Sometimes, an Airbnb apartment exceeds your expectations when you walk in and find it’s more spacious, has a nicer kitchen, or offers a better view than you imagined. Other times, however, the surprise is as absurd as something straight out of a sitcom.

A guest shared the moment he realized he had more company than anticipated in his Airbnb rental when a hidden bookcase door opened, revealing the property’s pantless owner.

“You’re the people that I lent the house to, right?” the man, who introduced himself as Richard, told the clueless guest. “Were you here all day?”

A pantless Airbnb host surprised his guest when he left a secret room behind a bookcase to take a shower

Image credits: mysteryhappened

At this point, the guest was in hysterics. When he asked Richard why he was holding his pants in his hands, the host explained that he was hoping to leave his hiding place to take a shower.

“I was thinking of going there and having a shower now. If it’s not inconvenient right now, I’d like to use the bathroom,” he said.

Despite cracking up at the absurdity of the situation, the guest reminded the owner that he couldn’t walk around the property if he had rented it to someone else.

Richard laughed off the reminder and changed the topic entirely. “Any problems? Are you happy with the house?”

“I’m happy with the house, but what are you doing here? “the young man insisted. “Where’s my privacy?”

The owner, named Richard, confessed that he had been staying in the “little dungeon” and he would leave after midnight to do his laundry, use the bathroom, and put his dirty plates away

Image credits: mysteryhappened

Richard defended his view by pointing out a gray area in the house description—technically, the guest had not rented the hidden room behind the bookcase.

“If you remember correctly, I said it’s a three-bedroom house, two receptions, a kitchen, and a bathroom. That’s what you got. That’s what you’re renting.”

At least he was considerate enough to promise discretion and privacy. “I’m locking myself here. I’m not going to get under your feet,” he reassured the guest, his pants still in his hands.

Image credits: mysteryhappened

Richard revealed that he left his hiding spot—his “little dungeon,” as he called it— after midnight to put his dirty plates away and use the toilet, and that he had washed his laundry at home without the guests knowing.

When he left the room that time, he had been listening very carefully with ear to the wall and concluded that all the guests were gone. Then, he realized his trained ear had failed him.

“This should be no problem. I’m not going to interfere with you,” he repeated—a promise that the guest wasn’t too convinced about.

Richard promised the guest he wouldn’t “interfere” with his routine

Image credits: mysteryhappened

The young man wanted to know if there were more secrets he should know about.

“How many people have you got in there?” he asked.

“It’s just me. It’s possible that I might have some visitors from time to time, and I haven’t told them that I’ve lent the house out on Airbnb. Do you mind letting them in and just knocking on the door?”

Richard kept his promise of non-interference for only a few seconds before remarking to the guest: “I’ll tell you what: your wife does snore. She really does.”

Image credits: mysteryhappened

The video, titled “never booking Airbnb again,” received thousands of comments from people speculating as to why the host lived behind a wall.

“He is probably retired, and the only way for him to pay his mortgage is renting it out, but he has nowhere else to go,” one TikTok user suggested.

“Poor old man. He seems so sweet. That’s someone’s grandpa, just let him kick it with y’all,” another viewer said.

“I would 100% complain and report it,” said a separate user, who wasn’t feeling the unexpected encounter with a stranger.

“I don’t think he understands why this is wrong,” somebody else pointed out, while another said, “This was the short horror movie we didn’t know we needed.”

“I said it’s a three-bedroom house, two receptions, a kitchen, and a bathroom. That’s what you got. That’s what you’re renting,” he told the shocked guest

Image credits: mysteryhappened

During a stay, hosts may re-enter their property or enter a guest’s dedicated room in a shared stay only when the guest gives the host permission or when there is an emergency, according to the Airbnb website.

For entire-home stays, this applies to the listing itself and its property. Privacy-infringing activities, such as spying, are considered an intrusion and are not allowed by the company.

On X (formerly known as Twitter), people shared their own horror stories with the rental accommodation platform.

User @dmnqrichard had a similar experience of that of the young guest—only the host didn’t try as hard to hide his plan.

“The last Airbnb we stayed in had a door that led to another Airbnb and we didn’t realize. I opened it and stared the other person in the face for a second then closed and locked the door. Thankfully they couldn’t open it unless we unlocked it, but what?” Dominique wrote.

Watch the viral video below

@mysteryhappened Never Booking This AirBnB Again #viraltiktok #fyp #foryou #goviral #clips #foryoupage #health #cigratesecancer ♬ original sound – Mystery Happened

Meanwhile, others were stalked due to their host’s cleaning obsession or outright creepiness.

“I was done when one told me I had to wear shoe covers to protect the hardwood floors, and they would come by randomly a few times a day to do a headcount of people,” shared Michael at @_one901.

User @suburban_shawty had an even more disturbing experience. “I had an Airbnb stay refunded last year because there were non-disclosed cameras in the kitchen and one angled right outside the bathroom. Weirdos.”

People were divided over how they would react to this situation and whether they would report the man to Airbnb

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