Guest Violates House Rules, Allowed to Stay for a Few Hours "to Decide".... Awkward

[Lisa1346]

Hello Community,

So this is probably part venting, part asking advice on how to approach a problem and what to expect. Here's the situation:

I rent out a whole house. Security cameras are throughout, excluding the bathrooms and bedrooms (of course!). The security cameras are disclosed in my listing and one of the house rules is "no tampering with the security cameras." Additionally, my dog and cat stay in the house when guests are not there. This is also disclosed in the listing. Guests are not allowed to bring pets. I truly understand that some people feel creeped out by security cameras and/or suffer from allergies/asthma aggravated by pet dander. This is why I have such disclosures. 

I received an 11 night booking (maybe time to turn off instant book?) from a guest with 5 adults and 1 child. He said they are coming to visit his parents in a nearby neighborhood. He has a long history on airbnb, with about 9 postive reviews from other hosts and about 20 from guests dating back to the 2010s. Surely a former host and experienced guest would know to read through the house rules and listing disclosures before booking, right?

So, they arrived last night and I check my cameras this morning to find that several of them have been taken offline at 5 a.m. Since my utility room cameras are on, I know that the others were unplugged. I sent a message asking the guest how the stay was going and to please plug the cameras back in:

Good Afternoon -----,

How's your stay going? Please let me know if you need anything.

Also, the office and living room security cameras were unplugged this morning. Could you please plug these back in and also check that the kitchen camera is plugged in? If you need outlets for charging your electronics, the power strips in the office and the sunroom are available.

Enjoy your stay,

Lisa

Guest response:

We don’t feel comfortable with cameras in the house so will plug cameras back in when we leave.

Today at 1:24 PM

House is ok Lisa, except the fact that there was a cat or dog in the house at some point in time. There hair is still in the carpet which is now causing serious problem with my asthma. Wasn’t the house description no pets??

While I appreciate that this guest was not hostile, why does he think he can pick and choose which house rules to follow? I think it's funny that he read the "No Pets" rule but disregarded the "No Tampering with security cameras" rule. Since the house was vacuumed thoroughly, I suspect he didn't actually find hair in the carpet, but saw the cat and dog supplies in storage. Anywho, my response stated nothing that should come as a surprise:

Hello -----,

I'm sorry you are having these problems. The house rules say no pets (for guests) and no tampering with the security cameras. The description does disclose both that pets live in the house and that security cameras are in the house excluding the bedrooms and bathrooms (of course).

I realized that I had given the guests a chance to abide by the rules and they declined ("we'll plug them back in when we leave.") So, I called Airbnb. They promptly agreed that it was a rule violation. I agreed to refund the guest the nights that they don't stay.  Airbnb said they would call the guest and allow them some time to decide whether they wanted to comply with the rules or leave. Per airbnb, the guest opted to take "a couple hours"  to decide. I feel like if the guests opt to plug in the cameras and stay, I'm just getting set up for a bad review from them. Since they already stayed one night, can they leave a bad review anyway? I hope they leave for everyone's sake... I don't want to continue to host someone who disrespects my rules and the guest with asthma should find other accomodations for his own sake.

This is very awkward as a host. I don't know if I should be making plans to kick them out or what. On other hand, why do rule violating guests even get the choice between staying and leaving? 

One last rant: guests need to stop treating listing details like the superfine print nobody reads before they agree to terms. The listing contents are not just advertisments and fluff. They often contain valuable information about the listing so you know exactly what to expect. 

Thanks for letting me vent and thanks in advance for your advice and stories.

[Helen-And-Mario0]

Sorry but I will never book a CCTV that is monitoring the house inside, regardless where it is. If you need to put one on, just set one near the entrance so you see who is coming and going. 

[Sammy35]

i personally do not care about internal CCTV.  even when i book an entire space.  if someone wants to watch me channel surf or type on a laptop more power to them--go for it.  i'm sleeping showering and i'm outty until its time to do it again.  if i want to chill and lounge, much less in privacy i'll get a hotel or something else.  the less time i'm in the space the better no matter how gorgeous it is. 

the same kinds of guests i want unless they are personal guests.  feel welcome, use what you need, kick back and be comfy, and please don't do ish you shouldn't doing inside--nosing around, burning candles, smoking tobacco/pot, vaping, letting 27 year old frat brothers in the windows--but if you want invisibility please book elsewhere.

and while i'm pretty liberal and inhibition isn't my middle name, in someone's home i'm not trying to walk around naked or scantily clad sans cameras like i'm apt to elsewhere.  its a matter of respect to me.  don't do what you wouldn't be doing if you were in the home with the host.  if there's going to be an ovenight love fest, get a hotel is my motto.

i'm not in favor of people who want that kind of privacy (nothing wrong with it whatsoever elsewhere, have at it and lots of it) in my home.  the LAST thing i want is people getting sexy in my kitchy over coffee or on my sofa in my or living room which is why i leave the security cam in there when i rent out.

installing home security had nothing to do with airbnb whatsoever but now it does...read up, don't like it, don't book it.

diversity is what makes the world go round.  which is why there are insane amount of options here.  don't let anyone try to make you think your space is less desirable or less rentable cause of cameras.  it might be a majority but then again i'm sure you don't want any majority in your home.  and unless you are concerned about losing that kind of guest there's no reason to change your MO.

[Sarah977]

@Sammy35  Your views are somewhat at odds with your black circle "profile photo". Got something to hide?

[Sammy35]

---

@Sarah977 

if i did it wouldn't be any of your business. 

so don't worry about my views because i'm not here to accommodate interpersonally insensitive and antagonistic inquires.  but i'm a leadership coach and i would be happy to serve you with some pro bono much needed better communication skill feedback and coaching when confronting your fellow airbnb community members with such an obnoxious line of questioning.

not that its any of your business, but my last guests had to be ejected by airbnb case mgt because of a third party booking and allowing unregistered guests into my home (thank god for cameras cause they let them in a window) by airbnb case management so i changed my photo to protect my safety security, and privacy.  

but if you need to see my smiley face i have 50 pictures posted.  have at it!!!!  i'll even send you the link if you need it lmao

---

[Ann72]

Now, now, @Sarah977., it's clear @Sammy35 is hiding his light under a bushel!  His English grammar is light years ahead of my German grammar, for instance!

[Christine615]

My opinion - and it's just that. They should have read the description - but I suppose a lot of people don't read them. The cat and dog issue is one to look at. Even though you have pets, the place needs to be extra clean even for other people who have no issues with allergies. Pet owners can be blind to that stuff.  (I am a pet owner - but not in the home I use for Airbnb. Being a host/guest has made me more discerning of things I used to not notice.).

But the cameras in the living spaces? That's just not okay. I don't think people should have to pay to be spied on in areas where there should be an assumption of privacy. Outside the building, not a problem. Inside the apartment? Why would you want them turned back on if not to watch them? If that's the issue - their review is going to kill your Airbnb business because I would absolutely not book a place like that.

You might want to rethink it. I stayed at a place that had a camera and we didn't unhook it. We just draped something over it. Not sure why, on earth, the host would want a camera in a studio apartment where the bed is visible. But we met her, she turned out to be lovely, and didn't mention what we did so I assume it's not on for guests. But in your case - if you knew they were offline, that implies you were monitoring and that is going to make most guests uncomfortable.

Why not just put in bold -  SECURITY CAMERAS IN ALL  AREAS OF THE HOME EXCEPT BEDROOM AND BATHROOM - DO NOT TURN OFF! and that way people can't say they didn't see the warning before they book the home..

[Ann72]

@Lisa1346 I like your level-headedness and your sense of humor (not to mention your profile photo :))! 

My only question is whether you have researched the legality of cameras inside a rented space.  I believe that, whether cameras are disclosed or not, they are illegal because they fly in the face of privacy laws and the concept of quiet enjoyment, a universally recognized covenant that is implied in any rental agreement.  I would be speaking to a lawyer about this if I were you because you might get a tenant who feels they can go after you for the cameras.

[Cindy84]

Lisa,  If you mentioned why you have security cameras inside the home when guests are there; I missed it.

It certainly is a host's right to impose whatever rules they'd like but as someone who rents and also hosts I cannot imagine staying in a place where I'm on camera.  What if I want to watch tv in my undies?  lol

I'm guessing you have a lot of traffic and probably have had some damage done.  

[Carl160]

Hi,
We have had similar situations with guests violating or "bending" house rules, some minor, some major.  In the end we have found this.  Air BnB is little help so it needs to be reported to AirBnb and taken care of by ourselves. 

This is what we do.  When we find a violation we confront the renter and notify them that they have to leave immediately.  If they do not we call the police and have them removed.    Police take a while to get there so they have time to leave.  Police will always remove unwanted guests if you own the property. 

Then you can deal with Airbnb refund policy.  We've found that you keep some and lose some, but it's better to be short on income than paying for damages and having down time for things like cleaning animal smell out of carpets.

This sounds hard, but we've had some real bad experiences bending the rules and people trashing the place after being confronted for violations.   Therefore we have a no tolerance policy. 

Seems to work for us. 

Carl