“They were like ‘stay upstairs’.”
An Idaho couple booked a room on Airbnb in Portland, Oregon, and were surprised to find a “secret” door in their downstairs room. What’s going on?
TikTok creator Drew Dobney (@drew.dobney) began posting a series of videos on February 25 about her discovery. “Well, we’re in Portland, Oregon, and we have the cutest Airbnb,” she says at the beginning of the first video. “But, like, I’m watching this, this must be a secret door that I’m going to try to open on camera.”
Dobney filmed herself struggling to open the pantry in her kitchen, where she noticed a gap in the top. This led her to believe there was a secret room behind it. Sure enough, after some struggle, the door opened.
“Baby, come here and look at this,” she told her husband. He was noticeably less interested in the discovery than his wife. “Why is my husband so indifferent to this?” she asks in the video’s title.
Audience reaction to Oregon Airbnb’s ‘secret’ door
In the film’s comments section, viewers reacted to Dobney’s discovery and her husband’s lackluster response.
“Not only do you find a secret room, but you also find you need a new partner,” one viewer joked.
“A bed… behind a secret door, he was worried about you talking loudly,” the second man said.
“Find someone who’s willing to do the research for you instead of talking down to you,” said a third viewer.
Another said: “The fact that every woman cares about her husband and not the secret door absolutely fascinates me. I love it.”
Another said: “Get a refund…and Airbnb.”
Dobney reveals more in a series of follow-up videos
In a follow-up video, Dobney revealed that they went to buy groceries and when they returned, the secret door was locked.
“Well, someone must be here,” she said. “We got a text from the homeowner saying, ‘Hey, we noticed you guys had this door open. Please make sure you stay upstairs because my daughter and I live downstairs?'”
The TikToker said: “I want to know what you think. We have no control over the lock. The lock is on their end. But thank you so much for your concern.”
In the third clip, she tells the audience that she did not book an Airbnb stay; A family member did. But when the family member booked the home, he didn’t see any information about the property being self-occupied, so he didn’t tell other family members.
If Dobney had entered the property knowing the homeowner lived downstairs, she said she obviously would not have released the original footage. After speaking with the landlord and viewing the property, Daubney said the summary did note that fact.
“For all the Zach haters, I’m still married,” she added.
In the fourth video, Dobney says she talked to her mom, who pointed out that there was a sensor on the door, which you can see in the original video. This may be what alerts the owner that it is open.
What are Airbnb’s rules for owner-occupied properties?
Airbnb does require listings to include details about the type of accommodation offered and the level of privacy guests can expect during their stay. Therefore, if the owner lives in a hidden room downstairs or has other tenants coming in and out, the owner should disclose this in advance. Hosts who repeatedly ignore these rules may have their listings suspended or even removed entirely.
In this case, it’s unclear whether Dobney’s uncle simply missed this part of the list at the time, or whether the language was added retroactively, as Dobney suggests in her third follow-up video. In this case, the family may need screenshots of the listing or other types of evidence to get a refund from Airbnb.
In a statement to AllHipHop, an Airbnb spokesperson wrote: “We reached out to the creator of the video via TikTok for more information so we could review it, but have yet to receive a response. If they respond, our team is ready to help. Every Airbnb reservation provides guests with AirCover in the unlikely event that the listing is not as advertised.”
AllHipHop reached out to Dobney for comment via TikTok comments and private messages. We will update this story if she responds.
@drew.dobney
Why is my husband so indifferent about this?
♬ Original Sound – Drew Dobney
