A Texas Airbnb host got a strange yet entertaining message from a woman spending the night at his property. That’s because when a spider appeared in the Airbnb, the guest couldn’t bring herself to kill it.
In a TikTok with over 296,000 views, Mordecai (@mordi_e) humorously poked fun at the fact that his guest needed an insect killer, while agreeing to take care of it.
Luciana’s experience
Mordecai recently had a long-term guest, Luciana, stay in his Airbnb. He was surprised to see a late-night message from her at 11:08 p.m., which sounded like a desperate plea for assistance.
“Mordecai, please help me,” she said. But then, he read the rest of her message. “I know [this] sounds stupid but there’s a spider here and I have arachnophobia. Please help me, I’m alone and don’t have the courage to kill her,” said Luciana.
Mordecai obliged, sending his parents over to the property to kill the spider for her as he was a little far away from the property. “Sometimes you just gotta read your Airbnb guest’s text and remember… you signed up for this,” Mordecai wrote.
Luciana left a positive review once she left the property once she checked out, stating, “Mordecai and his parents were amazing. We stayed for more than a month. Of course in that period, problems happen that’s life, but Mordecai is always available every time we needed him, he is always a message away. His parents are very gentle and kind. The space is good [and]… safe.”
Does above-and-beyond service give superhost status?
In the description of Mordecai’s video, he said, “Just another night earning that Superhost badge.”
But what is Superhost status, and how does it affect Airbnb hosts?
Superhost status is a badge given by Airbnb to recognize hosts who cultivate great experiences for their guests. It leads to higher booking rates and even travel coupons for hosts who can maintain their badge. Superhosts have to maintain a 90% response rate, 4.8-star rating, and limit their booking cancellations to keep the badge. While spider-killing is admirable, it’s not technically a quality that Airbnb looks for when determining which hosts get “super’ status.
It can be hard to keep track of all of the aggregate data related to Superhost status, but the benefits generally improve Hosts’ experience tenfold. Many hosts consider it necessary for anyone making their living on Airbnb.
Commenters praise the Airbnb host
Many commenters were thankful that Mordecai was willing and able to kill the spider for his guest, especially because Mordecai’s space is safe for single females traveling.
“So lemme explain the ‘space is safe’ and the weight she just lifted off a lot of shoulders,” said one viewer. “You my friend will be getting more and more single female bookings [because] you’ve been identified as a safe space. Keep up the good work.”
Others had other humorous quips: “He was afraid to kill the spider too, I just can’t prove it,” added one commenter.
The Mary Sue has reached out to Mordecai via TikTok and Airbnb via email for comment.
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