Airbnb Disasters - Episode 1: Is that blood on the ceiling?!

Among many aspects of real estate, I am a super host in the world of vacation rentals. Some of these stories I realize I should share to help others avoid what could have been a very bad situation. I am obviously alive and well ;) So hopefully these stories can create awareness and provide valuable information to those who have less experience in vacation rentals.

I have lived most of the last 10 years in NYC as a single female; I would consider myself “street smart”. Upon moving to the Big Apple I immediately set rules to protect myself to which I closely adhere to. However there are times when you find yourself in situations this is where your “street smarts” and quick thinking/problem solving skills come in handy. I have found myself in these spots on numerous occasions and each time I learned something about myself that I didn’t previously know.

In 2013, I was about 8 months into hosting my home in queens. My home was a luxury condo in an up and coming neighborhood in Queens, NY. Convenient to both JFK and LGA, I attracted guests from all over the world. I was on a roll. I vetted (I thought I did) each individual and made arrangements to be away during the guests stay (another rule).

I received a request for a 4 night stay and the guest (male) message went like this: “Your home looks amazing. I am from Texas but I’m in NY right now due to foot surgery. I need a place to lay low for a few days to recover. Does your building have an elevator for easy access?”

He informed me that he would be bringing along his two sisters and they would only need the condo for 4 nights. Moved by empathy, I immediately accepted his reservation and made arrangements to stay with a friend during the reservation. A friend of mine agreed to check him in the following day since I wasn’t able to meet him in person. She called me after checking them in and asked me if I knew anything about them. I told her about the conversation with the guest and that he needed a place to recover from his foot surgery. She seemed a little wary and mentioned there was no indication of ailment and that there were approximately 5 people that checked in. I brushed it off.

Four days later I got a message from the guest requesting an additional 2 days. He said he felt he needed a few more days. I accepted it. Again, 2 days later I received another reservation for 3 extra days, his explanation was the same. Again, I accepted it. Then 3 days later…yup! You guessed it! He requested another 2 days. As I was boarding the 34 street/6th Ave F train, I sent him a message to let him know that I would accept the extension however I would need to return to the condo to pick up a few necessities. For all of you NYC subway goers, you know there is very little cellular service coverage in those tunnels. My message managed to reach him, however his did not reach me.

I came out of the subway station close to my home, checking my messages “we have decided to leave now”, from the guest. As strange as it was, I just continued to my building, up the elevator to the 3rd floor. As soon as those doors opened I immediately felt sick to my stomach. You know the feeling. It’s the gut feeling. I walked down the corridor, put the key into the lock and slowly opened the door. (Silently thinking, why do I not have a license to carry?) Door ajar, I peered through into the biggest chaos I had ever seen. My eyes did a quick sweep of the entire room landing on the ceiling; I see what appears to be blood splattered on the ceiling and counter. I pulled the door closed, I never remembered feeling this terrified in my life.

I called my friend who was on her way to pick me up as we had a previous scheduled event to attend. The conversation went like this, “If I don’t call you back in 2 mins, call the police, I think something happened at my condo”. I hung up and went inside to assess the disaster and make sure no one was still inside. I walked from room to room, piles of trash, the couch cushions scattered around, art work laying on the floor (some frames broken down like match sticks), every towel soiled with what appeared to be shoe polish. I walk through the place, checking the closets and behind all the doors (by the way, I don’t know why I did this alone (adrenaline?). DO NOT EVER DO THIS!) , book shelf tipped over, collectables from places I’ve travelled broken in pieces. Once I realized I was alone, I was able to relax a bit. That 2 minutes seemed like 2 hours, I called my friend and let her know the coast was clear.

I immediately started documenting the disaster by video and photos then placed my first claim with Airbnb. Airbnb’s response exceeded my expectation. Within 10 days they had reimbursed me for the damages and cleaning bill.

A year and a half later I was still getting mail set to my address in that guests name (as well as others from his family). Oh, and the blood on the ceiling and walls? Turns out they had and extreme food fight involving pasta sauce. I literally had to repaint the areas affected. What turned out to be an interesting story full of humor bears a few valuable lessons.

• 1.Be sure you have good vetting procedure in place
• 2.Be prepared for the worst case scenario and never let your guard down
• 3.In NYC especially, if you are renting our your home just know that once a tenant moves in and stays for 30 days and has mail coming to the property in their name you will literally have to hire an attorney to legally evict them!
• 4.Most of your experiences will be amazing but you will have the few that will make you reconsider your life
• 5.Between what the guest paid me for the stay and the claim, I did not take a financial loss (just sentimental loss)