There’s nothing more rewarding than running an Airbnb, but sometimes you can be faced with some difficult challenges – here are some nightmare situations that stand out as a former holiday-let host
When I first started running an Airbnb back in 2020, nothing could have prepared me for the broad scope of guests who would be booking the holiday let – and some really do stand out.
While the majority of bookings were from pleasant visitors looking for a relaxing getaway, occasionally I was faced with nightmare situations during the three years of running the listing. It would be easy to assume that messy guests or broken kitchenware were the most extreme of events, but nearly all staycation owners will have to tackle these challenges at some point.
Research has suggested that a growing number of Brits are turning to short-term lettings as a source of income, with AirDNA data finding a 19 percent increase in listings available on Airbnb and Vrbo in the 12 months leading up to February 2024. But oversupply of holiday lets isn’t the only obstacle that owners face – difficult guests is certainly another.
As a former Airbnb host, I’ve looked back on what I consider to be the ‘worst type of guests’ and shared some rare occasions when things didn’t go exactly to plan.
Radiator disaster
One unfortunate event occurred just before midnight, when my phone started pinging with messages from the guest, who said the heated towel rail in the bathroom was leaking. It was soon discovered that drunken, stumbling antics had caused the radiator to fall from the wall, breaking the pipes and causing a leakage.
Despite panic starting to set in, I instructed the guest to turn off the heating, dial down the thermostat, and place the rail in a position to stop the water seeping out. I also advised them to place towels on the floor to prevent the water leaking through the floorboards.
Fortunately, a plumber was soon on hand to fix the issue at a hefty cost, and the apologetic guests were happy to cover this fee. Unfortunately, this incident meant we had to cancel our following bookings at a late notice, and arrange alternative accommodation for our next guests.
Flea frenzy
Another disastrous situation occurred when our cleaning team reported fleas inside property, which had been brought in from previous guests, as animals were prohibited from the building. With a booking scheduled for that day, I had to issue a last-minute cancellation and arrange a pest control service to inspect and eliminate all pesky insects.
It doesn’t stop there, as the guests who were believed to have brought the fleas in had also visited another apartment we used to run. Treatment was arranged for this property too. The combined cost of pest control and rearranging accommodation for the cancelled booking set me back by more than £500.
Wine on walls
There’s nothing better than spending a boozy weekend away with friends, but these drunken antics can sometimes get a little out of hand. On two painful occasions I returned to the property to find glaring wine stains splashed on the pristine white walls.
To make things worse, both guests had avoided mentioning the incident until it was highlighted to them in a message. I distinctly remember one booker claiming the spillage was water from a bouquet of flowers – but no amount of scrubbing could shift the stains.
Another red wine washout occurred in the living room, where it had coated a large proportion of the wall. Fortunately, last-minute painters arrived in time before the arrival of the next guests – but again at a large sum.
Police presence
It was quite a shock when I received a voicemail from a police officer, asking for a call back because the guest couldn’t unlock the door. While the lock could be quite fiddly – the top one needed to be unlocked first, before the second – these particular guests had booked with us previously, and had no issues.
To confuse matters further, the visitors had communicated with me via message before their arrival, but hadn’t reached out for help with the lock. Instead, they flagged down a neighbourhood police officer for assistance.
Parking problems
During my three years of running the Airbnb, one recurring issue that regularly cropped up was guests failing to park in their designated spots. While the car park directions were shared with them ahead of arrival, and highlighted in the check-in information, many would park their car in another resident’s space.
To address this issue, we placed a cone that displayed property number in the spot, but this was often overlooked. In most cases, I would receive a message from the owner of the space, signalling the parking problem – and after a lot of messages back and forth it would eventually get resolved.
Despite the problems listed above, I thoroughly enjoyed my experience as a host and meeting new people from across the world – and even the ones that caused some difficulties haven’t put me off running an Airbnb in the future.
