This past month, I was assaulted and sexually harassed by a guest I hosted on airbnb.
I never thought I was susceptible to manipulation. But when you’re juggling 5 mortgages on Airbnb hostel properties generating $450,000 a year, and your livelihood depends on keeping guests happy—even abusive ones—most people wouldn’t think twice about staying quiet.
What I learned from this experience is that with Airbnb, you better do what you’re told.
The Guest Arrives
On August 20th, a guest I’ll call M.K. arrived at my Airbnb hostel after booking a month-long stay. From the start, she made it clear that she had booked my property specifically to spend time with me. She said she’d found me on Instagram, thought I was attractive based on my Airbnb profile picture, and wanted to get to know me.
At first, I was flattered and didn’t think much of it. After two days of socializing, she started asking me to sleep with her.
As her stay progressed, her behavior became concerning. She began trying to take control of the property, ordering other guests around, and even meddling in their personal lives. For example, she insisted a younger woman living in a nearby unit miss work to spend time with her.
Despite recognizing her controlling behavior toward others, I didn’t believe I could be manipulated—until she turned her attention to me.
Harassment Escalates
M.K. started following me around the property, shouting at me while I worked. This constant disruption was exhausting, but I tolerated it to protect my reviews and reputation as a host.
A few days later, she suggested we stay in her room and engage in sexual activity. Alarmed by her behavior, I canceled any plans to hang out with her. This upset her greatly, and things deteriorated rapidly.
While I was away on a trip, she began sending me violent and racist threats via text and voice messages, including, “When you get back here, I’m gonna beat your white skinny cracka ass.” Some of these messages were later retracted using iMessage’s unsend feature.
Here’s an edited version of the original blog post for improved clarity, flow, and readability:
This past month, I was assaulted and sexually harassed by a guest I hosted on Airbnb.
I never thought I was susceptible to manipulation. But when you’re juggling 5 mortgages on Airbnb hostel properties generating $450,000 a year, and your livelihood depends on keeping guests happy—even abusive ones—most people wouldn’t think twice about staying quiet.
What I learned from this experience is that with Airbnb, you better do what you’re told.
The Guest Arrives
On August 20th, a guest I’ll call M.K. arrived at my Airbnb hostel after booking a month-long stay. From the start, she made it clear that she had booked my property specifically to spend time with me. She said she’d found me on Instagram, thought I was attractive based on my Airbnb profile picture, and wanted to get to know me.
At first, I was flattered and didn’t think much of it. After two days of socializing, she started asking me to sleep with her.
As her stay progressed, her behavior became concerning. She began trying to take control of the property, ordering other guests around, and even meddling in their personal lives. For example, she insisted a younger woman living in a nearby unit miss work to spend time with her.
Despite recognizing her controlling behavior toward others, I didn’t believe I could be manipulated—until she turned her attention to me.
Harassment Escalates
M.K. started following me around the property, shouting at me while I worked. This constant disruption was exhausting, but I tolerated it to protect my reviews and reputation as a host.
A few days later, she suggested we stay in her room and engage in sexual activity. Alarmed by her behavior, I canceled any plans to hang out with her. This upset her greatly, and things deteriorated rapidly.
While I was away on a trip, she began sending me violent and racist threats via text and voice messages, including, “When you get back here, I’m gonna beat your white skinny cracka ass.” Some of these messages were later retracted using iMessage’s unsend feature.
The Assault
When I returned on September 4th, I found M.K. openly drinking vodka and harassing other guests. One guest even reported her to Airbnb after she entered his bedroom uninvited and refused to leave. Airbnb did not assist him.
Later that day, I sat down with her in the kitchen of my personal house to explain why she needed to leave. During our conversation, she hinted at blackmail, saying that even though the sex we’d had earlier was consensual, my touching her afterward wasn’t and that she could accuse me of rape unless I did what she wanted.
Before I could process her words, she struck me in the face twice, trying to provoke me into hitting her back. When I didn’t react, she grabbed my arm and forced my hand onto her face. When I pushed her off, she bit me on the chest.
Video:
Escalation and Blackmail
She continued threatening to accuse me of rape, claiming it would ruin my Airbnb business and make it impossible for me to pay my mortgages. Although I wanted to go to the police, I hesitated, fearing her threats would come true.
She also blocked me from entering certain parts of the house, grabbed my hair, and attempted to lure me into a bedroom away from the cameras. She shoved me onto the bed repeatedly and demanded I engage in “rough sex,” which I refused. I managed to leave and return to the kitchen, where witnesses were present.
I told her that either she could accept a trip alteration to end the trip immediately, accept the refund and vacate the premises or I would have to bring this to the police and escalate with airbnb. (An empty threat since they already brushed off my complaint)
I gave her an ultimatum: accept a trip alteration and refund to leave immediately, or I’d escalate to law enforcement and Airbnb. What I didn’t tell her was that I had already reported her behavior to Airbnb, but they refused to act.
Link to video of some of the harassing threats here!
What I did not tell her was that I had already opened a case with airbnb over the threats of violence and harassment but they were not willing to help me.
Airbnb’s Lack of Support
Instead of helping me, Airbnb delisted all my properties and canceled existing bookings. Guests were left stranded, and I was denied the $20,000+ they had already paid. To make it right, I allowed them to stay for free and offered direct rental agreements to those who had nowhere else to go.
Airbnb also canceled my personal vacation without a refund and blocked me from logging into my account, presumably to prevent me from gathering evidence against them.
Their “Trust and Safety” team, represented by someone named Ryan S., ignored my complaints and provided no meaningful resolution, despite me submitting videos and written statements documenting the assault and harassment.
The Fallout
In the weeks following, M.K. continued to harass me, calling and threatening to have people attack me. She also reminded me that she knew where I lived.
Airbnb’s actions left me financially and emotionally devastated. They even banned accounts of friends and former colleagues associated with me, including a former manager who can no longer use the platform to list or book properties.
As an affordable housing host for over 13 years, with tens of thousands of trips and listings between $500–$1,000 per month, I never expected this level of neglect and hostility from Airbnb.
This has been the hardest thing for me to share. I regret engaging with M.K. in the first place, but I never expected her to use false accusations and violence to destroy my business and peace of mind.
Airbnb’s legal and corporate strategies have turned them into a self-serving monster, concerned only with their bottom line. I hope this story serves as a warning to other hosts.
Thanks, Airbnb.
Mark Wagner
subservehost AT gmail.com
