Guest enters Off-Limits area then states it's not clean

[Anthony608]

So, another interesting experience with a guest and one that I don’t believe has happened before. 

I had a pair of women stay at the house for an overnight reservation and, upon arriving, entered into the back of our house, which is designated “off limits” in our house rules.  They then made themselves comfortable in our family living room and also took chairs and a laptop stand out of my office (also off limits), moving my computer in the process.

When I came home, and saw what had happened, they were already upstairs in the room but came down to use the kitchen (open to guests) a while later.  They didn’t attempt to come back into the off limits areas, since I was home, but made a lot of strange remarks about how they didn’t think anyone else would be in the house.  One of the women, to her friend, then said the living room wasn’t that clean (we clean it, but not with our professional housekeeper who cleans the AirBNB rooms).

I have a hunch that I am going tog et a 4 review from these people (if they leave a review) probably with a comment the living room wasn’t clean.  But, with the living room off limits, that doesn’t really apply I believe. 

Has anyone else experienced this before?

[M199]

@Anthony608 

In my thoughts, I would consider how I would rate them on following house rules, i.e. entering off limit areas.  No comment about the overheard conversation.  Maybe just a comment like "guest did not respect off limits areas".  As a host, this would be a red flag and would likely negate, from a hosts point of view,  any negative comments on the guests review.

[Anonymous]

@Anthony608  Yes, and it was frustrating  - the guest did indeed leave a disappointing star rating, but the text of the public review was all positive. It was only in private comments that he complained about a room that he wasn't supposed to be in to begin with. 

One more reason not to get preoccupied with star ratings; it'll drive you crazy.

But if you had clearly communicated to these guests which areas of the house were off-limits and they didn't follow your rules, they are seriously undesirable guests and I hope you review them appropriately.

[Anthony608]

@Anonymous- they had no other AirBNB reviews and I was not at home when they arrived.  It does say in the house rules that the living room and office in the back of the house are off limits but i think they just didnt read that part of the listing and didn't look in the house manual.  They were actually very friendly so I might be lenient here.

With these two, I was more wary of why they were here in the first place.  The profile said they were from Ohio, but they had Virginia plates (local to Maryland) and like I said at first, they were absolutely preoccupied with whether or not they would be alone in the house.  For normal guests just passing through for a one night stay, that is not normal behavior.

[Anonymous]

@Anthony608  Alarm bells all around. These guests might be perfectly well suited to an Entire Home listing, but based on their behavior they do not deserve to be recommended as guests for shared-home hosts.

To be fair, though, self-check-in does not sound like an ideal fit for your listing. If there are restricted areas of your house, or other guests to consider, it would be a better service to your guests to have an in-person check-in. One of the most uncomfortable experiences I've had as a guest involved self-check-in at a place with two guestrooms. Without knowing the lay of the house, I opened the first door that seemed like it might be my room and...well, I saw things that I can never un-see, and my otherwise happy memories of that vacation are permanently bound up with the image of what was going on in that bed.

I would have gladly sacrificed the convenience of a flexible check-in time for a personal orientation to the house. 

[Anthony608]

@Anonymous- I've used self checkin throughout my AirBNB experience and have had nothing but positive results.  In fact, most people are grateful for the freedom to check-in whenever they arrive and also, with my schedule, it would not be possible to be at home to meet them each and every time.

As for the house, the AirBNB rooms are maintained almost like motel rooms with numbers on the doors and generic furniture and decorations.  When someone arrives, it is very obvious that the front of the house is for guests and, if walking into the back of the house, they are now entering family territory with personal pictures, jackets left on the sofa, etc.  And, even farther back in the house where someone would enter my office and computer room, anyone who does that is up to something.  With the exception of these women this time now, only one other guest - man from China over a year ago who was caught in the computer room looking through my mail, has ever gone that far into the back of the house.

It looks like this last guest might not leave a review; I will probably not leave one either unless they do, since I can do without an unfair 4 star which is what I think they would give.

[Anonymous]

@Anthony608  Well as they say, if it ain't broke don't fix it!

But if you're confident that you did your due diligence in communicating the do's and don'ts of the house, and the guests still violated your private space, that's a detail that would be super helpful for your fellow hosts to be informed about in their review!

Maybe you'll get a non-5-star review, but you're a big boy - did you really come this far in life just to be fretting about stars?

[Anthony608]

@Anonymous- To give an update, I did leave a review and mentioned they were friendly people but also that they entered an off limits area of the home which included the host's computer room and office, and moved the computer as well as several items of furniture.

No reply review and I don't think one is coming.  Looking at the profile picture on the account, it was not one of the women in the home and I think a friend in Ohio made the reservation for them and this is why they had local  license plates and apparently hadn't read the house rules.  I also think they were here to throw a party and this is why they reacted in utter shock when I came into the home and asked repeatedly if anyone else was in the house.

Sometimes I really wonder what is wrong with some of these people.  A lot of what they did I can overlook,. but I really wonder how they thought it was a good idea to go into the computer room and start moving things.  If I went to an AirBNB, even without reading house rules, I would *never* go into someone's office, which was obviously their personal space with pictures of the family on the wall and bills and papers on the desk, and start moving things and then mess around with their computer.  I mean, come on!

[Sarah977]

C'mon, @Anthony608, they were being responsible by moving your computer out of the way so it wouldn't get damaged when the place filled up with all their party buddies 🙂

[Anthony608]

@Sarah977 - As you've been around for a while and appear to be a no nonsense host, I'd be interested to hear if anyone ever came in your house doing crazy things.  I bet you didn't tolerate their antics.

[Sarah977]

@Anthony608  I hope you realize I was being totally tongue-in-cheek in my previous post, building on your sense that they had intended to throw a party until you came home and they realized you lived there. 

No, I've never had anyone do such a thing in my home and I'd be really upset if they did. In fact, if I caught a guest in my private things, or in my bedroom, that would be the end of their booking.

[Anonymous]

@Anthony608  I had an odd 2-night guestroom booking from a local who claimed to need a place to stay during house repairs. When she arrived, I noticed she was dressed way more fancy than you usually see in Berlin, but whatever. She seemed distracted and confused throughout the whole check-in, until it finally dawned on her that she had not booked an Entire House listing and I wasn't going anywhere. Then she suddenly said she had to step out to make a phone call, and I never saw or heard a word from her again.

I can imagine a few possibilities about what she'd planned to do with the house (party, sex work, etc) but it was very clear she wasn't just here for a place to sleep.

[Anthony608]

@Anonymous - There were two similar situations I dealt with, both about a year ago.  The first, an urgent same day reservation where the guest stated they needed a quick place to stay just for the night.  Late in the afternoon, a car pulled up and a man sat in the car for a long time before getting out and pacing around then staring for a bit at the house.  Then got back in the car, and simply drove away.  No check-in, cancellation, payment was received.  The only thing I can thing of is that maybe they realized at the last minute it was not an empty house.

Second time, reservation from an account with a female picture and name.  Early afternoon, guy shows up on the door, doesn't know the door code, but walks in anyway (it was a nice day and we had the door cracked).  Does a double take when he sees me then starts talking that he was here to meet the guest but didn't know when she would be there.  He then left and then the next day I got a message saying they were "uncomfortable with the reservation because they didn't have a key".  Pretty sure that was a rendezvous of some kind which was aborted when they saw me.

[Anonymous]

@Anthony608   A very oversimplified timeline of what the term "getting an Airbnb" meant to young folks on the web, contemporaneously:

2009: "it's like CouchSurfing meets Craigslist" (actual quote from the NYT)

2012:  saving money on a budget holiday by renting a guestroom in someone's place, or briefly subletting their home while they're away

2016:  renting a purpose-designed holiday accommodation in a place that's normally zoned for residence, like a hotel but more Insta-ready and quote-unquote authentic

2020:  using the cover of a residential dwelling to evade Covid restrictions and conduct frivolous travel or parties under lockdown, with little risk of consequences

Obviously there are countless tributaries and exceptions, but the major trajectory is consistently moving away from earnest peer-to-peer commerce and toward a battle of who can game the system most in a teetering economy. The main security you have doesn't come from Airbnb, but rather from the fact that the overwhelming majority of the world's hustlers are incredibly dumb.

[Sarah977]

@Anonymous  I was up at a friend's place when she was talking to the guests of an Airbnb entire house rental next door to her, who had been disturbing the entire neighborhood, yelling drunkenly in the pool til 3 AM blasting techno music.

She is very soft spoken and tactful, and simply explained that they had rented a house in a residential neighborhood, not rented a nightclub, and to please be respectful. The guest's response, delivered in an aggressive and entitled tone was "It's an Airbnb!"