Help : guests were smoking marijuana in my home and I have proof with marijuana left behind

[Janice271]

I'm not sure how to move forward. I went to change over my home yesterday after guests checked out. You could instantly smell it when you walked in. Then I found small pieces of marijuana on my kitchen table and a table in one of the bedrooms. I had to air my home out, run fans, febreeze and spray vinegar mixture. I do have a rule listed no smoking. On this particular listing, which is one of three options in this home, I didn't mention that there will be an additional cleaning fee.

do I reach out to guest and ask for additional fee? Do I reach out to Airbnb and report?

i feel bad in a sense because they did leave pretty clean other than this issue. But, fact is, they illegally smoked in my house and I had to clean deeper.

thanks for your help

[Ana1136]

@Janice271 do you have a receipt for the increased cleaning expenses? If you do you might use that but other that that it is very hard to prove the existence of a smell. I would just leave it, it is not worth the trouble. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Janice271 

don't waste your time on it, it is useless.

We all face additional cleaning or airing after some guests, sometimes they smoke, sometimes they cook curry food or their body odour is horrible or they forgot to open windows after using the restroom ....  ah.. the joy of hosting 🙂

[Janice271]

Even if you have photos of marijuana? I don't like supporting illegal habits especially in my own home.

[Gregory87]

@Janice271 : Greetings fellow Minnesotan!

While I understand and agree entirely with your offense at a guest breaking house rules and violating the law, Airbnb is not a law enforcement entity (nor very supportive of hosts if you don't have physical damages).  Unfortunately, you'll have to just bite the proverbial bullet, clean the mess, and move on.  This tends to be the outcome for most hosts with smoking-related violations (illegal or not).

Your best recourse is to write an honest review to warn future hosts and rate the guest(s) as not being welcome at your listing again.  

Another option may be to file a report with your local law enforcement agency if you have pictures or other evidence, but often times, this isn't a priority case for them.

Now go enjoy this beautiful weather!