King is a wretched host.
King entered my room to “clean” it several days prior to my checkout, without asking for consent to enter my room during my absence. He then felt it appropriate to put all my belongings into two trash bags in order for the cleaning to take place - he texted me this information after the fact, as though it was normal and not a major violation of privacy and policy.
I responded cordially to this complete misstep on King’s part, despite the frustration and violation I felt regarding it. When I later could not find one of my belongings following this inappropriate “cleaning”, King accused me of making up lies to gain money, making up the crucifix necklace that disappeared, and being a “desperate African” scam artist who wants to make an extra buck from him.
Please note that this vitriol was received despite my choice to vacate his property over a whole week early (because it’s a dump) and allowing him to keep the money for all the unspent nights (as I felt he could use it). King was very grateful about this, until he wasn’t.
I made it clear that despite the missing necklace (which I even communicated to be of low value - only $40), he could still keep the $300+ for the unspent nights, however if the necklace wasn’t found, I would appreciate a reimbursement for it (miniscule in comparison to what I had essentially gifted him).
This very minor necklace incident flipped a switch in King that may be best assessed professionally. He proceeded to insult me, bombard me with anecdotes about thieves and ways to honestly obtain money. He repeatedly degraded me (for what he chose to label as) my identity, calling me a desperate “African sister” who is clearly in need of money. He taunted me, explaining how if I needed it that badly, I didn’t have to do this; I was “better than” this, and he and his wife could have just helped me out with money if I’d just asked.
King continued to send cryptic texts about two pieces of mail of mine that were arriving to his house, commenting on their specific contents and value, and implying that I never should’ve proceeded with the necklace report as I now won’t be receiving my mail, which is far more valuable. When I told King that USPS tracking had confirmed the mail as delivered, he told me that it had not delivered, it never would, and that I should never text him or return to his property again. He and his wife spammed me with calls and when I calmly responded that I’d be limiting my communication with him but forwarding his vitriol and comments about my mail to Airbnb, he banned me from texting him or returning to his property ever again.
King’s plan to withhold my mail was only stopped when Airbnb got involved. King was then quick to change his mind, and the mail had been “found”. I had to return to his home with Airbnb on the phone, remaining outside the gate in order to persevere my safety while retrieving the mail.
Despite being a British born and bred screenwriter - in the US for grad school - King’s most passionate harassment was to call me every African-centred insult under the sun, likely the result of internalised hatred and judgement. I also perceived this incident as him taking out a former incident on me. Upon my arrival, King immediately asked where my racial origins lied, and then he passionately shared how his last “Nigerian girl” guest was the worst he’s ever had in his 10+ years with Airbnb. Following the necklace incident, King told me that as a “fellow African”, I must be poor, need money for survival (this comment was actually made ON Airbnb’s messaging system), and that I’m clearly desperate for financial help, hence my claim about the necklace.
Anyway.
Beyond that, the house covered in spiders and spiderwebs, and several past reviews talk about his willingness to make things right likely due to how much goes very wrong during guest stays. I assume that King reserves the accommodating side of his nature for those he feels more obliged to serve.
Grateful to Airbnb for handling this traumatic experience as best they could, recognising what absolutely isn’t acceptable, and making it right.