Encounter troublesome guests for the first time- what I learned

[Yissie0]

Hi Everyone,

Not sure if this is the right forum to post this, but I really want to share my experience and let out the emotions with you all. Do you remember the first time when you encounter troublesome guests? How did you deal with them? What have you learned? 

We have 2 guests who are not respectful. Long story short, here are what I am most bothered by: Not only they have done these things, but also keep doing these after we spoke to them in person and agreed not to do it. ( just don't understand why...)

I spoke to airbnb customer care after I first sense that they are not respectful guests, but I decided to not cancel and try to communicate with them. After the first night, the situation still did not get ressolved, so I have to cancel them. My biggiest learning through the process is: if you sense something is off, trust your instinct. I wish I canceled with them the first night. In general, I feel that Airbnb is really more protective of the guest than the host. (which I understand cuz I also travel as a guest). I feel a little sad that I am not getting the payment due to the guests' misbehavior...

Since hope is not a good strategy, I really want to learn from everyone else to see how I can deal with the situation better.

1. Scattering their belongng over living room, kichen counter, dining table and floor in the dining room

2. Leave the heat on at 85F for the entire house after they leave the house

thanks so much for reading the semi-venting post 🙂 Happy Holidays!

Yissie

[Yissie0]

I am also discouraged about hosting on Airbnb. Before, I recommend Airbnb to all my friends and family, now I am not so sure anymore. Maybe I should just cool off and I will feel better...

[Deborah0]

Hi @Yissie0

I am sorry you had these problems with your guests.  Was there anything that might have tipped you off in advance, during your initial communications with these guests, before they booked, that you might have some problem with them?  

Indeed, when guests wilfully violate your house rules and/or your requests, it is important to ask them to leave.  No one should have to put up with disrespectfull guests who continue to do things you have asked them not to do.  

I recommend that you put in your house rules, that guests cannot leave their belongings in common areas, when they depart those areas, but may only keep their belongings in the guest room.  Anything you dont' explicitly prohibit is deemed permitted and this is why hosts have problems when they seek support from Airbnb -- they dont have the house rules to back up what they are asking from guests. Hosts need good solid and crystal clear house rules so guests know what to expect.  Too many hosts have rules that say, "treat my house as you would treat yours" and so of course with such a useless rule,  if guests leave their things all over the place  and make messes at their house, that means they will feel free to do the same at yours.  

I recommend you write in your house rules, what I have in mine, "Significant violations of house rules will result in immediate termination of the reservation, and forfeiture of all fees paid."   Having this in your house rules might help you get help from Airbnb to insist that not only guests be evicted right away, but that you are permitted to keep their entire payment for the reservation, which seems only fair when the guest essentially breaches the contract.    

leaving heat on at 85 degrees (or even, setting the temperature to 85 at any time!)  actually seems on the verge of theft to me, it is so egregious.  I recommend you get either a locking box on the thermostat or a Nest thermostat which you can reset remotely (if guests use it abusively), right quick.  

[Yissie0]

It is very heart warming to hear from you, and thank you for taking the time to provide advices to a complete stranger.

The first sense is the first message: "we are going to arrive on 5am in the morning? can i pick up the key after I arrive". Most guest will ask as a favor to arrive early. But they seem to feel more entitled to arriving at 5am in the morning and expect to pick up the key. Also, we have a sign next to the heater saying "please turn off the light and heat when you leave the house".

I think I am learning it the hard way that not all people are nice. I always try to treat people the way I want to be treated and hope the best in return. And that did not work out well. I am going to check out your listing and find some language to better protect myself. Just feel bad for all the 99.999% great guests out there. I don't want to make people feel I am a mean and picky host. And the truth is, if the guest is nice and they really want the whole house to be 85F, we would be fine with it for just 2 nights...

[Deborah0]

Glad I could help, @Yissie0

It seems to be the case that a great many new hosts assume that guests will all be nice.  It's a beautiful outlook on life to have, but this isn't a helpful view to take when you are a businessperson. Those who are business people need to be prepared for the realities of their business -- many hosts dont' quite realize they are business people, starting a business in property rental.  The more prepared you are for the realities of this business, the less likely you will be seriously discouraged, because you won't be taken by surprise.  

Guests with an entitled attitude who just expect to arrive at your house at 5am, -- definitely ones you want to avoid.  Signs of entitlement are a "red flag"  --see my post on red flags to watch out for, and this is the type of thing you want to screen out when you are doing your screening of guests before accepting them.  

You might find some useful advice here, in my post Tips for New Hosts, or the post Red Flags for Hosts . 

As well, here is a blog which describes Fifteen Guests You Don't Want

Also, be careful with how accomodating you are willing to be.  You say, "If a guest is nice and they really want the whole house to be 85 degrees, we would be fine with it for just 2 nights."  IN my opinion a guest who wants the house to be 85 degrees is not "nice" because that isn't a reasonable expectation -- that one can take someone's private home and turn it into a sauna.  I would warn you not to allow anyone to do something-- anything -- just because they are "nice."  What is "nice"?  Some people smile and are polite when they steal from you.  Instead of having certain rules for the "nice" guests and possibly other rules for the "not nice" ones, I think business people do better when they have the same rules for all guests.  What is "nice"? In my opinion, the guests who are wiling to follow the rules you set , and dont' ask for exceptions, are nice.   

Also, be aware that if you allow a guest to do something for 2 nights, you can't then very well argue that they should not also be able to do that same thing for 3 nights, 5 nights, or 2 weeks, and so 85 degrees for 2 nights can become 85 degrees for 2 weeks or more.  

So I suggest -- Just create a set of clear rules (including maximum thermostat settings) and stick to them, and this clarity will help you and your guests, and then both you and your guests can be nice and content.  

[Yissie0]

Great insight. And thank you for correcting my perspective and I think it would really help in the long run. I think you are right about the clear rules and sticking to it. Time to better define my house rules now 🙂

[Yissie0]

Is it ok if I use some of your house rules and modify it for my house? Yours seems to be very well thought out 🙂

[Deborah0]

You can most definitely use any of my house rules you like.  This is one area where I think it's great for hosts to copy other hosts.  Because we are all helping each other to be able to run things smoothly and avoid problems with good advance planning and clear communication.  And if problems do arise, the host community is a good place to go for help, as it's quite likely that whatever it is you are experiencing, someone has experienced that before with a guest.

 There was one unusual story I heard lately, though, which I had never heard before --- someone had a guest who brought a piano into his room.  WHen he left, he left the piano there, and then the host was in a dilemma when she had another guest coming, but the previous guests' piano was still in the room.   

Guitar, yes, flute, yes, -- can I bring piano into your house -- no.  

[Yissie0]

I read through the articles recommended. Glad I learned this the "easy" way as there are so many more scary guests. Maybe my rude guests are no biggies comparatively...

Love your insight of running this more as a business. Thank you again for that. As a 20 some year old adult, I have never truly met any bad/vicious people. I am still trying to process the fact that there will potentially be vicious guests in the future. I guess this is part of growing up!