I have been a host since June 2020 with a lower level suite in my home. Overall the experience has been very positive with mostly all great guests. There are two key areas that I feel need to be addressed to protect AirBnB Hosts.
DECLINING STAYS:
Having searched online, I am one of MANY hosts who are complaining about being penalized in listing rankings for declining stays; this has been a complaint from hosts for years.
I am specifically referring to requests from people who don't meet the criteria in the listing but try to book anyway. We have a "No children under 10" and "No pets" policy with both being clearly stated in the listing in more than one place. I have declined several stays from people who request to book anyway and then message me to ask is it ok to bring a child or pet. This has further been an issue with the COVID pandemic as I have also had to decline reservation that were in direct violation of the BC Health Order making the requested stays illegal.
When I contacted AirBnB to discuss this issue, the only solution offered was a suggestion to turn of Auto Book. However, when I went to do that, I got several warnings from the AirBnB system telling me that this is probably going to reduce the number of bookings and it would penalize my online listing rankings. The system did everything to discourage me from doing what was recommended by support. In other words, either way I'm getting punished.
With today's technology, if a host sets the listing option with "No Pet" and/or "No Children" options, why is there not a confirmation popup box? When they click to reserve, they should be asked if they are traveling with children or pets and if they answer yes, the system should politely decline their stay with explanation. It is completely unfair that Hosts are continually punished for something that is no fault of their own.
Also as a side note, it would potentially serve the guests better if the listing setting didn't have a set age for children; let hosts set the age and don't restrict it to age 12.
BROKEN HOUSE RULES:
I understand that AirBnB has been implementing changes with how and where House Rules appear in the listings. The reality is that not everyone is reading the rules and in particular, the "Additional House Rules" section appears to be the most overlooked. Booking technology should have a popup where potential guests have to scroll through the entire list of ALL rules and specifically ACCEPT the rules before being able to book; much like software/computer operating systems require before installing. It won't make them read it but the certainly doesn't support the argument that "I didn't know that".
I just recently had my worst guests. Even after warning, they continued to violate the no vaping and Marijuana/Cannabis use on the property. The 11pm quiet time rule was also ignored and I gave the final warning just before 2a.m. In the house rules, it is noted that there is zero tolerance on the Smoking/Vaping/Drug policy and that any violation would result in termination of stay with no refund and loss of security deposit. I was more patient with this group than I should have been since it was my first bad experience. After they checked out I did more research and did discover that hosts are not permitted to retain security deposits for this reason and I have since revised the listing.
It would be of great service to not only the hosts but also their neighbours if AirBnB would adapt a policy that allows some type of financial penalty specifically for serious rule violations (ie. noise, parties, disorderly behaviour, etc.). AirBnB should implement specific optional penalty amounts with a STRICT detailed list of requirements that must be met for a successful claim (ie. video surveillance, police report etc). AirBnB needs to back hosts better and send a clear message to guests that serious rule violations will not be tolerated. The unfortunate reality for hosts is that "Damage" is not limited to physical property and the true cost of bad guests can result in disgruntled neighbours and by-law fines.
Sorry to ramble on and thanks for considering input from Hosts!