We suspect that our Airbnb is actually a brothel...what do we do next?!

[SpendingTheKidsInheritance]

Name changed for this to protect my MN privacy. DH and I are on holiday. We've booked four nights in a Superhost's apartment in Spain that we believe is a cover for a brothel. After night two we realised that all was not as it seemed. Last night and this morning confirmed our suspicions! We've got one more night to go and it can't come round soon enough!
We've had ladies in the corridor in states on undress, men appearing in white fluffy dressing gowns and this morning a man was heard whistling in the shower next to ours (no men are currently living here). We've not seen as many sheets being dried in the kitchen for a three apartment and there's also a large cctv fixed on the kitchen door! There's even more for us to think our suspicions are real but my main reason for asking is will Airbnb take us seriously? The lady of the he house is only here during the day along with various other women. Tbh it has totally spoilt our break away. We're going to try and get some photo evidence to support our complaint but we can't exactly go covert! For certain reasons DH needs to rest an injured leg intermittently so we're probably not the usual guests who are out from dawn to dusk as we pop back every few hours so that he can recharge his batteries.
Thank you for reading x

Worth reporting to Air BnB! Is it a room in a shared apartment? I only ever book “whole place” options to avoid strangers!

Yes a room in an apartment. We're right at the end with a private bathroom next door that we suspect has been used when we've been out. We're certainly not prudes but there's a place for certain behaviour. We can't make our minds up if she's just greedy for money or she's using Airbnb as a cover or both?! We're currently back in the room having a rest and we'll be out and and about again. Really hacked off with it and will probably only book a whole apartment in future.

I want us to wait until after we leave tomorrow morning to report it as I can't stand all the stress and upset.

Oh dear lots of typo in main post! Sorry this is really upsetting me hence the sloppy grammar, spelling and word omissions!

I would contact Airbnb now and explain the situation. Tell them you are worried what will happen if they contact the owner whilst you are still staying there. Imo they should find you somewhere to stay on your last night and I wouldn't want to stay there a moment longer. Have you tried googling the landlady's telephone number and seeing if it comes up online anywhere? In fact, I would contact Airbnb and get their agreement to pay for a hotel room for you and go and find a hotel room instead.

Another man has turned up and they're chatting away ( don't know what they're saying). We don't have a phone number we made contact via Airbnb messenger which was very sparse. They seem to be having lots of showers!

Urgh! Issues like this are why I don't use Airb&b (I realise this is not typical of course).
How horrible for you OP.

DH thinks it would be too stressful to find somewhere else just for one night but I totally understand what everyone is saying and thank you. We do use Airbnb both abroad and at home and this is the first time we've encountered anything resembling this! We think that she is either Taiwanese or Philippine and her 'sister' (looks nothing like her including nationality! ) is the maid!

does air b and b specify that the room wont be in a brothel?is the room otherwise as described?is whistiling in the shower a thing if pay for sex?

Haha tolerable I was just implying that another man was here and showering yet again! Please don't be like that we are finding this quite unpleasant. And no they don't stipulate that it is in a brothel. She doesn't live here only works in the apartment. She's like a cat on hot tin when we walk through the door during the day!

This is a known issue to Airbnb (sex workers and criminal gangs can and do rent properties from the likes of rental sites to set up pop up brothels) and you need to report this asap to both Airbnb and the police.

I would not stay there tonight but instead find alternative accommodation.

have you tried things like googling the host's mobile number or the address? The spanish word for brothel is burdel. Words for massage and prostitute are very similar - but if your common sense is telling you that you're in a knocking shop, you probably are.

Definitely complaint to Airbnb once you're home.

Should AirBnB have to SPECIFY that it's not used as a brothel, @tolerable?

There was also something on telly recently about issues with some properties in Spain - Airbnb don't ask for proof that you own the property you're letting.

So it's entirely possible that Ms Respectable Spanishlady living in Madrid has let her holiday home on the Costas to a "student" from Asia. The student has then whacked the apartment on Airbnb and set up a knocking shop to boot. Ms Spanishlady does not have a clue all this is going on.

It's a beautiful apartment and very central but there are some details eg. Cheap letters on the door that correspond with a cheap letter on your allocated bathroom that belies the high end fixtures and fittings of the apartment!

We have no mobile number for her we only contacted her via Airbnb messenger! Although she does have a mobile that she's regularly using!

It does sound like you are staying in a pop up brothel.

You used messenger but did you actually make the booking via Airbnb's official platform?.

Airbnb advise that in an emergency situation, or if your personal safety is threatened, contact local police or emergency services immediately. Airbnb need to know about this today rather than simply when you arrive home. You are not making a fuss about nothing here.

Thank you everyone and* to answer Meerkat* the more I'm reading the more unsafe I feel. DH is currently asleep and I'll show him the posts when he wakes up. To be honest the reviews looked good hence our reason for booking. The city we are staying in is small and you only really need a couple of days to see it all so I believe that we're quite unusual in spending four nights here but we've also been able to observe more!

Fgs OP - just report it to Airbnb and go and book into a hotel. When we've booked Airbnb we've been given the owner's mobile number. There should be a contact number on the booking confirmation. Anyway, that's by the by. What's going on is illegal, there are random punters in the flat where presumably you leave some of your belongings when you are not in the room and it's potentially unsafe.

Yes we did book it through the official site as we've used Airbnb plenty of times before, both home and abroad.

Which city are you in? I would look online for an available hotel room whilst your husband is asleep and start packing. I've discussed this with DP and he said if that happened to us we'd leave for a hotel and tell Airbnb what was going on and that we expect them to cover the cost of the hotel in the circumstances.

Why do nasty trolls like @tolerable do nothing but sneer and use sarcastic "joking" to attack people. Totally sick of these verbally abusive characters. To @spendingthekidsinheritance take some phone videos /pics of people in corridors in robes etc. Then complain like hell when you get home!.

We do have a key to our room so we're able to lock ourselves in and lock the door when we're out. Sorry if pp are getting frustrated at me but it's difficult to just walk out with our cases when her or one of the other ladies are near to the door.

We're staying in Bilbao.

does air b and b specify that the room wont be in a brothel?

Only on mumsnet could someone post that and not realise what a twatty comment it is.