoers next door cause damage that spills into my house, i'm out of luck (not to mention so is the host).
    - exclusiv 10y ago
      You can set a security deposit and charge the renter on AirBnB [1]. [1] https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/59/how-do-i-add-a-security-deposit-to-my-listing https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/59/how-do-i-add-a-securi...

rdl 10y ago

There should be a separate "AirBnB for parties and events" option. If I had a space designed for such activities, being able to rent it out on the same platform would be great.

michaelt 10y ago
Loads of pubs, bars, hotels, village halls, restaurants etc rent out space for parties and events. This thing took place in London, a market which is reasonably well supplied with such things.
- rdl 10y ago
  Yes, but I would rather use the Airbnb interface and Airbnb reputation system to book those spaces.
  - vkou 10y ago
    As someone who lives in a condo with Airbnb rentals, I'd rather you didn't.
    - rdl 10y ago
      Why would you be bothered in any way by someone booking a pub, meeting hall, restaurant, etc. from the airbnb website for an event?
- PeterisP 10y ago
  As the market shows, renting out a space that's actually intended for parties and events is much more expensive than a one-night apartment rental.
  - michaelt 10y ago
    Many event rooms can be reserved simply by guaranteeing a minimum bar spend - if your attendees spend a few hundred pounds, you needn't pay anything at all. Of course, if you want to bring your own booze, openly use illegal drugs, invite guests who are under the legal drinking age, or have access to beds, you might choose to rent an apartment anyway.

vkou 10y ago

Welcome to running a hotel. This is one of the reasons why, in a condo, your neighbours may not want an AirBnB next door.

nradov 10y ago

It's sad that you abuse your neighbors by treating your home as an unlicensed hotel and allow random people in for short-term rentals without proper vetting or supervision. If I was your neighbor I would certainly complain to the HOA, complex management, or city code enforcement to have you fined or evicted. Hopefully you at least paid for the cleanup and repair, with some additional compensation for their trouble.

kyleblarson 10y ago
How are you certain that the host has not gone through the local permitting processes and is in a building that disallows STR's?
- FireBeyond 10y ago
  Well, aside from your issues above, "It's terrible for my neighbors, but I keep doing it, even though it's not much money" certainly isn't going to win any friends.
  - deleted 10y ago
    [deleted]
CptJamesCook 10y ago
My neighbors don't have a problem with me running the airbnb. They do it themselves, too, or at least like having the option to. The balcony was a mess but it wasn't damaged, nor did it cost anything to clean.
- pbhjpbhj 10y ago
  >nor did it cost anything to clean // Free time!? You're not getting that time back you know, perhaps it cost little; I gather from this you're not an experienced landlord.
  - CptJamesCook 10y ago

monort 10y ago

Why you don't use a minimum stay option?

CptJamesCook 10y ago
That seems to hurt me in the Airbnb ranking algorithm. I probably should.

yomly 10y ago

What kind of settings do you have for reservations? Are you doing any kind of screening of guests? Forcing guests to register their passport on Airbnb and/or asking a bit about what they do for a living tends to be a decent signal for whether or not they will trash your place.