Requesting Guests to Agree to Additional Indemnification. Guest asking for full refund is also a host

[Lisa990]

Another super host booked my place a few days ago. After she booked my place which was 6 days before check in. I asked her immediately upon booking  to answer a few questions such as arrival and departure plans and to read my “ Vacation Rental Agreement” or “VRA”. (I will list details on VRA below). These are the pre booking questions that all guest are supposed to answer. I have a moderate cancellation policy. When 5 days before check in came, she told me she would not agree to the VRA I told her she should cancel. She said she wanted a full refund.  I told her to ask AirBnB and she said that AirBnB would contact me about allowing a full refund. Here is a copy of our messages:

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Vacation Rental Agreement

1. Property. The property is furnished, and includes a fully equipped kitchen, refrigerator, oven, stove, Microwave and TV with limited reception.

2. Term of Lease. The term of the lease will be the dates booked through Airbnb. The Responsible guest which appears above must be 21 years of age or older.

3. Duties of the Parties

3.1. Condition of the Property. Guest shall leave the property the same way they received it, which includes, swept and vacuumed, with wiped down appliances and bath fixtures and furniture must not be moved.
3.2. Repair of Property. Homeowner may enter the premises at all reasonable times in order to inspect the property or make repairs.
3.3. Smoking. Guest understands that the rental unit is a non-smoking unit, and agrees to smoke only outside.

4. Obligations of the Parties

4.1. Lost and Stolen Items. Homeowner is not responsible for lost or stolen items.
4.2. Guests are responsible to return the property to homeowner as they received it.
4.3. Guests are to abide by all Airbnb’s “host and traveler standards and expectations” as outlined in their publication, viewable at https://www.airbnb.com/trust/standards.

5. Governing Law. The laws of the state of Nebraska shall govern this agreement. Each of the parties irrevocably consents to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the federal and state courts located in Nebraska, as applicable, for any matter arising out of or relating to this Agreement.
6. Indemnification. Guest agrees to indemnify and hold Homeowner harmless from any liability for personal injury or property damage sustained by Guest or parties invited onto the property by Guest.
7. Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous oral or written agreements concerning this subject matter.
8. Guest to Provide. All renters shall bring all household items including food, toiletries, etc. Bedding, towels and limited amenities will be provided.
9. Trash Pick-up. Every Monday morning is trash pick-up. Please place the 2 wheeled trash toter located next to the garage at the foot of the driveway by 5:00 a.m. (or the night before).

If you have read and agree to the Vacation Rental Agreement, simply reply "Yes, I agree". (There is no button to accept or decline).

Thank you for your time reading this post. Let me know if you think it is a worthless agreement and I should take it out. Perhaps I should take it to a lawyer to see if it would really help protect me in any way?

**[Private conversation removed in line with Community Center Guidelines]

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lisa990 I think you should show it to a lawyer as clause 7 worries me. If this is the entire agreement then where does the requirement to pay come in?

I would hate to be hit with a different agreement post booking but I see that yours is shown on the listing so a guest should be happy with it IF they have booked your place.

If you ask your lawyer then see if you can say something like:

'By booking this property you agree to the following....'

Finally do you actually have contact details for all guests. If not it will be rather hard to serve papers re this agreement.

[Anonymous]

@Lisa990  I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0  here - the wording of Clause 7 seems to suggest that your rental contract nullifies the terms of service already agreed to in the existing contract (the Airbnb booking).  Unlike your rental agreement, which only stipulates responsibilities of the guest, the Airbnb agreement also contains responsibilities of the host.

4.2 is redundant, as 3.1 contains the exact same statement.  Asking guests to clean floors and surfaces is within your rights, but the guest might want some assurance that you have also repeated this step in order to comply with the "enhanced cleaning pledge" that you advertise.

I personally wouldn't agree to this contract, but if it's all visible in the listing, the guest shouldn't have booked it to begin with.

[Lisa990]

Andrew0 thank you for your reply. I appreciate it. I will remove Clause 7, eliminate redundant language and clarified the cleaning expectations of a guest (clean up dirt or other visible residue from surfaces) understanding that enhanced cleaning would still take place,.

Would the agreement seem something worth agreeing to? How would you change it or do you see it as too demanding? Or perhaps  unnecessary?  

[Sarah977]

@Lisa990  Personally, I think asking guests to vacuum the place is a little over the top, as is wiping down bath fixtures. Presumably the place would be cleaned before the next guests arrive and all that would be done again anyway?

And I would amend the host entry part to say the host can enter on short notice for an emergency situation, but that otherwise 24 hours notice would be given.

[Lisa990]

@Sarah977 Nice to get your input. Although the place is cleaned by a housekeeper before the next guest arrives, my request to have guests vacuum and clean fixtures is to help them to remember to pick up after themselves. Honestly, I need reminders to be a good guest!. Plus, my housekeepers are very good and their rates are reasonable for cleaning used linens, sanitizing high touch surfaces and checking on supplies. 

[Sarah977]

@Lisa990  If I were a guest, I wouldn't take being asked to vacuum the place and clean the bathroom as a reminder to clean up after myself, I would take it as the host wanting me to do their housework for them.

Now if I spilled cookie crumbs all over the carpet, I would feel it my responsibility to vacuum it up, but not to vacuum the whole place before checking out.

It's great when guests leave the place super clean and tidy, but from what I've read about most hosts' cleaning expectations, it covers guests cleaning up their personal messes- wash the dishes, make sure all garbage is properly disposed of, wipe up spills, don't leave a stovetop swimming in grease or bits of food all over the counter, etc.

[Anonymous]

@Lisa990  Personally, I think it's unnecessary and maybe a little confusing. For example, Clause 6 directly contradicts the fact that a liability policy is already included in every Airbnb booking. So the contract makes it appear that the guest is agreeing to waive the insurance that is already in place.

But for me, a big issue would be the ambiguity of the sentence from 3.1 "Guest[s] shall leave the property the same way they received it" Guests are supposed to receive a property that has been fully sanitized and prepared for an incoming guest, and it's not possible to leave the property in this state. Also, the more cleaning tasks your contract demands, the more I'm going to suspect that the home was primarily cleaned by the prior guests and neglected by the host. 

It's normal in an Airbnb to expect the guests to wash their dishes, remove trash, and wipe down cooking surfaces. But it's very unusual to demand that people do stuff like vacuuming, sweeping, and bathroom scrubbing on their checkout date, when they're already busy with packing their belongings and possibly rushing out for an early flight. Try not to lose sight of the fact that people are paying a premium to enjoy themselves and have a break from the tedium of their daily lives, and having a bunch of chores dumped on them at the end of the stay does not leave a nice final impression. When it comes time to review, the final impression is the most vivid in guests' memories, so this is not the time when you want to concentrate a lot of demands. I suggest limiting your cleaning rules to relevant everyday-maintenance stuff, and leave stuff like floors and bath fixtures to the professionals.

[Lisa990]

Thank you for explaining. I appreciate the detail.

[Lisa990]

@Anonymous Thank you for all of your input and explanation. I appreciate it. My intent in 3.1 remind them to clean up after themselves. 

[Wende2]

@Anonymous   That agreement makes my little ticked off question looking hilarious.  I thought the same about repetitive in areas. 

[Helen3]

Presumably you tell guests before they book that they need to sign up to the rental agreement on your listing @Lisa990 

if that's the case I would tell the guest that you will only refund if you can get a replacement booking.

Personally I wouldn't be happy to sign an agreement that gives the host the ability to come in to the property at any time.

Nor would I be happy with the liability disclaimer. (Airbnb does provide you with liability insurance in the case of a guest being injured ).

[Mark116]

@Lisa990  It looks okay to me, but I'm not a lawyer.  There is certainly nothing in there to scare away a reasonable person from booking.  I would stick to your guns and not do a host cancellation here. 

[Wende2]

@Lisa990...I see you're a superhost level 3, so you've obviously had enough bookings.  Personally I wouldn't sign either, asking someone to actually clean an entire house to that extent is a bit much.  I'm also surprised you're only asking $45 a night, you could be inviting some not so great guest to stay at that price, or is that normal for your area.?  I agree with the others who have answered up.

[Lisa990]

@Wende2 $45 per night is on the lower end, in my area especially for a house that guests have all to themselves. There was a time when AirBnB would suggest lowering my price to get more bookings.  I have had only a couple of harrowing experiences with guests but I have gotten better at asking a lot of questions when guests request to book. By the way, it is a very small house and asking them to clean up after themselves may seem demanding, but for the price, they seem happy to accommodate a little extra work.  I am happy withy the frequency of my place being booked and reviews have been really very honest and mostly positive.