Hosting woes

[Soniya0]

While I don't mind listing my space on AirBnb for a few extra bucks, sometimes I question it all. A few guests make you think.

I've had guests that really tested my patience.

Once a guest brought home a prostitute. I saw that in the security camera and complained to Airbnb as well. Don't think they even reached out to him as he contacted me again for accommodation but I refused.

I've had guests trying to use the free laundry as Laundromat. They do three loads every day for just two days of stay. It seems like they save all their clothes from their journey for free laundry. Moreover they try to do the loads at midnight or five am. For heaven's sake get a few quarters and get off to laundromat. Why can't some people understand the concept of shared housing.

A lot of guests think it is cool to leave their trash lying around since there is a cleaning fee. The fee is for the maid to clean the room not other people's mess x(

I've also had guests who ask me... Oh so are there other people in the house besides us? Duh what do you understand by a listing posted as a private room with shared bathroom. Of course there are others in the house.

Then there are the grab it all guests. I provide travel size shampoo conditioner lotion etc in the room. These are to be used by guests but since I travel a lot I tend to leave a few extra bottles for multiple reservations. Some guests just grab it all. Wow these guys need to go to Costco real fast 🙂

Then there are guests who are always hungry. I offer a few snacks. Some people are shy and don't take anything. Some people even try to refill what they take. But then there are others who take stuff even from the shelves that I've marked as landlord use only. Wow just how hungry could you get... 😄

Then there are guests who try to tell me they will leave the room clean. Can I take off the cleaning fee? Oh yes I totally believe that you will wash and fold the towels and the sheets. You will vacuum the room, sweep the deck and you will take the trash out. Then you will also sweep and clean the common areas before you make the bed for the next guests and you will also arrange to put together their welcome tray of goodies 😄

What kind of guests do you deal with?

[Helen3]

A lots of the issues you complain about, I think you could tackle by having more comprehensive guest rules. For example

1. Only one washload allowed per week - please only use the washing machine between the hours of 9.00 a.m. - 5 p.m.

2. No guests to be invited into my home, unless permission is sought in advance and then only between the hours of 10.00 a.m.  - 6 p.m.

3. Guest to clean up all communal areas after use

4. Leave spare tolieteries and snacks in lockable cupboards

Walk them through your rules when you show them around. 

When you confirm the booking, remind them this is a private room in a shared house.

If someone breaks your rules by say having an overnight guest you can ask them to leave.

[Soniya0]

That is the beauty of it. It's all there in the house rules and even the description yet people just don't read. I've made walkthrough videos which I email to my guests before they arrive. They don't bother watching them and then keep asking me questions the answers to which are mentioned in the listing, in the email and even in the videos.

I had a guest who started a load at five am. When I texted her that laundry was to be done outside if quiet hours, she said that she didn't think doing laundry was considered loud. Seriously with all the noise what do you expect. But to top it off I had also mentioned the frequency and timing for laundry in the extended description of the property. So there you go... Face palm 😞

[Jake0]

Your heart is in the right place Soniya, but this is business and frankly after over a decade of dealing with people in various different startups there is one thing that I've learned, people don't listen to rules unless their money is on the line. Put in a security deposit and make sure you state in all of your rules that you deduct fee's if these rules aren't followed. That lady who thinks washing clothes at 2am isn't loud and annoying will think twice if you're going to deduct 30$ from her. It may seem harsh, but I promise you more people actually pay attention when their money is on the line.

I don't deal with shared bedrooms so I don't know how draining that can be, however, I do have multiple properties where I setup certain rules and make it very clear that I will deduct from their security deposit if they aren't followed and rarely do I have to deal with annoying guests.

[Denise88]

Great help.  I will make one up for my cottage in Yorktown, VA.  I have not had the problems that others have had but it is best to post this in the household guest book

Denise

[Denise88]

Perhaps you should think that this is not for you because of all of the guest problems you have.  I have had inquiries from guests that appear from the beginning to be overly demanding.  You can always decline guests.  I think that you should charge a cleaning service fee if guests are not meeting your standards.  My new construction apartment in Yorktown, VA is priced well for the area.  I hire a cleaning service to come in after I strip beds , wash all sheets and laundry, etc.  The people that are renting are guests.  I don't expect them to trash the place but I also don't expect them to leave it ready for the next guest.  That is my responsibility as a host.  You sound very unhappy with your rental arrangement and most of the guests that you have.  Perhaps you should read their reviews before you agree to the reservation?  Do not choose instant book so that you have a chance to screen and decide if this is somebody you want in your home.  I live on the prperty where my guest cottages are.  I also need to be sure that the guests are people that I feel comfortable with staying on my property.  Renting out my cottages to people other than family and friends through Air BnB is a new experience for me.  I hope that your situation gets better. 

[Soniya0]

Yes I have a professional cleaner who comes and cleans the house. But as I mentioned people try to haggle over the forty five dollar cleaning fee for the entry duration of stay as well. Not all guests are a pain but then there are some. I do have instant booking on. Perhaps I should turn it off

[Eloise0]

Dear Soniya,

I would definitely turn Instant Booking off.  I can only speak for myself when I say that the hardest part of Hosting is getting the right kind of Guests that would be a good match for you and the space you are renting out.  I am certainly not discounting your experiences as I think you can tell from reading other Hosts posts that getting Guests to read your house rules and completing the registration process to actually get a confirmed reservation is sometimes the hardest part of Hosting.  

I would reccomend writing very clear house rules and a good description of your listing.  I think that the clearer you are the more inclined your Guests will be to follow your guidelines.  With that said there will always be those who will try to take advantage of every situation, not just airbnb.  I always have several platform email exchanges with prospective Guests and try to get a sense of who they are so that by the time they get to my humble house we are almost friends and then it is just great and worth all the laundry, cleaning, planning, and even worrying.

To avoid as much stress as I can I never go outside the airbnb platform and let my Guests know that in my first exchange; "I only correspond through the airbnb platform which includes the airbnb contractual agreement that is in place to protect both Guest and Host.  Please read my house rules answering the question found within before I can accept your inquiry as I do not allow smoking or unregistered Guests. Thank you for your interest in Happy Trails, I look forward to hearing back from you."

You can make your own custom welcome message and use the saved message option to send to every inquiry without having to type it over and over.  You may loose some inquiries, but from what I have read in your post it might just be worth it.  I am currently working on a hand made sampler to hang in the kitchen that reads,

                         Respect my House and you Respect me,

                         Respect me and you Respect yourself.

I am sorry you are having so much trouble, hope things go better for you.

Eloise at Happy Trails

[Soniya0]

Hello There. I have started including more details in the welcome email that I send out as I can't even edit the house rules because of the AirBnb bug. I hope people read through that at least.

For the moment I increased my prices and turned off Instant Booking. Let's see how that works out for me. I am thinking that I run into some of these problems because my prices are actually cheaper than the places around me. I don't care much about the money that comes. I just thought that making a few bucks on the side isn't bad. But instead of keeping it cheap, I just revised my prices in hopes that it will keep away some of these people who act a little weird.

I work at an office with poor network so it is not always possible to attend to these reservation requests asap but yes I agree with the folks here who say instant booking should be turned off. If I run into more issues, that is the next thing on my list. Take care everyone.

Happy hosting!

[Andrew90]

How about setting up an auto responder for inquiries? This way you will respond in seconds if not minutes to inquiries/ questions.

Easy to set up in gmail - http://email.about.com/od/gmailtips/qt/et_filter_reply.htm