Student Stunned After Finding That Mum Rented Her Bedroom To Strangers On AirBnb
A student was stunned when she returned from university and discovered she had nowhere to sleep - as her mother had rented her room on Airbnb.
Hannah Speed, a first-year politics student at Durham University, found out her mum had put her room up for rent just five days after she headed to university.
Before leaving, Hannah’s mother Pat, 56, made her tidy her bedroom and box up her things - but didn’t tell her that the room needed to be suitable for strangers.
Hannah said: ‘It was only when she was FaceTiming me and sent me the Airbnb link when I realised what was going on.
‘She took the photos for the ad the day I left for university.
‘I was pretty angry. Having strangers in your room is quite weird but we’ve managed to work it out and she now keeps me in the loop about who’s staying and what they get up to.
‘It was during freshers’ week and we were in the last five minutes of our conversation when she just mentioned it casually and then hung up on me.
‘I had been suspicious when she made me tidy my room so thoroughly. She was obviously trying to hide it from me.’
But while Hannah has been forced to stay in a spare room over the holidays, she admits that tourists have been quick to compliment the £39 a night room - and she’s even receiving a 15 percent cut of her mum’s earnings.
Hannah said: ‘To be honest it’s great because I can pay for a few nights out from the money I make every month.
‘Over Christmas my mum even paid me a bonus because I was at home whilst guests stayed.
‘I just cling to the financial incentive and try not think too much about the people who are in my bed, or what they might be doing.
‘The worst part is that I’ve got an en-suite and the thought of strangers using that makes me feel a little bit sick.’
And despite her initial reservations, Hannah also spoke of her pride for her mother - who has received five star ratings on the app, and been deemed a superhost.
‘For the first month or two she was trying very hard to improve her host status and doing extra bits like breakfast and laundry’, Hannah added.
‘I’m certain she’ll keep this up for the three years I’m at university, she’ll want to hold onto her Superhost status.
‘But when mum did the kitchen tour for some guests she said that they could use my prize Nutribullet, I couldn’t believe how cheeky she was.’
