No alcohol consumption policy

[#1]

Hi all, just wondering if anyone has a similar policy in their home. On a number of occasions I know that my guests have dishonoured my house rules in regards to no alcohol. They say that they either did not read the policy or did not see the no alcohol clause before they booked. Some guests act surprised when they read my Guests Airbnb manual upon arrival or when they ask and I tell them. 

How have other Christian hosts or (teetotaller hosts) dealt with this issue? I constantly get asked whether we allow wine or beer for relaxation purposes. We do allow a glass of wine over dinner when I am asked for clarification however I do not make that public knowledge. To keep it easy I simply indicate in my house rules that No alcohol is permitted. Some guests can't accept it seems and come back and say they won't party or drink beer excessively etc I normally reply by saying that it's more a personal conviction because of my Christian stance rather than the fact that the guests may get drunk or party. 

Some have cancelled their bookings as a result - I have no problems with that. 

Would like to hear from those who have similar beliefs and no alcohol policy in the home.

Regards,

Kisa

[Michelle53]

@Laura2592  I agree, it would be unenforceable if you are not on site.  It only works for me because I'm here pretty much all the time, even though it is a self contained, private space. So I'm immediately aware of noise, and my ring doorbell picks up activity. 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  I imagine "Christian guests strongly preferred" would get a host delisted ( a good thing IMO) just as if they said "White guests strongly preferred" or "Heterosexual guests strongly preferred".

Bottom line, Airbnb hosts can't discriminate against guests based on their religion, race, sexual persuasion, etc. If a Christian host wants Christian guests, they should advertise their listing in some Christian publication or website, not on Airbnb.

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 didn't think of that. I only mentioned it because we had some family come into town for our wedding a few years ago. One group stayed at a space that had something about it being hosted by Christians, lots of pics of crosses and decor with Bible quotes. Somehow my husband's relative, a card-carrying atheist, ended up booking...how he missed the signs I have no clue. Needless to say both host and guest were very uncomfortable and the stay was shortened considerably. Host left a review stating that the guest was not aligned with the values of the host. I could have sworn that there was something in the listing mentioning welcoming Christians but I might be wrong. 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  Well, I guess saying "We welcome" rather than "strongly preferred" could be a debatable distinction as far as discrimination goes. But to me, any host who really only wants guests who jive with their own religious, or political, or sexual beliefs, etc. and wants to dictate how guests behave based on those beliefs, shouldn't be hosting on an international, non-discriminatory platform. And a host who would leave a review mentioning that the guest was not aligned with the values of the host, meaning their religious beliefs, should be booted off the platform. 

All that to me is different from a host having things in their home which are of a religious or spiritual nature. An entire house listing should be free of those things, and be "neutral", but if it's a home share, as long as the host does't try to foist their beliefs on a guest, a religious picture or something like that shouldn't be an issue, after all, it's the host's home.

You'd be hard pressed to find a Mexican's traditional home that didn't have a picture of the Virgin of Guadalupe on the wall. 

[Anna9170]

@Robin4  

Rob, yes, maybe the host has the right to different requirements for the guest, even if it's a shock to me how can dictate to people in a separate space what they can do..BUT I carefully read the entire ad, and "show more" and small letters. There is information about the Internet, Deposit, etc., but about alcohol, not a word. Any rules, even the most strange ones, should be written.

Well, I can't resist off-top, in the Bible mention of wine occurs very often and in a positive context.))  So what does Christianity have to do with it, IMO is a substitution of concepts.

[Fred13]

So, I wonder how Latu & Kisa, the owners of the listing we are mainly talking about, are doing. Someone needs to inform them that they are now on the 'examination table' and 'we need answers'!

[Josh1215]

It's your property, you can do whatever you want within the bounds of the law and AirBNB's rules. If people don't like it, they can rent somewhere else. As many have mentioned, of course you would want to make it obvious what your policy on alcohol is so people know it before they make a reservation—that's just good customer service.

My wife and I are considering starting an AirBNB, and we will have a strict no-alcohol policy on our property. It's partly a safety issue because our AirBNB (if we move forward with it) will have horses in close proximity, it will be located in an old barn with old dry wood, and I've seen too many people do stupid things while on alcohol. For us, it's not worth the risk.

As for enforcement, that's tough, but hopefully having a policy will screen people out so that the issues we're trying to prevent never happen.