Indian Guest in Bangalore

[Christina38]

Hello, I sent this e-mail to airbnb a week ago (***) but have not received a reply. I hope soemone who is hosting in India can help me.

Hi Gursimran,

I have an issue and maybe you can forward this e-mail to the according department.
We are having airbnb guest since 1,5 years now. Mostly great experiences from visitors outside of India (of non-Indian origin) and NRI'S (non resident Indians), that have traveled extensively abroad.
However I receive regularly request in poor English from local Indian people. College friends, or friends coming to stay the weekend in Bangalore and also not married couples. We have tried a few mixed groups and also steady couples.

The result was a lot of extra work:
Overly demanding (complementary this and that)

Always asking for a discount

Not coming on time, to the arranged check-in hour (delays of 2-6 hours usually)
Not understanding the concept of airbnb not being a hotel
Leaving the room untidy
Treating my aunty who takes care of the guest like a hotel servant
Letting our watchman do errant's for them without paying him for his time
Not sticking to the house rules and having people over at night, that were not booked
Not extending the stay in time and blaming the airbnb app/website for not been able to do timely payments
Generally always give mediocre reviews, unlike NRI and non-Indian guests.

As a result my parents do not take any local indian guest anymore.
If we take a couples, they must have previous airbnb experience (I look for good ratings), and write in a proper way to me, not only  one sentence inquiries. I usually ask them a lot of questions (which many find insulting) like the purpose of the stay, why they need a room if they are from bangalore, what is the gender of their travel partner, the name of the partner. Once they check in, we check their ID to see if it is really them. As you know, in India it is not common for girlfriends/boyfriends to stay overnight, so they mistake airbnb many times for a love motel. Many already opt our when I ask these questions and never reply.
I really would like to filter all the local Indian clients that do not fit my parents wishes but until now, it is always a tedious path of questions and answers. Also almost everyone from India is asking me to call them back before making a booking and wanting to pay in cash. It is great that Airbnb is taking off in India and is so popular but I am not sure if the people know how to behave in a Airbnb apartment.

Have you heard about this issue before? How do others handle this issue in India?

All the best

Christina

[Lizzie]

Hello @Christina38,

Great to meet you and welcome to the Community Center.

In terms of not paying attention to your house rules, you may find it reassuring to know that this is a very common topic between hosts here in the Community Center. There are many discussions on this and you can find many helpful suggestions. In general, before accepting a booking request you can take the opportunity to speak and get to know your potential guests, to find out if they are suitable for your listing, why they are visiting and how many people are staying etc - as you say you are doing. 

I would greatly recommend using the search bar found at the top of every page in the CC to look for discussions similar to your question - linking to 'house rules' and also 'do you offer discounts' and using the 'Resolution Center'. 

It is fantastic to see you are educating your guests with your knowledge of how Airbnb works and offer great hospitality, however bear in mind as we are a global community with a diverse world around us, we recognise everyone as an individual, every guest and every host can offer a unique experience. 

I hope this is helpful.

Lizzie

(Lastly, as your post is publicly visible, for safety reasons personal details are removed from all posts here and so for this reason I have removed the email address included here. I hope you don't mind, do take a look at the Community Center Guidelines for more details on this. )

[Christina38]

Hi Lizzy,

Thanks for your answer but it does not answer my question in any way.

I already tried to find a thread with a similar question but didn't find any, ergo my questions.

Does someone have experience in this field (can also be from another country than India but should have the same issue) and can answer me please, thanks!

Christina

[Sharon93]

First it is the culture thing that SOME Indians are very demanding and expect lots of discounts/deals and make you work a lot. Though there are very sweet and considerate Indians out there too. 

I think you have to state your terms and rules of the house when they accept your Airbnb because there is a note that tells them your expectancy. Yes you may loose customers but customers that are dirty and untidy and exect you clean after them. Those yo really do not need.

I really think that Airbnb should 

1) Write a do and dont of a guest

2) And what to expect of host.

- A general terms and conditions or ettiquettes for all Airbnb guest and host.

[Vijayashree0]

Hi 

Even I am facing the same issue.

local couples queries and payment outside Airbnb queries are too many these days 

  Need ideas to avoid this 

Vijayashree

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