Hello everyone! I would like to raise a question which, as far as I can tell having searched through the forum, has not yet been addressed in any of the discussions. I understand this is mainly a community for hosts (correct me if I'm wrong), I do nevertheless count on your unbiased tips and thoughts.
A friend of mine, a frequent Airbnb guest, is currently staying in a private room in an apartment occupied by the host and her husband. Last night on his return to the apartment on the first night of his stay (around midnight), my friend found his host sleeping in the living room in front of the TV. The TV was turned on and you could hear it loudly in my friend's room. Wanting to go to sleep, my friend decided to turn off the TV, at which point the host woke up and told him that she needed the TV turned on in order to fall asleep. My friend explained to the host that he could hear the TV in his room, to which the host replied that she could not be expected to change her habits and that he should buy earplugs.
Just to be clear, there is no mention in the listing that this is what the guests will be expected to put up with. My host did send my friend a message in the afternoon following his check-in, telling him that she came back home already and saying "I fall sleep in front of the TV in the evenings". If that was her attempt to pre-empt any possible complaints from my friend, then I hope you will agree that it was rather late in the game - after he had paid for the room and checked in.
Now, apart from a rather vague formulation in the Airbnb's Community Standards that "You should not disturb common spaces, treat neighbors as “front desk staff,” create a pervasive nuisance for those around you, or persistently fail to respond to neighbor or community concerns" (as far as I understand, this is meant to refer to the 'Airbnb host vs neighbours' relationship so would not apply here anyway?), I was wondering whether there is anything that Airbnb has got to say on a situation like this: when the host does something that could reasonably disturb the guest. Is it the case, according to the Airbnb's standards, that the host can expect the guest to put up with her habits - even if that means effectively preventing my friend from having a good night's sleep - or does the host need to guarantee a quiet enjoyment of the private room which my friend has paid for?
Thank you in advance for your advice - if you've had a similar experience, could refer me to a discussion in this forum that I've perhaps overlooked, or could direct me to some official Airbnb guidelines on a situation like this, that would be super useful!
Best wishes,
Pawel
