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AIBU?

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Original poster

To have turned away this airbnb guest?

999 replies

Hiptrip · 07/01/2018 09:05

I have been doing airbnb for a while and have found it a great way to meet new people, and earn a little extra. That is until last Friday night.

Despite my house rule of no children, a woman wrote to me and asked if I could make an exception, promising that her two-year old son would be very well behaved. My house is not set up for children, and I simply don’t want toddlers here so I replied and said no.

She said that was okay and booked anyway, saying she had to come to my town for a wedding, and that she’d find someone to look after him.

Then she turned up with her child at 9.30pm saying she couldn’t find a sitter, and had hysterics as she pleaded with me on the doorstep, to allow him to stay. I refused and in the end called the police because she said she wouldn’t leave until I gave her, her money back in cash because she needed it to stay elsewhere. As she was starting to cause a nuisance, they got rid of her.

She’s taken this to airbnb. My argument is that she was told she couldn’t bring her child, and did anyway, so she should lose her money. Not unreasonable?

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 07/01/2018 16:19

'This thread would make so much more sense to me if I knew what airbnb was ... blush'

Get on their site and find out! We've been able to travel cheaply around the country due to AirB&B. We always make sure we abide by terms and conditions, though, because otherwise, well, you might be (rightfully) refused entry. Or ejected. Some mates who rent out their home have a 'no stag or hen do's' policy. They once had to eject a party for just such. And AirB&B did not refund them. Diddums.

TalkinPeace · 07/01/2018 16:19

Also hope the card she used for booking isn't dodgy.
Airbnb verify the cards when the booking is made.
They hold the money in their escrow account so the renters contract is with them, not the landlord.

As I say, when one of my rentals went very wrong they were utterly brilliant and I will not hesitate to use them again.

WinchestersInATardis · 07/01/2018 16:22

Firstly, it's unlikely the toddler actually needed the toilet. The OP suspected the woman was using the child as an excuse to come in, at which point it's harder to throw her out. And the woman's behaviour afterwards backed that up.

Secondly, for those accusing the OP of being grabby, that is utter nonsense. The OP risked being out of pocket whether she accepted the woman or not.

If she accepted the woman and child, the other guest would have been able to claim breach of conditions as the place was advertised as childfree and get a refund.

If she gave the woman her money back, it meant she would have not received anything for those two nights for that when someone else would likely have booked it (she's said she usually has booking so its a fair assumption).

This is a clear case of CFery.

Helpadvicepls · 07/01/2018 16:25

Good for op....some people think the world revolves around them x

Tippz · 07/01/2018 16:26

For those who don't know........

Airbnb

Airbnb is an online marketplace and hospitality service, enabling people to lease or rent short-term lodging including vacation rentals, apartment rentals, homestays, hostel beds, or hotel rooms.

www.airbnb.co.uk/

expatinscotland · 07/01/2018 16:27

Oh, polly we have tons of Lego and Playmobil about, with little bitty parts, and DD2 and I work jigsaws and have trays with all the tiny pieces in it. DS has autism and if his Lego or Playmobil is moved or touched, he doesn't take too well to it. I have a box of washing powder on the floor in the kitchen, bottles of wine and gin and beer beside the washing machine on the floor, my perfumes and stuff all out, because well, done with that shit, won't be doing it again.

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 16:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Tippz · 07/01/2018 16:28

Firstly, it's unlikely the toddler actually needed the toilet. The OP suspected the woman was using the child as an excuse to come in, at which point it's harder to throw her out. And the woman's behaviour afterwards backed that up.

VERY well said @winchesterinatardis

The OP would have been crazy to let the CF in. She was a scam artist.

BashStreetKid · 07/01/2018 16:29

No, we're all free to do the unkind thing if we choose to.

Pengggwyn, you know full well that doing the sensible thing does not automatically equate to doing the unkind thing. The only person being unkind to the child in this situation was her mother.

I'm also puzzled at your statement that you would have given the guest a piece of toast. Had she turned up without her child, she wouldn't have expected OP to feed her - indeed at 9.30 p.m I would expect both her and her child to have had a meal - so why feed her in this situation?

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 16:31

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

AnathemaPulsifer · 07/01/2018 16:35

my own course of action would have been to offer temporary assistance

And as others have said, that’s v easy to say when you’re not the one with an aggressive CF on your doorstep at night demanding entry against your terms and conditions.

SandyDenny · 07/01/2018 16:35

You might need to be a little careful pengggggwn, asking for your toddler to use a stranger's loo could be a cover for a distraction burglary.

In the vast majority of cases not letting strangers with random requests into your home is probably the safest course of action imo

FrogFairy · 07/01/2018 16:36

Substitute the word toddler with the word dog.

Would the OP be unreasonable to turn away a guest who turned up with a dog when they have a no dog policy? I don’t think so.

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 16:37

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

KERALA1 · 07/01/2018 16:38

If you host paying strangers regularly you recognise signs of difficulty, know your terms and conditions and what your boundaries are with guests and that you just stick to them. I appreciate it can be hard for people who have never done this to see what the op did as "unkind" but those of us with experience of paid hosting know she was absolutely right. If you are "kind" ie wet you will get taken advantage of.

I am civil and polite to all students but only relax into friendly on day 3 when I have established they are decent.

EllenJanethickerknickers · 07/01/2018 16:38

Blimey, why are you all feeding the GF? She's obviously loving the attention.

expatinscotland · 07/01/2018 16:38

'Substitute the word toddler with the word dog.

Would the OP be unreasonable to turn away a guest who turned up with a dog when they have a no dog policy? I don’t think so.'

Aw, but Frog, won't someone think of the children?!

PidgeonSpray · 07/01/2018 16:38

Not read the whole thread

YNBU

But u should not have accepted her booking at all knowing she was probably lying.

Why would someone ask for kids to be allowed and then suddenly say it's ok she had a sitter. (?!)

So lady paying for herself to stay in accommodation whilst her kid stays elsewhere!?

Obviously she was gonna turn up with kid

Tippz · 07/01/2018 16:38

What I am saying is, if a toddler needed the loo I would let them use it. If they were hungry I wouldn't begrudge them a piece of bread. I am not saying the child was hungry. I am saying my own course of action would have been to offer temporary assistance.

Good for you! Give yourself a carrot @pengggwn (A really BIG one!) for being such an amazing human being, and letting a perfect stranger into your home, late at night, who was ranting and screaming and threatening your safety and trying to force her way into your home!

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 16:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BashStreetKid · 07/01/2018 16:40

Again, you're being a bit silly. I don't have her money, the OP has it

But you say the kind thing for OP to do would be to give the money back. Which would leave OP at least £80 out of pocket. You may be happy to thrown £80 away, not everyone can afford it.

Pengggwn · 07/01/2018 16:43

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

user1474652148 · 07/01/2018 16:43

I don't agree you should refund her, you could have sold the room to someone else that night and couldn't because she misled you to believe she was coming alone and without children. Why you should you lose out? Your policy is clear about children so she was fully aware.

Digraceful on her part behaving like that in front of such a young child.

expatinscotland · 07/01/2018 16:43

Let's all read the OP again. The woman became aggressive when she was refused entry.

'Then she turned up with her child at 9.30pm saying she couldn’t find a sitter, and had hysterics as she pleaded with me on the doorstep, to allow him to stay.'

KERALA1 · 07/01/2018 16:44

Once in you wouldn't get her out.

Naivety of someone who has never run a business / taken in paying guests. Break your own boundaries as your peril you will always regret it - learned the hard way...

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