smoking penalty

[Gabe2]

Throughout my posting and my rules I have No Smoking listed several times. In the rules I mention heavy fines for smoking.  

My guests smoked and I have screenshots from my video security showing it.  I would like to administer the fine.  I reminded them of the policy during their stay and they apologized.  When should I tell them about the fine?  Will airbnb support and help me to collect the fine?

Text from my posting and rules below

POSTING

No smoking

• Absolutely no smoking or any other smoking-like-activities on or near our house, even a few houses away. Typically people don't smoke on the street around here so my neighbors would find it disconcerting. There are some fine places to enjoy a smoke nearby - Harvard Avenue, Eastlake Avenue, even a few waterfront spots. There are heavy penalties for smoking. Please just don't do it.

 RULES

NO SMOKING INSIDE OR OUT, NOT EVEN HALFWAY DOWN THE BLOCK!!!!  I can't stress enough that smoking will not be tolerated, even if you are a couple of houses away.  If you wish to smoke please go two blocks west to Harvard and Shelby or somewhere else on a busy street.  Our neighbors don't like it either and have come to expect no smoking, no butts, etc...  I am sorry if this seems draconian but it just something we don't want to deal with. 

$500 fine for smoking on the property outdoors and $2,000 fine plus actual remediation costs for smoking inside.  In either case your stay will be cancelled and you will have to leave the property immediately.  Does that sound unfair?  I am very sorry.  Smoking is just not tolerated.

[Danny21]

@Christine "Hosts punishing guests is not hospitable, and we are meant to be in the hospitality industry. "

Hospitality industry or not, this is MY HOME not a business property, even if it was, in the UK it's against the law to smoke indoors.

I'd expect you to treat someone elses property with more respect than your own and certainly adhere to house rules.

So, hospitality industry or not, I have the right to enforce my own house rules as much as the law and I/we should be allowed to collect fines accordingly.

By that premise, if a guest breaks something, because we are in the hospitality industry, are we expected to swallow that cost? No!

While breaking something isn't illegal as such (unless it was vandelous intent), the guest should have to pay for it.

Shop owners expect damages to be paid for and so they should.

I expect to be compensated for breaking house rules, certainly when it could affect other guests.

Collecting fines for people breaking house rules, certainly smoking inside, is not about the money but the time it's going to take to clean, remove smells and goodness knows what else.

Above all it's MY health and regardless of what people say, if I don't want people smoking in my house, it's my say-so and my reasons.

[Karla128]

Agree all of it. The problem is “ will AIRBNB willing to pay the damage? The guest will not! “ 

in my case, no. It was a year ago. So, it is my lost.  host need to know that is very diffricoult to coolest any fees from smokers. So, it is as bad as from AIRBNB. 

If any host had succeed to get paid from AIRBNB? I would like to know? And how did you do that? 

---

@Danny21 wrote:

@Christine0 "Hosts punishing guests is not hospitable, and we are meant to be in the hospitality industry. "

Hospitality industry or not, this is MY HOME not a business property, even if it was, in the UK it's against the law to smoke indoors.

I'd expect you to treat someone elses property with more respect than your own and certainly adhere to house rules.

So, hospitality industry or not, I have the right to enforce my own house rules as much as the law and I/we should be allowed to collect fines accordingly.

By that premise, if a guest breaks something, because we are in the hospitality industry, are we expected to swallow that cost? No!

While breaking something isn't illegal as such (unless it was vandelous intent), the guest should have to pay for it.

Shop owners expect damages to be paid for and so they should.

I expect to be compensated for breaking house rules, certainly when it could affect other guests.

Collecting fines for people breaking house rules, certainly smoking inside, is not about the money but the time it's going to take to clean, remove smells and goodness knows what else.

Above all it's MY health and regardless of what people say, if I don't want people smoking in my house, it's my say-so and my reasons.

---

[Sandra126]

Unbelievable. You film your guests? Inside the HOUSE? Never mind the smoking for now, just consider the filming for a second. It is so wrong I don't know where to start.

[Christine1]

@Gabe2 and @Sandra126, oh yeah, and I forgot to mention that in their guest review/reply, your guests would be entitled to comment on how they feel about being filmed/supervised during their stay. This would be the sort of guest experience that other Airbnb users would appreciate knowing about. lol. 

In answer to your question Gabe, yes I think the reponse you are wanting to implement does sound unfair, I agree it also sounds draconian, and I think you should definitely question whether you have the temperament to be hosting with a service such as Airbnb.

if you continue hosting don't forget to ask your guests to sign a waiver before they stay to ensure that you have obtained their consent to be filmed!! 

"Smile" #: )

[Dede0]

@Sandra126 While I, too, found @Gabe2's attempt to enforce his no-smoking-on-this-planet rules way outside his own property both whackily unrealistic and hilariously sad, I have to point out that he never said that his video footage was from INSIDE the house. It might've been, might not have been, but he NEVER said it was.

[Sandra126]

@Dede0, you are right, I just guessed (foolishly perhaps) that they must have smoked inside in order to have caused the rucus, which is why there is a question mark after ''inside?'' I really want to know. Since he has not entered this debate apart from his initial question I have no way of knowing.

[Heidi425]

Video surveillance is potentially the only way you can prove you are right in a situation.   I just had a guest throw a huge party in my house.   They smoked, they smoked weed, and I found other drug paraphernalia!  Airbnb did not believe me when I said they smoked in the house, unless I could provide video evidence or cigarette butts in cups or cans that were thrown in the trash.   Luckily I found ashes all over the floor and unsmoked weed everywhere!   I still didn’t get reimbursed for having to clean my house to get rid of the smoking smell!   It took me almost 8 hours to do a deep clean; I wanted to make sure there wasn’t drug residue laying around for the next guests children to get into!!  Airbnb didn’t compensate for an additional cleaning fee at all!!!

[Alice595]

@Heidi425  If you cleaned it, Airbnb will not compensate you. If you had asked cleaning professional to clean it and sent their invoice through resolution center, you could have got the cleaning fee back.

[Christine1]

FYI, 

I found a link to this article in another Airbnb forum.

http://www.theverge.com/2015/12/16/10318300/airbnb-hidden-camera-lawsuit-california

Regards. Christine.

[David126]

Interesting that they are basically attacking the whole AirBnB model.

Obviously if ABB did become liable jointly for this or any other issues I do not see how they could continue to operate.

[Sandra126]

Exactly. But I am sure there is something in the fine print which put the responsibility squarely back on the host, where it belongs. 

[Danny21]

A recent TV documentary on AirBnB (not hosts) was horrific, harrowing and down right scary - to the point that it makes me question why I should use them at all.

It highlighted how little AirBnB care about and want as little to do with hosts as possible.

See for yourself, try getting in touch with AirBnB support. Good luck with that.

I have a problem with a guest, every which way I try to get help from AirBnB, all I get is 'Ask The Community'. The community can't help me deal with a problem with a guest in this situation.

[Karla128]

Is there another site you are using? 

[Karla128]

Hi Danny, 

Is there another site you are using? 

[Julia1254]

I have no problem contacting AirBNB by phone. Either their availability has changed or Superhosts have no problem getting thru to customer service.