Drugs, sex toys and orgies: Airbnb hosts share scandalous guest stories
A photo capturing the living room of an Air BnB.
If you ask me, I don't know how people survived before the introduction of Air BnB's. It must have been such a boring situation when planning a holiday, as hotels were one of the main form of accommodation available.
Fast forward, Air BnB's have become very popular, especially with the youth, and with the festive season upon us, Air BnB's are already a big hit with most establishments fully booked.
However, merrymaking can bring out the best and the worst in people and according to some Air BnB homeowners, a good number of those who book with them are usually looking to explore their naughty side.
Speaking to Mtaa Wangu, Angie Mwikali, a businesswoman in Nakuru who owns an Air BnB shares that anyone thinking of getting into the business needs to come to terms with the fact that they will encounter some scandalous situations.
"If you are planning to become an Air BnB owner, you need to know that there will be some scandalous incidents involving sex, drugs and parties," Angie said.
"Such scandals can be largely attributed to the biggest consumers of the Air BnB product; the youth who are out to have a lot of unapologetic fun," the Milimani resident notes.
Angie, who has been in the Air BnB industry for almost five years, shares that her first scandalous encounter happened when she was very new to the business.
"Six months into my business, a couple booked one of my properties. I was over the moon as it was my first booking in months. I met them, gave them the keys to the property and left. A little after 1am I got a call from the caretaker of the property complaining about noise," she said.
Angie's efforts to phone the couple were unsuccessful and after several attempts she decided to drive to the property.
"I rang the doorbell and will never forget what I saw when the door opened. There was an orgy going on with lots of drugs. I had to threaten to call the police on the party and the young couple had to cut their stay short," she says, still clearly embarrassed by the ordeal.
To avoid such interactions, Angie now has house rules on her various properties, one of which prohibits parties.
Another Air BnB owner, Eugene Wamalawa, says: "People take drug use in Air BnBs very lightly until it becomes a police case. Then the owner has to bear the brunt of legal charges or fines. Most of us have had to have the police on our speed dial to get us out of sticky situations."
For Eugene, his most scandalous incident happened just a few months ago.
"One time I decided to randomly pop into my property to check if any repairs or renovations needed to be done. Much to my shock, I found my cleaner having intimate relations with the building's security guard. Needless to say, I had to fire her and also complain to the building owner," Eugene said.
Lydia Obare, another Nakuru Air BnB owner, also shares embarrassing situations she has encountered.
"Sometimes I clean my properties myself, which puts me in a lot of embarrassing situations. My cleaning efforts have resulted in me picking up poorly disposed used condoms, lots of alcohol and drugs left behind, lots of spicy underwear and twice a forgotten sex toy," she laments.
Lydia adds that on several occasions she has had to clean bed linen that has been urinated on.
"I don't know what crazy activities my guests do to pee on my bedding. I have since stopped using white bed linen and now cover my mattresses with mackintosh," said Lydia.
What crazy things have you done during your Air BnB stay?