Invasive Guests - Is it the Season or my Superhost Status?

[Josh194]

I have been an AirBnB host for a year (next month).  I have two rooms in my 3-bedroom home that I rent to ABB guests, usually couples, so I have about 4 guests in my home at any given time.

In the past 3-4 months I feel that my guests have become more invasive of my home and a bit more rude.  When I started in May 2018, my guests were wonderful!  People from all over the world and locals, they were freindly, vibrant, and laidback - usually stayed 2-3 days.  Since about January my guests have been staying longer, taking over common spaces, not bothering to read rules or instructions.  My fridge is not one of the amenities I offer my guests (via ABB), but if they ask I tell them "If there is room you can put some small items in" - lately, they have been taking over the fridge, entire shelves have been reorganized by guests to fit their food.  Things have gone missing, I have had a towel (my guest towels are not cheap, they match the theme of each room) go missing, and a lamp was recently stolen(!).  Guests have gotten messier in the last few months as well, not washing dishes, soaking the bathroom floors, etc.

So what has changed?  Well the season obviously, but I recently reached Superhost status as well.

Did anybody else notice a change in guest quality when they reached Superhost status or is it a seasonal thing?

I have friends who host and they suggested I raise my rates to offset the additional work I am having to do lately, but I like being super affordable (it's how I like to travel), and the bad guest experiences have only been in the last few months.

[Susan151]

@Josh194 . I also allow use of my kitchen, but, they have their own fridge in their rooms. Only once did someone ask/need to store food in my fridge for their dinner that evening. They were too lazy to walk up and down the stairs! It is a 4.4 cu ft fridge, no freezer so it doesn't make lots of sound, that I purchased at Costco. Of course, that is another solution to the same problem.

Pizza boxes are WAY too big for any normal refrigerator! What are they thinking?

[Suzanne302]

@Josh194 

Those "invaders" drive me crazy too! Luckily it doesn't happen to me that often. My faves are the ones who stay 2-3 nights. Long enough to exchange pleasantries, but short enough they don't get too comfortable. I limit guest stays to 6 nights.

I don't allow full kitchen use, so during my 60-second check-in intro, I point out the coffee station, the cabinet clearly market "guest cabinet", and that there are two shelves in the refrigerator designated and labeled for guest use. I think the fact that the one cabinet is labeled keeps (most) guests from rummaging through everything else.

[Sarah977]

@Josh194  I haven't noticed the quality of my guests going down, but I know that's not necessarily the norm.

For one thing, I've never used Instant Book and never will. I want to communicate with guests before I approve them and get a sense of who they are. I also don't particularly want guests to whom exchanging a message or two and introducing themselves is too much of a bother. I like the personal connection when a guest wants to book, and I'm sure that has helped get better guests.

I think when you have guests who are overstepping boundaries, you need to make it really clear, in a polite, friendly way (even humorous) right away, not letting it go on, because if you give them an inch, they'll take a mile. 

As far as the pizza boxes are concerned, maybe buy some large, flattish storage containers, Tupperware type stuff, and ask guests to put their leftover pizza in there, rather than taking up so much fridge space with a half a pizza or a few slices in a giant box.

[Wesley58]

I think it could also be just the fact that your AirBnB has become more "mainstream" in the sense that people are booking from one of the first choices they see on AirBnB. I assume as a superhost you've been pushed up the search results. It's possible that previously you were getting people who spent more time searching a page or two (or more) on AirBnB, and now that you're at the top, you're getting more impulse people. 

I've found that when my properties get ranked highly, I have to start acting like a hotel, filing more claims, etc. When my listings are new, I often get more understanding "i'm staying in someone's house" types of guests. 

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