Guests

[Rawlda0]

Hi, My name is Rawlda, I am relatively new to Airbnb.  I have a couple of questions:

1.  My current guest arrived to start her stay and announced she has 2 suitcases of laundry she needs to do during her stay.  She was previously at a local hotel and had no access to laundry services there.  While I have no objection to her doing laundry accumulated during her stay I object to her arriving to start her stay with this intention.  I have advised that there will be an additional charge for this.  We have to pay a huge premium for electricity.  It would be very interesting to hear if anyone has had this issue and the approach taken.  Would very much appricate responses
2.  Guest having very little regard for security issues.  Despite having a security system in place, she would often go out and not engage the sysyem.  I have raised this with her however the issue remains .  Although we are residing in a relatively low crime society, the threat of breaking and entering exists.  My insurance company will refuse to honour a claim if the property was accessed and it is proven that the security system was not armed.  

[Marzena4]

Hello @Rawlda0

I would definitely request extra money for doing the laundry. Some guests, if the nightly rates are competitive or facilities are at hand, will use attempt to use whatever they can, with no respect to the host.

As for security, it's breaking the house rules. Theoretically, you can ask Airbnb to remove the guest.

[Rawlda0]

Hi Marzena

Your suggestions are very helpful.  Although I did advise there will be an extra charge for the laundry, I did not follow through with it.  Both responses I have had on this issue agree that I should ask for additional cost so I will pursue the charges for the laundry.

I will also be contacting Airbnb

[Barbara1383]

Hi, Are you doing the laundry in your home washer and dryer, or is there a washer dryer  in the the unit. Thanks so not sure if I should charge if the washer and dryer are in the unit.

[Joan266]

Hello, Everyone.  I'm a new host myself and just received a pre-approved booking which is causing me some concern.  I live in the Caribbean, and we are prone to disruptions in both electricity and potable water.  My home as a standby generator and a cistern.  Therefore, I'm not generally affected by those problems.  I also offer a washer and dryer.  This guest lives on island and has booked my home just for a weekend.  I suspect that he may be planning to take advantage of the affordable rates to come here and do laundry.  My problem is that I won't be on island, so he would be accessing my home via drop box. 

By the way, this guest doesn't have any reviews that I can check out. I'm feeling uneasy.  Any suggestions?

[Huma0 · Accepted solution]

@Rawlda0I would also object to a guest arriving with lots of laundry to do. It has happened to me too. You are right to ask for an additional fee for this or politely direct her to the local laundrette if there is one. You are not running a free laundrette and she would not get this for free at a hotel either.

If you have not done so already, I suggest you include something in your house rules about both laundry and security/alarms so that future guests hopefully understand this before arriving. They might not bother reading the rules, but you have this as back up should you need to contact Airbnb about it.

Do you have a security deposit on your listing? It might be worth mentioning to the guest (in the nicest way possible of course) that it would also be in her interests to use the alarm, because your insurance wouldn't cover a theft otherwise and it would have to come out of her deposit.

[Rawlda0]

Hi Huma

Your suggestions are most helpful.  I will update the house rules regarding both issues.  I did send her a Whatsapp (for my record) about the alarm and pointed out that the insurance company would not cover a theft.  I do not have a security deposit on my listing.  Perhaps this is something I should set up

[Sarah977]

Not a good idea to communicate with guests you are having issues with via Whatsapp, texts or twitter, etc. Always message through the airbnb messaging system so airbnb has easy access to the interaction. Airbnb is unresponsive already to most host complaints- they will certainly not be interested in your Whatapp communications with the guest.

[Rawlda0]

Thanks Sarah.  Good points about best ways to communicate

[Andrea9]

@Rawlda0In cases where a guest contacts me through Whatsapp or sms with something that I either need to remember for later on, or it's a confirmation of something, or anything that might be good to have a paper trail of I have started to make screen shots which I upload to the Airbnb message page via the function on the app. I simply say something like 'I'm adding our conversation here to have everything on one page. With my many guests, I'm afraid that using different communication platforms might make me lose track of something important. If it was a telephone exchange you can do the same by shortly reiterating with a summary.

[Rawlda0]

Great idea Andrea. Will consider for the future.  Many thanks

[Rawlda0]

 Points taken Sarah.  You are correct.  Will do so in future

[Elisabeth40]

Hey,

I have guests from time to time who need their laundry get done. I usually send them to the next laundry service if they don’t want to do it themselves. We also do have a laundry room in the building some guests like to use, usually it ends up like that, guests use my laundry card, my detergent, and don’t think they have to be thankful. I prefer to send them to the laundry service where they need to pay for everything and can complain. 

[Elisabeth40]

Once I had a guest for 2 weeks who asked me to do every 3 days laundry for her: she gave me a list with things what she likes me to wash for her, and all of the sudden one of her socks was missing, I ended up buying her a new pair of socks, she never intended paying me or refunding me for my time, my detargent. I don’t do laundry for my guests anymore, I send them to the laundry service close by. 

[Rawlda0]

Thanks Elizabeth.  I have good laundry facilities on the premises.  I have the option to charge however I have never done so.  I did charge this particular guest for the 2 suitcases of laundry she brought to the property at the beginning of her stay.  This was the most unreasonable guest that I have had to accommodate.  At the end of her stay she left 16 damp and moldy towels in the laundry basket stating that I had been paid a cleaning fee through Airbnb.