Until July 25 last, José Luis Samaniego was what Airbnb enthusiastically calls a “superhost.”. The platform defines them as follows: “Superhosts go out of their way to offer travelers a exceptional experience and they are a great example of hospitality. You can easily identify them thanks to the badge that appears on their ads and profiles”. This resident of the neighborhood of Camp de l’Harpa del Clot became one of them a few months after registering, in 2017, when he decided rent a room in his apartment for days to tourists. But recently, not only is he not a ‘superhost’, he has also been expelled from the web, after experiencing a bizarre episode with some clients who have not only caused him an anxiety crisis, but have also left him without this source of income.
Until a month ago, this retired former State and Generalitat official had a score of 4.94 out of 5. Something very commendable in a sector where a hair in the bathroom or a few crumbs on the sofa can translate into a bad grade or a furious criticism that travelers from all over the world will read on the internet. But José Luis, 64 years oldhad housed some 160 and received a total of 145 outstanding reviews, earning the distinction “for welcoming travelers with open arms.” Until that fateful day.
That Monday, a certain David crossed the threshold of his house, who had registered days before in Airbnb with only a telephone number and an email address and did not prove identification or origin (nor did he have previous evaluations as a guest), along with a woman. The host was concerned about this circumstance, but after the drought due to the pandemic he needed that economic injection and he thought that “I had to trust, we have all gone through it for the first time”. As soon as he saw it he gave her a bad feeling. “He was very corpulent, aggressive and violent”, he defines it, by his gestures and shouts.
The couple combed the entire floor, including entering Samaniego’s room, “touching everything and testing lights”. “It had never happened to me, I did not understand anything,” he tells this newspaper. But they couldn’t understand each other because they only spoke German and seemed annoyed by his presence. Later, he learned that David was convinced that he had rented an entire apartment despite the fact that the advertisement clearly stated that it was a “private room in an apartment”. Another piece of information was essential: the price, in the middle of July, was 45 euros per night with breakfast for two. Nobody offers breakfast if it is not about staying at a host’s house.
Airbnb made a first telephone mediation, with the guest’s commitment to stay for eight days and “behave well”, as detailed by José Luis in the complaint he has filed with the Mossos d’Esquadra, while his lawyer is studying the filing of a lawsuit, since so far he has not had access to the tax address of the various Airbnb charges you want to litigate against.
He even let them smoke
That night he already chose to arrive late at his own house to avoid friction and to “give in as much as possible” to facilitate what had to be a unique week of coexistence. She let them use the kitchen (normally not included), she even let them smoke. She left breakfast ready for them in case they got up early the next day.
In the morning he heard a lot of noise and waited to go out, but after a while they sent him a message about a water problem in the toilet that made him come back. “The sink worked perfectly,” he explains. He decided to have dinner out, and when he returned to his apartment could not enter because the key was thrown inside and the guest yelled “no” at him from inside, before bellowing something he didn’t understand. The night of the 26th was a nightmare for this neighbor, trying to communicate in vain with the Airbnb staff, without anyone speaking Spanish in the night slot, he says in the complaint. “I spent the night in a bank on the street, and then in a coffee shop. I ran out of battery.” At last he was able to communicate in broken English, but with no solution to his case.
In a state “desperate” out of nerves, he chose to ask the guests to leave, and announced that he would go to the police. Although they could not be evicted, the Mossos accompanied him so that he could access his house, and finally those they chose to leave. This was reported by Airbnb to this newspaper at the time. “The incident has been resolved” and the couple was to be rehoused. But the surprise came shortly after, when after a crossroads of negative evaluations (he was described as a “voyeur” for being at his home, and drunk, he laments), the platform blocked him. A few days ago they informed him that your account will not be reactivated and you will not be able to appeal the decision. The case is closed.
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“I am devastated, I feel helpless because it is not my fault that these guests did not understand where they were coming from and it was so difficult to communicate with Airbnb.” In the police report, he charges against the security and customer service personnel who attended him (they sign with a first name, without a last name…) and against management positions. He also claims damages.
Airbnb explains to EL PERIÓDICO that the expulsion is due to his safety regulation, without being able to give more details for “data protection” of the parties. José Luis, who had changed his stay for a minimum of 31 days from August, after the ban on rooms for days and the announcement of sanctions by the city council, has lost the reservations. Some canceled French gentlemen wrote to him because based on their previous scores they wanted to go on his account. This happened a few days ago. And Samaniego shows the letter of thanks, claiming that he continues to be a great host.