Not all Guests "Read" the house rules and appliance operation instructions!

[David4245]

I am new to hosting but I am getting a jar full of lessons learned everyday as my house has stayed constantly booked since I listed it. All my guests so far have been great, respectful, and clean, with some minor glitches; a blood stain on a comforter, and dog poop on the property. Dogs are not allowed so we know someone snuck a dog in.  Just don't know who. The house is in a hot and dry area currently under a high fire hazard so our rule book indicates No Fires in the Fire Pit May thru October. But we noticed burned logs in the fire pit in July. I don't believe that people are always breaking the rules knowingly, but more so just not reading the house rules! We have them posted on the listing and there is a rule book in the house. Are we doing something wrong? How do we get the guests to take the time to read the rules?

Thanks

[Kenneth12]

Cameras are your friend:  at every entrance and covering outdoor areas such as that fire pit.

[Yadira22]

Yes 

@David4245 please just be mindful to disclose these in your listing beforehand. Otherwise, Airbnb has been known to take down listings if they don’t. Good luck to you 🙂

[Kenneth12]

@David4245 :  note that there's a section in Amenities "things guests must know" concerning surveillance devices,  with a small text box;  I also list them in the description and under House Rules.

[Rowena29]

Hi @David4245 

Getting guests to read the house rules is a perennial problem most hosts experience - at least sometimes.

Also, I would suggest that as your  location seems remote and you are a remote host, that some of your guests probably HAVE  read your rules, but as you and no one much else is about, have gone ahead and done as they pleased

IN that regard I agree with @Kenneth12. If you have a security camera/s ( which must be stated in your listing) guests who are planning on doing the wrong thing will note this and think twice - maybe (possibly especially if you also have a security deposit - see further down)

As for guests that are just not reading,  There's no foolproof solution.

Here are a couple of things I do that I have found help quite a bit.

I have instant book, and one of my 3 "pre booking welcome messages" is

"have you REALLY  read the house rules? what's the code word?"

I have the code word "buried" in text in the middle of a sentence.  So far my guests have given me the code word and  - so I know they must have read at least a BIT.

I also have the house rules printed out again in a folder.  I make sure I use a really large font with plenty of white space between the lines ( 2.0 line spacing).  this makes more pages, but much easier to read.

With the fire pit scenario I would have a arnign attached to the rule saying the fine for lighting fires from teh relevant authority is XXXX.  I'm not a lover of signs, but in this instance I would suggest having something similar in front of the fire pit, so there can be no question people didn't know -

I also charge a  a substantial security deposit. Different host feel differently about security deposits, but my personal experience is that it's invaluable.  I've never made a claim on it, and my understanding is that the process can be next to useless, but many guests don't realise this.   Having a security deposit hanging over them tends to encourage them to check out the house rules  and behave ( in my experience anyway)

I'm sure other hosts will have other suggestions.   

Good luck!

[David4245]

Thank you Rowena29. That was very helpful.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

as @Rowena29  said - a sign in front of the firepit "the fine for lighting fires from teh relevant authority is XXXX." ... and remove all logs and cover/wrap the firepit with some protection

[Romana19]

Bohužel ke čtení je nikdo nedonutí a i když si je přečtou,nemusí je dodržovat.Musel byste je stále hlídat.Moji hosté jsou také milí a vstřícní,ale občas jim taky něco ujede,jediná možnost je schovat vše,co nechcete,aby používali a dát jasné osobní pokyny,co mohou.Hodně štěstí.