Long-term guest repeatedly breaking smoking rules

[Christopher187]

I have a guest staying for 4.5 months with another month to go on his booking.  My listing has clear rules about not smoking anywhere on the property, and my guest confirmed that he did not smoke before I accepted his booking.  After catching him smoking on the exterior of the premises (still against the rules), I gave him a warning and reminder.  Now I've learned he has been smoking in his room quite frequently (trying to blow the smoke out the window).  

My inclination is to just end the booking and kick him out, as I have little tolerance for dishonest people.  However, I'm not really interested in losing the booking money, and it is unlikely I would be able to fill the room right away.

I get the feeling he was upset about me catching him and warning him the first time, so I may already be in for a retaliatory review.  I'm fine with being confrontational with the guest about the issue (and that is what I would do with any other tenant), but for Airbnb guests I worry about retaliatory reviews.

Any advice?

[Lynette57]

@Christopher0 , Obviously you do have tolerance for dishonest, lying cheating guests or you would have kicked him out rather than sit on your computer writing your complaint. OH sorry I read more, its about the money. 

Money or cheating , Lying guest in my home. Wouldnt be an option in my house.

[Sarah977]

@Christopher187  What exactly are you asking?  If other hosts would put up with a guest who lied when booking, disrepects your house rules, and then gets upset when he's caught out, just for the money?

I wouldn't.

[Kelly149]

The other calculation is that you may lose money & garner other bad reviews if your place smells like smoke after he leaves. I’d have him go (& give up the money)

[Christopher187]

The world forces me to have some tolerance for dishonesty.  Without that tolerance, I would never deal with anyone, it seems.

We deal primarily with long-term tenants.  Most of my tenants have 12 month leases and might stay for multiple years.  Recently, when we have a vacancy, we'll book multiple months through airbnb (I'm in a college town, so a semester booking is common).  We do not do short term bookings in these houses which is partly why simply replacing someone is not easy.  It is not uncommon for a tenant to violate one or more of my rules sometime during their long stay and I issue warnings/reminders as needed.  My business would run very poorly if I kept a zero-tolerance policy.  If this were a standard leaseholder, they would be charged $100 for each violation of the smoking rules.

In this case, I could bump the guest, gain a moral victory, and lose ~$750.  Not sure if I'd call that a smart business move.  I could warn the guest again and have them be angry about it, possibly taking it out on my house and/or review.  I wonder if there is a middle grounds, like charging a smoking fee right now and letting him stay provided he never does it again.  Or just give another light warning and hit him with an extra cleaning fee after he leaves.  What options will Airbnb give me if I call them?

[Sarah977]

@Christopher187   "The world forces me to have some tolerance for dishonesty.  Without that tolerance, I would never deal with anyone, it seems."

 That's sad. I'm sorry that's your experience. Most people I come in contact with are basically honest.

[Christopher187]

I should also mention that since the guest has been in the house for more than 30 days, even Airbnb can't make him leave.  Technically, an eviction order from a judge is needed.

[Helen0]

If that is the legal situation in your country, then personally I would be inclined to only accept bookings of 29 days or less. Could you have a system where you confirm separate, back-to-back bookings of less than 30 days each for the period your guests want? You could also then set up a property inspection to take place whenever a new booking period starts, which gives you an opportunity to reiterate your house rules. 

To deal with this current guest, I would confirm in writing at this point that you are aware they have been smoking on the premises, which is a breach of your house rules, and ask them to stop. Advise them that if there is any evidence at all that they have continued to smoke - e.g. smell on vacating the property, that you will levy a penalty from their security deposit via Airbnb to cover extra cleaning.

You may also want to reconsider the issue for the future if you feel it's not really practical to enforce a total smoking ban - e.g. setting aside a clearly defined place (outdoors) where smoking is allowed and stating that it is strictly forbidden anywhere else. Sometimes you have to choose your battles to stay sane when guests are dishonest!

Installing a smoke alarm indoors would also serve to make it clear that there are consequences for ignoring your rules, and hopefully cut out excuses or disputes. 

I am sorry your request for practical help has been met with frankly sanctimonious responses from some other hosts - disrespectful guests are much commoner than some people like to pretend and not everyone can afford to write-off significant parts of their income! Good luck. 

[Helen56]

@Christopher187 I suggest that you install three smoke alarms on the ceiling of his room - one of them should be over the window where he tries to blow it out, one over the bed, and one over a chair where he might sit to smoke.

I have a no smoking sign on the inside of the room door just to remind guests that it's a no smoking room.

[Elena87]

@Christopher187

Airbnb can't offer any magical solutions.

If you are going to be practical about it, why not rewind, compromise and agree on an external place where the guest can smoke along with some receptacle for the butts.

At least it seems the smoker is trying to be discreet about it, but if it is a battle of wills you want, you are likely going to end up losing and it's going to be exhausting for you.

Fines don't get paid, signs get ignored, rules get broken, alarms get batteries removed.

[Yulianna0]

@Christopher187, smokers will smoke, so the most safe and convenient way is to organize some special place to smoke. I’m smoking and my guests can see where I’m doing it (just in the patio, outside of the house), so they do the same. 

[Christopher187]

Just thought everyone might like to hear how this got settled:

I argued with Airbnb and they contacted the guest about smoking.  The guest lied but I had video from security cameras, so the Airbnb rep was forced to realize the problem.  Airbnb cancelled the booking but at first the guest refused to leave.  The guest messaged me saying how "rash" I was being.  After reminding him that he'd broken the rules before and been warned, I also informed him that I now had proof that he'd brought illegal drugs into my home.  The guest became compliant and left the house the next day.

10 days later, the room still smelled horrid.  I requested $485 for cleaning and/or replacing furniture.  Airbnb first argued with me, then agreed to pay the $485.  Here is the message they sent:

"Hi Christopher,

this is Isabel from Airbnb's Trust and Safety team.

Thanks for reaching out, and I'm sorry it had to be under these circumstances. Situations like these are rare, and I hope you'll go on to have many more positive hosting experiences in the future.

Since this is a relatively low amount and you haven't claimed other damages recently, I can expedite this request. I've processed a payout of $485 USD for the damages that happened during reservation HMNKEX282B with your guest Dhruv.

I've discussed the issue with Dhruv, so you shouldn't need to communicate with them further about this issue. Thank you for being a great host. If you have any additional concerns, just reply to this email.

Best,

Isabel"

This is rather annoying because I get the impression that Airbnb did not charge the guest, but paid out of pocket and that they are kind of holding the claim against me.  Even though the claim is valid, it sounds like they're saying "we're only doing it this one time."