smoking marijuana inside the house

Aimee10
Level 3
Vancouver, Canada

smoking marijuana inside the house

Guest is smoking pot inside my rental. I smelled it yesterday & today. I just texted him to STOP and go for a walk and do it but that I will charge him $250 for cleaning now because I'll have to wash all the linen/pillows on the sofa etc... So mad and who at air bnb do i cantact? They never have a direct contact line?

45 Replies 45

Thanks but they left their pot grinder with pot in it on the living room table and ashes all over the floor of which I have photos. The part that bothers me is they can break your house rules, leave a mess and smell and steal your expensive body wash you leave as a nice amenity and they get to review you!!!if the break the house rules they should lose their rights to leave bad revengeful reviews!!! I have contacted air bnb by phone and they will note the review but no guarantees which is a major flaw in the system. If people trash your place they still get to leave you a review if the reservation was not cancelled which is bazaar!!!!

Spray EVERYTHING with ZEP.  Walls, art, furniture, rugs, doors.  EVERYTHING.  I've found that to be the best method.  Evict any smokers immediately would also be my recommendation.  Immediately call the police regardless.  If someone is stupid enough (rude has nothing to do with it) theyll be stupid enough to be confrontational.

Cassie22
Level 2
Kapolei, HI

We just had the happen last week. Our Rental is the bottom half of our condo and we could smell pot coming through the floor and the staircase. If we can smell it our neighbors can smell it too. When we reminded them of our no smoking rule they lied and said they weren’t smoking in the unit but smoked about a block away from the unit and it must be on their clothes. They even went on to say that they don't even smoke in their own house and would never do such a thing in our house.  They only had two days of their stay so we didn't push it as to avoid them trashing our place after we kicked them out. After they left the place reeked like pot and the cologne they sprayed everywhere to try and cover it up for two days. They also left pot crumbs all over the floor and coffee table. Next time people will get the boot at the first scent of any kind of smoking. Unbelievable how little respect some people have. This incident has me seriously re-thinking the instant book feature.

I believe your first mistake was giving them more time to smoke in your unit.  Immediate eviction.  Our business would collapse if our family renters started flooding our reviews with pot smoke comments.  

JoJo18
Level 2
Los Angeles, CA

My first time hosting and my first airbnb guests smelled up my beautiful place!  I have back to back bookings and booked for the most part of February and March and I feel like just deactivating my hosting account.  I am so disgusted.  ashes left in a bag by the bed... pilows thrown on the floor. the comforter and duve cover and pillows SMELL!   and it is not fair to the other upcoming guests and it is not fair to me after working so hard to get it prepared for airbnb. 

 

I believe they know exactly what they are doing.  They know Airbnb will not do anything about it.  They know if you request money for damages or extra cleaning, they know they dont have to pay and that is absolutely not fair that they are able to leave a bad review as retaliation.  AIRBNB!  are you reading these comments??  DO SOMETHING!

Agreed!

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

My take on this is a little different and I'll probably catch flack for it but.....

 

Of course a host has every right to allow or disallow whatever they want in their home. However, whether something smells bad or not (aside from the universally really disgusting smells, i.e. vomit, etc) is pretty subjective. For instance, if I were a guest, I would find the smell of air fresheners, Bounce sheets used on bedding and towels,  scented toilet paper, booze, or vinegar to be very objectionable, yet the smell of marijuana wouldn't phase me at all, even though I'm not a smoker. I have a friend who can't stand the smell of coffee.

To tell a guest that they can't smoke marijuana, even outside, even on the street in front of the house, and can't even vape, in places where it is, in fact, legal, is in my opinion, pretty over-the-top controlling.

As a huge percentage of the population uses marijuana either recreationally or medicinally, hosts forbidding it in any form where it is legal may see a reduction in bookings.

Yep.  Youre an idiot.

Rachel489
Level 1
New York, NY

My guests checked out yesterday and I found out that they were smoking pot in the bathroom.  I had to spend extra efforts to clean the smell.  I brought vinegar and cleaned all the surfaces and tiles.  The guest didn't give me a good impression to begin with.  There was hardly any communication. They used my parking space without even asking so they gave me an impression how they were when checking in. 

 

From all the reponses, I think I should not be even bothered to contact Airbnb or the guest for extra money.  I am new to Airbnb and I charged them with such a low fee, $99 for an entire 2 floor house total of 1650 sq ft and $30 in cleaning.  I am so diasppointed at these disgraced guests.

Shona16
Level 1
Toronto, Canada

This is happening to me right now - I have a no smoking policy and the first time I smelt pot coming through the vents I thought maybe it was a one off...this is the second time and not only are they here another 3 nights but I live in a semi detached hiuse and my neighbours have a baby.

 

i have also been burned by a bad review by a bad guest and I am torn if I should remind them there is no smoking in the unit or just wait it out ... of course they are leaving Saturday and I have another guest same day which worries me - 

We recently have had two pot smoking guests in the last five bookings.  UGH!  Our Airbnb is in Nashville where it is still a misdemeanor but I am assuming because we are originally from California people think we don't care.  BUT WE DO!  We live in the back portion of our house and our Airbnb is in the front, now  I have the nose of a Bloodhound so I smelled it immediately.  Another Superhost suggested one of us knock on the door when you smell it and tell them to stop but then we risk a poor review because I can't prove what I smell.  Hey, I am all good with the herb but not in my house. We often have back to back bookings and it's a matter of time before we get the complaint-- the cleaniness rating goes down.   Guests forget that they are "guests" and not renting a hotel room--we live here yo! I wouldn't go to anyone's house, spark up and assume they don't care.  I'm throwing my two cents in hoping that at some point Airbnb backs their hosts a bit more on this topic--legal State or not. 

@Deborah-and-Greg0   Rather than knock on their door and tell them to stop, you could send them a message which I don't believe would lead to any bad reviews.

" XXX, we can smell the herb- no moral judgement, but you'll have to go outside the property to do this, as the smell permeates the unit and future guests complain. Thank you for your co-operation."

Sarah,  thank you for the comment--love the no moral judgement. 🙂

Hello,

It happened to me last night. My guests broke three rules. When they booked my place, they told me only three people. It turned out 8 people. My house rules are no smoking, no party or event. They smoked pot in my in law apartment and had a party. I have two small kids at home and I could smell the smoke from my main floor to second floor I messaged them through Airbnb  and told them I could smell weed in my house and they denied it. They told me to come down and check it. I’m not stupid to go down there to confront them because I was concerned about my safety and my kids safety. So I called Airbnb to document of what is going on regarding of them breaking my house rules. I know I can’t show proof of the smell, so I told my guests that I will call the cop to be my witness that they actually did smoke pot inside and they were having party with more than 3 guests in my house . They changed their tone right away and they told me they are going to leave now. It is your house and you have every right to kick them out if they break your house rules. I keep my calendar block now because my apartment is so messy and smell like pot. Very angry host.

Victoria567
Level 10
Scotland, United Kingdom

Hello @Aimee0

A total NO-NO

you must change your house rules ASAP to clearly state what is not acceptable in your home.