Host Smoking Indoors Mid-Stay (Changed Listing?)

[Hooman6]

I booked a private room/bath for an approximately 2 month stay.  The listing did not mention anything about smoking indoors when I booked it.

There didn't appear to be any smell of smoke or anything when I arrived on Wednesday Jan 12.  On Sunday Jan 16, the host and her friend smoked heavily INSIDE the apartment kitchen and living room, which is about 10-15ft away from the private room.  

I have pretty bad asthma, and had I known this would happen, I would not have booked this place.

The problem is that Sunday, they smoked ALL DAY.  So I basically stayed in my room (luckily I'd eaten breakfast) and pretty much starved myself lol.  I didn't mention anything then because I thought it was going to be a rare occurrence, but then it happened again the next Monday evening.

I ordered an air purifier on Amazon, which I've been running nonstop since Tuesday morning, and I've also put a towel underneath the door to block airflow, but this morning I've noticed my asthma acting up.  

I re-checked the listing description in the past few days, and now I see that it says "420 friendly" in the first line of the listing.  I didn't see that before, but the listing also says "No smoking inside the room, you may smoke outside in back patio, discard cig buds in ash tray, do not throw it on the floor."  

Can the host say the guests cannot smoke in the room but then smoke indoors themselves right outside the room (living room and kitchen???).  I initially assumed this meant no smoking indoors.  Was I wrong to make this assumption???

I've wanted to contact AirBnb, but worry if they tell the host, because I don't have means to move out quickly.  I'm moving between states and don't have a car here.  I worry this will cause me to incur more costs just to get out of this situation. 

I've messaged the host this morning:

"Hey, sorry I may have overlooked this on your listing, but I didn’t realize it was smoke/420-friendly. I hate to have to mention but I have pretty bad asthma. I was holding off on mentioning it and wish I didn’t have to ask but it’s starting bother my lungs. I got an air purifier running in the room but it’s not helping much. Would it be possible to reduce the smoke/vapor indoors while I’m here? Would really appreciate it."

Should I still contact AirBnb?  I'm hoping they will stop smoking indoors, but I also now worry about all the second-hand smoke, which is something I care a lot about.  I should have been thorough in questions when I first booked the listing, but how can I tell if a listing is 'smoke friendly' in the future?  I never experienced this before.

[Sarah977]

@Hooman6  It is very odd and rude that the listing would say that smoking needs to take place outside, yet the host is smoking indoors. A listing that says that should certainly lead the guest to assume it is a smoke-free home. And hosts have to honor whatever the listing said when a guest booked. For instance, if the listing info said guests have full use of the kitchen when the guest booked, the host could change that to say guests can only make coffee or tea and sandwiches, i.e. no cooking,  but that change would only apply to future bookings, not to guests who booked when the ad said you could cook.

However, a guest missing reading something in the listing info is on the guest, not the host. If they are smoking pot, rather than cigarettes indoors, you really should have expected that. It seems the host has a different interpretation of "outdoor smoking", to exclude pot and only mean cigarettes, which I do feel is misleading to guests.

But as it does say 420 friendly, it's something you should have asked the host for clarification about before you booked. Guests not fully reading the listing info is not something hosts are responsible for. 

You did the right thing by messaging the host about it, you were very polite about it, and there is no reason to contact Airbnb at this point- you need to wait for a response from her. Hopefully she will respect your request and the fact that you have asthma, and that will be the end of it.

If she doesn't, you really have limited choices. You can look for another place to stay, contact Airbnb to explain why you need to move and cancel the rest of the reservation, but whether they will consent to refund you anything beyond the terms of the long term cancellation policy you booked under is not certain.

If you simply report the host while intending to stay, it will of course likely cause the host to be upset with you and could make the rest of your stay rather uncomfortable beyond the physical discomfort and health impact.

I hope she will respectfully honor your request.

[Gordon0]

You've been very measured about this, @Hooman6, and I'd be very miffed, asthma or not.

I've just had to look up what '420 friendly' means and imagine - in your circumstances - this would have been a huge red flag you wouldn't have missed. If it comes to it, Airbnb agents will be able to see when this line was added, so it might help.

I hope this turns out well for you.