A woman was forced to flee her Airbnb accommodation after she caught a relative of her host breaking into her room and searching her belongings.
Tracylyn Sorensen, 29, had booked a guest house on Airbnb for a three-day work trip to Rosarito, a resort town south of Tijuana, Mexico. But she had to cut her stay short after a security camera she had installed to protect herself revealed the intruder.
She went out to work the day after her arrival and on her return, she checked the camera. She was horrified to see a man entering her room through a door connecting it to the main home.
The video showed the man opening her bag and walking around the room. Airbnb have confirmed: "The person caught on camera was the host’s relative, who entered the listing unknown to the host''.
Tracylyn, a singer, actress and influencer from Los Angeles, California, USA, no longer felt safe in the rented accommodation, so she packed her things and immediately left, too afraid to confront the hosts about what had happened. She fled the Airbnb despite warnings to travellers to stay indoors because of gang violence on the streets of Rosarito.
Tracylyn said: "I believe he was in there for about 30 minutes. Mind you, this was the very first time I had left the Airbnb and I was scheduled to stay there for three days.
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"He may have thought he'd have ample time during the rest of my stay to go back. I left at 10 pm after packing all of my things quietly. This is in the middle of a cartel curfew when they claimed no one could be on the streets or they would be met with danger."
Tracylyn believes the man was looking for her passport and ID but didn't steal anything. She was able to find temporary accommodation with the organisers of the Baja Beach festival, a Latin music and reggaeton event at which she was working.
She added: "This is in the middle of a cartel curfew when they claimed no one could be on the streets or they would be met with danger. This was the weekend that the US consulate put out a shelter-in-place for all US citizens in the area. I only found out after already arriving in Mexico otherwise I would have never gone."
Looking back on the terrifying experience, Tracylyn added: "I picked up zero warning signs as the host and his mother and father greeted me very warmly. The host even made sure to tell me he had cameras outside so that I could feel safe parking my vehicle.
"I think it was the most violating and terrifying experience I've ever had. To think that my intuition had given me no clue that it would happen was the scariest part.''
Airbnb said: “We took action on the host at the time. The person caught on camera was the host’s relative, who entered the listing unknown to the host.
"The host had never had any complaints previously but was given a final warning and risks permanent removal from the platform if any other issues are reported in the future. Everyone who uses Airbnb must abide by our strict policies, and we take action on concerns brought to our attention."
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