Penalty for breaking house rules set for safety and preservation of the neighborhood?

[Nicki15]

Hi all,

I am new to this hosting gig on air bnb.  I wanted to open a conversation up.  Does anyone know if air bnb has fines or a penalty in place for guests who break house rules?  I'm not talking about minor things.  My home is in a very high fire hazard area.  There is dry brush and foilage that surrounds the area.  I have 2 large decks over looking a canyon, one discarded cigertte from a deck could set the area a blaze.  I have a designated smoking area at the house.  I set the area up nicely with chairs and table (on a cement landing). I also placed large water filled coffee cans in the area.  I ask the guests to please use this area to smoke, and ash/discard cigerttes in the water filled coffee cans.  I even expalin why this is so important.  I had a group that littered my decks with cigerettes AND some of them had just been discared and left to burn out.  On my wooden decks!  This really does put the community at risk.  Wild fires are no joke.  It seems to me if guests were penalized for breaking these types of rules, it could help the matter.  It could also help air bnb help us host perserve peace among our neighbors.  Air bnbers should repect the neighborhood as well as keep guests happy in my opinion.  However, it seems that some guests just don't think they need to follow house rules.  So odd to me. It never occured to me to break house rules when I was on the traveller side.  If a host had a rule, I respected it period. No questions asked.

I should note that yes...My rules state "absoletly no smoking on decks".

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Nicki15

Airbnb will not allow you to fine people. I assume your local 'authority' has fines in place for people who dispose of lit cigarettes out car windows for example? You may need to implement a total smoking ban to prevent the type of issue you report - but is that common in other hotels, guesthouses etc?

[Nicki15]

Thank you Gerry.  Yes most people ban smoking completely.  I just felt like, if people smoke, they will smoke.  Might as well creat a safe atmosphere for it.  I didn't expect that people wouldn't use the smoking section.  Sigh, I guess banning it completely and hanging signs on the deck is my next step. Thank you for your response.

[Allison2]

They won't let you fine people? I could have sworn that in another thread a host was told by Airbnb to add a late check-in fine/fee to their listing. If we can fine someone for inconvenience, surely we can do so for endangering property/people/wildlife?

[Betsy28]

I think your option is to have no smoking in your property at all.  I do no allow smoking in my home because I am not a smoker and never have been.  when I am home, I don't want smell any smoke.  Airbnb need to offer to its host, some type of damage insurance that is paid by the traveller.  Thanks

[David126]

Generally speaking fines are a matter for the Courts.

Damage caused could potential be recovered under the Host Guarantee or Security Deposit but do not hold your breath.

In your case I would just ban smoking on the premises.

[Kate157]

@Nicki15 I was just wondering about the size of the group that broke your rules. I have noticed on these pages that larger groups cause more problems. Yes, they are more lucrative, but a bigger group also forms their own group mindset and they are on a vacation, so they please themselves. I don't know if that's what happened here, and it is hard to believe that people are so careless with fire danger and your property, especially after all you did to set up the smoking area. You are most definitely a considerate host, and I'm sorry your guests were not of the same caliber!

[Nicki15]

Hi Kate,

Yes the group was big.  However, we were not told that many people were staying.  We sleep up to 7, it's a big house.  According to neighbors it was a lot more than 7 people.  Honestly, I should of driven up there and asked the nighbors how it was going.  I really feel bad that I didn't do that.  It was 14 days, and I checked in with the group through air bnb, but I should of checked with the neighbors as well.  I didn't think to drive up, becasue this family seemed calmed and quiet in the profile.  Plus they made sure to tell me they would respect the house as their own.   I just trusted the situation was what it seemed.  It wasn't.  Thank you for your response.

Nicki

[Linda108]

As a fellow Southern CA resident I appreciate your mindfulness of the potential for wild fires, @Nicki15.  I tried to view your listing but could not see it.  Did you remove the listing or are you a co-host?   I just wanted to provide feedback if there is any for how the listing is set up so as to maximize the mind set regarding smoking responsibly.

[Nicki15]

Hi Linda,

Yes I'm a cohost with my husband.  I have since changed the "house rules" section.  Trying to minimize.  A lot of people suggest banning smoking all together.  I completely understand why people would suggest it.  However, I feel it is more safe to create a prepped area for it.  Smoking is an addiction and it is difficult for people to refrain.  I feel they will find a place to smoke and since the whole area is wild fire prone...It seems better to create a space that minimizes the risk.  I created a nice space on a large cement landing, and put water filled coffee cans around (with chairs)....

Thanks for your reponse

Here is the link to our home

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/18834445?guests=2&adults=2&location=lake%20arrowhead&s=-Y2OxMbb

[Scott-and-Sherryn0]

Do you really think that someone who disrespects their own body by inhaling smoke into their lungs is going to respect your property?

[Allison2]

Seriously? Ha. Way to be overly judgemental about 1 billion people.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Scott-and-Sherryn0

YES. I am a smoker but I do not discard cigarette buts anywhere where it could cause fire hazard. I also recycle although it is not obligated where I live. So smokers are not so conscienceless to the environment as you think.

You inhale much worser stuff then tabacco everyday from cars, trucks, buses, factories, cleaning products, air fresheners, hair sprays etc... but nobody is thinking about it. 

Btw some of the oldest people in the world were heavy smokers and happily lived 100+ years. I couldn't find any info about how many forest fires they have caused 🙂 

[Sarah977]

@Scott-and-Sherryn0  What an ignorant and judgemental thing to say. Totally false equivalency. I'm a smoker, not something I'm proud of, but I can assure it doesn't impact in any way on my respect for others or their property. I guess people who like to eat at McDonalds are sure to trash your house, and those who get less than a healthy amount of sleep will always disrepect check-in times?

[Sarah977]

@Scott-and-Sherryn0  I also noticed that you don't bother to leave reviews for any of your guests. Yet they've left really nice reviews for you. The only thing you bothered to do was write a response to the review for the one guest who left a bad review. 

Seems rather disrespectful to not take a few minutes to review your guests, both for their sakes and the benefit of other hosts, if you're going to make comments about respect.