Do hosts have the right to enter a guests room without permission?

Sara292
Level 1
Lethbridge, Canada

Do hosts have the right to enter a guests room without permission?

I have a guest who leaves lights on or the fireplace on when leaving, it is in our house rule to turn these items off before leaving the home. Do I have a right to go in and turn them off?

159 Replies 159

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Kate157
Level 10
SF, CA

Personally, I would never go into the guest's space once they arrive. If there is a true emergency, that would be the exception, but this has never happened. I agree that wifi technology can solve any thermostat or lights problem. But if I was a guest, the last thing I would want is the host going into "my" space. That's unfair and creepy. It may be your home, but the guest has paid good money for privacy and a comfortable place. You need to find a better solution than breaking a guest's right to privacy.

Tony168
Level 3
Sheffield, United Kingdom

Have you never stayed in a hotel where they do this? Or do you think the fresh towels just magically appear?

Have you heard of the "do not disturb sign" or can you not read. No need to be sassy. It's illegal to enter without prior notice in many jurisdictions; what she said was completely reasonable. Even if you have personally stayed in a hotel that allowed "fresh towels" to "magically appear" WITHOUT your consent, it doesn't justify an airbnb host to do the same. For one, Airbnb guests generally don't expect fresh towels to magically appear daily. In addition, the hosts here are not talking about providing for the guests with amenity, such as magically appearing towels, but to invade guest privacy for non emergency.

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Sara292 my rules address both of these things

1. Owner may enter guest space as neccessary: close windows, turn off lights, water running, emergency situations etc...

2. An unattended running FIRE is for sure a safety concern

 

Go turn, it off!! And, yes, notify the guest that they should turn it off in the future.

@Sara292 by the way, they are entitiled to prior NOTICE of your entry, they do not have to grant PERMISSION.

 

I would for sure want to confirm beforehand that they are indeed out, and not simply quiet or napping as another host had mentioned.

 

"Hey Joe, are you here at the moment? Thought you had gone but I see lights/fire burning. lmk, thanks"

 

The answer to this question sets the groundwork for what you need to do next.

 

"yeah, I'm out" --- "ok, thanks for letting me know, I'm going to go turn the fireplace off, wouldn't want to worry about the place burning down! thanks"

OR

"no, I'm here" --- "oh, cool, my bad, I thought you were out, thanks for clarifying!"

Tony168
Level 3
Sheffield, United Kingdom

What especially surprised me about our situation was that not in my wildest thoughts would I consider it right to open the door on him, if I had known he was napping. I freely admit it was an embarrassing mistake. But mistakes happen. We made a misjudgment and apologised profusely. Explained thoroughly why we thought he was out and that we were just making sure a cat wasn't stuck in the room. I just feels very spooky to think that we have to be perfect people in order to host an airbnb. 

Ken28
Level 10
Newburgh, IN

For what it's worth, I just had a guest request a refund because I entered the room without permission.

 

AirBnb granted the request and told me that it was not allowed for "private" spaces. Here's their response:

 

"This [entering the room] is absolutely not something you are allowed to do on our platform. If a guest books your listing as a "private room" they are not expected to share their living quarters, which means this is only for the guest that had booked. By going into this guests listing without her permission, this makes for an uncomfortable and potentially inappropriate situation between you and your guest, and this is something we always would like to avoid."

 

"With that being said, per our Terms of Service, Section 9 paragraph 5 & 6, I will be proceeding with refunding your guest for the nights she did not stay in your listing. This will amount to a total of [xxx]. At this time, because you have already received this payout you will be seeing an adjustment to your account for this total. This adjustment will be due to come out of your future payouts."


I completely disagree. It's my house, and your renting the room. I don't need your permission to enter the room. Are we not allowed to even spruce up the room, or take out the trash, or refill their tissues?

 

I'm about to start a full-on war with Airbnb if they continue to surpress the Hosts rights like this.

You will lose the war, @Ken28.

 

You must DISCLOSE, DISCLOSE, DISCLOSE if you plan on entering a room without express permission from a guest.

 

It's what hotels do, unless we hang a little sign that says "Do Not Disturb".

 

And if it's a WOMAN staying at your place, and you go in there without permission, she is not going to be happy at all!

@Ken28 , going to war over this isn't worth it.... and like @Wendy-and-Frank0 says, you are going to lose it, in fact you lost it already.,

The question is not if as a host you can enter a guest's private room , of course you can! the question is how that is to be handled, like it is understood that in a hotel setting maids come in to make up the bed, exchange towels, etc. it is very obvious and not hidden. Yes, you do have the right to do something like that, to access the guest's room, but it has to be disclosed.

Unfortunately, your actions do not compare to the routine cleaning service a hotel provides: you go into a guest's room regularly and you let it be known in another post that you do it without consent or giving notice to the guest..and you  then re-arrange someone's totes in the back of the closet?

 That feels like snooping around, and it is this overly controlling, somewhat sneaky and intrusive behavior of yours that led to guests being uncomfortable and checking out early...way beyond the bare bone fact that you entered their room.

It now has happened  at least twice, from what i can tell from your reviews and your very long defensive reaponses.  - time for you to consider that all these people can't be wrong, but that perhaps you need to adjust your approach to hosting and what privacy is all about. You are only hurting yourself if you remain so dogmatic about this.

@Annette33 your comment: "and you then re-arrange someone's totes in the back of the closet?"

 

I did. And I sent them a message to tell them why: They were damaging my property! If someone is damaging your property, how long would you wait to address it? I sure wasn't going to let the damage continue to get worse!

@Ken28 , so those totes "were rubbing against the back of the closet door"..... obviously, you will continue to see it your way and insist that you are "right". Good luck!

I have photographic evidence that the finish had worn through on the back of the doors. There's a notch in the veneer now that I've done my best to mask with dyes. It's permanently damaged now, and these are BRAND new doors.

 

Totes Rubbing on Doors

oh my, that is some serious damage, ken, and inside of a closet too!  a very important place!  think you might be just a *little* ocd?  

This was within 2 months of having installed and hand-finished new doors throughout the house.  Yes, the damage was minor here, but this guest was also slated to stay for three months. Imagine how much worse it could have gotten in the several weeks to follow? I don't think that my response was out of line -- move the totes and leave a polite note telling them why I moved them.

 

Regarding the importance of the closet appearances - I maintain high standards for the cleanliness and appearance of my home. Whether it's scuffs on closet walls, dust on a dresser, or fingerprints on the fridge... I see no detriment in being "obsessive" in maintaining a pristine home.