AirBnB Isn't Enforcing House Rules, Host Losing Power

[Avi32]

Hello all! I've been hosting for a long time (about 3 years I believe) and have had 7 different listings on AirBnB, so I've been around the block. I've created this forum post in order to start a discussion regarding AirBnB's lack of support for Hosts as well as how we can take measures to protect ourselves and 

I use AirBnB as a business in the same way that some use Amazon or Ebay. I place my product on their website and sell it, they take some percentage, and are tasked with moderating that space. This is not charity work, we host in order to make money. I feel that AirBnB no longer supports the sellers and gives too much power to the buyer. I say this due to multiple reasons. We've all seen the new changes to the cancellation policy and are aware of the impacts that free cancellations, forced alterations, and the grace period have had on us. For example, a guest books my listing for 20+ nights about two months in advance, and right before the deadline for cancellations comes around, the guest "forces" an alteration saying somehting along the lines of, "I want to shorten my reservation by 5 nights, and if you don't accept, I'll cancel my reservation". This results in a random 5 day span between reservations that didn't exist before and may be hard to shore up, resulting in a loss of money. When I attempt to engage with the guest, they call AirBnB and AirBnB supports the guest and threatens with a cancellation (on my end, making the host take the cancellaiton penalty and record) as well. This is incredibly frustrating and has had an immediate impact on my monthly intake. 

Just last night, I got a call from a neighbor in an apartment complex in which I have two units. The neighbor claims that the guests in one of the units has been smoking cigarettes (clearly agains the house rules) and then littering by throwing them off the balcony and onto the floor. Additionally, the unit occupancy supports 3-4 people in a one bedroom one bathroom but the guest has 4 adults and 1 child, a total of 5 guests. The child has been let loose to run around and yell, disturbing the other tenants in the building. At least one tenant has told me that they attempted to speak with the guests but the guests were rude and disrespectful. The tenant/neighbor who called me last night threatened to call the police due to the level of noise. Additionally, these guests were extremely difficult to please at the beginning of their stay and I continously bent over backwards to try and please them at the cost of $400 dollars worth of purchases. At this point, I called AirBnB to mediate and get these guests out of the unit due to breaking multiple house rules (no smoking, respect the neighbors, and no noise past 10 PM) but AirBnB told me that if I wanted the guests out, I'd have to refund them the remaining nights. I demanded to speak to a manager, was told they would call me back within 30-45 minutes, and never recieved a call. I got sent a preliminary message on AirBnB.com, responded to it immediately, and never received a response or a call back. Its been 12 hours. I decided to go ahead and get the guests out at a loss of $450 dollars plus the sunken cost of $400 at the beginning of their stay. It is clear that although the guests had broken multiple house rules (basically all of them), AirBnB was unwilling to protect the Host and enforce any penalty. This is just one example across many experiences that I have had. 

With the new cancellation policy, the grace period, and the lack of enforcement of house rules, as a Host I feel quite powerless. I am continuously encouraged to provide more and more for the guests, lower my nightly prices, provide discounts, etc etc. I am not sure if this investment is worth the time, money, and energy. If I cannot feel protected in my investment and with my property, it might be best to stop altogether. 

I wrote this post so that I could hear how other Hosts are coping with these new changes and if they still find the process to be worthwhile. What strategies have you used to protect yourself and ensure that your guests respect your property and obey the house rules? Have you found a noticable difference with the new changes? 

Thank you for reading this far!

Avi

[Mike340]

@Avi32

Following House Rules is a big problem and there are dozens and dozens of posts about problems like yours. Guests do not like rules, and an increasing number have no idea how to look after a property. There are more hosts than guests and at present the priority from Airbnb is supporting guests...even when they should really be supporting the host. 

"As a Host I feel quite powerless. I am continuously encouraged to provide more and more for the guests, lower my nightly prices, provide discounts, etc etc. I am not sure if this investment is worth the time, money, and energy. If I cannot feel protected in my investment and with my property, it might be best to stop altogether. "

There are many ,many posts where hosts complain about the lack of support/follow up from Airbnb and yes..personally I think it is getting worse, not better. Many hosts feel powerless for many different reasons, whether it is regarding rules, security, noise, or added guests not on the reservation or guest visitors to parties etc etc 

You may have seen the post that is discussing the new Superhost scores which has gained a lot of criticism, related also to review scores. I suggest you read some of the comments and maybe add a comment if you havent yet. You will get an idea of many hosts feeling at the moment, regarding the efforts that they put in and the problems they are facing. 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Airbnb-Updates/Clarity-about-the-recent-Superhost-criteria-chang...

[Ashleigh0]

Hi I have another issue which I would like to share.

I have been hosting for 4 years and I am an experienced host. 

I recently ( as I have done many times) helped a neighbour set up her listing, she texted me her email address to collect the referral credit and as the letter, i (capital is the same as the lower case l) the email address was incorrect, Airbnb has refused to give me the referral hosting credit stating that I did not follow their terms and conditions! unbelievable that they would be so short-sighted! 

It is now very like dealing with an insurance company where they promise to give the world but wait till something goes wrong and read the fine print.

I feel like I have been used. My new host is upset that she could not give me the referral and I feel embarrassed that I have introduced her to a company that is so mean-minded and short-sighted. 

[Zorica14]

SAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that Arbnb  let this guest do whatever, even with strictly stating they will be charged if the home is found unsatisfactory.
This is shared with the community. how Airbnb handle a situation with guest and refuse to enforce my rules and support the owner by making the guest accountable for they action!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

Unbeleivable and it makes me remove my listing......after clerly uploading pictures and followig Arbnb policy to report within 24 hr the mess the guest left me with and vialeiton of my listed rules  and the guest accepting the rules before they can make a booking ......Arbnb is siting with the gust and offered me $20.00 ..are you kidding me.

Arbnb didn't even bother reading the communication between myself and her ,where I specifically said to respect my home. Also,  did not bother reading my house rues or manual where I clearly stating they will be post charges if we found the home in unsatisfactory condition ...which it was..

Arbnb is a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im so MAD 

I work hard and pay professional people to keep my home in a perfect condition and Arbnb is not supporting my home and rules that I have in place...WHAT IS THE POINT if I cannot enforce the rules for this type of guest and Airbnb let this guest do whatever?????

[Pete28]

Several times I have offered to refund guests remaining nights to get rid of them. That just seems to be the way of the world unless you want to physically drag them off the property.

Strangely in both cases they then started behave - having figured out how much another booking was going to cost on such short notice 🙂

I also live on the property which hopefully reduces the rule breaking, and always meet the guest at some point to make it clear I am around. You might want to suggest that you live nearby etc to attract a better type of guest....

[Rebecca181]

@Avi32 I live in a neighborhood that is almost all (beach) vacation rentals, unoccupied by owners, with no 'host' on site. I see what happens at these properties while the property manager listing them on Airbnb and elsewhere looks the other way: 25 people in a house with a max limit of 9. Multiple RVs parked out front. Doors left open. Broken amenities (just saw a garage door replaced). Parties. Dogs running around the yard and pooping everywhere in 'No Pet' houses. I could go on and on.

I myself would never rent my home out if I wasn't around to monitor events relating to my short term rental activities. I currently live on site in a separate dwelling, but if I didn't, I would make it clear that I am nearby; I would do all I could to greet the guests or have a co-host do so; I would mention that in certain cases I may have to come onto the property to check on the hot tub (for maintenance) or some other amenity-related maintenance, although I would not always do so, depending on the guests (I'm pretty good at screening via my listing description and guest requirements at this point). 

I've just seen too much go on at all the short term rentals I am surrounded by to ever assume that the worst won't happen. I also have devised a system whereby I can tell if guests have read my listing's house rules or not, and I get it in writing that they agree to them, once I have made sure they read them. This does create at least a small amount of accountability should a problem arise related to my 'rules'. But in the end, it's all a crap-shoot. Guests are like a box of chocolates. You just never know what's inside...

[Allison2]

@Rebecca0, how do you handle it when guests haven't given you the signal that they've read the rules?

I also have an "Easter Egg" in my rules - it's mentioned at the top of the listing that there's a special treat if they read the rules. If they don't mention wine or chocolate, I know the gig is up!

Most of my rules are common sense, so even those who don't read often don't run afoul of them. I'm not sure how aggressive to get in making sure they've read. How do you handle this? I'm on InstantBook, so if their initial message doesn't include the code, I'll say "if you haven't already had a chance to do so...read the rules...it's the best way to ensure you'll be happy with your stay" in my booking confirmation message. Sometimes people will reply and SAY they've read the rules and will have no problem following them, but obviously haven't because they still don't mention my treat.

Do you follow up again? How do you do it in a way that isn't overly confrontational? Or do you just cancel because they've just lied to you?

[Allison2]

Gah, it tagged the wrong Rebecca.

[Kelly149]

when guests don't answer my hidden rule question, but respond appropriately to everything else (I get a signed contract, names/info of all guests, ID for primary) then I just let it go and remember to mark them down for communication and house rules. 

It bugs me that I know they haven't read (well, anyway) but I haven't wanted to be utterly confrontational and say "you know, you haven't read my rules" bc I just have never seen a guest react well to being reprimanded and I'm trying to preserve my space and my listing.

I'm happy to hear tips for any of you who have successfully told guests they're full of it when they say they've read and you know they haven't

[Steve-and-Lindsey0]

@Kelly149 We are new hosts ( currently have a 3 month guest we booked ourselves and will host our first Airbnb guests in July) and have felt uncomfortable with the “security deposit” that AirBnb doesn’t actually hold as well as not requiring guests to sign a contact.  Would you be able to share how you go about getting a guest to sign a contract- do you email before check in or have them sign at check in? I thought it was against the “rules” with Airbnb to require a contract , however, there are many people in this thread that use them and I would love to use one as well. Reading through this community board really makes me want to only list on other booking sites that do hold a real security deposit and encourage contacts.... I appreciate you sharing you have a hidden rule question, I love the idea and am adding that to my listing. Thank you for any help you or anyone else can provide! 

[Kelly149]

@Steve-and-Lindsey0 you may get a contract, it just must be disclosed in your listing that you require one. Seach the Help forum to read the official text.

I email the contract immediately after the booking comes in and expect to receive it back quickly. It has all the standard language about how theyre responsible for the space, we don't insure them, they assume liability, etc. It also tells me name, age, address, contact # for every adult guest & what vehicles they'll bring.

Some people don't want to mess with being so detailed so at that point we wish them well at the listing other than ours that they will be staying in.

Another tip, is for you to peruse other host's listings: Click on their photo, Go to Profile, Click on a listing. See how they have described their space, their rules, etc. Anyone who is posting here in the CC and you like their outlook would be a good source.

Good luck!

[Steve-and-Lindsey0]

@Kelly149thank you so much for taking the time to help us! Greatly appreciated!!

[Cheryl267]

Hi Steve and Lindsey,
We are new hosts on Airbnb since March 2018. Our first experience with hosting.  We're interested in making sure that we avoid some of the nightmares I am reading about, and in dealing with one where a mom reserved our cabin for her daughter after we declined her daughter for age.
Would you be willing to share your contract text with us?  We think it is possibly a necessity to have one, now.  
Thank you,
Cheryl and Daniel Jones

[Rebecca181]

@Allison0  If they do not mention they read my rules in the IB message, I simply cut and paste all my rules and Airbnb message them to the guest. I state that my insurer requires me to have it in writing that my rules will be abided by during the stay, and that the primary renter is responsible for making sure his or her guests also abide by the rules. I had to show all my listings to my insurer prior to being approved for coverage; they went over my house rules and they expect my guests to confirm in writing that they read and agree to my rules. So far there have been no problems at all; no-one seems to have felt it was confrontational and it has never affected my reviews. 

[Kevin216]

One thing I have found useful with my "house manual" (not rules, but the rules are stated in there) is I made it funny.  I have a real laid back mentality in my rule book and poke fun at myself and my wife, tell a made up story about a police officer talking to me in the hot tub at 11:30 when I didn't have a swimsuit on (I use to live at our Airbnb property) and even say that there is "one neighbor that's a real ass and called the cops on me when I lived here"

In the 2 1/2 years on Airbnb I have had 1 terrible renter but countless people tell me they love the house manual.  I think they are willing to be more respectful of the property if you build rapport with them rather than be their disciplinary.