Communication around guest allergies

[Zacharias0]

From the first guest up until now I've had a few guests who were allergic or had a low tolerance to scents, smoke, city noise, fabric detergent, pet dander, carbs, fabric softener, tap water, spending more money for arriving early or leaving late and even allergic to common sense.

I'm not sure if some of these have always existed or if people are just picky but wouldn't it make sense to INFORM a host BEFORE you book that "hey, I'm allergic to (INSERT ALLERGEN HERE). Can you accomodate my request?"

I'd respond in kind and thank them for asking and probably think twice about even approving their request, because the problems would continue throughout their stay.

But, one slipped by me and I thought...of course I could wash the sheets in just bleach but what if bleach has a smell and they're still not happy? Will the house be aired out of all scents before they arrive? Why wouldn't they just stay at a hotel?

Oh, right because they want a cheaper place AND to have their requests accommodated. They want it all. Well, at least they told me ahead of time so I can prepare.

[David126]

I have IB on but did have an enquiry from someone with needs.

I do not cater for this market, I know there are places to do, but was unable to find any around here. Suggested there may be a web site for accomodation meeting those requirements but was not aware of anybody on AirBnB anywhere near me who did.

Now there are plenty of places that are 4/20 friendly, had somebody stay with me recently because he did not want that opportunity.

[Steffi16]

I am having almost the EXACT same issue. I state clearly in my listing that I have a dog, and am definitely going to add a picture of said dog after reading several posts on here. However main issue I am having (on top of the guest exploiting my provided breakfast by eating almost an entire very large loaf of bread - or using it to make lunch maybe?) is his allergies.

Not a peep beforehand about any allergies. Morning after the first night he tells me he slept terribly because when he went to bed his asthma kicked in in the night and it got worse throughout the night so it must be something in the room as before this he hadn't used his inhaler in months. He then managed to tell me he is super allergic to "house dust" i.e. dust mites, and slightly allergic to pet dander, but he didn't think it was the dog. I was shocked - the room was squeeky clean as in you could do the glove test and you wouldn't find dust, the mattress/bedding/sheets were either new or freshly washed (at 80 C). However, I had a goose down pillow and duvet on the bed, and I wash the curtains only 3 times a year, so I told him as much and said I would remove the curtains and goose down, replace them with synthetic bedding, replace all the sheets and duvet covers and curtains with freshly washed ones and wipe-down everything and vacuum again. 

Fast forward to the next morning. He slept well no problem - clearly the problem was the goose down. And disclaimer here, the goose down is not old, and nobody in the last two years of friends and now more recently airbnb guest has had any issues.

Only now he's actually sure he's allergic to the dog, as he feels that now everytime he goes near her it gets worse. Why the changing story now that the room is ok? On top of that he has suggested that he thinks I let the dog go in that room - she NEVER goes in there and she is NOT allowed on any furniture, especially not beds. But if you live with a dog, there will be dog hairs around, just like we humans lose hair. I told him as much and I told him kindly that I would make sure to vacuum every afternoon to try help with that

WHY would you book a room in a place with a dog if you are allergic? And its not like he didn't realise there was a dog, he knew. I'm really frustrated as the dog is part of the package and it is clearly stated. He knowingly made a bad decision because he was too cheap to go to a pet-free place or a sterile hotel. I lose out on everything - triple the work, and probably a bad review in the end despite all my effort. 

I will have to include a house rule of no allergies to dogs or something - anyone have any other advice?

[Steve2743]

Often, people just don't read the bloody listing. I had a television & dvd player in my suite when I first started. No cable. But no matter how clearly I stated it in my listing, I still kept getting complaints that I shouldn't list a television if I don't have cable. I'm not about to start paying $100/month for cable that I don't even watch, so finally I bought an Apple TV for $80, abd a Netflix account for $8/month so that guests have something to watch. No complaints since.   

As for the dog, I don't know what the solution could be. Perhaps making a picture of you and the dog the very first one?

[David126]

@Steffi16

The only real solution is for him to cancel and move on. Your pup is very evident in your photo.

[Steffi16]

Thanks David. I did suggest that to him and will put my foot down if he becomes more demanding.

[Todd-and-Reese0]

We had a woman who started talking about microtoxins during the initial greet and tour. We found out later that it was not her account. Her daughters had created it for her. She was a total luddite, of course, because she could not own a cell phone because it transmits neurotoxins, as did the tap water, as did the air freshener in the bathroom, as did her freshly laundered bed sheets, as did the light switches and sockets in her room, and on an on. We called AirBnB and asked to haver her rehomed and told them her awful daughters created the account and pawned her off on unsuspecting hosts. The begged us to keep her so she didn't become someone else's problem and gave us a bunch of travel credit. She (her daughters) did not leave a review, so we did not, just flagged the shill account and messaged knowing it was the daughters and told them what horrible humans they were and never heard from them.

If anyone else shows up at our house and starts talking about allergies or neurotoxins we will ask them to leave immediatley. Never again. She asked us to wash her sheets at 11:30pm! She threw our air freshener out the window. She taped over our electric fixtures. Never again.

[David126]

@Todd-and-Reese0

Why would it be somebody elses problem? All they needed to do was cancel the booking and delete the account, third party bookings are a breach of the conditions.

[Steffi16]

Thanks for sharing your exerience Todd and Reese. I decided to try and cater to the guest but I should have done the same as you and contacted Airbnb after that first night. I couldn't make the guest happy (once the curtains and goose down were removed he slept well but then claimed it was the dogs fault and insisted I keep the dog away from him) and then he started becoming manipulative - demanding rides in my car, using the provided breakfast to make lunch and lastly demanding a later checkout time than in my rules and becoming angry when I didn't bend to his wills.

I decided to leave him an honest review, but he saw my review before he had done his and wrote a scathing review in return. Now my rating has suffered a severe drop - had I written a vague, positive review I bet he would have given me a good one too. Only I wanted to be honest and let other hosts know what they were facing if they chose to host him. Don't find this very fair of Airbnb. Neither party should see the other's review until both are posted!

[Steve2743]

A

[Steffi16]

Thanks @Steve2743, I'll give that a shot! It is incredible that a lot of people don't read the info on the listing - several of the guests have commented about location (they didn't realize it wasn't closer to Zürich by foot)... google maps anyone???

[Katherine719]

Hotels are even worse for people with allergies. When you don't have them it is hard to imagine what could be a problem for someone who does. Some are very complex like mine and I wish I could clearly list all of mine but don't actually know what all of them are. Sometimes I walk into a room and have to leave and I have no idea what the problem was just that I couldn't be in it any longer.