5-Person Family Goes Through 700 Gallons Of Water In 2 Days, Airbnb Owner Goes To Investigate
Interview
Instead of being a smooth sailing, mutually beneficial experience, some Airbnb bookings end up being a lesson learned, whether for the guest or the host.
Redditor u/firetothetrees learned his during the first time hosting. After renting a cabin equipped for six people for a family of five, he soon saw something was wrong and spent time and money to fix it. Sadly, only after doing so he learned that it was the guests who were doing something wrong. Scroll down for the full story.
Bored Panda has reached out to the OP and he was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. You will find his thoughts in the text below.
Short term rental is a great solution for those looking for a home-away-from-home
Image credits: pychap (not the actual photo)
This redditor put up his cabin for short term rent and had to deal with some troublesome guests costing him $600
Image credits: Lisa Fotios (not the actual photo)
Image credits: firetothetrees
Image credits: voronaman111 (not the actual photo)
The OP took the situation as a lesson and made changes on his property accordingly
Like most things in life, the coin that is Airbnb also has two sides; one of them is a service provided that benefits both parties, the other—annoyances or troubles caused by one of them. Quite often, it’s the hosts that have to deal with the latter, and the OP was no exception.
“The thing I was most upset by was the fact that I wasted so much time fixing a problem that wasn’t actually a problem,” he told Bored Panda in a recent interview. “At the time, economically, we had invested a lot of money into getting the place set up and ready for guests as well as a lot of money into solving problems like the water situation, so the extra spend and taking a day off work hurt pretty bad.”
The redditor shared that the experience not only taught him a lesson but also gave him an idea of what could be done to avoid similar situations in the future. “The main thing that we learned was to put an extra security camera on the driveway to see how many people or cars checked in. It was a bit too hard to verify this from the deck camera.
“At the moment we are renovating both of our Airbnb properties and we are also considering having guests sign a separate rental contract from Airbnb that exposes them to more liability and would allow us to pursue them directly for damages rather than using Airbnb as a mediator,” he added.
Image credits: Ian Keefe (not the actual photo)
Stating the rules clearly is one of the host’s main responsibilities
According to Airbnb, there are more than four million hosts worldwide, responsible for over seven million listings. With numbers this high, there ought to be other property owners dealing with difficult guests as well; that might be one of the reasons some people seem to understand the struggles the OP faces and support him.
“I always seem to receive two types of responses to my posts about Airbnb issues. The majority tend to support me and they agree that the guests were completely out of line,” he told Bored Panda, adding that he typically faces criticism from the rest for being an Airbnb owner. The redditor pointed out that they might not understand the effort and financial cost that it takes to start up a rental property.
One of the many things the host has to put effort into is ensuring that rules and regulations are stated clearly and the guests are informed of all they need to know. “It is incredibly important to set the proper expectations about everything related to your place,” the OP pointed out.
“After we accept a booking we send a PDF of our guide book with all house rules so that guests are aware of everything,” he said and revealed that they have had other guests break certain rules—starting a bonfire outside on the property during a fire ban, for instance.
Image credits: Joel & Jasmin Førestbird (not the actual photo)
Hundreds of millions of stays are booked via Airbnb every year
u/firetothetrees’s story is just one of the many examples of guests not respecting the rules and regulations of the property or finding ways to make the host’s life more difficult. It’s important to note, though, that Airbnb is a two-way street, and dealing with some hosts can also be no walk in the park.
However, even with probable troublesome situations in mind, people continue to use Airbnb for their stays away from home. According to Statista, the number of bookings has picked up after the Covid-evoked drop and has now surpassed the pre-pandemic levels. In 2022, there were reportedly more than 393 million overnight stays and experiences booked on the platform.
As people continue to book properties via Airbnb, there might be no other choice for hosts but to state their rules and regulations clearly and hope for the best in order to avoid situations similar to what the OP went through.
Image credits: Filios Sazeides (not the actual photo)
Fellow redditors shared their opinions in the comments, the OP replied to some of them
I just don't understand how strangers can destroy someone's property. People have no problem treating other's property like c**p and then surprised face when they are asked to explain. There are some times I really dislike humanity and this is one of those times.
In general, they treat their own property that way too. A surprising amount of people live like animals. Their house probably covered in dog c**p.
Load More Replies...
I have always had positive feedback from owners that I leave their property so clean, they only have to change towels and sheets
The one time I used an Airbnb years ago I made sure to clean everything as best I could before we left, dishes were washed, trash taken out, things wiped down, even made the beds even though I knew they would strip and wash everything after we left, cleaned my brothers rooms too lol left a thank you card and a little gift, the owner was super appreciative, left us a glowing review especially since he didn't have as much to clean up as usual, anytime we stay in hotels we clean up before leaving, it's just common courtesy imo, not hard to make sure it doesn't look like trash
I’m in the process of buying a beautiful home that has been used for the last year as an airb&b. Had it inspected. 3 bedrooms, 2 full of bunk beds including a couple that are queen size. Beds for over 10. Septic Tank needs pumped. The property warranty is full of ‘unknowns’. When the man bought it I bet he never saw it. Hired a company to clean it. We are having everything checked out by professionals. He owns a bunch and is selling some. Does have a trout stream out back. Trash pickup by the town so no need to drag stuff to the dump. So if your thinking of buying a former airb&b just make sure you do your do diligence. And use good professionals.
A bunch of Airbnb's have recently gone up for sale locally due to changes in regulations on short term rentals, and they look nice at first, but many of them have that "flipped" quality of looking nice on the surface but having cheap fixtures and shoddy work done. They usually come furnished, too, which makes them really tempting, but I haven't found one yet that's worth the cost, at least as an actual home.
Load More Replies...
I say everyday to my Mom that it's hard to believe how much people have changed since I was younger. No one cares about rules anymore. It's like nothing applies to them unless it suits them. They treat people like garbage and in turn expect to be treated like royalty themselves. Any worst of all they want everyone around them to bend over backwards to kiss their a*s but wouldn't lose on the next person if they were on fire. I know COVID exacerbated things but in no way is it the reason for how things are. I'd love to see a time where everyone treats each other with respect and decency like I remember from my childhood. But until parents stop being afraid of their children and raise them the my generation was raised it's never going to happen.
We're building a home in northeastern Arizona, "it's cooler up here" territory. Our plan is to set it up for our family of 4-6 (we have two daughters in their 20's) and potentially rent it out as a VRBO, we've done VRBO's before. I had planned to put two sets of "Murphy bunk beds" (sleeps 4) in the office, a queen sized been in the second bedroom (2) and king in the master (2). We had also planned to pick up a vintage fold out couch (2) from the east coast that belonged to my husband's grandparents and there's still a sofa. I just want to maximize sleeping options depending on the combination of guests we may have. But I realize now that the place would "sleep" 10-11 people which might be a problem for a VRBO because the public will take advantage. Maybe we just let it sit empty and the public can FO instead of enjoying our lakefront home. VRBO doesn't even release the money to pay us until people are already checked into the property for a full day. I'm out.
My husband and I traveled from state to state while he was doing electrical shut down and commision work. Every place we rented always told us they never even knew we had been there because we make sure we don't leave our place looking bad and it's the same with the places we stayed. We also rented so thata one big diff but still the same rules and outcome. One apartment we rented was just like for 3 weeks while we closed on our new house. We consisted of my husband and I our son who was 4 and our mash dog Gizzy. I went thru "loosely baby proofing all the outlets with those covers but that was it for that. So it was the 4 of us and winter with Snow. We live in East TN. It got muddy very quickly. When we did the closing the landlord called and gave us back our entire monthly amount PLUS our damage deposit back and the landlord said we left it better than we got it lol. He didn't even know we had a dog but dogs were allowed. So it was nice getting that $1000.00plus back when we left stay
No, thy were just trusting the guests. Never trust the general public. The main mistake was turning off the cameras after seeing the original family check in.
Load More Replies... I just don't understand how strangers can destroy someone's property. People have no problem treating other's property like c**p and then surprised face when they are asked to explain. There are some times I really dislike humanity and this is one of those times.
In general, they treat their own property that way too. A surprising amount of people live like animals. Their house probably covered in dog c**p.
Load More Replies... I have always had positive feedback from owners that I leave their property so clean, they only have to change towels and sheets
The one time I used an Airbnb years ago I made sure to clean everything as best I could before we left, dishes were washed, trash taken out, things wiped down, even made the beds even though I knew they would strip and wash everything after we left, cleaned my brothers rooms too lol left a thank you card and a little gift, the owner was super appreciative, left us a glowing review especially since he didn't have as much to clean up as usual, anytime we stay in hotels we clean up before leaving, it's just common courtesy imo, not hard to make sure it doesn't look like trash
I’m in the process of buying a beautiful home that has been used for the last year as an airb&b. Had it inspected. 3 bedrooms, 2 full of bunk beds including a couple that are queen size. Beds for over 10. Septic Tank needs pumped. The property warranty is full of ‘unknowns’. When the man bought it I bet he never saw it. Hired a company to clean it. We are having everything checked out by professionals. He owns a bunch and is selling some. Does have a trout stream out back. Trash pickup by the town so no need to drag stuff to the dump. So if your thinking of buying a former airb&b just make sure you do your do diligence. And use good professionals.
A bunch of Airbnb's have recently gone up for sale locally due to changes in regulations on short term rentals, and they look nice at first, but many of them have that "flipped" quality of looking nice on the surface but having cheap fixtures and shoddy work done. They usually come furnished, too, which makes them really tempting, but I haven't found one yet that's worth the cost, at least as an actual home.
Load More Replies... I say everyday to my Mom that it's hard to believe how much people have changed since I was younger. No one cares about rules anymore. It's like nothing applies to them unless it suits them. They treat people like garbage and in turn expect to be treated like royalty themselves. Any worst of all they want everyone around them to bend over backwards to kiss their a*s but wouldn't lose on the next person if they were on fire. I know COVID exacerbated things but in no way is it the reason for how things are. I'd love to see a time where everyone treats each other with respect and decency like I remember from my childhood. But until parents stop being afraid of their children and raise them the my generation was raised it's never going to happen.
We're building a home in northeastern Arizona, "it's cooler up here" territory. Our plan is to set it up for our family of 4-6 (we have two daughters in their 20's) and potentially rent it out as a VRBO, we've done VRBO's before. I had planned to put two sets of "Murphy bunk beds" (sleeps 4) in the office, a queen sized been in the second bedroom (2) and king in the master (2). We had also planned to pick up a vintage fold out couch (2) from the east coast that belonged to my husband's grandparents and there's still a sofa. I just want to maximize sleeping options depending on the combination of guests we may have. But I realize now that the place would "sleep" 10-11 people which might be a problem for a VRBO because the public will take advantage. Maybe we just let it sit empty and the public can FO instead of enjoying our lakefront home. VRBO doesn't even release the money to pay us until people are already checked into the property for a full day. I'm out.
My husband and I traveled from state to state while he was doing electrical shut down and commision work. Every place we rented always told us they never even knew we had been there because we make sure we don't leave our place looking bad and it's the same with the places we stayed. We also rented so thata one big diff but still the same rules and outcome. One apartment we rented was just like for 3 weeks while we closed on our new house. We consisted of my husband and I our son who was 4 and our mash dog Gizzy. I went thru "loosely baby proofing all the outlets with those covers but that was it for that. So it was the 4 of us and winter with Snow. We live in East TN. It got muddy very quickly. When we did the closing the landlord called and gave us back our entire monthly amount PLUS our damage deposit back and the landlord said we left it better than we got it lol. He didn't even know we had a dog but dogs were allowed. So it was nice getting that $1000.00plus back when we left stay
No, thy were just trusting the guests. Never trust the general public. The main mistake was turning off the cameras after seeing the original family check in.
Load More Replies...
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