Broken House Rules: Smoking

Broken House Rules: Smoking

Hello out there,

 

I just returned to my apartment after my guest had departed to find that they had been smoking pot. My listing clearly states no smoking, and I'm not sure how to handle it. I'm a little upset and I don't want to handle the situaltion emotionally.

 

Thanks!

32 Replies 32
Daniel127
Level 5
Barcelona, Spain

Open the windows, the smell will soon clear out.

Karen-and-Brian0
Level 10
Bragg Creek, Canada

Hi @John392 - they've broken a house rule so you should be able to go through the Resolution Centre to get some compensation for the extra cleaning/fumigation it's going to take to get rid of the smell.  I'd be interested in hearing if other hosts have had any luck with collecting on this, we're worried about this happening to us, too. I read somewhere here that a host had put up a sign that said smoking would result in a huge dollar amount fine - of course there is no way to enforce it, but the threat seemed to be enough to **bleep** the problem in the bud. oooh bad pun. 😞

 

Best of luck with it, hope you'll let us know how it goes. Karen

Wow it bleeped out n i p

Thanks for responding guys.

 

How much do you think would be an appropriate amount to ask for?

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Get a quote for the extra costs and you can submit it. However unless a guest admits to smoking cannabis in your apartment  or you have evidence, I think it would be a hard one to prove.

Get quotations, invoices to substantiate the damage.

David

@John392 I think an appropriate amount would be whatever a cleaning service would quote you for extra time & cleaning, an extra hour, or 2 hours, and then add in the cost of cleaning the draperies, carpets etc. if needed as well. I think @James1 has made a very good point - you may not want to stir the pot & trigger a bad review from this guest when you're just starting out.

 

We adopted the idea from another host & posted a sign saying smoking inside would result in a $500 fine - completely impossible to enforce, but the threat just may be enough to discourage guests from trying it. - Karen

Do you think that this ever discouraged any future guests from smoking in your unit?

 

I have just had an experience where airbnb disregarded my house rules.

I now am unsure how we as hosts are actually coveed by airbnb as they have shown their dishonesty & continue to lie to both hosts & guests within their website.

Beware of airbnbs policys & rules being a fraud.

We posted several times on our listing 'Any violation of House Rules will result in a $1000' fine' mostly in hopes of preventing any unwarranted behavior. We don't have many, but No smoking is one of them. We are a family with young children, and this is our primary home. 

 

The guests not only smoked marijuana inside and out, they left piles and remnants and trash everywhere for us to clean up. They didn't even bother to pick it up. I have photos to support this, and AirBnb is STILL not supporting me by requiring them to pay up. Liars. 

AirBnB have no provision to levy fines, generally that is the area of a Court.

David

John,

I would contact Airbnb and let them know your guest broke this rule. That is not OK IMO because some guests are very sensitive to smoke and pot has that sweet, sticky smell that lingers.  It's very hard to get out of carpet and cloth couches etc. It will also ( eventually) leave a residue on your walls and blinds ( any smoking will do this).  Especially if you had another booking hot on their heels, this would make things difficult for you with regard to getting rid of the smell.

 

For the extra expense of cleaning, I would ask for compensation from the guest ( do you have a security deposit ?) through Airbnb.

I would also make a public comment on his review - something like " Unfortunately this guest broke my No Smoking rule  and for this reason I cannot recommend him/her".

This would save other hosts from your unfortunate issue -I would not accept a reservation from this guest if I read your  review  and I would let them know why I was declining their request: " I'm sorry I cannot accept your request as we take our House Rules seriously and No Smoking is something we won't compromise on".

 

We did have one guest's friend vape but he only did this outside at his car which was acceptable to us.

 

Would you post back on this thread to let us know how Airbnb handled this?

Hope it gets resolved well.

 

Rob and David

 

 

 

 

@John392 As a five year host I do not advise a new host with very few reviews to file a claim for smoking. It is very likely your claim will be denied but filing the claim will alert the smoking guest that you are not happy. It's complicated and I admit does not seem fair to hosts but right now, for a new host, that one bad review can be devastating. Read my advice below for a slightly more nuanced perspective.

James1
Level 10
SF, CA

@John392 Take a deep breath and count to ten ... exhale slowly. Guests are going to sneak smokes, especially if you are renting the 'entire place' so you are not around to keep an eye on things. Don't mention this to the departed guest or you will likely get a bad review. Open all the windows, spray around some Febreze, start a fan to move the air and if any upholstery smells of smoke or weed sprinkle it with baking soda, leave for a hour then vacuum off. Repeat as necessary. 

 

After you do all this you will have no doubt calmed down enough to think about their review. You absolutely must make mention of this in your review but keep it honest, brief and not snarky. Don't vent. Something like this:

 

"I would not host 'Guest Name' again. Although they were polite and courteous in all our communication, they smoked in my home. House rule number one is 'No Smoking'."

 

The guest cannot leave a retaliatory review. They will not see your review until they have written and submitted theirs. If they write a bad review they wrote it before they saw yours. The only way they might get a 'heads up' that your review will be less than stellar is if you raise the smoking issue with them directly or if you try to file a claim with airbnb for extra cleaning or something. You will very likely have your claim denied but the guest will be aware you had a problem long before the deadline for them to write their review.  

 

If you are worried they might leave you a bad review, wait to leave your review until either A) you get a note from airbnb that they wrote a review for you already or B) the review period is almost over (14 days) and hopefully they are not paying much attention to airbnb now and they will miss the deadline to give you a review.