Share your Crazy Vacation Rental Stories
Property Manager · Wisconsin and Florida · Member since 2017 · 346 posts · 227 votes
I think I could write a book sometimes with some of the crazy stories from owning and managing vacation rentals. I'd love to hear your stories and how you've addressed the issue to prevent it from happening again (if possible). I'm hoping to learn from some others out there.
I've owned/managed four nightly rentals in Park City, UT for the last 5 years (over 3,000 guests). We've never had any truly bad experiences and our guests are incredible 99% of the time, but I could definitely write a book about the helplessness of some folks. Let's see...
We had a woman bring a cat with her. Who travels with a cat? We knew because it sharpened its claws on our leather couch. The guest denied having a cat, called me "literally insane", and so I asked if she ate cat food often, since there was an empty can in the trash. It took months of fighting with Airbnb to get damages to repair our couch (for the record, Airbnb has never once had our back when we file issues, and I think we've only filed 3 or 4, ever. They're happy to take their cut but blow you off when you have a problem).
We have people show up to Park City ALL THE TIME with no clue where the property is, and not having the check-in information that we email each guest with the subject titled "IMPORTANT CHECK IN INFORMATION - PRINT THIS OUT!" So we get frantic calls from upset people who "need to know where to go and how to get in..." RTFM, people.
We had one winter guest complain in his review that the floors were cold and he needed to wear socks. You're in Park City, in winter, for a ski trip. It's cold here.
One guest on a stay-cation from Provo, UT called to complain that someone urinated all over the inside of the freezer. This was one of our first times hosting and I was mortified. I was like "is this how it's going to be? people pissing in the freezer?". So I emailed the previous guest and asked him as tactfully as I could if he urinated in the ice cube trays or anywhere else in the fridge. He didn't, but he did admit to forgetting about a beer he put in the freezer. Chalk it up to folks of the local religious persuasion being naive to certain sinful substances and confusing them with other things. I think beer has a piss-like quality, too.
Had a guest just the other day ask if we'd be picking them up from the airport or if they needed to arrange transportation.
We send every guest our very thorough guide to the area with restaurant recommendations, things to do, where to rent equipment, etc. We probably get asked weekly about our favorite restaurants. We tell them they're in the guide. They ask "but which ones are your favorites?". They're literally in the guide. It takes 30 seconds to read them.
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asks us how to light a fire. If you haven't ever lit a fire before please don't learn in my condos. Or at least just watch a youtube video and don't tell me - that's why we have insurance. We even provide Duraflame logs so it's about as idiot-proof as it gets.
Had a guy a few weeks ago email us that he left a pair of underwear behind and if we'd mail it back to him. Our cleaner found them but we said she didn't. You just have to take the loss on some things, buddy.
People thinking that if their check-out date is, say, the 15th that it means they get to spend the night of the 15th. No, that's the day you check out. That's why it's called the check out date. We've had to call people off the ski slopes to come get their stuff and go to a hotel because we have other guests checking in.
That's just what I can remember over my first cup of coffee this morning. Writing a book on this stuff probably would have been more profitable than the nightly rentals themselves.
I'll start. We purchased a VR near Disney last July and inherited a guest who was staying there while the house closed. The day they checked out, I get a call from the property manager that we also inherited that all the TVs had been stolen. I didn't believe him because there were other things that had gone on to make me suspect it was him or the previous owner.
Long story short, the guest had stolen and pawned all 7 of our flat screen TVs before flying back home to the UK. He had been ticked off at the property manager and when he didn't get a refund, he took it out on our TVs. So for $350, he now has an arrest warrant and cannot fly back to the US without being escorted by the police to jail upon his arrival.
And the best part is that we had the honor of paying $350 to the pawn shop to get our TVs back.
The prevent this from happening again, we installed wifi key pads, security cameras outside and a ring doorbell.
When I first started out a Parent rented our Lake House for a few of her daughters friends at Prom. My neighbors told me there must have been 30 kids their and no adults. There was likely under-aged drinking going on. They pulled the cover off my boat that was on my lift at the dock and was walking around on my boat. I called the adult that booked the house and was told she was there, but neighbors said she was not.
There was no damage but their was trash everywhere and a few small things that went missing.
I now get a Photo ID and I have a camera system with outdoor only cameras. I know if a bunch of people where to show up, if someone were sneaking in unexpected pets etc.
I have not really had any problems since.
@John Underwood Glad to hear you haven't had problems since!
I've owned/managed four nightly rentals in Park City, UT for the last 5 years (over 3,000 guests). We've never had any truly bad experiences and our guests are incredible 99% of the time, but I could definitely write a book about the helplessness of some folks. Let's see...
We had a woman bring a cat with her. Who travels with a cat? We knew because it sharpened its claws on our leather couch. The guest denied having a cat, called me "literally insane", and so I asked if she ate cat food often, since there was an empty can in the trash. It took months of fighting with Airbnb to get damages to repair our couch (for the record, Airbnb has never once had our back when we file issues, and I think we've only filed 3 or 4, ever. They're happy to take their cut but blow you off when you have a problem).
We have people show up to Park City ALL THE TIME with no clue where the property is, and not having the check-in information that we email each guest with the subject titled "IMPORTANT CHECK IN INFORMATION - PRINT THIS OUT!" So we get frantic calls from upset people who "need to know where to go and how to get in..." RTFM, people.
We had one winter guest complain in his review that the floors were cold and he needed to wear socks. You're in Park City, in winter, for a ski trip. It's cold here.
One guest on a stay-cation from Provo, UT called to complain that someone urinated all over the inside of the freezer. This was one of our first times hosting and I was mortified. I was like "is this how it's going to be? people pissing in the freezer?". So I emailed the previous guest and asked him as tactfully as I could if he urinated in the ice cube trays or anywhere else in the fridge. He didn't, but he did admit to forgetting about a beer he put in the freezer. Chalk it up to folks of the local religious persuasion being naive to certain sinful substances and confusing them with other things. I think beer has a piss-like quality, too.
Had a guest just the other day ask if we'd be picking them up from the airport or if they needed to arrange transportation.
We send every guest our very thorough guide to the area with restaurant recommendations, things to do, where to rent equipment, etc. We probably get asked weekly about our favorite restaurants. We tell them they're in the guide. They ask "but which ones are your favorites?". They're literally in the guide. It takes 30 seconds to read them.
I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asks us how to light a fire. If you haven't ever lit a fire before please don't learn in my condos. Or at least just watch a youtube video and don't tell me - that's why we have insurance. We even provide Duraflame logs so it's about as idiot-proof as it gets.
Had a guy a few weeks ago email us that he left a pair of underwear behind and if we'd mail it back to him. Our cleaner found them but we said she didn't. You just have to take the loss on some things, buddy.
People thinking that if their check-out date is, say, the 15th that it means they get to spend the night of the 15th. No, that's the day you check out. That's why it's called the check out date. We've had to call people off the ski slopes to come get their stuff and go to a hotel because we have other guests checking in.
That's just what I can remember over my first cup of coffee this morning. Writing a book on this stuff probably would have been more profitable than the nightly rentals themselves.
@Jason Hendrickson Hilarious! You can't make this sh*t up! I'll add a few more stories.
We had what we think was a ghost or squatter who kept opening windows after they were closed, turn up and down the thermostat and put socks on the ceiling fan blades. Very strange.
We rented out a BRAND new RV as a venture and during the first booking the black tank fell off onto the ground. It had to be sawed off and hauled home because it couldn't be secured to the RV. Gross This happened during the same week as our TVs were stolen. It was a great week in vacation rentals!
We had a guest who was from the LPGA tour who left gross leftover food everywhere and had used tinfoil to cover the fire alarms.
This didn't happen to me but a friend of mine had a guest take out the gas logs and put in real logs in the fireplace because she wanted it to be a woodturning fire place.
I stayed at an AIrBNB in and it was raining when we arrived. The ceiling was dripping water on the floor at a good rate. I messaged the host and she said, "please put a bucket under it to protect the wood floors". She acted all surprised, but the damage on the ceiling made it clear this leak was not new.
Another AirBNB I stayed at, the host said, sorry I didn't have time to make it over there to make the beds. The sheets are in the washer, can you move them to the dryer and make the beds? So I did laundry and made three beds. Then when I asked about using the washer for our personal laundry, she acted all annoyed.
I once booked an AirBNB reservation in San Jose because hotels were all booked. I wanted private space, so I filtered on entire house. I rented a tiny three bedroom house for $400 a night. Way expensive, but it's San Jose and I needed a place to sleep. The host contacts me the day before my trip and says, "Do you need all the bedrooms? If not, my friend is staying there in one of the rooms and you would need to share the bathroom." I said no and he agreed to cancel my reservation. That one I reported to AirBNB.
@Joe Splitrock Yikes! Some bad experiences!
We have only had our rental for one full year, and every guest has been pretty great. There have been a couple of very minor things.
We put a sign on the back of the toilet telling people to only flush toilet paper(due to a pump system that goes to the city sewer) and a small basket with 2 starter soaps and shampoo's. They took all of them off the toilets and placed them way in the back of the bath cabinets. Were they getting water out of the toilet tank? Tasty!
Another guest washed several dishes and put them all in different places. Like a stack of plates on top of the glasses. Weird.
Lost one hair dryer. Otherwise it has been trouble free!
I traveled to Croatia for my 60th birthday with hubby and our oldest son's family. I caught a terrible cold from my one year old grandson. In Dubrovnik the non-sickies went out for the morning while I babysat in a cold medicine stupor. Sneaky child stole a blue pen from my purse and drew on not one but three white leather chairs. White leather people! Who puts that in a rental? Spent hours scrubbing and go much of it off. Strategically placed a few pillows before checking out and never heard anything from the host...
@Teri Feeney Styers Oh no! I would have had a heart attack if was my kiddos. I think hand sanitizer gets pen off so maybe they were able to fix it
I'll start. We purchased a VR near Disney last July and inherited a guest who was staying there while the house closed. The day they checked out, I get a call from the property manager that we also inherited that all the TVs had been stolen. I didn't believe him because there were other things that had gone on to make me suspect it was him or the previous owner.
Long story short, the guest had stolen and pawned all 7 of our flat screen TVs before flying back home to the UK. He had been ticked off at the property manager and when he didn't get a refund, he took it out on our TVs. So for $350, he now has an arrest warrant and cannot fly back to the US without being escorted by the police to jail upon his arrival.
And the best part is that we had the honor of paying $350 to the pawn shop to get our TVs back.
The prevent this from happening again, we installed wifi key pads, security cameras outside and a ring doorbell.
That is nuts! In MA the pawn shops are liable for receiving stolen property so they have to turn it back over to the rightful owner and they have to go after the thief for the money. The ring door bell and wifi key pads are the best things ever invented for STRs
Context: I was host in a duplex in Hollywood hills, where the property is appreciated by the guests because it's close to everything in LA, while being in a quiet area with fresh air with balcony with view to the large yard with trees, where you only hear birds,... quiet like a sanctuary (no politics intended).
One night during autumn when the A/C is not needed (and is disconnected from the electric panel to reduce utility bills), I hear a noise of a machine or some engine running all night long, very similar to A/C. Guest are a nice young couple with 2 kids. How the hell did the guests manage to get the A/C started? It's disconnected from the electric panel... I was puzzled...
I can't resist, I ask: "May I ask what that noise is during the night, it's not at all an issue, I am just curious". She replies "Sorry, we'll reduce the sound machine tonight. We're used to urban noise and can't sleep without it"... I had no clue people would need noise to sleep. I thought there should be a market for those cheap noisy condos ... Learned something that day.
Had a lovely Vietnamese family as guests during the Chinese new year holidays in February last year. Kids were students in California and Parents came here to visit. When they left the house smelled toxic smell similar to mothballs. Very strong. In one hand I was happy the house got treated for free against mothballs (and possibly termites maybe? lol) , but also worried because after a day all windows open, the smell would not go.
I was later told that many elderly asians use mothballs in their luggage at home, and when they forget to remove them from the luggage they travel... Well they offered me unsolicited moth treatment for my home... haha...!
You have this where they live with that strong toxic smell and they don't seem to be sick or anything and then those who require if there is an air freshener plug in the house, even days before their stay, they won't want to come.... :-)
this time as a guest, we rented a farm house in Sequoia National Park, beautiful house surrounded by rivers , horses, cattle, gorgeous view, ... park the car in front of the house, walk into the house and start checking out... take stuff to the kitchen and guess what is posted on the fridge: Huge picture of a rattle snake, with the word WARNING in red, right above another post of a huge picture of a black tarantula same scary sign. The sign on the rattle snake is vague about where they could be but the one on Tarantula explicitly says they can be seen INSIDE the house, and gives instructions on how to stay calm if we see one....
of course... stay calm...
Unforgettable stay in all regards... Indiana Jones style...
stayed at a a VR in Western Pennsylvania in the boonies. Front yard was covered with blood from a deer that they hit and dismembered. And of course they had a composting toilet, but did not mention that it was homemade. And they said the dogs never went in the guest room, but as I'm allergic it was pretty obvious that was not true. We canceled the next night and stayed at a hotel and complained to Airbnb
stayed at a a VR in Western Pennsylvania in the boonies. Front yard was covered with blood and body parts in the snow from a deer that they hit and dismembered. And of course they had a composting toilet, but did not mention that it was homemade. And they said the dogs never went in the guest room, but as I'm allergic it was pretty obvious that was not true. We canceled the next night and stayed at a hotel and complained to Airbnb
@Wendy Schultz I am starting my 2nd full year with VRs. I had one for a few months, then a full year, now have two ready for this year. We are a very small town with one stop light and most residents probably don't lock their doors. So far every traveler I have communicated with have been great. The odd things I can recall is getting called because they locked themselves out of the house. I leave the doors unlocked and the keys on the table, and I have had several fishermen leave me beer and fish. I sometimes take them out to the river and point out places to fish, so maybe that is why. So far it is always fishermen. There is a common driveway with one neighbor who had her foot amputated so I always tell everyone to keep the driveway open as it is the only place where she can get into and out of a car due to steps in the front of her house. On multiple occasions I have come by to find my guests sitting outside with my neighbors drinking tea or eating hamburgers. These neighbors are delighted to get to visit with guests.
In the mountain resort area I used to live in in southern CA there was a rental down the hill from me. They rented to large groups, much to our neighborhood's dislike (parking limitations).
One time they rented to a winning soccer team from either LA or Orange County. The high school kids that showed up with limited supervision took beer bottles as they finished them and popped them neck first through the drywall in the living room, leaving the bottom or the bottles sticking out of the wall. Hundreds of them!
The house was off the rental market for a month as the drywall was completely replaced and painted.
But they still rented it out after it was fixed.
BTW, they did not get any money from the renters to pay for it. The person who actually rented it for the team was not there, and could prove it, and said in the rental agreement that she was renting it for the team's use. The owner could not identify any other person involved, had no other names. And the judge said that since the 'team' is just a bunch of kids, they are not liable, the renter is not liable, she was not even present, and no adult with responsibility could be identified so the owners had no case.
One of my long term renters in a short term rental is the superintendant for a company doing contract work at a local refinery. He called me and wanted to know if I had a place for a guy he hired that was starting tomorrow. I said I did. Gave him the address. That night the new guy called me and asked for the address.
Next morning I see the vehicle of the new guy in the driveway. A little later the boss called me and wanted to know if the new guy ever made it. Seems like he missed his 7:30 safety orientation. I knock on the door and get no answer. Around 10:00 the boss called me. Says he has been pounding on the windows and doors and getting no answer.
So I go over and unlock the door, we both go in. It smelled horrible inside the bedroom. New guy was wrapped in a blanket like a mummy. He wouldn't wake up when we moved him. I call 911 and we both stepped outside. We could hear sirens in the distance. We moved our vehicles out of the driveway and in pulls an ambulance followed by police followed by fire followed by police.
The EMTs try to revive him and there is no response. Then they started unfolding this big black plastic bag. I thought it was a body bag. It was a plastic stretcher with 6 handles. They put him on a gurney and hooked him up to a heart monitor. He had a pulse. The EMTs wheeled him out the door and left with the fire department.
The police and I went in his room. It smelled like vomit. There were traces of K2 or bath salts in a container. The boss and I put all his belongings back in his vehicle, and the boss kept the keys. A few hours later the boss picked him up from the hospital. All he was wearing was a paper gown, since he had no clothes when he went in. He was crying. The boss bought him some food and gas, then told him to leave and never come back. Police told the guy that they weren't going to press charges and that he is lucky that he didn't choke on his own vomit.
The following happened at the house across the street from the above post.
I noticed the back porch light was off at a non occupied STR. My wife went in to check. She saw a Qtip on the kitchen floor and the bathroom mirror was open. She left and told me. I went in, the light bulb had been unscrewed and someone had started staging things to take by the back door. HDTV was gone. I was in a hurry so I locked the doors and left.
Come back the next morning. The deadbolt is locked. I never locked it. So I enter the house, and there is some 2x4 lumber bracing the front door closed. I pick it up and carry it like a bat, then proceed through the house. A bedroom door is shut, and it was open the previous night. I quietly walked back out the front door and called the police. Within 45 seconds there were 2 officers entering the place with guns drawn. I hear a bunch of shouting. Then they bring out a guy in cuffs and invite me in while they searched his backpack. They found a container of meth.
I had receipts for everything that was missing. Received judgement for full replacement value. The guy is still in jail. Once he gets out he has to start making restitution or else he goes back to jail.
Had an elderly guy show up in a taxi to take a look at place. He seemed a bit odd, but had money. I asked him if he had any family, he didn't. No kids, no brothers or sisters. I asked who to call if there was a problem. He said the V.A. I Googled his name and found out he escaped from a mental facility in Utah and the authorities were looking for him. He had dementia. I called the Utah authorities and they just wanted to know where he was. He wasn't a threat to anyone, and could function with some assistance. A few months later the local police called me and wanted to know if the aforementioned person rented from me. They had found his body by some railroad tracks and were trying to notify next of kin. I told them to contact the V.A.
I'll start. We purchased a VR near Disney last July and inherited a guest who was staying there while the house closed. The day they checked out, I get a call from the property manager that we also inherited that all the TVs had been stolen. I didn't believe him because there were other things that had gone on to make me suspect it was him or the previous owner.
Long story short, the guest had stolen and pawned all 7 of our flat screen TVs before flying back home to the UK. He had been ticked off at the property manager and when he didn't get a refund, he took it out on our TVs. So for $350, he now has an arrest warrant and cannot fly back to the US without being escorted by the police to jail upon his arrival.
And the best part is that we had the honor of paying $350 to the pawn shop to get our TVs back.
The prevent this from happening again, we installed wifi key pads, security cameras outside and a ring doorbell.
That is nuts! In MA the pawn shops are liable for receiving stolen property so they have to turn it back over to the rightful owner and they have to go after the thief for the money. The ring door bell and wifi key pads are the best things ever invented for STRs
They have some great lobbyists in Florida. We got the honor to pay for them AND they dropped one and broke it.
@Wendy Schultz
We had an AirBNB renter that AirBNB marked as having an identity verification. We later found out that whoever did the verification did not look closely because the renter misspelled their last name enough that it was close but not exact. I normally like to google and facebook stalk person and had I been able I would have seen they had a laundry list of convictions. The tenant said they were having a family get together but instead had a hip hop label launch party. The police were called and kicked door in to get access and the tenant spent the night in jail. We found out the day after and place was trashed. Had to replace flooring and carpet had burns from cigars in addition to front door. AirBNB reimbursed us 750 bucks when our actual costs was closer to 3000 and would have been more if I didn't handle most of repairs myself. I am still
an AirBNB super host but we definitely changed our model as we have had three instances of parties trashing our rentals.
@Wendy Schultz
we definitely changed our model
So sorry for the bad airbnb experiences... Shame on airbnb! Really. $100B IPO on the way yet stealing money from hard working entrepreneurs...
How did you change your model Charles?