Published on Reddit’s r/AmITheA**hole forum, a woman under the anonymous username u/throwawaygayhouse200 shared her story to get opinions from the “AITA” community. The viral post has over 7,000 upvotes and 2,000 comments.
The original poster (OP) began her story by explaining how her mother was 16 when she had her. The OP described her mother as a “black sheep” in her “big conservative Christian” family.
Her grandfather wasn’t a fan of her being a single mother but let the them live in their home. However, when her mother came out as gay, her grandfather kicked them out and “disowned” them. Her grandparents owned a mansion they called a “summer house” which the family would visit every summer. The house had beautiful scenery and a view of a lake.
When the pandemic began, the OP’s mother and grandfather passed away. Due to this, her grandmother reached out to her to rekindle the family relationship. The OP was thrilled that she wanted to get back in touch with her. Last year, her grandmother passed away but left the mansion to the OP. She decided to make it an Airbnb and makes a good profit from it.
This made her family “furious” because they could no longer visit the house for the summer. She mentioned that she didn’t really know that side of the family.
“My aunt reached out to me the other week telling me (not asking) that her daughter had planned to have her wedding there next summer. She has been dreaming of it since she was a child and apparently it’s the designated family wedding spot. The house has been hired out for weddings before since there is room for a venue and lots of rooms for guests to stay over,” u/throwawaygayhouse200 wrote.
“Now I told my aunt that was not possible because the week she wanted to have her wedding was already booked, but I said if she wanted a different date she could put down the deposit for what I charge for a wedding and book a different date. Now she was furious and asked if I was serious in actually charging my family to have their wedding there, and I just said I didn’t know them, have not met them in person since I was like 6 and yes I would because weddings bring in alot of money,” she continued.
She admitted that her family has been “blowing” up her phone and calling her out.
Newsweek reached out to u/throwawaygayhouse200 for comment.
Newsweek has published several articles regarding housing conflict including a woman who was praised online for kicking out her “best friend” who lived rent-free in her home and how the internet cheered for a woman who refused her colleague from moving in with her.
Tips on starting your own Airbnb
Have you inherited a home from a late parent, grandparent or family member and want to turn it into an Airbnb? The first thing you need to do is sign up and create a listing. The next steps include uploading pictures, filling out details about the location and amenities and highlighting the unique details, per the Airbnb website.
Next, choose your nightly fee, set up a calendar and state your house rules for your guests to follow. It is crucial to be specific on check-in rules, have essential products guests may need and have your place as clean as possible for good reviews.
Want to be a good host to your guests? According to hostaway.com, here are some tips for beginner hosts and even experts:
List your property on different sites and sync your calendar so there are no mixups. Hire a cleaning serviceAlways be available to your guestsAuthorize a self-check-in method by using smart boxes, key exchanging services or smart locks. Allow for long-term rentalsLook into hiring a co-host to help manage your scheduleReview your guests and encourage guests to write a review as it can help your Airbnb ranking.
Redditor reactions
“[Not the a**hole]. It’s yours. I’m guessing the aunt could have reached out at any time before your mum passed, yet didn’t. You don’t owe them anything,” u/Background-Panic-806 wrote, receiving the top comment of over 10,000 upvotes.
“[Not the a**hole]. There is so much work that goes into preparing and maintaining an Airbnb on a day to day basis. Let alone a wedding! What a cheek! Asking for it for free. It’s utterly disrespectful. I would never as this of my family let alone people I haven’t met. Stand strong, you’re totally in the right,” u/Practical-Rooster691 admitted.
U/chuckinhoutex gave advice to the OP, “[Not the a**hole] - and all I would say to them is… This is not some empty house you are asking to use… this is the revenue that I would be losing. You guys have had my whole life to get to know me and THIS is when you reach out and demand something of me and give me insults? Ask yourself if you think I should feel persuaded by being attacked and rethink this whole thing and maybe try again. But don’t too long, bookings are going fast!”
“[Not the a**hole] - It’s your house now. Get that ‘my house, my rule’ mug from Knives Out and sip it whenever they text you and smile,” u/Encartrus suggested.
“[Not the a**hole]. If you knew these people, I’d say sure. But you don’t and once you start the freebies, it will never stop. Free weddings, weekend visits. It’s sad for them but you have no relationship with them so it’s pretty entitled for them to to try to TELL you, not even ask you that they want a wedding there,” u/alicat7777 commented.
