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A property developer beat up a ‘vindictive’ guest who rented out his three-bedroom Airbnb property and sued him for allegedly planting a ‘hidden camera’, which was actually a carbon monoxide detector.
Robert Serr, 48, says he felt like a ‘peeping tom’ when the guest left a review claiming a carbon monoxide detector in the bedroom had a hidden recording device.
Mr Serr, of Leeds, West Yorkshire, had rented his near Palm Beach, Florida, to a guest who left the house in a “disgusting, disgusting mess” that required a five-hour cleanup, leading him to give it a star. revision.
Serr believes she retaliated by leaving her own review, which in turn led to her suspension from the platform on January 8.
Robert Serr, 48, says he felt like a ‘peeping tom’ when the guest left a review claiming a carbon monoxide detector in the bedroom had a hidden recording device.
Although Mr Serr’s account has now been reinstated, he says he is considering boycotting Airbnb because he feels he was treated as “guilty until proven innocent.”
She had claimed there were “two smoke detectors in the room” and that she feared one contained a “recording device”, however one was actually a carbon monoxide detector, required by law.
As a result, Mr. Serr faced having his account permanently locked and losing the $30,000 he spent renovating the property to make it more ‘Airbnb friendly’.
Although his account has now been reinstated, Mr Serr says he is considering boycotting Airbnb because he feels he was treated as “guilty until proven innocent.”
Airbnb said it was only a ‘temporary suspension’ while they investigated the matter and the guest has now been removed from the platform.
Mr Serr said: “It is the vilest accusation that can be made of anyone, that I am some kind of sick voyeur or voyeur.” It is very damaging to my reputation.
It is a step below saying that I am essentially a sex offender.
Mr. Serr described how he made it clear to the guest that there would be no parties at the three-bedroom property.
When Serr’s last guest checked in on Dec. 29, he had already warned her that parties were off limits, but he claims she hosted two rowdy gatherings anyway.
“Making that kind of accusation and then having Airbnb accept your claim without evidence and ban me, it makes you feel disgusting.”
“She was too stupid to figure out that one of them is a smoke detector and the other is a carbon monoxide detector.”
Serr first listed her Airbnb property in November and claims she had previously had a bad experience with another partygoer who ruined her fruit machine and dart board.
When her last guest checked in on December 29, he had already warned her that parties were off-limits, but she claims she hosted two rowdy gatherings anyway.
After the guests left, Mr. Serr claims his cleaners reported the rental as “very dirty,” which led him to leave a one-star review for the client.
But three days later, he woke up to a review from the woman herself, who claimed that while the house was “beautiful,” she feared that Mr. Serr had planted a hidden camera.
Mr. Serr said: “This woman messaged me after I booked [the house] wondering if he had a big back garden.
“The alarm bells started going off immediately and I contacted Airbnb.
Serr says the bruising experience has made him reconsider whether to use Airbnb as a platform for his vacation homes.
“They told me to contact her and send her a message making it very clear that parties are not going to be held at the house. She responded and said ‘absolutely, no parties’. I rent it for my mother, it’s her birthday.
‘She checks into the house. At 1 am that night, I get a phone call from my neighbors to tell me that she is having a big house party.
‘[Then] The next night I get a phone call from the neighbors at 4 am and there are a lot of people going in and out of the house.’
The next day, Mr. Serr’s cleaners went to the property and he claims it took them five hours to clean up after her, finding grease-covered towels and ruined sheets.
Serr said: ‘It was so disgusting and dirty. They ruined my sheets and towels.
She wiped the grease from the kitchen with the sheets and towels. It was a dirty, disgusting mess.
“Obviously, the one-star review I left caused Airbnb to contact [with her] and that’s why I think he made up lies and said my carbon monoxide detector was a camera.
The carbon monoxide detector in question, which a guest falsely claimed was being used for his hidden camera.
‘I received an email from Airbnb [on Sunday, January 8] first thing in the morning saying they had suspended the account pending investigation by their Trust & Safety team because someone felt unsafe in the house.
I mentioned the party I had reported and asked if it wasn’t pretty obvious to them what had happened. They weren’t the least bit interested in talking about the party and couldn’t have cared less.
Serr claims that despite providing proof that 16 people were seen going on and off the property, his account remained suspended for five days.
You are now considering removing your listing from the platform and potentially selling your recently renovated property.
Mr. Serr said: “I’m in the process of finishing two other properties that I was originally going to convert to Airbnbs, but I’m not going to do it now because of that.”
‘Am I supposed to be thankful that they have now restored my account that should never have been suspended in the first place?
‘Not. All of this has made me see how easy it is to close your entire business in a snap with little to no recourse.
“Airbnb had a lot of documentation of my concerns about this reservation from the beginning, but it seems that all of that is irrelevant. Even down to the 4am phone calls to Airbnb.
An Airbnb spokesperson said: “We were disappointed to learn about this experience and have resolved this matter.”
A temporary suspension has been put in place while we investigate a security inquiry to help protect our community. We have contacted the host to reactivate the listing and have taken the appropriate action on the booking host.’