Better host protection after guests breaking house rule SMOKING

Better host protection after guests breaking house rule SMOKING

I'm not talking about one or two cigarettes, but of the guests leaving the place reeking of smoke.

Too many posts in CC are about this and the extra work they had getting the stink out before new guests.

Airbnb does not have hosts' backs by not taking a portion out of the security deposit. 

Why? Smoking in a non smoking hotel room is punished by a hefty fine. Why do hosts get the  slap on the wrist?!  

 

There needs to be a better solution for this.

 



Response from Airbnb

Thank you for elaborating on the issues hosts face when dealing with smoke damage. We are just getting started on an initiative to identify how we can better support hosts that file claims for damage or for an inability to host that is not covered by the extenuating circumstance. There will be particular focus given to the claims process for damage that cannot be documented easily, like cigarette smells.

22 Comments
Bob-and-Kim0
Level 2

a prior guest that stayed in the room, say, the night before?

Wyatt
Host Voice Admin
Status changed to: Popular
 
Lisa-and-Mark0
Level 1

I've recently had the same problem with guests who violated the non-smoking rule and had additional guests in my home, plus caused damage to my home.   AirBnB did absolutely nothing because the guest disagreed - they admitted to smoking, the resolution and response centers were useless. AirBnB needs to grow-up and support owners who rent a whole house, rather than a couch.  The risk and loss to your home is much greater than when you are there to watch your guest.

Wyatt
Host Voice Admin
Status changed to: Under Consideration

The status of this Idea has been changed to Under Consideration. The Ideas in Host Voice with the most Thumbs Up are reviewed closely by the Airbnb product team. The status of this Idea will be updated according to this discussion. We appreciate your patience as we try to thoughtfully listen and respond to this Idea.

Lisa & Mark are dead on with additional protections for those who rent entire homes (and aren't in the guest's space, etc.).  Real damage deposits would be helpful--and trust the hosts--we're not making that "one bad guest" up. You can monitor and tell when a host has a clear track record of never claiming damage deposits.  For high-end whole homes and furnishings, there is much more risk to the owner than to the guest.  We offer lower rates to our guests on sites that use a "real" deposit (we decide if, when, and amount to withhold) because we don't have the hassle of AirBNB having a knee jerk response of protect the guest. Our worst guest this summer consumed hours of our time with AirBNB ignoring/mismanaging the issues.

 

Our bad guest admitted all damage she caused and the cost of the items, and realized our 4 different trades working because she overstayed could verify her damage and her crazy lies (new complaints and threats to try to reduce the cost of her damage). But the Air BNB staffer never read my messages, and when other good AirBNB employees finally got her to read the support and guest threads, she did give us the whole deposit but only after defensive, nasty accusations that we were being unfair to the guest (most expensive item in the home ruined by a huge puddle of human urine and had to be replaced).

 

We feel strongly that good guests should get lower prices--and real cash deposits for damage are better for good guests than forcing hosts to raise prices for EVERYONE to cover losses from bad guests.

Airbnb
Official Account
Status changed to: Planned

Thank you for elaborating on the issues hosts face when dealing with smoke damage. We are just getting started on an initiative to identify how we can better support hosts that file claims for damage or for an inability to host that is not covered by the extenuating circumstance. There will be particular focus given to the claims process for damage that cannot be documented easily, like cigarette smells.

David-and-Fiona0
Level 10

This is a MUST!

Marie-Claire3
Level 4

I had a guest who smoked electronic cigarettes, and stayed for two months.  There was no smell, but an incredible amount of paraphernelia was left behind for me to clean up.  Now I specify in my rules that absolutely no smoking will be tolerated, whether regular or electronic.

Emma215
Level 2

I hope this is given special attention by Airbnb. We need a way to be able to cover our losses from smoking guests. It is not fair to other guests who rent a non-smoking apartment. Airbnb never responds in a positive way when we try to keep the damage deposit. When will we know when the new feature is rolled out?

Seattle-Oasis0
Level 3

This is an issue for sure.  We had pictures of cigarette butts in the property but were told by Customer Service unless we literally had a picture of the guest smoking a cigarette in the property there was nothing we could do.  We had to deploy an O-Zone and move a guest to another property because of it.  Then we got a poor review from that guest as it wasn't the place we booked.  Seriously Airbnb?  Put yourself in your hosts' shoes more often!