Airbnb host says $40K lost after guest jailed on drug, gun charges

A lucrative Airbnb rental has turned into a nightmare for a Toronto host after his guest was arrested and the unit was raided by police, leaving him with what he says is almost $40,000 in damages and lost income. 

The ordeal began on Dec. 13 when the host, Daniel, learned from police about his guest's arrest on drug trafficking and gun charges — five days before her checkout date. 

CBC Toronto is not using Daniel's full name as he fears reprisals from the criminal organization his guest, Sara Staniszewski, 34, is alleged to have links with. After Staniszewski's arrest, Daniel says he was left to deal with damage to his doors caused by the police, while her belongings remained in the rental space — almost all of a three-storey standalone building — and her Mercedes-Benz remained in his garage.

Daniel says it took more than a month and dozens of calls and messages before Airbnb told him to hand over Staniszewski's belongings to local authorities. In the meantime, a new $28,000 booking was cancelled because the apartment remained unrentable, he said.  

"It seems that Airbnb, when things go smooth, it's great. When things don't go so smooth, it's really bad," he said. "They're just not there for you."

Daniel has been a host on Airbnb for 11 years and says he's retained a "superhost" badge for the past few years. But he said his relationship with the tech giant soured since his guest's arrest. 

"I've come to realize that we as hosts have absolutely no recourse," when guests or their belongings overstay their booking, he said.

Airbnb's terms of service say users can't use the platform for criminal activity.

The company told CBC Toronto on Friday it barred Staniszewski from the platform in January and is "currently investigating" Daniel's claims. 

Airbnb did not respond by deadline to CBC's other questions about the incident.   

'Left out in the lurch'

Staniszewski's booking was from Sept. 14 to Dec. 18 last year. The Gatineau, Que., woman was arrested on Dec. 13 by Ottawa police as part of a major drug trafficking investigation. Staniszewski is facing 10 charges, including participating in a criminal organization, conspiracy to traffic cocaine and possession of a loaded handgun and high-capacity magazine, according to court documents.

She was released on bail a week later, but Daniel says she never returned to pick up her property and didn't respond to messages.

CBC Toronto contacted the woman listed as Staniszewski's surety in the court documents, but she said she didn't know Staniszewski or anything about the case. Staniszewski's lawyer, Michael Spratt, did not respond to a request for a comment. 

Police busted through several doors during the raid at Daniel's Airbnb, which is in Toronto's Forest Hill neighbourhood, under suspicion there were drugs at the property, according to a search warrant reviewed by CBC Toronto.

Ottawa police wouldn't comment as the matter is before the courts.

Apart from paying for repairs, Daniel says the property was unrentable because Staniszewski's belongings were still there — which he considers an "overstay" that should entitle him to compensation under Airbnb's policy.

Not knowing the potential consequences of removing a guest's belongings, Daniel turned to Airbnb for answers. 

"The last thing I want to do is be accused of stealing someone's Mercedes-Benz," he said. 

He said an Airbnb representative told him not to do anything nor contact the guest until the company provided further instructions.

Daniel exchanged dozens of messages with several Airbnb representatives asking for information on how to resolve the issue so he could start accepting bookings again, according to correspondence viewed by CBC Toronto. 

But it was only on Jan. 15 that Airbnb told Daniel to remove Staniszewski's belongings and change the locks. 

In the meantime, a new 81-night booking came in on Jan. 10, but Airbnb cancelled it the same day because of the "current issue" with the belongings, according to correspondence seen by CBC Toronto.  

While Airbnb reimbursed Daniel around $1,500 for changing the locks, he says he's owed $28,000 in lost revenue from the cancelled booking and another $11,000 in overstay fees and damages.

He says these losses should be covered under Airbnb policies.

Airbnb says, in a video for hosts, that its AirCover policy offers "top-to-bottom protection," including $3 million in damage protection. It covers reimbursement of lost income due to cancellations because of damage during a booking. Its terms of service say hosts can impose "reasonable overstay penalties" if a guest stays past checkout.

Airbnb told Daniel in May it wouldn't be providing "additional payout" for his claim. It did not say why. 

"They just ran me around 30 different customer service people over the course of four months and a bunch of chatbots and they kept closing my case automatically even though I said don't close this case many, many times," Daniel said.

"It was really a war of attrition to try to frustrate me to go away."

Airbnb should be liable: legal expert 

Cresteena Fernandes, an Ontario-based paralegal, says Airbnb should be liable for the money Daniel lost while waiting for the company's instructions. 

"It took them approximately a month… That is a month of lost revenue for him," she said. 

She said her advice to hosts in a similar situation is to take Airbnb to small claims court. In cases when a guest remains in the unit but overstays, she says it becomes a case of trespassing and hosts should involve police. 

As for Daniel, he says the situation has left him with a hole in his budget. 

He says he hopes his experience comes as a cautionary tale for other hosts on Airbnb. 

"To be left out in the lurch like that by this very powerful tech company is very, very disturbing," Daniel said. "You're on your own."