All Forum Posts by: Brook Simon

Now that you mention it, that makes sense Nicole.  This experience made me realize that I had assumed too much confidence in the role that Airbnb plays as an intermediary.  If I had interviewed her myself for this vacancy, I would not have chosen her.  There were several things I thought of as red flags. 

Working with Airbnb and listing agencies of this type might be problematic for house hacking.  From the Airbnb perspective, they are facilitating a transaction.  It is their goal to make that transaction as simple as possible.  After that, a simplified version of their priorities might be: 

1. uphold and adhere to the laws governing such transactions

2. protect the interests of AIrbnb 

3. Provide a good experience for guests

4. Facilitate the success of the hosts.

If this assessment is correct, my interests, as a host are last on that list of priorities.  I should be taking much more time and care to assess my own risks (safety, legal, and financial).  In this experience, they did not hesitate to hang me out to dry by not providing me with any information about the nature of the issue, by pulling the reservation (and payment) after her arrival, and by asserting that I had to make her leave on my own.  

It was a lucky lesson because I was able to handle everything safely and without serious consequences (so far).  I am reconsidering the benefit of working with listing agencies of this type for the purpose of house hacking.  I think the more intimate nature of a house hack might require a more intimate interview process.  

I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this.  For now, I have put renting my room on pause while I reconsider the risks and rewards of moving forward. 

Thank you for your reply.  Your response is helpful.  I see the wisdom in not accepting reservations for another person.  I am pretty sure that this person fell victim to a pretty unusual set of circumstances.  Under Airbnb's direction, I did ask her to leave. I am feeling like a real amateur in this situation!

Did anyone else notice that "service animals" include dogs AND miniature horses?  

Boy,

I have surely had a lot of questions about this platform in the last two weeks!  The Airbnb teams have been friendly and responsive but my communications have not helped me to understand the problems.  There are two primary topics

1. Airbnb has a policy that states that they do not discriminate against support animals (for disability or emotional support).  That is great but the rub is that I am listing a room in my house for mid-term rental and I cannot accept animals.  To paraphrase, the Airbnb team said: No problem!  As long as you do not accept the reservation (decline the reservation), there is no problem.  But, does this open me up to liability for discrimination??

2.  I accepted a reservation for the 30th of this month.  The reservation was made by a man in France who was reserving it for his fiancé.  Previous reviews for this man's account showed that he has used his account to make at least one reservation for this woman in the past and that the host was pleased with the outcome.  I accepted the reservation and she moved in (yes, moved in).  Her plan was to stay for the month and to extend her reservations until her future plans solidified.  AFTER she moved in, Airbnb called me and told me that they had CANCELED her reservation!  They cannot say why for privacy reasons.  They only say that I should not communicate with her.  The man either does not know why or is not telling me the actual reason they canceled the reservation.  The reservation was paid but I assume they will take that back once this issue is complete.   I do not want to kick her to the street (she says they have no money left to make new arrangements).  I do not want to get on the wrong side of this with Airbnb, I do not want to make her homeless and I cannot refuse to communicate with someone in my home.  I am stumped!

Does anyone have any experience with a situation similar to this or can anyone offer me some helpful advice or insight??