Airbnb Horror Stories

Don’t be the next Airbnb horror story.

Help prevent Airbnb horror stories from occurring to you.

There are many places to read some awful Airbnb horror stories if you’re looking for a cringe-worthy reminder that some guests aren’t ideal. Since Hosty was created to help you alleviate your stress, we won’t go through some of the worst offenders. Instead, we’ll go over some of the ways that you can prevent these situations from happening to you. After all, the best Airbnb horror story is one that didn’t occur to you.

Airbnb Horror Stories

The Predictable Partiers

A familiar tale you hear is a host renting out their home during a notorious party holiday and coming back to a trashed place and a serious cleaning bill. As tempting as it is to capitalize on these events, you need to be extra diligent when doing so. Take the time to talk with guests to get to know them a little better. Also, make sure that you provide them with a comprehensive list of house rules to follow so they understand your expectations as a host. Finally, trust your gut. If you feel like your potential guest may break the rules, don’t rent to them. You deserve to come back to a clean, well cared for home. And not one that looks like a tornado of partiers blew through it.  

The Taboo Traveler

Another common story that you hear is of travelers indulging in a few too many carnal delights when they’re away on holiday. You often hear accounts of travelers using vacation rental homes as places to do illegal drugs or as a base for escort services. Don’t fall victim to these guests taking advantage of your hospitality. An excellent way to circumvent this horror story is to make sure that you’re always communicating and receiving payments through Airbnb.

If travelers have intentions to misbehave, they may want to pay in cash in order to keep their transaction off the record. Also, Airbnb has some great built-in insurance to help take care of any problems that guests or hosts experience. But you can’t take advantage of it if you don’t complete a transaction through their site. The allure of getting paid in cash and saving the money on a transaction fee sounds great. But in reality, when something like this is a possibility, it’s good to know you have some protection on your side.

The Holiday from Hell

Unfortunately, accidents happen. You and your guests can be as responsible and diligent as possible, and an Airbnb horror story can still occur. Slips and falls, property damage or even fires have all happened while guests were staying at vacation rental properties. Other than choosing decor that will stand the test of time and laying out safety rules, another great way to protect yourself is with insurance. As mentioned above, Airbnb does provide liability insurance, but getting a policy beyond that is recommended because costs add up quickly. It’s better to be well-insured than to be kicking yourself if an accident does happen.

Now that you have a good idea of what can go wrong, hopefully, you’ll have the motivation to help it go right. Keep checking back to Hosty’s blog for tips, tricks and ways to be the best Airbnb host you can be. Ready to see how Hosty’s professional Airbnb vacation management software can work for you? . We hope that you don’t have any Airbnb horror stories in the future! Happy Hosting!