A Vancouver professor has shared a disturbing message they received from a local Airbnb host following a recent stay.
University of British Columbia Assistant Professor Dr. Alex Moore left a four-star review following her stay at an Airbnb accommodation in Vancouver's "Main Street neighbourhood," adding: "Really enjoyed my time here and would certainly stay again if I found myself in Vancouver for a few short days."
As the ratings are out of five stars, Moore described her review as "positive."
But the host didn't appreciate the review and left a threatening message for Moore after receiving it.
In a text message, the host writes: "I have your picture, your name, and your number. You have 48 hours to remove your review or I'm hiring a private investigator to obtain your address and then the fun begins."
In a second message, the irate Airbnb host adds, "You're blocked from messaging me at this number."
On June 18, Moore shared the threatening message on Twitter, in a tweet which has since gone viral with nearly 200,000 likes and over 25,000 shares.
Airbnb Vancouver: Investigation into disturbing incident
After reporting the incident to Airbnb, Moore writes in a tweet that the host was still active on the accommodation rental platform. While Airbnb told her they were sending her the "correct team" to help, they advised her to contact local police if she felt unsafe.
The frustrated customer writes: "I have already contacted local authorities, but beyond protecting myself, [Airbnb] has an obligation to the public to act. Their listing is still active as of this posting and should be taken down immediately."
While the hosting was still active, Moore tweeted that the VPD would send over an officer "to tell the host to leave me alone 'or else.'"
On June 19, the UBC professor said the listing was removed from the platform.
Airbnb spokesperson Ben Breit told Vancouver Is Awesome on Monday (June 20) at 10 a.m. that the company had suspended the host while it investigated the incident.
But just after 11 a.m. on Monday, Moore wrote in a tweet that "it looks like the listing is back up and I have yet to hear back from [Airbnb] about what they plan to do (if anything)."
After conducting a "thorough investigation during which the host was suspended," Airbnb has removed the host and his listing "entirely from Airbnb in accordance with our community policies," Breit told V.I.A. Monday afternoon. "We're thankful to Dr. Moore for bringing this to our attention."
Vancouver Police Department Sgt. Steve Addison tells V.I.A. that the VPD received a complaint and conducted an investigation that has not "resulted in criminal charges or any kind of enforcement action."
