Host denying family members to visit, without prior warning

[Jae21]

I am currently renting a room in a house for a month through Airbnb. My father happened to be in town, and he came by for 15 minutes to check out where I had been staying. I assumed it would not be a problem, as there had never been a specific direction on guests being allowed or not, and he was after all, my father.

the next day my host expressed that guests of any kind were not to be allowed in the house, under any circumstances. 

I made the renting assuming that I could have some people over for a few hours once in a while, as the rental had zero mention of rules around guests.

Was it naive of me to assume this? Is this standard rules for Airbnb’s? 

[Mark116]

@Jae21  You might apologize to your host, and ask if any exceptions could be made as long as the people 1) weren't staying over night, 2) no parties, and 3) you let the host know in advance.  This seems reasonable to me, especially if you are sure there is nothing written in the rules about no guests of guests.  We have it written in our rules that no one not part of the reservation is allowed on the property w/out our permission, but when people ask to have someone come over to visit or even for a quiet dinner, we always say yes.

[Kenneth12]

@Jae21 :  IMO your host's behavior is far outside the norm;  I've never encounted such a request in 100s of trips,  and it really should be in the House Rules.   If it's the only problem,  no big deal,  but if the host has other issues that give you a spidey sense feeling you might consider relocating.   Bringing someone over for a short visit is not IMO having them partake in the service offered;  having regular dinner guests might be;  the host needs to set clear boundaries in advance,  not after someone arrives,  for both parties' sakes.

[Jeff158]

Unfortunately we live in an age when unscrupulous insurance claims are made.

Unless a host has there own public liabiliy insurance, hosts should not allow unregistered guests to enter the premises.

[Ann489]

@Jae21  have you read your host's house rules carefully?  Most hosts usually have something to say in regard to unregistered guests/visitors.  If this is not the case with your host, I would point out that it is not in the house rules and they need to amend that.  Going after you for something that you were not aware of is not ok.    At our property for example,  outside visitors/guests of the guest are absolutely not allowed without prior approval.   For us, this is about safety and transparency.  Sorry this happenend to you, Jae.

[Helen3]

Hi @Jae21 

I am sorry you had this experience. The host can of course enforce the Airbnb T&C that only guests who had booked and paid should be in a listing.

Personally if you let me know in advance you have friends or relatives who might want to drop in i am fine about this (I have it in my house rules that you need to do this).

All you can do is apologise to the host for not checking in advance and ask as you are there for a long term stay whether you can have friends or relatives drop in occasionally if you let him/her know in advance.

[Sarah977]

@Jae21  It's never a good idea to "assume" something. You are staying in a room in someone's private home, therefore it's not polite to invite someone else over without asking if this would be okay, regardless of whether the host stated this in their house rules (which they should, but which is also stated in the Airbnb TOS, which of course I doubt any guests bother to read). 

It's quite possible that had you asked beforehand if your dad could come over for a little while, that the host would have said yes. She was perhaps upset because you didn't bother to ask, and was therefore a bit harsh about it.

I wouldn't have a problem with a guest asking if it was alright and would say sure, but if they didn't ask, I'd be a bit put-out. And some hosts do have a hard and fast rule about no visitors. It just seems a matter of respect not to invite anyone else over to a house that isn't yours without asking. Even if I was staying with a friend or relative who I knew was easygoing, I wouldn't invite someone else over that wasn't known to them unless I checked first that it was okay.

[Emilia42]

Whether it is a "rule" or not, I could never in good conscience bring someone into someone else’s private home without asking permission first. You may have established a relationship with this host but to them, everyone else is a stranger; standing in their kitchen, unannounced.

[David6]

To be honest I do not want ANY visitors coming to my property. After many bad experiences all are totally banned from my listing, but it’s clearly stated in the house rules.