A group of friends' scary encounter at an Airbnb has gone viral after one of the friends posted a video of the incident to TikTok.
The video, posted by Jennifer Enriquez or @glammedbyjenny_ on TikTok, received more than 1.8 million views and 800 comments since it was posted less than a week ago. The footage was from July 2020, according to an Airbnb spokesperson.
In the video, Enriquez showed a group of people crowded in front of the kitchen window watching as an unknown man walked toward their Airbnb.
"Scary airbnb experience," the caption of the video read.
As eerie music plays in the background, the man walks toward the garage. One of the friends in the group then contacts the Airbnb host.
"Hello, someone came and said he is renting the garage?" a message from 6:41 p.m. read.
The host then replied that they were not sure who the man was and to "kindly ask them" to message the person they booked with because "the garage is not a place that is rented."
One of the friends responded to the host that the man had a key, but the host replied that they wished the friends had "contacted us prior to letting them in." The host also asked for a description and the name of the man and said it could be the cleaner.
"Ask them to give me a call immediately," the host said.
The friend messaged back that they did not want to talk to the man and that they didn't feel safe.
"We don't feel safe, specially if you aren't sure who is in the house," they said to the host.
They also said the man parked his car in the driveway and brought groceries in through the garage, but the host responded that there was no car in the driveway.
"I'm looking at it!" they wrote to the host. "Honestly I don't feel safe anymore we want our money back we are leaving."
In the comments of the video, Enriquez said there was an extra room in the back of the Airbnb that was not disclosed to them.
She explained that the host never told them someone else would be staying in the backroom and that there was no mention of it in the house description from the booking page.
Although Enriquez said the host did not mention the extra room off the back, the Airbnb spokesperson told Newsweek the listing said there was a separate guest suite in the back of the house.
Many users commented that the host did not act appropriately. One user claiming to have worked for Airbnb said the host went against company policy.
"I worked for Airbnb as a Resolutions Agent and girl that is against their policy," the comment read. "Hope this host got their strikes on their acct and your money back."
The user also explained that after three to four strikes, a listing gets removed from the Airbnb website.
According to the Airbnb guest policy, hosts are responsible for accurately describing the listing in the description as well as making themselves available to deal with problems that might arise with guests.
Hosts are also responsible for reimbursing Airbnb for any amount paid for either a guest's relocation or a refund.
In other comments from viewers, one user said a similar situation happened to them while they were staying in an Airbnb.
"We were leaving to get food and our one girl friend stayed but this dude came to 'grab a ladder' and we changed our mind so quick," the user recounted about their experience.
Another user said they were staying at an Airbnb and were never told that another person lived in the basement. One user even said they thought they stayed there and were told not to go in the garage. When they asked if the Airbnb was in Redding, California, Enriquez confirmed that it was.
Newsweek reached out to Enriquez for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
Update 01/21/2022, 9:40 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comments from an Airbnb spokesperson.
