House rules, house manual, signs and post it notes - when is it too much?

[Huma0]

I

just stumbled on this article from a few months ago. It's about a video that went viral after a guest posted about an Airbnb where there were apparently too many 'rules".

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10329255/Airbnb-host-goes-viral-guest-shares-INSANE-list-...

I am a bit surprised by the reaction to this and also the tone of the article (they go as far as describing the guest's experience as an 'ordeal'), but then I am a host, so I am probably seeing it from an entirely different perspective. I don't put signs or post it notes around my listing (only welcome blackboards with WiFi details and some tourist leaflets and maps) and I don't even print out a house manual/instructions, although I keep meaning to get around to the latter. Like this host, I live onsite, but I give my guests a pretty thorough welcome tour and am usually around to answer any questions.

So, while I think this host may have gone too far with her signs and notes and also about which glass to use for what, and maybe she could have worded things differently, but I think she probably had good intentions. Most of the stuff presented here are not rules, but information/instructions. I assume she left instructions for things like the remote because some guests struggled with it. I have no idea what the deal is with the shower curtain, but I assume there is a reason behind why it needs to be opened a certain way? Plus, the rules mentioned don't seem insane to me, e.g. no open flames, no smoking, if you break something, tell me, quiet hours etc. I just personally would not post rules around the place. Instead, I ask guests to confirm they read the rules before they book and I remind them of a few important ones when they arrive. 

What do you think? Do you put signs or post it reminders in your listing? Do you provide a printed house manual? I believe a lot of hosts do the latter, and it's supposed to be useful to guests, so I was surprised that people took such an exception to this, as if it was a bizarre and controlling thing to do.

[Huma0]

Here's how the article summarises the story, for anyone who is unable to access it via the link:

Airbnb guest is left stunned by host's 'over the top' and 'controlling' rule signs that dictate everything from from how to use the SHOWER CURTAIN to which glass to drink from

• The guest, who is named Tiffany Lee Ingalls, shared her experience from the 'over the top' Airbnb online, and it quickly caused an uproar on the internet
• Upon arriving, Tiffany - who is based in San Diego - was shocked to discover an instruction sheet hanging from the doorknob. But that's not all 
• Inside, there was a binder filled with pages upon pages of requirements - including sections on each room in the house and every item in that room
• There were also little, laminated signs hung in almost ever corner of the rooms, with reminders of the rules and instructions
• The Airbnb host also left a detailed diagram of the remote control, as well as instructions on how to use the cups, shower curtain, and more

[Huma0]

And here's a story about another TikTok video from the completely opposite perspective, this time about a host who posted a video about her interactions with a guest who needed more help/instructions. Again, the video went viral and people were shocked at the guest's lack of self sufficiency and the questions she sent the host.

https://www.boredpanda.com/out-of-touch-airbnb-guest-conversation/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=orga...

Whereas, I was not shocked at all. If I got this reaction every time I hosted a guest like this, I'd be a social media star by now. I can't believe this even gets headlines. It's just a day in the life of an Airbnb host in my honest opinion! 

[Paul1255]

@Huma0  Yikes that one is brilliant! Happens often to me about fobs and keys for some reason.

Guest: "when I put the fob on the keypad the light is turning green put the door doesn't open when I pull it, is the door broken?"

Paul: "it's not broken, have you tried pushing it?"

Guest: "Ok it's working now"

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

I hear you. My front door lock is so simple (put the key in and turn it) but, when I first started hosting, I had so many issues with guests not being able to open or, more often, remember to close, the front door, that it became a standard part of my house tour to explain it. I still get the occasional issue though. 

Recently, one of my guests somehow managed to jam the front door lock so that we were all trapped in the house. Luckily, I am friendly with my next door neighbours and they were home, so I was able to call them and get one of them to come round, pass the key through the letterbox, and they unlocked the door from outside. I have absolutely no idea how this happened. It has never happened before nor since...

[Sharon683]

I had the same problem.   Guest would leave the door unlocked during the day and at night.  I posted signs at the front door and the  hallway to asking them to  please lock the door when entering and exiting  the house.  I think is worked because I have not had an incident in awhile. 

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

That reminds me. A recent guest, who was actually a fairly sensible and self sufficient young woman, texted me to ask if I was home because she was trapped outside. The key would not fit the lock.

I came downstairs to find that she was holding the key upside down...

[David8879]

@Huma0 

"I came downstairs to find that she was holding the key upside down..."

Was she blond?

[Huma0]

@David8879 

Lol, no she wasn't blond. She was actually a pretty sensible guest and had already been here for two days without any issues with the door. I think she was just having 'a moment' as there were no other mishaps during her stay. She felt pretty silly when I told her she was holding the key upside down. 

[David8879]

@Paul1255 

That is why as "silly" it might seem in USA most doors mostly everywhere has "PULL" and "PUSH" on them

[Huma0]

Oh, and I remind all my guests when they check in to remember to close the fridge door. I know that should be blindingly obvious, but after hosting countless guests who leave the fridge open, or leave the oven on after they have finished cooking, or leave the front door open, I have found it necessary to remind them about these things. Thankfully, very few of them use an iron.

I wonder if they do that stuff in their own homes?

[Gillian166]

oh yes ! i've had a few leave the oven on, so weird. 

[Huma0]

@Gillian166 

When my oven is on, there is a light by the knob and also the light inside the oven, so it's not that difficult to figure out if it's on or off. No idea why people leave it on and then just saunter off.

So, if I was the host in the article I posted about, I would probably have a sign on the oven, another on the fridge, one of the front door, others probably on the back doors, and who knows where else. It would be never ending...

But I do sympathise with her (she maybe just didn't go about things in the right way) because probably everything she has signposted is there for a reason due to her hosting experiences, and I imagine she thought her clear and detailed house manual was helpful. 

I really don't think that, unless someone has been a host themselves, they can understand these things. Guests can feel affronted to be directed in this way. What they don't realise is that guests do the most STUPID things all the time. That doesn't mean they are stupid people. They are just outside of their environment, their comfort zone, and the 'auto-pilot' that works for them at home (to close front doors, turn off the oven etc) is turned off while they are staying elsewhere.

[Paul1255]

 

@Huma0  Those notes do seem heavy handed! Even though most are not rules, I’d feel quite on edge trying to live around them 🙂

I’ve attached the only note I leave in my apartments/that guests are interested in reading 😁

[Huma0]

@Paul1255 

Yep, that is definitely one sign/note that guests appreciate and yours is very nicely done. Of course, the guests have the WiFi details on their booking. I make sure to message them to the guests again prior to arrival, but I also have blackboards with the WiFi details just in case. People do seem to really appreciate that.