Hosting Ultra Orthodox Guests

[Dionne1]

Well, after 4-5 years of hosting on this platform, we had a first. We hosted a family of ultra-orthodox guests in our Airbnb. They did not make us aware of their religious requirements prior to their arrival and we were constantly caught off guard regarding how their presence would impact our own quality of life and schedule. Putting it nicely, this reservation was a disaster. We will be revising our description, house rules, and outgoing messages so that we can state (professionally) that we do not want to be in this situation again. 

Below is my draft review. Has anyone else had this experience? 

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We’ve hosted hundreds of guests from around the world, and the overwhelming majority of people are a pleasure to host. However, some reservations can be difficult and this one TAKES. THE. PRIZE. I will list the issues that made this reservation a challenging one:

1. This family of four arrived three hours early (with short notice) and seemed displeased when they couldn’t have access to the suite. I offered them the opportunity to leave their luggage in our sunroom, however, they were visibly upset.
2. They grew even more upset when they realized they would not have their own refrigerator or freezer for their food. One of their family members pointedly asked, “What are you going to do with your food in the freezer?” After I explained that I was not in the position to discard of my family’s food, they aggressively jammed their food into the fridge and rearranged my family’s food to accommodate for theirs.
3. It was clear that they did not read our listing thoroughly; they thought they would have our entire home to themselves. This led to significant tension, aggressive body language, and communication misfires from our guests. I invited them to seek other accommodations, however they chose to stay.
4. When going over the house rules, I specifically asked that they not dispose of cigarette butts in our yard. Not only did these guests dispose of cigarette butts in our yard, but they threw them right outside our front door, onto our patio. Hosts who take pride in their home will most likely find this practice nasty and disrespectful. 
5. These guests constantly slammed doors throughout their stay. I asked that they stop slamming the doors and while it stopped briefly, it picked back up. Again, there appeared to be little regard or respect for us and our property.
6. Their religious beliefs prevent them from operating technology and other mechanical devices during their Sabbath. This meant we had to open the doors for them, turn lights on and off for them, eliminate the lighting in our refrigerator, go behind and unplug cooking devices, etc. I had to cancel my Saturday plans so they could have someone to open the door for them during this time. 
7. Their strict religious lifestyle required an usually high amount of hands on engagement from us as hosts. At no point were any of these requirements communicated prior to their arrival. We pride ourselves in being flexible and accommodating for our guests, however, this caught us by surprise and left us feeling blindsided and very inconvenienced. Furthermore, there was an air of entitlement and despite everything we did to accommodate this family, felt unappreciated for our time and efforts. 

The good news is that XXXX's mother was friendly and they left the suite and kitchen in good condition. 

[Inna22]

@Dionne1  

These people are bullies. It sounds like knowing that they would not be able to find a place that would accommodate them (dear host, please make sure that you have someone on hand on Saturday to open doors for me, please remember that you will not be able to watch TV and that the lady of the house is not downstairs in the afternoon as we like to read on the couch and we cannot have females around). So they just book whatever they want and bully the hosts into doing what they need because these days we would not dare to offend anyone and will give our first born for a five star feedback.

Do not revise your description. This is such a one off, don’t let them rule your life even after they left.

[Dionne1]

@Inna22 You nailed it. We really did feel uncomfortable and almost bullied in our own home. They were so aggressive that it was unheard of. 

[Robert-And-Nancy0]

@Dionne1

I think that you may want to shorten even more.  @Jessica-and-Henry0 review is really good but it may cause issues even using the word Sabbath.  I would leave that very generalized, insinuating that the information was not conveyed to you prior to the arrival and not go into a lot of detail.  Express that it would have been appreciated if you were aware of the situation prior to arrival.

I would leave out aggressive body language, and vaguely include the fact that you had to go to extra measures like unplugging electrical items, switching lights on and off and opening doors.   Describe that it was unusual and at times a bit of an inconvenience.  You can state that as a host you would prefer not to host these guests again but gear the blame toward the early unexpected arrival, slamming doors, and smoking.  The last few lines are very well said

“We pride ourselves in being flexible and accommodating for our guests, however, this caught us by surprise and left us feeling blindsided and very inconvenienced. Based on our hosting experience, we would not welcome these guests back into our home. “

Very sorry to hear about your experience, that must have been very difficult.  Hopefully future guests will make this all a faded memory.

[Dionne1]

Thank you, @Robert-And-Nancy0. You have made some valid points and I will take them into consideration as I craft my final review. Much appreciated!

[Pete28]

I would be careful on mentioning religion or Airbnb might side with the guest and remove the review based on discrimination 😞

[Susan151]

@Dionne1's story is so similar to this one, I thought it might have been the same story:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Many-many-guest-demands/m-p/781523

[Rachael26]

@Susan151good connection - and wanna bet that it is the same family??

Perhaps a circular has gone out letting families know that they can work the system and get ridiculous above & beyond normal customer service by booking with a superhost & Airbnb......... knowing that no hotel would aquiese to such demands - but a superhost has much to lose!

[Dionne1]

I wouldn't be surprised, @Rachael26. The father went out of his way to let us know what the hotels do to accomodate him. He was being obnoxious and we of course (politely and with a smile) suggested they stay in one. He went silent.

[Dionne1]

@Susan151 OMG. The stories are earily similar. That host rcvd great advice. I really hope these are isolated incidents and not a sign that this is more of what's to come.

Thank you for pointing that out, Susan!

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

If the acccommodation was not shared how would the guests get the doors open?  How would they get their food out of the fridge?  I too remember the other story and wonder if it is the same people.  Wow!

[Dionne1]

@City-Limits-Ranch0 We kept asking ourselves the same questions. They could use the fridge, but we had to either unscrew the light bulb or put tape over the sensors, so the lights wouldn't go off.

I read the other story last night. Somehow I don't think it's the same family (I'm still trying to figure it out), but there are striking similiarities. The father was concerned that our Nest (thermostat) lit up and glowed whenever he walked past it. He also went speechless when he realized our Ring (doorbell) notified us when he arrived. He never specifically said why he was concerned. After reading the comments from the other host, now, I know. 

[Sarah977]

@Susan151   That wasmy immediate thought as well. Was going to search the thread, but you did it for me 🙂 

Sounds like exactly the same guests.

[Sudsrung0]

I would say they are at fault to start with booking shared accomodation knowing their situation being orthodox religion.

They are not allowed to even use your kitchen they know that so why make demands on you?

We did have a couple who rented our villa and they were orthodox religious people but our villa is not shared and they didnt use our kitchen I admit I didnt know I asked my husband who is English and he told everything about them, a man cannot shake hands with his wife.

They lived like pigs they had kosher food delivered to the villa everyday and eat in the bedroom and never throw anything out when they left I filled a plastic bin liner full of their crap and loads of plastic water bottles.

Showed no respect what so ever

We live and learn

[Dionne1]

@Sudsrung0 Wow! Very sorry to hear this was your experience. 

[Tony134]

OMG bizarre! I would have laughed in their face and told them "No I don't offer any of those services."

Then I would leave a clear review detailing every bizarre request.