First pre-reservation

[Jennifer1354]

I have my listing done and think I covered all my bases. In my listing it does say no babies or dogs. And my first inquiry is a couple with good ratings but they have a 2 year old and 2 dogs! They want to come just to sleep so they can get rest and right back on the road. I want the guest to stay but what if the dogs pee in my house? What if they let them outside and they come back in muddy?

I live in my home, all my belongings are here and I will sleep down in my basement master suite and out of sight, but I worry about the dogs and the young child messing with my things. I have quite the collections in my home.

I see that there is a deposit of $200 but what happens if one of the above things happen or things get broken?

I'm super excited to start. I plan to use the money to make more home improvements.

I can't believe I got a request so quickly!!!!

Any tips for a newby?

[Jennifer1354]

Geez I'm sorry that happened to you! I am afraid of babies too since there are accidents. I know, I had 2 myself. It's one thing if your baby has an accident on your bed. But a stranger have an accident on your bed is different. I think I'm going to hold off until next year when my home is completely done and I can lock things up. 

[Letti0]

@Jennifer1354  This booking will end up costing you more than you will make when all is said and done. All the extra cleaning and cleaning supplies, extra utility usage, all the extra laundry, etc. I am setup for infants and children and believe me when I say that the cleanup alone can be excessive. You do not have a pack n play or any other infant sleeping area, so your mattresses are at risk. Pets leave a huge mess also and a lot of them are not controlled properly by their owners, so you can get damage, many also do not clean up the crap they leave and it's possible to get complaints from neighbors on barking especially with two dogs. Run, don't walk away from this booking, there will be others that are suitable.  

[Jennifer1354]

Yea, I declined it. I would never get complaints from neighbors but I just can't have dogs in my home. I hae a dog and if someone's dog peed or something in my home, my own dog would probably follow suit. Plus my dog is a non shedder and I don't want dog hairs on my furniture. Thank you EVERYONE for helping me confirm my decision was valid, Thank you!!!!

[Anonymous]

An additional thing to keep in mind is that your next guest could be someone with a dog allergy. So if the previous guest brought dogs, the home is no longer safe for them.

This guest is probably a perfectly nice person, but I don't see the merits of a guest asking a host to move their boundaries rather than booking accommodation that's already suitable for their needs.  

[Kath9]

@Jennifer1354, I agree with all of the above. You have clearly stated on your listing that this is not a pet or child-friendly home and that you do not accept children under 12. If your potential guests haven't even read this, then what else haven't they read about the house rules? Your listing look absolutely lovely and you will get other bookings. Stick to your own ground rules as well as your instinct on this one.

[Clara116]

@Jennifer1354 Hope you just declined - they aren't a good fit and it is no problem to decline.  You will get many more inquiries and booking-   your place is lovely. Put away all the things that are important to you or costly because if they are valuable to you they WILL NOT BE to guests. Or they could disappear. Make it ready for them. 

Happy hosting. 

[Jennifer1354]

I've made a few changes in my decisions. I will be staying in the home in my basement master suite. I will also have security cameras at the front door. My stairs to my space are at the back door so I don't feel need to have cameras there. I don't want to put away all my treasures and this is part of the charm of my home and why I have a much higher price than anyone else in town. But as I write this I am doubting my decision period. Maybe this is not something I should do? I mean I have silver in the kitchen and dining area, antique china and other small things that can fit in suitcases. gee, now I am really doubting all this.

[Sarah977]

@Jennifer1354  It really depends on the kind of guests your place will tend to attract. I also host in my home and I've never had the type of guests who would steal anything, nor are they careless people who knock things over and break them. 

It also depends on how adept you are at vetting prospective guests. While it's not foolproof, messaging with guests pre-booking can give you a idea of what kind of folks they are. This requires that you opt out of using the Instant Book function, which will lower your search ranking, but give you more control- guests have to send you an Inquiry or Booking Request. Good communicators, people who are forthcoming about the purpose of their trip and tell you a little about themselves and who answer messages in a timely fashion are all indicators of someone who won't cause problems. Read their past reviews from other hosts, if they have had an Airbnb account for years, or tell you they're seasoned Airbnb users, but have no reviews, this could be a red flag. 

[Sandra126]

@Jennifer1354, hosts are split on this. Some have more robust places than others. If you look at my listing you will find it full of things. When I first began hosting, long before Airbnb, I used to count things after checkout, I was quite nervous. But I stopped when I realised that my guests were awesome. One said ''it makes me better-behaved because you provide so much, I feel less inclined to do anything wrong''. No need to steal to get value, no need to feel ripped off and needing to compensate.

Anyway, fast track to years down the track. My present accommodation has my personal stuff in it because I moved from a large house to a small one, and I have no room. So it is in there, rather than be packed in boxes. I might have lost the odd dvd maybe. But who can tell, sometimes I think I have lost something and I find it a year later in an unexpected location. I have things I bought during my travels, things from my childhood, things I have inherited. A guest said they didn't want to use my sugar bowl because they were afraid to break it (so I removed it, he had Parkinsons). No young children, no dogs. My adult guests are absolutely marvellous. Electronics need to be replaced from time to time as they have a shorter lifespan when so many different people use them all the time. That's fine and to be expected. I don't care. I care more if a favourite book is missing. The money for me is plentiful, and should something break or go missing I have to think of it as part of the process. A teenager just managed to break a coffeecup (yes cups are special too in that I sort of make them. The teacups break more as they are very very thin). That is the first coffeecup to break since I put them in 5 years ago.

You have to cross a threshold of trust, take a leap. You cannot be nervous, you rule this show. I had silver in my last place, it was my great-grandmother's. Never lost a thing. When it comes to antique china and glassware, perhaps provide a day-to-day set, it will be chipped and broken over time. It is inevitable. Guests are not used to how your tap is positioned and knock it maybe, every user is a new user. More accidents will happen.

Long message sorry, bottom line: Don't be nervous, don't crawl, say no, you rule this. Believe in that guests are great (because they are). Believe that some are not, and you don't want them. No dogs, no small children. The robust places can have those.

All the best.