Woman Owns Airbnb In The Smoky Mountains. Then She Gets A Shocking Message About A Sudden Temperature Shift: ‘As An Airbnb Host Myself This Is An Insane Way To Respond’

If something goes wrong in an Airbnb, who’s supposed to solve it?

Generally speaking, the answer is “the host.” Still, getting them to actually fix problems with their property can be difficult. For example, one internet user recounted the difficulties she had after her Airbnb rental flooded with sewage.

Now, an Airbnb host is sharing her own issues that she’s had with her rentals this season. But did she go too far to fix them?

What Went Wrong With This Airbnb?

In a video with over 4.2 million views, TikTok user Brittany (@mountainmamacabins) explains how her “worst nightmare as an Airbnb host has come true.”

According to Brittany, she was in bed when she got a notification from her smart thermostat. The temperature in one of her rentals had gone below 65 degrees.

As it was 11pm, and Brittany saw via the Ring camera that the guests had gone out into the nearby town, she simply confirmed that the thermostat was set to a high temperature and waited overnight.

When she awoke at 5am, she saw that the in-home temperature had dipped to 58 degrees.

“Either A, they’re likely freezing in their beds,” she explains. “Or, they’re likely B, like all of you on the internet who love sleeping in the cold no matter what.”

Hoping it only required a minor fix, she messaged her maintenance company about the issue. She also warned the guests via text that someone could be coming to fix the furnace.

Could She Get The Furnace Fixed?

In a follow-up video, Brittany explains that she informed the guests of the issue. She also told them she was made aware of it via a smart thermostat notification.

“I did not want her to think I was watching her or the house,” she says. “You guys always say you don’t wanna feel like you’re being watched in a cabin. But our home is below 65, and it hasn’t budged up despite the heat being on. I’d love to look at that, make sure it doesn’t impact your stay.”

Finally, the repairman came—and the news wasn’t good.

“He calls me, ‘Hey, I hate to do this to you on Christmas, but I just have to be honest with you. This is normally a situation where I red tag the house’—meaning my furnace is not safe for guests to be there,” she recalls.

What Happened Next?

Immediately, Brittany worried not only about the safety of her guests but about potential lost revenue during the repair period. This amounted to thousands of dollars.

The technician then said that the furnace was from 2007. According to the technician, the heat exchanger was “leaking out some gas,” which caused it to not be effective. While he managed to secure a temporary fix, he says that the entire furnace needed to be replaced—which would cost “about $12,500.”

According to Brittany, the technician said that he only refrained from red tagging the furnace because he trusted her to replace it as soon as possible. Still, he said he would only give her two days to decide whether she would replace it.

After a bit of back-and-forth, during which time it was determined that carbon monoxide sensors and other safety features in the rental were working and up-to-date, the repair technician affirmed that the furnace would work temporarily for the Airbnb’s guests. Brittany confirmed that she would get a new furnace installed on Dec. 26.

Did This Airbnb Host Go Too Far?

In the comments under the original video, many users accused Brittany of being overbearing. Specifically, some felt that her monitoring of her Airbnb’s temperature, her adjustment of the temperature, and her viewing of the rental’s Ring cameras were a violation of the guests’ privacy.

“As an Airbnb host myself this is an insane way to respond,” wrote a user. “She should just contact her guest first before sending someone imo. She’s lucky it worked out in her favor if they had turned the heater down, because they were hot they would have been super annoyed. 70 is WARM.”

“I don’t need the ‘host’ checking up on me going in and out, changing the temp, having maintenance go round while I’m on vacation,” declared another. “I want privacy.”

In response, Brittany said that, in her view, risking bothering guests was worth it to protect their health.

“When it comes to taking care of other people, and your liability’s at stake, [it’s] better that I called someone to go out there and have it really be nothing—maybe interrupt if they’re sleeping at 10:00am,” she shares. “Like, ‘Sorry, we have to come in. We just wanna make sure you’re safe.’ That is so much more worth it to me than the worst case scenario.”

Should This Airbnb Host Replace Her Furnace?

Other commenters simply voiced their view that Brittany should get a second opinion about the furnace.

According to these commenters, there were a few issues with the maintenance worker’s assessment that made them suspicious of his claims.

First, many commenters alleged that a technician would not let a red-tagged furnace continue to operate. Second, the two-day timeframe to make a decision about the furnace is not standard in the industry, leading some to believe that the technician was trying to create artificial pressure to get Brittany to buy something she didn’t really need.

Finally, the furnace price quoted by the technician is substantially higher than industry averages. According to Sears, a new furnace generally costs anywhere from $3,500 to $7,500, a price that includes installation. With an A/C unit, the price can jump to between $5,000 and $15,000.

The Airbnb Owner Offers A Final Update

To conclude this saga, the TikToker provided a final update.

According to Brittany, the technician later did another inspection and found that the furnace, while certainly old and facing issues, could still safely run for “1-2 more good years.”

Still, Brittany and her husband decided that the best course of action was to fully replace the 18-year-old unit while also installing an A/C unit. The total cost was less than $12,000—well within the typical price for such a repair.

To close, Brittany says she’s thankful for her smart thermostats and the team around her who support her work.

“If you’re operating a home of strangers, you just gotta go to those lengths to make sure guests are safe,” she says.

BroBible reached out to Brittany and Airbnb via email.