block people from a certain nation

[Anne1428]

Would like to know whether it is possible to block people from a certain nation?

[Huma0]

@Anne1428 

No, you cannot block people from a particular nation. Nor can you decline people from a particular nation without risk of being delisted from Airbnb for discrimination should one of them complain.

If I were you, I would look into how you can better communicate with guests to not do the things that you are experiencing. I know not everyone wants to have a long list of house rules, but you should include important things like not showering at 5am if it is happening often. Smaller issues you can deal with on a case by case basis, but if you don't tell the guests, you can't expect them to just know. If I've learnt one thing from hosting, it's that way more cultural differences exist than I ever imagined.

Currently I have a male guest who kept leaving the toilet seat up every time. This annoys me, but another guest (incidentally, a young lady from the SAME country as him) also mentioned it. I was uncomfortable bringing it up, but mentioned it casually when messaging him about something else, e.g. "Also, please could you remember to put the toilet seat down? It's very important when you are sharing with ladies!" He didn't react badly, just said he would try to remember and, so far, has almost always put it back down (still forgets occasionally but is making an effort).

A lot of guests don't read/understand the house rules. So, if I find that if people from a certain nationality have a tendency to break particular rules, I make sure to remind them of those in my welcome tour, e.g. "Please don't forget, no loud noise, including hairdrying, after 11pm!" This seems to work most of the time.

[Wendy117]

@Anne1428  i feel for you but unfortunately we cant do this.  In my case i find that guests from countries that have very low wages, i wont name them,  where everyone has house help, make disgusting guests.  They are used to be cleaned up after them and cleaning is a nightmare.   If i get guests from those countries i block out the following day for cleaning.

[Linda108]

@Wendy117  Anne did not share information why she was interested in this issue so I am curious as to why you "feel for" her.  You have chosen to recognize cultural differences and accommodate the extra effort rather than decline or block the "country".  Kudos to your professionalism.  😄

[Huma0]

@Linda108 

@Anne1428  did incude information above on the issues she was experiencing but in German. I Google translated it, so I'm sure I did not understand it perfectly, but the gist was that she was experiencing difficulties with male guests from a particular nation (she did not specify how many so I have no idea if this is just a couple of individuals or something that is repeatedly happening with different guests), including:

- Noise, inclouding showering at 5am, knowing that the bathroom is next to her bedroom.

- Going through her cabinets and using her personal things, including her towels, even though she has provided them with their own.

- Always leaving the toilet seat up.

- Taking over the kitchen.

That's why I mentioned the toilet seat up thing and also suggested she tailor her house tour to remind guests of certain things, e.g. about late night showering and noise.

There are cultural differences and I have learnt that certain nationalities have problems folowing certain rules, and this includes Americans and Europeans. It's also interesting how this can vary with age and gender.

I have found, for example, that Chinese ladies clean up after themselves very well in the kitchen and Chinese men do not, while Korean girls can be very loud late at night and Korean men very quiet! American girls will often destroy my towels and pillowcases with their make up whereas Asian girls are really into cleansing so that's never a problem. Older American guests are the most likely to break stuff! Of course these are big generalisations, but that's just my experience so far.

The important thing is to learn how to deal with it and, like you say, put in the extra effort to help them understand the house rules. It's not always easy, but I don't want to ban one nationality or another. They are not breaking the rules on purpose, they are just doing what's normal to them, not realising that it might be a problem.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Huma0 

Henry was just saying to me the other day....... "why is it young westerners ALWAYS leave crumbs all over the counter top or think brushing them to the floor is cleaning?!?!?! And what is it with all the greasy fingerprints on the cupboard and fridge doors and light switches!!!" 

I admit..... Henry is a bit of a neat-freak 🙂 

[Linda108]

@Huma0  Except for the toilet seat, I recently hosted a middle aged US woman who did all those things.  In her review I alluded to communication and boundary issues (which I elaborated in a private message) and did not recommend her as a guest in a shared space but thought she might be better suited to a self contained space.   While I will take time with anyone who does not easily fit into my listing, I think the review process provides feedback about behavior and if the toilet seat lifting, crumb leaving, food snatching men and women of any age or country do not learn, eventually they will not be participating as a guest.

I don't think there are any business owners who market to the general public that do not wish certain customers would not use their product or services.  😛  But here we are learning from each other or at least supporting one another. 😄

[Gordon0]

Oh @Wendy117, I actually feel for you. How awful it must be to treat people based on where they are from, rather than as individuals. I hope you can get help. 

[Wendy117]

@Gordon0 Wow thats harsh! Different approach from your comment on the topic Problems with Chinese (and my post does not relate to Chinese who are the majority of my guests).  If i dont arrange for additional cleaning time ahead my next guests would not get a spotlessly clean apartment.  Not worth just hoping there may be an exception.

[Mark116]

I feel that if people were really being honest, they would admit that there are some broad true generalizations that can be made about guests from various countries and how that impacts their communication, entitlement, cleanliness, rating tendencies, recycling and so forth.

[Gordon0]

As the song goes, @Mark116; 'There's good and bad in everyone', but judging everyone the same isn't cool.

[Sarah977]

@Mark116  I agree. Of course, it's totally un-PC to say such things these days, but I can attest to the fact that there are some demographics that tend  to behave in similar ways. Certainly this isn't true across the board. IMO there is nothing wrong with generaliztions as long as one acknowledges that there are many individuals within that demographic that will prove the exception and therefore we shouldn't pre-judge anyone based upon behavior we've experienced to be usual in the past, as everyone deserves an equal chance to do the right thing.

[Linda108]

@Mark116   Of course in our private thoughts we all make generlizations.  However, we are offering our listings to the public and must allow for the cultural, ethnic and regional differences.  If I want to only have people just like me, this is not the platform for that business.

@Sarah977   You seem to be a very considerate host so I would imagine you would not consider "blocking" another country.

[Sarah977]

@Linda108  No, I certainly wouldn't block people from any country, but I have dealt with certain demographics that tend to be more problematic, so I'm just aware of that and know to be a bit more vigilant, ask a few more questions, and stress some of my house rules and parameters more when getting Inquiries or Requests from those folks.  All politely, of course.

[Daniel1598]

@Sarah I agree. I think that people around the same generation with the same ethnic background will tend to have similar cultural norms that they've accepted consciously and subconsciously, thus influencing behavior. Generalization based on this premise is logical. Although within these groups there is a spectrum of good, bad, conscientiousness, communication style, openness, etc.

[Yulianna0]

@Wendy117, in fact it doesn’t have sense. There are so many cultures and personal peculiarities! Much easier and more interesting to learn about customs and usual behavior of your guests. In this case you don’t  need to block but you can ask specific questions. For example I have found that people from some areas are not used not to waste water. So I’ll put stress on it during our initial conversation. The same goes for heating:) Cultural diversity helps us to train our brains, communication skills and patience:)