Dossing guest

[Shelley29]

Hi All,

I have my first guest and he don't seem to do anything.

When he first messaged me I had assumed that he was on a gap year travelling and he was just going to use my place as a base whilst exploring London and the surrounding areas, when he arrived he then said that he was graduating from uni next month and he's looking for work and somewhere to live. He has booked in for 38 nights.

When I started this I didn't really want a long term guest and if I did it wasn't going to be a male as I am a lone female! He seems to sit around all day in the room not doing a lot. I even have to clean out the bath before I use it.

Coud I have some advice please.

Thank you.

[Ann-and-Vincent0]

Unfortunately, if you accepted his request for 38 days, you can't really object now.  Perhaps you can find an equivilant listing nearby and talk to the owner. If they are willing to accept him, perhaps you can facilitate that.  However you'd probably need to offer to cover any extra service fees.

[Karen77]

I'm not sure how much you two have interacted yet, but I'd make an effort to get to know him a little. Building some rapport can't hurt and might help give you insight into what's going on for him.

This rapport building will also help when you let him know he needs to be attentive to leaving the bathroom ready for you. This doesn't need to be a big conversation, just one that is clear and quietly firm.   As for what he is or is not doing with his time, the challenge for you may well be to let him be.  If he wastes his time and money, this is his choice.  

[Helen3]

Hi Shelly

That's why it's so important to chat to your guests before confirming a booking with them particularly one for such a long period.

I only take guests that are coming to my area for work, for sightseeing or to visit friends and family. If someone says they are looking for work or for somewhere to live I wouldn't accept their booking and I don't accept bookings for longer than a week.

Why did you assume he was using your place as a base to explore London and further afield - did he tell you that? How can he be graduating from uni next month when uni finishes in May/June for undergrad courses?

Why did you take a longer term male guest if that wasn't what you wanted?

I presume you must be working from home if you know that he's around all day so I can imagine that it feels a bit intrusive.

I would sit him down and have a chat about how his plans are going for looking for work and for exploring London. Maybe suggest he looks at local meet up groups to help get him out and about.

If he is a graduate he can use the ULU careers centre - so encourage him to use it.

Talk about your expectations around how the house is kept particularly in terms of the bathroom, kitchen and other communal areas.

Going forward if you have Instant Book on turn it off and spend time chatting to a guest to make sure there is a good fit before accepting a booking.

[Laurel0]

My first guess we're a couple who did the same thing. Never left the house for days. I found it quite strange and rather annoying. Luckily it was only a few days.
It was a good hint not to book too many days to the same guest. And to make your house rules very clear- in you case, if you sage a bath with the guest, make sure it says in your house rules that the guest needs to leave it as it was found.

[Monica4]

@Shelley29 If I were you the first thing that I would do is question the guest about the statement that he will be graduating from uni in one month. Find out if this is true. If it is a false statement and this is what he told you in the airbnb message record, you can contact airbnb and ask them to find him other accommodation because he misrepresented himself and you no longer feel comfortable with him as a guest.

[Mary167]

I agree about being clear in the house rules about what is expected.  I try to cover every eventuality (though I haven't had to deal with guests who hang around all day.)  As far as the bath is concerned you should be very specific about requiring it to be cleaned after use, and since you apparently share parts of your space you should make it clear what is expected.  I keep adding to my house rules, and I hand them to the guest on arrival, asking that they read them and let me know if they have questions about them.  

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

You know what they say about assuming...

In any case, I include in my listing under Other Things to Note, "We feel our space is best suited for guests with daily planned activities and as such is very convenient as a home-base for day trips to the Oregon Coast, Mt. Hood, the Columbia River Gorge, or even Seattle!"

That way it kind of indicates we don't want people who are coming just to sit around all day.  We also limit our reservations to 10 days or less.  This is long enough for people who are just in the area for a quick business trip or sight seeing.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

38 days exploring London...phew...that would have taxed anyone's energy. We never take people for more than a week as it is a different relationship with you, and with your property.

Unfortunately the excuses you now have, eg not wanting a long term guest, not wanting a male, etc...you signed him up for 38 days.

I would mention to him about keeping the bathroom clean and tiidy - if you are going to contact AirBnB about him then you may find that you don't get a very helpful hearing as he isn't really doing anything wrong. But worth a try 

[Shelley29]

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for your replies. I'm sorry I am only replying now but I went to work and I didn't get notifications of replies.

@Ann & Vincent, he has mentioned about moving on earlier and I have mentioned that there are places nearby but I don't think he has done anything about it himself as yet. I have been in contact with airbnb and they say there will be no penalties to me, they'll refund him and just take the money off my next booking.

@Karen, we have interacted a little but there is a slight communication barrier, also one of my house rules are no dossing as well as cleaning the bathroom up after yourself.

@Helen, I was giving 24 hours to accept or decline the booking, as it was my first time and I thought he was a traveller on a gap year, foolishly I thought there'd be no harm in accepting and the reviews about him seemed positive. He didn't mention he was looking for work until he stepped through my door. But I did wish I had interacted more before booking. This is his message when he requested to book " I graduated from Exeter a few days ago. It's my gap year to see the world. I have worked for many years and I am a professional in computer science. I plan to visit London and to see what I can do here until the end of October." I took a long term male guest only for that reason, to be honest I was a little unsure and came close to cancelling the booking only two days beforehand. I work evenings, that's how I know he's in the room all day long. I beleiev he's only been out briefly three times since Saturday. I think I might have a chat with him about how his plans are going. I'll look into taking the instant book off.

@Laurel, How woild I be able to allow people to book only a few nights/a week? I really don't want someone to book for this length of time again, unless there are breaks inbetween. It is mentioned in my house rules about cleaning up behind you.

@Monica, he told me verbally once he stepped through the door he was graduating next month. I was thinking perhaps he meant last month, but that would be false too as I'm sure they graduate June/July time. He told me in airbnb message that he was on a gap year (see his message I copied and pasted above). I have now contacted airbnb about this, I'm just waiting to hear back from them. I ma not comfortable having him as a guest now.

@Mary167, I have house rules stipulated and have added to them each time I think of something else. I think for next time I'll print them out and put them up in the room.

@Cynthia-and-Chris1, I do have in my listing that my place is suitable for travellers and business people but I will also put 'for guests with daily planned activities'. I will also look into limiting the stays ad not have long term.

@Gerry-And-Rashid0, I'm a first timer and really belived he'd be sight seeing etc, I did think it was a long time tho but I'm not up on what people do in gap years, apart from going abroad. I really didn't think that a guest could book that many days in advance or would even want to to be honest. He is breaking house rules and he has broken a few. I have contacted airbnb and I await their reply.

After I posted my original post yesterday, I then made my way to the front door to leave for work (I work evenings) and to my horror it was open, he had popped out and when he returned he had left the door open, I really couldn't believe it. I mentioned to him that it has to be kept shut at all times but surely that is a common sense thing and I really shoudn't have to mention it? The other night I came home and he had locked me out, saying he thought I was in. I really fear that he is planning on getting comfortable and I won't get rid of him.