Guests destroying property because of not reading house rules/ manual……..

[Harmony26]

Several guests are not reading information about my listing, house rules, house manual, checkin/out info… Resulting in lots of damaged property. I message them asking to look at certain info before arriving and leaving and they still message with the exact same questions that are listed that i have asked them to read. That gives me a very uneasy feeling about guests staying because of them not respecting what i ask them to do and read to rent my place. I rent out a 300 square ft camper and no appliances function like in a home. This is important information they are ignoring and ruining my whole mission for providing a waterfront peaceful vacation for families to enjoy as my family does. I am about to stop hosting because people are destroying my camper and i am left with just being able to charge for the damage and then going through the process of getting it fixed and paid for by guests instead of me and letting other guests know of the amenities not available to them. My question is how do i combat this problem or make it less stressful for me since we can’t make people read? 

[Brian2036]

@Harmony26 :

 That is very discouraging and not at all uncommon.

It seems that there are a great many people who are just too lazy to read. Or think.

When you find one of these you should consider refusing the booking or insisting on a real deposit. If they behave you can refund their deposit in cash. If they don’t you make them pay and expect a bad review.

Be sure to explain the additional charges when you review them. Honest people will understand and hopefully the bums will stay away.

[Harmony26]

Thank you for responding. I cannot refuse the booking because they don’t exhibit the behavior until after booking asking dumb questions and then they don’t respond to any messages letting me know they acknowledge and read them. And then don’t communicate travel plans and just show up wondering what the lockbox code is. I feel like taking the key and forcing them to contact me to get in. Should i do that? My last guests damage charges for my awning was $1000 so I wouldn’t even know what to charge for a deposit or know if i should.

[Sarah977]

@Harmony26  I assume you are using Instant Book? If you turn that off and require guests to send booking requests, you will have 24 hours to exchange messages with them before deciding whether to accept or decline. Not to mention reading their reviews- (yes, I know hosts can require positive reviews to IB, but that doesn't mean there might not be some enlightening negative info in some of the reviews).

So if their communication is poor or non-existent, or they ask a bunch of questions that make it obvious they haven't read anything, you can decline their request.

Some hosts put a secret word or phrase in their listing info, telling guests to quote it when they send the request.

And when you send info like about check-in, ask the guest to message back, letting you know they received and read it, as you certainly wouldn't want them to be left standing outside, unable to get in (if you make it about the guest's convenience, they are more likely to read and respond- they don't care about the host's desires).

Guests who don't respond to Airbnb messages can also be nudged by sending them a phone text or whatssapp, asking them  to please respond to your Airbnb message.

And yes, face-to-face check-in seems to lead to more respectful guests, and gives you the opportunity to reiterate what they need to know (like it's crucial that they read the house manual) and gives you an idea of how clueless they may be. 

[Michelle1851]

I suggest putting neat and polite descriptions near the items requiring education. I’ve done that with my fireplace and a particular set of blinds.   So far no problems. 

[Mark116]

@Harmony26 

Don't expect guests to read anything, if there are things they need to know, put it in the messages.  Put in the 'thanks for booking' message and put it again in a message you give them the day of check-in.  Explain that you've had problems/damages in the past and so it's important that guests know XYZ.

I would reduce your guest capacity to 4.  That is less wear and tear on a small space and fewer people to have to worry about.

Depending on how far you are from the property, you could consider doing in person check ins with people to ensure that at least they are told one time by you what the key issues are.

Your listing is very cute by the way.

[Harmony26]

Thank you! I appreciate all your great suggestions!