Hosting through Airbnb can be a fun and fulfilling way to earn some extra cash. Besides meeting new people from around the world, hosts have the opportunity to put their excellent hospitality skills to the test. However, sometimes guests ‘ Airbnb stays are less than ideal for the Airbnb hosts. From totally trashed apartments to horrible house parties, these hosts share the worst Airbnb guests they’ve encountered. Yikes! Don’t act like these guests on your next getaway! Content has been edited for clarity.
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1. “They Were A Real Class Act”
“A while back, I had a couple of different groups stay in my Airbnb at once. Unfortunately, one of the groups was a bunch of troublemakers.
The guests causing issues were a group of younger Europeans who were staying in my house for a couple of nights. There weren’t any issues before their arrival or at check-in, and the group’s first night went over fine without incident. Everything initially seemed great.
The next night, however, I walked downstairs at three in the morning only to find my kitchen turned into a drinking game area using my table. There were cups everywhere and drinks spilled all over the floor. All of the other guests in my house had called and texted me about being kept awake from these guests, too. They weren’t being quiet by any means.
I asked the group, ‘Hey, can you guys please knock it off? There are other guests here, and you’re acting like it is a weekend in a party house. Just calm down and wrap it up.’
‘Oh, we’re sorry,’ someone from the group mumbled.
Everyone picked up their belongings and trudged to their rooms about thirty minutes later.
I thought all was well until around six the same morning. Only three hours after my first encounter with the unruly guests, I woke up to the fire alarms going off in the house. I ran downstairs to see the living room and kitchen filled with smoke, along with a bunch of confused idiots just standing around.
As I looked around, I noticed someone had left their luggage on top of the furnace and then turned the heater on full blast. The suitcase melted, and nobody thought to pull the suitcase off as it dripped into the furnace.
I grabbed the luggage, dragged it away, and yelled at the guests, ‘Why are you just standing around? Open the windows!’
The situation ended up causing hundreds of dollars in damage to the furnace and the carpet surrounding it. The guests ended up fighting me for reimbursement, as they didn’t feel inclined to give me money for the damages they caused. Luckily, Airbnb stepped in and covered the expenses.
Those guests were a real class act.”
2. “It Wasn’t The Greatest Start To Airbnb”
“My worst guests were my first guests.
The guests texted me and asked, ‘Do you mind giving us a lift to the music festival we’re going to? We’ll give you some extra cash.’
They seemed nice enough, so I agreed. The guests arrived and about six hours later, I was driving them to the music festival. When I glanced in the rearview mirror, I noticed the two girls sitting behind me now and then because they couldn’t keep their heads up. Their eyes were rolling around like crazy, and I was genuinely concerned about them.
I asked the girls, ‘Hey, are you guys alright?’ and only seconds later, one of them barfed everywhere in my car. The vomit went between the gap of the headrest and splashed down the back of my neck. Then, at the sight of the girl vomiting, her friend began vomiting, too. It was terrible.
At this point, I was freaking out. I tried to find somewhere to pull over so the girls could finish vomiting outside of the car. Eventually, they stopped and asked me to drive them back to the Airbnb. When we got back home, I called a neighbor who was a nurse and had her come see what was wrong with the girls.
The neighbor told me, ‘Well, I suspect they’re on a substance. They were going to a festival, after all.’
The other two girls in the group who weren’t sick and struggling to stay awake still wanted me to drive them to the festival, so I drove them there and quickly came back to check on the first two girls. I periodically checked on them while cleaning my car seats, but I eventually decided to leave them until the next morning.
The next morning, I noticed two cars that weren’t there before driving off my property. The group had invited some friends over after the festival. I immediately inspected the house to see what they had done, and it was horrible. There was vomit on and under the couch, makeup smeared everywhere, towels covered in feces, and food left all over the place. Plus, the group stole a bunch of things in the house like soap, cereal, tissues, and coffee pods. It was unreal! It took me a solid six hours of cleaning and sterilization to get the house back to the way it was before.
It wasn’t the greatest start to Airbnb hosting for me. I was terrified every guest would behave this way afterward. Thankfully, this group was the worst so far.”
3. “I Couldn’t Stand Putting Up With Nightmare Guests”
“I have had two terrible guests.
The first guest was an Airbnb executive. He messaged me claiming he had stayed in my apartment building before, as his brother also lived there.
‘I’ll be in and out with no issues,’ the executive explained.
Since he worked for Airbnb, he would be a decent guest. My apartment was a $2,000-per-month luxury apartment. It had one bedroom, and it was located in a major city. The apartment even had a doorman. It was a pretty ritzy place.
When the executive arrived, he messaged me and complained, ‘This building is way too loud. The bed isn’t comfortable, either. I need to end my stay early, I would like to leave.’
I agreed to let him leave early within the terms of the listing. The executive disputed the charges, got refunded, and left me with my first review of fewer than five stars. After leaving his review, I was ineligible for “super host” status. I was livid!
Another time, I had a few people stay in my apartment who came into town for a business conference. Long story short, they threw a major party and trashed the entire apartment. The toilet was a complete mess, there were multiple holes in the wall, and they stained several places on the carpet. It was at least a few thousand bucks in damages.
When I found out about the state of the apartment, it was too late. I already had another guest coming in to stay the next day. I contacted Airbnb for help, but they were more concerned about if I was going to be able to get the apartment ready for the next guest. The company assured me that they would repair all of the damages, I just needed to submit photo evidence. So, I got the apartment cleaned up and ready for the next guest.
When I filed my claim with Airbnb, I was told that since I hosted another guest after the incident, I was unable to file a claim. I fought this for a little while, but I didn’t end up getting anywhere. I simply left the guest a negative review and went about my life.
A few months later, I got a notification from Airbnb about how they were removing my negative review of the guest who trashed my apartment. I couldn’t believe it!
I am no longer an Airbnb host. I couldn’t stand putting up with nightmare guests.”
4. “She Seemed Quieter Than Most Guests”
“When I started hosting with Airbnb a few years ago, I had a couple of poor experiences. I had a few tenants living in the house, mostly college students, plus one or two guest rooms. When I first started, I didn’t require any verification through Airbnb, such as government identification. My prices were lower than local motels, so my house garnered a bit of interest.
One time, I had a woman who wanted to rent a room for her niece for a couple of nights. Her profile looked legit and even had reviews, so I thought everything would turn out fine. When the ‘niece’ arrived, it didn’t set off any alarms in my head. She was probably in her late twenties or early thirties, but she just seemed quieter than most guests.
Not even ten hours into the woman’s stay, I received a call from one of my housemates stating, ‘Dude, there’s something weird about this lady. I think she is a streetwalker.’
‘Wait, what happened?’ I hurriedly questioned my housemate.
‘Well, she has had like two or three guys come and go from her room in two hours. Plus, she only has the room booked for herself,’ my housemate replied.
I started freaking out, and I came seconds from calling the police. However, I ended up getting in contact with Airbnb and told them they needed to kick the guest out of my home.
I explained to Airbnb, ‘The guest is bringing unauthorized people into my home. I didn’t agree to this.’
Airbnb ended up finding the woman another place to stay for the night. But when she began walking out of my home, she started making a scene by threatening me and my housemates. Luckily, I forced the woman out of the house before the situation escalated.”
