Reviewing a guest who violates a house rule (smoking)

[Alan1159]

Hi,  I'm rounding the corner on my first year of hosting and have generally had a positive experience.  I've had almost no problems with anyone. 

I just had a booking for a weekend though, one of my guests smoked marijuana in one of the bedrooms.  There is a no smoking inside policy and there is a private backyard and garden where one could step outside and smoke.  My house manual encourages them to do so, if they are smokers.

Otherwise, the guests were not troublesome, did not damage the place and were not unusually dirty or anything like that.  Since it was marijuana, the smell has aired out pretty well, but there was just enough smell and some residue in the room from the marijuana grinder that I knew what occurred.  I'm not sure how to review this guest.  I don't think they deserve 5-stars for "respected house rules", but since there wasn't damage and there weren't any other problems.  On the other hand, I don't want to trigger a negative review of my place - there really wasn't any harm or sufficient damage done for me to need to pursue compensation - the room just needed to air out (luckily there wasn't a back-to-back booking). 

Obviously, I can't take a picture of a smell and really prove anything, but still, the guest unnecessarily violated a house rule.  I just wondered how other hosts handle a review for someone like this, or if I have to ignore the whole thing and emphasize I don't want smoking inside the unit in the future.

[Huma0]

@Alan1159 

I recently had this exact same situation. I mean almost identical.

I was originally thinking to leave the guest 4* for house rules and 5* for the other categories and send him a note in the private feedback to tell him he was a great guest but to let him know that it was obvious he was smoking weed in the bedroom and that maybe he shouldn't do this at the next listing as not all hosts would be as tolerant.

However, in the end I relented, gave him 5* all round and didn't mention it. Why? Because he really was a fantastic guest otherwise and I would be happy for him to stay again (I would probably then mention this if he does book in future). 

The only difference in our situation is that, while there are areas where guests can smoke tobacco, I state no smoking of illegal or recreational drugs. I would not personally mind guests smoking weed outside, but I am considering the neighbours, who have kids, and the other guests staying, who might not like it at all. 

So, I realise that the only reason this guest, who was very considerate in other ways and probably one of the most conscientious about house rules (other than this one rule), did it because he knew he couldn't smoke weed outside. Plus the room really did not smell at all after he left, nor when I went in to clean it during his stay.

It's up to you. You could knock off a point for house rules seeing as he could have smoked outside instead, but I wouldn't mention it in the public review. Anyway, Airbnb sometimes removes reviews if drug use is alleged.

[Enri1804]

@Alan1159  as a host, please mention this in his public review. He knew the rules and tried to pull this one over on you which is probably why he chose to be a perfect guest in every other way. The problem is too many guests slide by (because there’s no major damage) and carry on this behavior to the next Airbnb like mine, and if you’ve given him above 3 stars I probably won’t know. Meanwhile, a cleaner may not notice some things and may not air out the house when it’s 90 degrees outside, but the Next guest may notice and complain, at worst leaving a bad review or request a refund or new accommodation.  I’ve had a few good guests where I’ve winced at writing the negative things, but frankly with Aircover being a farce, we have to help each other, and this is the only way right now. 

[Alan1159]

Thanks @Enri1804 I think it needs to be mentioned for the benefit of other hosts and @Anonymous has a great suggestion for how to address it professionally.  This doesn't rise to the level of needing to pursue Aircover, but had I needed to turn the unit around for another guest booking the same day, there might have been an issue. 

[Anonymous]

@Alan1159  If a guest smoked any substance in my home without asking (and sharing), I wouldn't hesitate to give them 1 star for House Rules. It's not an innocent mistake, and it's downright disrespectful. But in a group booking, there's a small possibility that the person who booked was unaware that someone in their party was smoking behind closed doors, so maybe that's a 2 or 3 and a thumbs-down on "would host again."

One way to spin it in the review text is to say "Best suited to homes that permit indoor smoking." Just don't mention the weed specifically, because it's still illegal in many places and as @Huma0 points out, Airbnb tends to delete reviews that mention illegal drugs.

[Alan1159]

Thanks @Anonymous this seems like a fair approach!

[Renee291]

I like this approach.  It is direct enough to put other hosts on notice notice without causing unnecessary damage to or issues for the guest  I have a no smoking policy and once had guests smoke in the house. It was near impossible for me to get the smoke smell out of the house before the next guest was checking in. That's only not fair to host, it's not fair to the guests who follow the guest who broke House Rules.

[Huma0]

@Anonymous @Enri1804 I totally understand and respect why other hosts probably think the approach I took with my guest was too lenient.

However, my decision was based on the guest's overall adherence to house rules. I rarely get guests who are as conscientious about my rules as this one. I mean he really took care to understand and follow them and ask me about anything at all that he was unsure of. So, yes, he CHOSE to break that particular rule, but I kind of understand why. That doesn't make it okay, I know, but I was willing to overlook it having weighed up everything else. He was also very young and it was his first airbnb stay. I didn't want to slam him in the reviews/ratings and scupper his chances when overall he was one of my better guests! Again, I understand why other hosts would find this to be flawed logic. 

What I probably should have done is address the subject with him, and I started to a couple of times, but I guess I was too 'soft'. He was such a sweet kid.

I think @Alan1159 's situation is a bit different. I have no idea how old the guest was and therefore whether he should have known better, but he writes

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@Alan1159 wrote:

Otherwise, the guests were not troublesome, did not damage the place and were not unusually dirty or anything like that. 

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which means the guest wasn't BAD in any other way, but it doesn't stand out to me that the guest was great in every other way, which mine was. Also, his guest did have an outdoor area to smoke weed, which mine didn't, so violated a house rule completely unnecessarily, as he mentions. 

In hindsight, I would probably review a bit more harshly in that situation. I don't regret being generous with my guest's review, because I honestly think he is a great guest. However, I do regret not having a gentle word with him during his stay to tell him that it was not okay and educate him a bit hopefully to the benefit of his future hosts. My bad!

[Alan1159]

The guest wasn't effusively nice or anything, although all in all in was an unremarkable stay.  The booking itself was sort of a flag at first - someone who only resides a few miles outside the city and said she was looking for a place to visit with her two sons in town for the weekend.  The guest was verified and had two 5-star reviews, albeit from corporate-run Airbnb's.  I took a chance on it since bookings were slow this month.  In addition, I write in my house manual: 

"Smoking of any substance inside the building is prohibited.  You may smoke outside the unit, either in the rear garden or in front of the building.  If I discover smoking has occured in the building after you have checked-out, there will be a $100 charge assessed as an additional cleaning fee."

I don't need to assess the extra cleaning fee, I'm just trying to scare guests into not doing this.  It's actually in my personality to take @Huma0 's approach to just let it go, but that doesn't feel quite right because this was not an innocent mistake.  I have a privacy-fenced garden with a couple of chairs behind the unit and the neighbor on the other side sometimes smokes marijuana himself, so he's not going to care.  I'm inclined to go with @Anonymous 's approach, because at least future hosts will get the message "best suited to homes where indoor smoking is permitted". 

[Huma0]

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@Alan1159 wrote:

"Smoking of any substance inside the building is prohibited.  You may smoke outside the unit, either in the rear garden or in front of the building.  If I discover smoking has occured in the building after you have checked-out, there will be a $100 charge assessed as an additional cleaning fee."

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Well, that's really crystal clear. I can't understand then why the guest went ahead and did it anyway, unless she thought that, being an off-site host, you would never know. I don't think that people who smoke weed always realise how distinctive the smell is.

However, is this statement in your house rules/on the listing or just in the house manual? I'm not sure all guests read the house manual...

[Alan1159]

Everything about this discussion today is fortuitous!  I got into a discussion with a guest this afternoon who will visiting for a week in the fall from the UK.  I asked him to look over my house rules, then realized that maybe my smoking policy online is not a prominent as it could (although definitely there).  However, this language is #1 now, and will appear in the booking confirmation they get!  You just keep learning and learning as you move forward with this hosting life!!

[Lorena676]

Thanks for sharing your experience Alan, this helps so much. I have been researching precisely this topic, to anticipate the situation that you just described so perfectly: How do I take a picture of a smell? And among the tech/ gadgets for properties I found, almost none of the smoke detectors detect marijuana, which is something that worries me , especially for the neighbors´children. The one that stand out is called SENTRY because having have reports on my phone when the smoke from cigars or marihuana is happening in the property will be so helpful, to send some friendly warning or if the problem escalates have proof at hand and be able to prove it (Although they have not caused damage, as you explained it was your case). Treating this as a business, I think that you can have the best attitude as hosts, but there are ways to cover our backs and these experiences of the present are not repeated in the future.
A few link from my research about the smoke/marijuana detector
Product page: https://hellowynd.com/pages/sentry?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=lagref&utm_campaign=sentry_preorde...
Bloomberg: https://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2022-07-14/wynd-technologies-unveils-innovative-smoke-and-n...

[Alan1159]

Thanks @Lorena676 this is something to consider.  I am on-site host offering a separate unit in my residence.  I don't hover or anything as an on-premises host, but I'll hear any behavior that's generating a lot of noise and one or two people have set off smoke alarms while cooking, so I've run down to make sure everything's o.k.  I do agree we have to review for the benefit of other hosts. 

[Lorena676]

I'm glad I helped you @Alan1159  The good news is that there are companies looking to help us as hosts and cover our backs in the gaps AirBnb leaves behind, right?

[Sudsrung0]

It's difficult to get people to stop smoking, Where my condo is, The law in Thailand is a No Smoking building there is a smoking area outside, 

We have to tell guest no smoking in the apartment we do have smoke detectors and they are wired to the security office set them off they is a $50 fine, so please dont smoke, go outside or on the roof loads of space up there.

We had one couple wanting to check out at 5 am so my husband went on his scooter only 5 minutes away when he go there they had been smoking in the bathroom which is right by the front door, My husband smelt it right away, 

We also have some villas and we make smoking areas outside but people still smoke in the house,

Thank fully we have a small Ozone machine which will get rid of any odours,