Wanted to share my recent experience and mainly make sure that this is as bizarre as we think and worth leaving a poor review... but also see if there's anything more I can (or should) do:

My girlfriend and I took a trip over Memorial Day weekend. Our flight landed Thursday AM and our check-in time was 3pm. I noticed that the AirBNB wasn't booked on Wednesday, so I sent a message to the host on Tuesday asking if there was any chance we could drop off our bags before 3pm. She read the message but didn't respond. No big deal.

I never heard back, so I sent her a text message Thursday morning making sure she saw my message and if there was any chance we could drop off our bags. She read the text.. but no response. Annoying but no big deal.

Around 7-8am on Friday morning, we got a text from our host (she hadn't acknowledged previous messages) telling us she's on her way to do a walk through with an insurance person. This rubbed us the wrong way as it was very early, short notice, and scheduled during our stay. I texted back asking if she can reschedule and she got snippy and told us these are hard to get booked and we will be fine. We eventually agreed to a 10 minute heads up.

We started to shower and get dressed for the day when the host texted us saying she's outside and we need to let her in. No 10 minute heads up. We let her in (didn't want to cause issues) and got dressed in the bedroom while her and some stranger (allegedly the insurance agent) walked around the condo for about 10 minutes.

We thought this was very weird but not really a trip ruiner. Whatever.

The rest of Friday was fine. Saturday got weird again. We left early Saturday morning and locked up. We got back late that night and found the front door wide open. We are 1000% certain we locked the door.

We went to the bedroom and found our luggage moved and a couple things sitting out that were tucked away in suitcases or backpacks. Luckily we had our wallets, keys, etc with us. We didn't notice anything missing.

We sent a message to the host letting her know what happened. She wrote back that she has never had issues and we clearly didn't lock the door and we must lock the door moving forward. We told her we are certain that we locked the door and she never responded again. No concern, no questions, nothing.

It was pretty uncomfortable staying one more night when we knew someone had accessed the place.

Are we overreacting? Or is this just your typical bad AirBNB experience?

Not over-reacting, I certainly think its worth a negative review to let others know your experience.

We had a weird one as well like 2019 ish. So we check in to an AIRbnb and there was someones luggage and laptop and all that stuff in the living room- we called the host and they said the maid told them the same thing and he couldn't get a hold of the guy who was supposed to check out that morning. He told me to just put everything out on the patio.

Fast forward to like 11pm that night I hear someone typing in the code in the door lock unsuccesfully. Some cuss words, followed by the door handle jiggling and then pouding at the door. Then I think he finally saw his bags , took them, and left. I called the cops when he started pounding at the door just incase. Spoke to the owner and he appologized and finally let me know a day later that he finally talked to the guy and it was his first time doing airbNB didn't realize he had to check out at a certain time and just thought he had to be out by midnight on his checkout date.

That's wild.

Yeah - it was the lack of concern that made us very suspicious. If someone claimed your property got broken into, I feel like you would have a lot more questions and concerns other than "eh, you probably didn't lock it".

My girlfriend feels like the host is the one who got in. I understand the suspicion, but not ready to jump to that conclusion.

I wouldn't necessarily leave a bad review, if the place was as advertised and you otherwise had a good stay. Airbnb asks pretty specific questions during the review process, and I would answer them honestly. I don't think there are any specific questions that would relate to someone entering the property. There are questions about host responsiveness, though (and it sounds like that deserves a ding).

I would leave substantial comments explaining what happened during your stay. Personally, I only book properties where guests have left comments, and I read (scrutinize) them all.

The issue is with the questions Airbnb asks when you give the review. Most of them aren't going to be related to the specific issues the OP had. They are going to be about cleanliness, accuracy of the property compared to the listing, location, check-in, and value. I would answer those fairly/honestly. Answering them with a low score isn't helpful because there was an issue with the host and doesn't provide a useful review.

The specific questions that do apply would be overall experience and communication - which do deserve a low score. But there aren't really any questions about safety or your stay being interrupted by the host. Give specifics in the comments to explain, so other guests understand. The host will then have the opportunity to respond.

My point is, don't give low scores to specific questions unrelated to the issues just because you want to give a bad review, as this is not helpful to future guests.

Because Airbnb asks very specific questions during the review process, it is not helpful to answer all of them with a bad rating just so the end result is a low review score.

To generate a review that is truly helpful, you should answer the questions fairly/truthfully and leave the negative feedback for 1) questions specifically related to the issues and 2) the general comments section of the review.

This may not end up with a rating as low as the OP would like (in terms of number of stars), but it does provide useful feedback.

In this case, it sounds like the issue really is with the host. Very few of the review questions are about that aspect of the stay, so the comments become very important. IMO, this is a shortcoming of the Airbnb review process. Comments are optional, so you have to put a little extra effort into the review.

Scotts Tot said:

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Were there any indications of host issues in the reviews? She seems like a crappy and unprofessional host, and surely you weren't the first one to have problems with her.

To echo the comment above, we have generally had great success with Airbnb, but I will only book a place with glowing reviews and unanimously positive feedback on the host.

ETA: this is 100% grounds for a negative review. My review criteria is generally "what would I like to have known before booking this place". If I dealt with these issues, I would have absolutely wish I had booked another property.

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Nope. The reviews were very good. We were shocked at the experience.

I also just read that hosts aren't allowed to enter the property without permission. She didn't ask if she could. She told us it was happening. She did tell us to reply "okay" to her message, so I'm sure that was her way of getting "permission".

Just a little more info - Airbnb is very much on the side of the host. And hosts can and do get negative reviews taken down.

This is why I said to answer the questions honestly (ie, don't give zero or one stars for review criteria unrelated to the issues you had). Don't give the host any reason to report your review as unfair because if it gets taken down, then it's of no help to anyone.

You can also report the listing. There is a Safety and Property section on the listing page (this is separate from the review process you are prompted to complete after your stay). How seriously they take us is anyone's guess, but there is a process.

You can also go to the host's profile and report them, but as you noted, you have no proof the host was the one who entered when you weren't there, and the hosts is insisting you didn't lock the door.

Vacations are supposed to be where you get away from stress, and this host did nothing but cause you completely unnecessary stress. Save future travelers from what you had to go through!

My experience with reviews is different - I have had one removed, and you can find other examples of this online. Who knows how many are true.

But that is why I posted to report this as a safety issue rather than just giving 0 or 1 stars for unrelated review criteria just to get a low score.

Another thing I forgot to mention...

She sent us the code to the box where she keeps the keys about 2-3 weeks in advance. That tells me she uses the same keys for all guests.

Theoretically, anyone could make a copy of the keys.

texasaggie2015 said:

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No - but the vast majority of Airbnb's I've stayed at have a keypad lock and not an old school lock.

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Gotcha, that's been my experience as well. I think only one time has there been actual keys to the door.

Definitely detail all of this in the review; this is weird.

What's the update

Having a conversation with Airbnb tomorrow. Will keep you guys posted.

i'd have told the host to fugg off

very sketchy behavior and how people get murdered

Yeah, we absolutely should have. We considered it, but we didn't want to cause any issues and just decided to suck it up and let them come do the "walk through".

Hindsight is 20/20.

texasaggie2015 said:

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It was pretty uncomfortable staying one more night when we knew someone had accessed the place.

Are we overreacting? Or is this just your typical bad AirBNB experience?

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I had a similar experience with an AirBnB in Galveston during February 2022.

We entered the property and walked through the place and it looked like somebody was living in one of the rooms. We called the contact and left the property until they came over and cleaned it up.

But... not knowing who this person was or if they'd come back, I did borrow a gun from a close friend to keep with me during our stay. Just in case this random person came back.

Your experience sounds way worse.

My only other bad AirBnB experience was last November when the heat went out at the house we rented in Amarillo on a night when the low temp dropped down to 29F.

Was it a squatter?

Heat or A/C going out is understandable, especially if it's at night.

Dr. Venkman said:

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TXTransplant said:

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Just a little more info - Airbnb is very much on the side of the host. And hosts can and do get negative reviews taken down.

This is why I said to answer the questions honestly (ie, don't give zero or one stars for review criteria unrelated to the issues you had). Don't give the host any reason to report your review as unfair because if it gets taken down, then it's of no help to anyone.

You can also report the listing. There is a Safety and Property section on the listing page (this is separate from the review process you are prompted to complete after your stay). How seriously they take us is anyone's guess, but there is a process.

You can also go to the host's profile and report them, but as you noted, you have no proof the host was the one who entered when you weren't there, and the hosts is insisting you didn't lock the door.

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As an Airbnb host, this is absolutely not true. Brokers like Airbnb and Ebay cannot open a formal court for every little dispute. They simply cannot absorb the cost to be arbiters. So they have made the business decision to 100% take the side of the guest or buyer. Many guests have figured this out and exploit the host. Just read some samples. reddit.com/r/airbnb_hosts/

It is VERY difficult to remove a review unless it goes against Airbnb policy. And even if it does (in many cases retaliation), it's still almost impossible to remove. Again, read examples above. The OP describing what happened does not go against airbnb policy so it will not be removed.

If OP reports this place to the Safety people as you described, it will be shut down in a heartbeat. And the host will have to claw back the listing.

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Yep, airbnb pretty much hates hosts. Guests are allowed to blackmail us for refunds. We aren't allowed to see their reviews first. Certain people (read threads) never leave 5 star reviews, because it's against their "culture." Guests are allowed to book high-value stays months in advance and then cancel at almost the last minute. Guests can cram extra people and pets into your place, and if you leave a bad review, they will retaliate. I do 90% of my booking direct. I have a 4.88 average reviews on airbnb, but some of the negative reviews are ridiculous..."wasn't close enough to the beach." "The toilet was running." "Mosquitoes were bad." "Too much seaweed." I just have to take it, with no recourse whatsoever.

Airbnb in the U.S. has become a joke. Between the extreme prices and the laundry list of chores guests are expected to complete, I don't even use it in the States anymore. On top of that, there are these kinds of shenanigans, which seem to be becoming more and more common. Oddly, it feels very specific to the U.S., because I still find Airbnb to be a good value and a pleasant experience in other parts of the world.

Martin Q. Blank said:

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Was it a squatter?

Heat or A/C going out is understandable, especially if it's at night.

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On the Galveston mystery guest thing, what we suspect is that the owners were using the property as an STR investment property and were letting some friend or family stay there sometimes when it wasn't in use. They seemed to know who it was who was staying there.

Funny similarity, I now live about 6 blocks away from that AirBnB house and I've got a guest house in my backyard that I let a friend stay in occasionally. But, only when I'm home.

It's pretty obvious Airbnb doesn't really care about hosts or guests. They are out for themselves, to the extent that they violate their OWN policies (had that experience when booking earlier this year)

So, odds are good that if you are a host or guest and have an issue, you are not going to get help from them.

94chem said:

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Dr. Venkman said:

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TXTransplant said:

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Just a little more info - Airbnb is very much on the side of the host. And hosts can and do get negative reviews taken down.

This is why I said to answer the questions honestly (ie, don't give zero or one stars for review criteria unrelated to the issues you had). Don't give the host any reason to report your review as unfair because if it gets taken down, then it's of no help to anyone.

You can also report the listing. There is a Safety and Property section on the listing page (this is separate from the review process you are prompted to complete after your stay). How seriously they take us is anyone's guess, but there is a process.

You can also go to the host's profile and report them, but as you noted, you have no proof the host was the one who entered when you weren't there, and the hosts is insisting you didn't lock the door.

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As an Airbnb host, this is absolutely not true. Brokers like Airbnb and Ebay cannot open a formal court for every little dispute. They simply cannot absorb the cost to be arbiters. So they have made the business decision to 100% take the side of the guest or buyer. Many guests have figured this out and exploit the host. Just read some samples. reddit.com/r/airbnb_hosts/

It is VERY difficult to remove a review unless it goes against Airbnb policy. And even if it does (in many cases retaliation), it's still almost impossible to remove. Again, read examples above. The OP describing what happened does not go against airbnb policy so it will not be removed.

If OP reports this place to the Safety people as you described, it will be shut down in a heartbeat. And the host will have to claw back the listing.

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Yep, airbnb pretty much hates hosts. Guests are allowed to blackmail us for refunds. We aren't allowed to see their reviews first. Certain people (read threads) never leave 5 star reviews, because it's against their "culture." Guests are allowed to book high-value stays months in advance and then cancel at almost the last minute. Guests can cram extra people and pets into your place, and if you leave a bad review, they will retaliate. I do 90% of my booking direct. I have a 4.88 average reviews on airbnb, but some of the negative reviews are ridiculous..."wasn't close enough to the beach." "The toilet was running." "Mosquitoes were bad." "Too much seaweed." I just have to take it, with no recourse whatsoever.

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I wouldn't care too much since people can see through how ridiculous those reviews are except you need 4.8 average to get "Superhost" which drives traffic. You need four 5 star reviews to counteract one 4 star review. I just got a glowing review about how great the house was, no complaints, but they left a 4 star review. I would have rather them just not leave a review because that hit my average, even though the content of the review was great.

How do you get direct bookings? I just set up a DTravel account which gets a listing on Google Vacation Rentals, but I haven't received any bookings.