Couples staying for a short time

[Adrian257]

What do you do when a couple only stay for a few hours and then leaves? I received an instant booking for the same night at 5.30 pm. I checked-in a very young male and female at 7 pm. He had minimal luggage, she had none. He said he was from Edinburgh and here to see his girlfriend in Glasgow. I went out at 7.30. After much giggling from their room, my partner heard them leave at about 9.30. They had left the keys I gave them and it seemed they didn't return. I came back late and left early again the next morning. Before leaving I noticed the door was ajar and knocked. They weren't there. Without being explicit, the bedding had been 'used' if you know what I mean. My assumption is that she lives with her family, he couldn't stay the night with her, so they decided to book a room through Airbnb. She said to her parents she was going out for the evening and would be back later. He has no references or any information at all except for six verifications. If I was to leave a negative review (without going into any detail or being pejorative) what's to stop him (or her) creating another profile? It doesn't bother me that much to be honest, although my partner thought it disgusting, but presumably using Airbnb in this way should be discouraged.

[Marie21]

@Adrian257, why would u give them a negative review ? did they damaged or stain the bed linen. What people do inside bedroom should not be host problem, this is my opinion.

Me i would not go to private details when reviewing something like that. Or will not ban them for using Airbnb either as they have not nothing wrong.

[Kath9]

@Adrian257, many hosts are wary of locals booking accommodation for this very reason. It's a bit cheeky, but as long as they observed the house rules and left everything in good order, does it really matter? There is nothing to say people can't have 'fun' in their booked accommodation! Personally, I wouldn't worry about it too much as long as they were of legal age. I wonder where he stayed the rest of the night! Maybe just say something that warns other Glasgow hosts of the possibility of them doing this again e.g. 'Nice young couple booked the room at short notice and checked out the same night. Apparently, they just needed the room for a couple of hours.' Alternatively, don't leave a review at all to prevent him Instant Booking with other hosts who only allow guests to IB who have previous good recommendations.

[Beth80]

@Adrian257, I have a similar situation in my home. He works in a different city but his girlfriend lives here. He rents the room for the weekend. She comes over and they watch a movie and ???. I struggled with this after the first visit. They are both in the 20s and very clean and polite. He asked about her visiting and I gave permission. So I came to the conclusion that he had not broken any of the house rules and what they did behind closed doors was not my business. She never spends the night.  So I have to agree with Kath and Marie, whether they are there for a few hours or a whole day, they broke no rules and paid their bill. Good luck!

[Michelle-And-Michael0]

Hi @Adrian257 I do understand how you feel.... we had a very similar situation recently ourselves. The couple were a little older, say their mid twenties.... and we have a separate guest house attached to our home. When they arrived, they told us they may not be able to stay the night, due to 'work commitments'. They immediately closed the blinds as soon as they entered and left 5 hours later, quite late at night. 

Although a little strange, this wouldn't have bothered us, but the bedlinen was truly disgusting after they left. I had to put on gloves and use all the tricks in the book to try and remove all the stains..... thankfully they did come out. And yet, not a thing had been touched in the rest of the room. They hadn't even showered! 

I understand how your partner feels, and I also had trouble when it came to reviewing them, because technically they hadn't broken any house rules, but I really didn't like the dirty feeling of disrespect for someone else's property that they left behind..... we take pride in presenting a very clean, tidy and comfortable place for people to stay and enjoy. And, who did they think was going to clean up their mess! 

In the end, I could only score them lower for cleanliness and an overall lower score.... but without going into specific details, in my comments let other hosts know that they hadn't actually stayed the night.

Since then, he has enquired about booking our place for a gift for some friends.... I told him that he can't book for a third party! I can just imagine all his mates lining up to do the same thing.... No Thanks!! 

[Adrian257]

Thank you for your thoughts and sharing of experiences. Personally, I don't mind one bit if people want to use the room for a short time, providing they are of a certain age, appear to both be happy to be there, etc... It was my girlfriend, whose disapproval made me question such behaviour and seek advice. I have to add they weren't the friendliest people (but probably thought I knew what was going on and wanted minimal contact). Also, he booked the room for one person and only mentioned himself in emails. Thirdly, they left the linen in a very bad condition. We have two mattress protectors and both were soiled, in addition to the sheet, although the mattress was dry. They had made up the bed again with the cushions on top - so many people do that and it's funny. There was a can of Red Bull in the bin as well - surely he wouldn't need any extra energy at his age? I haven't left a review yet and will mull it over for a while. No one answered the question about whether he can set up another profile. If he can, surely there would be no point in writing anything even vaguely contentious, eg, 'X and his partner arrived at 7, went out at 9.30 and didn't return.' That might be quite a good thing to write because it's factual without being explicit.

Thanks again.

Adrian

[Linda505]

I thought I was the only one! When I was very new to hosting I had a guy message asking if he could rent the apartment for just the afternoon while they sightsee.

A bit weird, but hey I was getting a whole nights worth of booking for one afternoon. 

I don't know what they did in there... But the stains... It was awful.

Lesson officially learned the hard way.