Vegan hosting

[Fio1498]

Hi all,

are there any fellow vegan or veggie hosts in the house?

When I started hosting a room in my vegan home a few months ago, I did consider how I want to handle kitchen access and food on the premises. I landed on taking the risk of lower conversion rate by setting a house rule of only vegan food being prepared/stored in my kitchen. What I have found is that guests simply don't follow the rules. Which makes for awkward situations - yes, I've learned that some simply just didn't get it (don't get me started on that), and I wonder how other hosts are handling this - if at all?

I could also just say that the kitchen is not available to guests - but seems unfair to everyone based on a few exceptions.
There's also not really a great way to feed that back to Airbnb, the only way is to give a lower rating in the 'followed the house rules section'. I don't actually think that anything happens based on that though - other than share the feedback with the guest.

I'm about to rent out my room on a mid-term basis to someone I know, so won't have to deal with this for much longer, but am still curious to find out how others handle this or whether you have any tips to share.

Have a great day,
Fio

[Emiel1]

@Fio1498 

Maybe Airbnb can add an option to the kitchen amenity, which shows it is a vegan location.

I offer the use of a kitchen to guests, but would appreciate such an option.

I am thinking also of providing an extra discount to vegan guests.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/feedback

[Fio1498]

Such an option would be nice, I agree.

[Emiel1]

@Fio1498 

IMO the subject needs more attention by Airbnb

My listing is often booked by (international) students.

I noticed the amount of vegan guests or guests who like to limit consumption of meat is increasing rapidly in recent years

People also start to be more vegan because they do not want a product which is produced by the bio-industry.

So an option to limit cooking in a shared kitchen to "vegan" cooking would be welcome.

I already submitted this request on the feed back-link.

If more people will do this it maybe will generate some effect.

[Fio1498]

Agreed. I will request it too.

[Nandini11]

Hi @Fio1498 

Though I don’t have any restrictions on vegan or non-vegan food at my property, I understand the challenge you're facing.

In my view, it’s quite difficult to fully enforce such a rule because, eventually, some guests may not follow it, and as hosts we can’t always know or monitor what guests are eating inside the house.

A few things you could try using Airbnb’s tools and house setup:

• Send a quick reply/message before check-in clearly stating that only vegan food is allowed to be cooked, stored, or consumed in the kitchen, and that bringing non-vegan food into the house may lead to cancellation of the stay.

• Place flyers, posters, or notes in the kitchen and common areas reminding guests that only vegan food is permitted on the premises.

At the end of the day, clear communication before arrival is probably the best way to attract guests who genuinely respect and align with your house rules.

[Fio1498]

@Nandini11 By the way, I will also try the ‘carrot’ approach of sharing some vegan treats. 

Most might not understand that as a reminder, but if nothing else, they might just see that vegan food isn’t ’strange’.

I already leave a vegan chocolate on check-in and provide plant based breakfast essentials. This message I received from a guest that had also not understood what vegan means and prepared fish and eggs, gives me hope.

“I am genuinely sorry for buying fish and eggs and cooking them in your home. I should have double-checked with you. I am really sorry.

[….]

Because of this experience, I also learned more about vegan and vegetarian diets and lifestyle:)

[Julie7019]

My barn is seperate from my house so guests can cook what they wish. I have banned bbq as I nearly had my house burnt down by guests cooking too close to fence

[Fio1498]

Oh my gosh! Hope the damage wasn't too bad. As always, it's a shame that the majority of guests will have more restrictions because of the actions of a few, but you have to put safety first.

[Fio1498]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experience. These are great tips.

It's the cooking smells that put me off the most - it always bothered me, but I do admit that I have become more sensitive to it over the last 20 years or so. Likely because I have only lived or shared a living space with other vegetarians or vegans since then and haven't had to wake up to the smell of bacon or try to air out fishy smells.

The leftover food is another issue - I am an Olio volunteer, so have managed to redistribute unfinished animal products like eggs, but wouldn't want to offer opened/cooked meat or fish and such

Luckily, I get mostly tourists that don't want to spend their time cooking. I'm also really happy about the veg*n guests that book with me specifically because they appreciate sharing a vegan space - it's not as many as I had originally anticipated though.

[Kristy-Marie1]

Even @Fio1498 we do not have a shared kitchen space in our current Airbnb yet I have done shared short term space in our home. I have several highly dangerous food allergies. We were always open and explained the zero tolerance rule upfront as well as reminders that even having the items open inside the home if prepared elsewhere could have irreparable consequences. We constantly checked in with folks and explained the risks we would not compromise on. And even with that said any utensils and baking ware that was shared I prewashed before cooking or baking myself. 
I feel Airbnb should be aware that many cultures as well as medical and personal choice individuals have to be meat free. We take head of any guests we have whom let us know they are vegetarian or vegan or even paleo and stock only items that follow their practices for their stay. We also understand that sometimes Airbnb doesn’t understand in a corporate environment that for folks to choose to open their home then risks of fines fees or lost bookings when choosing to enforce their moral obligation in their own home that it makes things difficult. 

[Fio1498]

Hi @Kristy-Marie1 
thanks for your message and insights. Gosh, I can only imagine that having severe food allergies and sharing a home with strangers must be quite stressful. Because some people seem to just not get it - especially when they are not the service provider (like chef, restaurant, host, etc)
I agree with you that Airbnb should consider this more thoroughly, especially for private homes. However, since they are moving more and more away from their original purpose and closer to the OTA model, I have some doubt that they will. 

[Karen4563]

Hi 👋 hope the situation get's better. How's it now? I guess these are challenges we may face as hosts because each guest is different. For me the kitchen is free use and no limitations on access but your question has made me reflect...

what if someone comes to cook omena? Omena is like sardine but from fresh water and has a very strong pungent smell. Guess I'll have to add a rule not to cook omena in the house. 

[Fio1498]

Hi Karen,

I shall report back after the next few stays - yesterday's arrivals are the first since I implemented the "reminder of the house rules" message and I have a feeling they might not bring any food at all as they are in town for a concert on a short 3 night stay.

The guests before then did also bring animal products, but I chose not to raise it as they were all cold ingredients (Nutella, slices of ham, cake, etc). 

[Julien1487]

Thank you for reaching out to the host community Fio

No, I have not implemented any specific kitchen rules, but I think it is an interesting idea. In my check-out messages, I already ask guests to clean, wipe down, and leave the kitchen tidy before departure.

Despite this, guests often leave dishes drying on the rack instead of putting them away, which gives the impression that the task has not been fully completed.

It would also be valuable to have a shared checklist or framework that co-hosts could exchange with one another, allowing us to learn from each other’s best practices and improve our hosting standards collectively.