I NEED HELP! Guests have

[Jeffrey397]

I need help...anyone.  I followed everyone's suggestions, I have a cleaning fee. I have a security deposit of $250.  I created a rule book and posted notices around the unit reminding them.  Yet my first 2 renters are absolutely disgusting!  This last one...my cleaner is there as I type this and I have maggots on the floor.  They did NO dishes for the week, they fridge is full of food and open containers.  The trash was left behind.  She even left dishes on my bed.  I just don't understand.  Is this normal?

The one before this was just as bad, some things were stolen, my end table was ruined with water stains from their glasses, they left feces on toilet paper on the bathroom floor.  My cleaner use to work for a company and has never experienced this.

What am I missing?  What more should I do?

[Lisa723]

@Jeffrey397 No this is not normal. But it seems to happen sometimes to first-time hosts, not sure why.

Maybe unrelated, but posted reminders all over a space can be quite off-putting. Also, your published house rules say "Please Review House Rules" which means your only rule is to read the rules, which can't be done until the guest has already arrived. Put your actual rules there so they can be reviewed (and agreed to) before booking.

[Mark116]

@Jeffrey397  Do you send the guests a 'hey hope you had a great stay, as far as check-out at XX, all you need to do is XXXXtrash/dishes/whatever.  Please let us know if you have any questions,  otherwise safe travels, blah blah....'

I find that this message is helpful in getting guests to do the check out procedure we have created.

[Anonymous]

@Jeffrey397  A "rule book"?  This doesn't sound very effective to me. People on vacation often don't even crack open the novel they traveled with, let alone something their host tried to force them to read. Your rules and expectations should be very clearly and concisely disclosed on the listing. Otherwise, you might attract some guests who believe a "cleaning fee" means that any amount of cleaning-up after their stay is covered.

The one review you've left for a guest in May said "Awesome guests, would host again anytime." Was this the same guest who you described as the first one, or have you actually had 3 parties now? 

I don't find that it's the norm for guests to leave a disgusting mess behind, but when you have a new listing it's harder to attract the more responsible and conscientious guests. This makes it all the more important to make sure you're not using Instant Book, and take the opportunity to correspond before accepting a booking to be sure your listing and rules have been read thoroughly. You can learn a lot about the guests' character by the way they communicate, and those who show appreciation and respect in their initial contact will tend to reflect this in their treatment of the home.

[Kath9]

@Jeffrey397 I'm sorry this has happened to you. No, it's not normal and it sounds like you've been unlucky. But I agree with others here - you must put your house rules on the listing itself. I also recommend turning off instant book until you have more experience, and you may wish to accept guests who only have previous good reviews. Communicating with your guests beforehand gives you a good idea about them. On a final note, I sincerely hope you have left honest reviews for both of these guests because hosts not leaving reviews is precisely how guests like this continue getting away with it. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Jeffrey397 

Many hosts learn the hard way that just because we have rules posted somewhere doesn't mean people will follow/respect them, and common sense and basic decency isn't as common as we'd like to think. 

You've gotten a lot of great suggestions - I would like to add that it's best to know what your top 3 or 5 most important house rules are and then be prepared to reiterate and emphasize them to guests (nicely) many many times. Reminders during initial communication, before check in, after check in, and a friendly message reminding them about the check-out to do list always helps (somewhat). 

[Sarah977]

@Jeffrey397  I only see one review so far from guests on your profile and when I looked at the review you left for those guests it says they were awesome guests. So I'm somewhat confused, since you say your first 2 guest groups were pigs. You didn't leave a great review for horrible guests did you? If so, please never do that again. 

Reviews you leave for guests are how other hosts know whether to accept guest or not. Never, ever leave a glowing review for a bad guest- that's just pointless and dishonest.

[JonandAngie0]

People will be people, when you are hosting, you can encounter anyone.

If something is valuable- my two cents donot leave it in an airbnb home.

I take it fore-granted that they will trash everything. Just this morning I cleaned a bunch of hair from my bathroom!

But they do what they do, to show who they are, and you do what you do to show who you are. 

Always keep pictures, documentation, witnesses, before and after each stay. It is very simple; once you get the hang of it- it becomes a way of life.

[Colette203]

I'm sorry this happened to you. It must be distressing. Not normal, however. I have had 120 or so different guests in the last few years, and have never had this happen. Your listing looks nice online, btw, so you've had some pretty crappy luck. Here are a few suggestions on how to avoid this in the future.

- Screen your guests via messaging. Find out who they are, why they are coming. I'm not afraid to be a bit harsh with my expectations and probably warn off one in four guests with some variant of the "I'm not sure this place is best choice for your group. You will probably be more comfortable in a place with..." People will usually cancel. Sometimes phoning people is a more efficient way to do this in a friendly way. 

- One thing I have done with longer stay or suspect guests is drop by - or have my co-host do it - with a bottle of wine or flowers as a pretext to scope the place out if I am unsure of them.

-Contact your guests regularly - every couple days - to confirm that everything is STILL OK. I message a quick "All good"? Then they can't surprise you at the end of the rental with a surprise request for refund.

- I let suspect guests know I am going to be around and I will check up on them - in a nice way. Message them saying "Due to problems in the past, we now drop by to ensure our guests are taking proper care of our property. I hope this is Okay with you..."

- Spend a bit more money "staging" your place, charge more money and generally get better guests. I have stopped renting for more than 7 days because people tend to move in too much and I get back to furniture in different rooms and dishes in random cupboards. This year I've upped my price a bit and I think I'm doing as well financially as similar listings in my area that are selling more days at a lower price. 

- I start my messaging by pointing out my persnickety house rules like this:

Hello XXXX:

Thanks for choosing The White House. I can confirm your stay from  XX to XX. I look forward to hosting you and will send check-in details the day before you arrive. Please let me know if you have any questions or special requests.

To help plan for your visit, please read the following summary of our House Rules - plus a couple FAQ’s - to help ensure the house & neighbourhood will be suitable for you.

• Absolutely no shoes, sandals, leaky coolers, bicycles, tools etc indoors
• No visitors due to Covid19
• Quiet outside after 9pm - help keep my neighbours supportive
• Leave the place as you found it and follow our Covid19 precautions
• The White House is in a high-density neighbourhood very close to downtown. Although all of our guests, so far, report a peaceful experience, you’re close to the heart of this small town’s action and will occasionally hear some of it.
• This is a very, very small house with one toilet...

Thanks, Colette

I hope thus helps. Good luck. This can be a rewarding and demoralizing business...

[Adrian2071]

@Jeffrey397 Some things that I have found worked to minimize bad guests.

1. Stating in the ad that guests will be expected to show identification that matches their profile. (Gives a little oomph that there is accountability).

2. Charging more per night to discourage budget travellers.

3. $400 security deposit or more.  Airbnb doesn't actually charge this to the guest at all!!  Guest could be using a prepaid card and load JUST enough to book. I found this out because I had an identity theif book my suite with a fake I'd and fake Credit card.  The whole security deposit thing is a sham.  But having a larger security could ward off ill intentioned people. 

4. Checking the profile and reviews of every booking request that comes in, before accepting.

5. Tightening up requirements on who can instant book, only guests with other host recommendations, govt ID, etc

  Everyone else has to "request to book".  Then you can fire off 5 or 6 probing questions about the group that's staying, purpose of trip, how many will be in the suite, pets, and state house rules and expectations.

6. And questioning guests about any other reviews they've gotten that are not stellar. 

7. Oh and the Pièce de résistance, having my profile photo dressed in my police gear.

Signs dont work

 House manuals don't work (but I still have a 1 page laminated one)

Only direct messages and meeting in person when they arrive seem to work. Face to face of what you expect when they check out. But you will always get 5% horrible guests.  Still better than renting though.