I have been a host for Airbnb for 2 years and I have hosted over 350 people. People are people and patterns have revealed themselves. I have encountered all kinds of situations and behaviors – I thought I had seen it all. There is a first time for everything. 
Albert booked last-minute and sent a message saying he was landing at 11 pm. I took this to mean that he would be headed over straight from the airport and would be arriving around 11:30pm maybe midnight. My check-in window is from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. however I always let guests check-in later since I have a lock box and they can self check-in. Most people have Respect and come in as quiet as possible or at least apologize for waking people up. Not this guy.
Albert, showed up at 3 a.m.- drunk and woke up the house wearing shoes while clopping up and down the stairs. I went downstairs to use the restroom and check out what was happening. I found Albert on the stairs with a deer-in-headlights look on his face. I asked if he was wearing shoes. He said yes.
I asked why, it’s a house rule (with a penalty fee for agreeing with them and then showing up and not following them).
Airbnb: These are my House Rules. Do you think they are reasonable? There is also a friendly reminder sign on the front door. 
It appeared he had just arrived. Clearly he hadn’t read anything nor was he aware of the details so I felt compelled to point out the bathroom and guest area in the kitchen so he could get a glass of water. As I headed back upstairs to go to bed he had more questions. I am a bit grumpy when rudely woken up in the middle of the night. He wanted to know where he could smoke a cigarette. Well….like the listing states there is no smoking cigarettes (tobacco) on the property. He got a quizzical look on his face and said he didn’t read that. Could he not step outside?….no. Could he not go out back?…..no. He argued and debated and I was growing more grumpy. It wasn’t the time for it.
He got out his phone to pull things up. At a glance, I could not tell where this information was located on his phone nor was I going to wake up enough to sort it out. When my eyes opened enough to read it was 3:09a.m. I instructed him to turn off the lights when he was done and we could talk about it in the morning. Airbnb: I am a host not a 24 hour concierge desk
Before I went to bed, I sent some messages through Airbnb to document the situation. I knew that I would be calling first thing in the morning to see what my options were. I have attached all of them for your viewing pleasure. Start from Left to Right in each row.
Someone needs to learn the difference between a House Manual and House Rules. I even write in the manual to look at the rules for people who are slow or lack attention to detail.
I am an early riser. I called Airbnb at 7:30a.m. to explain what was happening. I was assigned a case manager who assisted with me in the process of changing a reservation. He called Albert several times to inform him it was time to vacate- Albert didn’t answer (shocker). So when the case manager called me back, I said yes I was willing to knock on the door so they could speak on my phone. Time for Albert to go. He required me asking him when he was going to leave, he was just chillin’ in bed so I was forced to call Airbnb back to confirm it could be immediately since Albert was trying to say he had until check out time. Why would he possibly want to stay any longer?
In the past, the guest leaves, I get to keep all the money since they violated the terms and conditions of the agreement. This time I compromised and let him out of it by agreeing to let the reservation be altered to just one nights stay. I also cancelled the request for the penalty fee for wearing shoes in the house. I was willing to let him off easy just to get rid of him so I could move on to the next guest, who would be nothing short of awesome in comparison.
With Albert gone, I hung out with my other French guest, who had cooked us a delicious dinner the night before.
I had the best guest and the worst guest at the same time. Good thing I like to focus on the positive. Back to the happy place.
Until I received a message from a kind stranger informing me that Albert was trashing me on Twitter, I mean really having a go at me. To the point where a kind stranger could identify me, reach out to me and let me know what was happening. I thought I was free and clear of his harassment.
Time to remember the Twitter password.
Part 2 coming next……
Julie-Noted 