Guest staying in home all day

[Jane89]

I have a couple who arrived on Sunday.  They had asked if I have Wifi for work and I assumed that they would be working in the morning and evening - turns out they are using the bedroom as an office and never leave the house.  Take out is arriving at least twice a day and they are eating in their room.  This is a bed and breakfast not an office. They are staying 10 days and Im not sure I can stand having them in the house all the time!  What can I do?

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Difficult one if you do not have house rules that say: No eating in bedroom, etc...

Also, we now ask if people are here to work, or if they will be out sightseeing etc during the day.

In one way they are doing nothing wrong, but I know it is annoying when it happens. 

You options are fairly limited unless you are going to tackle them and ask them to spend some time outside.

If you can bear it I would put it down to learning and change your house rules.

[Amy65]

I have never run into that problem...... but everything that happens to us using Airbnb does help with the sifting and sorting process we use before accepting future rentals.  This is why I don't use instant book.

I use my home for larger family rentals.  I have found that wedding groups are great.  They have plans for meals and places to go.  Funeral groups are awful.  Nobody knows who is in charge; they are coming and going like zombies, and they leave a mess.

Reunions can go either way depending on who is in charge. I have learned to always communicate all of my concerns with the credit card holder.  I have learned on occasion it can work with a person bringing their dog - a family dog.  But if a guest who is not the credit card holder wants to bring a dog, I say no.

I have also learned that larger organizations, like for a race or a "cooking" group, etc., sometimes my place will be booked and the credit card holder isn't even one of the people that are there, so it is another thing to check.

I also ask about elderly and children so I can see if it is a good match.

I also ask for maximum people and maximum cars at any one time, so even if they aren't having a "party", I don't have parking and trash issues for larger groups.

Basically, I ask why they are coming to VT and how they plan to spend their time.  I have learned to do it in a nonconfrontational way, I think.....

[Caron3]

Can you share your nonconfrontation way of asking how they plan to spend their time? We keep getting guests who stay in their room 24-7 despite arriving from another country and never exploring our city.

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

Ask about the purpose of the trip and their itinerary. 

At least they stayed in the room. Thrifty guests with nothing to do think YOU are the entertainment!

Counting the days.....the hours........

[Zacharias0]

I had that happen for an entire month! It drove me nuts, but in my case they cooked 3 meals a day in the house and stayed in the room all day. I ended up changing my house rules to not allow cooking and only microwave usage allowed. In your case you may want to ask more probing questions before they book. If you have on Instant Book you may want to limit the amount of days to just 4-5. Not much else you can do outside of that except for be out of the house most of the day yourself. Best of luck,

[Louise15]

Do you have a "no deliveries" rule? The fact that it's your doorbell that's being rung--which is disturbing you--is a genuine concern you can raise with them. You could make the argument that your security feels at risk with so many deliveries. Or, could you pull a "zoning" argument on them? For example, my building is legally designated as residential; running a business in it is illegal. 

The vast majority of people understand that a BnB (whether it is with Airbnb or not) is about living with someone in their home. The whole idea is that guests will be out and about, which is why BnBs are less expensive. People who stay in their rooms 24/7 can create a creepy atmosphere--ie., you wonder what on earth they are doing--and having strangers at your door twice a day is uncomfortable too. 

These people are taking advantage because renting business space is always more expensive. They really should have checked into a hotel, where their activities would not have bothered anyone. You could contact Airbnb and see if there's anything they can do about this. 

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

When they are in there 24/7, and cooking 3 times a day, they have basically relocated to your home. Horrible. But sometimes it takes experiences like this to figure out what works for us. From the guest's point of view, they have a comfy place without the cleaning, etc. People can and do surf the world on Airbnb.

From mine, I have a slug or two that never leaves, drains utilities, is cheap and mean, and expects to be entertained. 

I have had plenty of offers like this. Given a choice, I would prefer a root canal. 

[Devie0]

it never occurred to me to get upset about something like that. If I'm renting a space, I'm renting a a space; and unless there is a stated maximum time alotment, Id expect to use that space for 24/7 if that's what I wanted. Same goes for hosting. If someone books a room, it's theirs for the time they've paid for...and since I open the kitchen to guests, they can cook whenever they're hungry. I wouldn't recommend lying about zoning or other details like that. Perhaps your renter just needs a nice quiet spot to work from; away from a noisy office. Change your rules, and include all of your expectations and limitations

[Eileen4]

I personally wouldn't like it if I had shared space and a guest stayed in his/her room 24/7. It would give me the creeps, so I think this situation is down to one's temperament. This is a good opportunity to fine tune the rules and Louise is right--a "no deliveries" one might have helped here. 

In a macro sense, areas in cities are zoned the way they are because some residents don't like living in the midst of businesses and businesses like to operate next to other businesses (as opposed to residential areas) because they'll get more traffic. 

So the zoning argument is fair, in my opinion. Operating a business of sorts out of a shared-space bnb would bother me too. These guests are taking advantage and if the host is weirded out by it, that's her right. 

[Victoria57]

Hi @Jane89, 40 or 50 years ago there used to be films and comedy programmes on TV in the UK often featuring a very stern B&B landlady who insisted on everyone out of the house by 9.30am and they weren't allowed back in until 6pm. Things were a bit different then. But now if someone wants to use the room all day that they've paid for then that is fine with me and I agree with @Devie0. Unless you've made it clear in your listing that they have to be out of the house during the day - which is perhaps not the most welcoming thing to put - then there is nothing really you can do about it. We had a booking last year where the guest was a writer who sat at the table in the room for hours a day looking out over the hills while writing. She wanted the peace and quiet and for the time she stayed with us it was her office. Your location is different, your setup is different and what worked for us might not be appropriate for you, but if you can be flexible about this you'll probably get good reviews and perhaps returning guests.

[Louise15]

@Devie0 I wasn't suggesting lying about zoning; I was suggesting that finding out what their area is zoned for might be one legal way of stopping this. I personally would feel uncomfortable with two people using a bedroom (and what sounds like no dining facilities) as an office. I've stayed at a few Airbnbs myself and while I certainly made use of the rooms I rented (and no, @Victoria57, I don't think anyone here is suggesting that we shoo out our guests in the morning), the atmosphere in those places would have been changed by a couple doing business out of one of the bedrooms. I'm talking about the genuine BnB types of places I stayed, where there were several bedrooms and one host. The spirit of Airbnb and the sharing economy, as far as I can see, is about sharing space in a way that's equitable and doesn't make others feel uncomfortable. Bringing business into a home setting--not unless it's a specified business guest or situation--isn't in keeping with the spirit of Airbnb. I also would not like guests eating all their meals in one of my bedrooms. That doesn't sound too hygienic to me. 

It's true that sometimes people need to work away from an office--especially writers--but I do think that what these specific people did is somewhat dishonest in that the host had a different impression of what she was going to be getting. And although there may be innocent reasons for doing business at another address, there could just as easily be sinister ones; the use of a different IP address, for example, being one. I mean, if they were in the area to do business, they would be out and about, no? So why they need to be holed up in one bedroom all day, doing business, would make me wonder. 

[Isabela12]

Montreal is a super cute and touristy city. However, during winter, we have guests booking for 2 nights and spending the entire day indoors "because it's too cold". COME ON, these people come from Korea, China, US, everywhere to stay inside a small bedroom? I'm seriously considering hosting some couchsurfers. At least THEY know how to travel...

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

All I ever needed to know about Guests who stay all day is from my (first degree relative). 

He came, he saw, he never left.

During that time, I cooked, cleaned, did his laundry, acted as a tourguide, and paid for all his meals out - except one. I had him in my face 24/7 for two weeks. He was rude, smelly, and refused to get involved with anything that did not please him. Did I mention I lived in a bachelor? 

Some people should come with warnings.

It was to become my MBA in tolerance. and it has served me well.

With Airbnb, i get paid to be accommodating!

If people doing business all day in your room is getting on your nerves, perhaps you need to take a walk, go to a movie, or enjoy some retail therapy.

More interraction with your Guests might alleviate the creepiness. Offer them some coffee and invite them for a chat.

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

it's been some tintime since I posted this so here's the update. I am a very social person, but on an extended stay with someone in the house all the time it can drive me to distraction. Constantly. 

Now I position this as a business listing. I honestly don't mind people working in their rooms but for heaven's sake close the door and quit bugging me 24/7 wanting tea and extended chats while their apartment is being renovated. Now the names of the units have all been changed to "professional" and it states you must be employed on my profile. 

Obviously there will be times when everyone is home like the weekend but I can plan for this and make it cheerful, but a month???? Bang head here! 😞