Review help when there is suspicion of broken rules - but no proof

Ellie96
Level 2
Minneapolis, MN

Review help when there is suspicion of broken rules - but no proof

Does anyone have any tips for writing reviews when there is suspicion of house rules being violated, but no actual proof?

 

Here's the scenario: I recently had a guest who I believe may have had a party and been smoking in my unit (I do not allow smoking). When I went in after check out, there was a slight smell of cigarette smoke. And then the next day one of my neighbors made a comment that there had been a lot of people and some loud noise on the night of this guest's stay. Until I learned these things after the fact, I thought everything had gone just fine with that reservation, so I have no proof and I didn't actually see anything for myself (and I can't really prove a smell). I don't want to accuse anyone of wrong doing without evidence, but I do also trust the person who made the observation of a party going on, and I don't want this to happen to another host!

12 Replies 12
Rebecca160
Level 10
Albuquerque, NM

@Ellie96 Do you trust this neighbor to report back to you accurately? You might ask them how many people they saw and how loud, etc. If they definitely say there was a party and you prohibit parties, then you should definitely write something about it in their review and downgrade stars as appropriate. If you do not wish to say they had a party directly, you could just say they violated your house rules and are not welcome back. Other hosts want to have some sort of indication that they might not be the best fit, unless they are renting a party house.

 

As far as the smoke smell, was it strong? Or faint? If strong, then they were most likely smoking inside and should be written up as they smoked inside in violation of house rules.  If faint, they may have smoked outside and the smell came in on their clothes. Not much you can say about that, IMO.

Emily487
Level 10
KCMO, MO

@Ellie96

If you trust the neighbor, I would simply say something like "Guest was nice and took care of the place during her stay. Guest hosted quiet a few friends in the evening hours and our space might not be the best fit for her in the future."

 

We hosted a couple last Christmas when we were still new hosts. They were nice enough and had family who lived locally (which we now see as a bit of a warning sign). I showed up to clean with my toddler in tow and it was clear that more than 2 adults and one child slept there- -it was 11am and the guest's mom, cousins, and brothers were all pulling their suitcases our of the apartment and getting into their cars! The whole family had a sleep over for two nights. But did I have real PROOF other than relatives leaving the apartment? No. Maybe they just came for morning coffee with their bags.

 

So I tiptoed around it in my review and stated that while they were nice,

*"I wish I had known that SO many local extended family members would visit so I could have provided enough supplies and ammeneties for them all". * This was too soft of a review and super passive aggressive but it was what I could muster at the time and it made me feel a little less miffed. 

 

To top it off, the guest didn't leave us a review AND his brother contacted us through AirBnB a month later asking for $800 for tow fees because he had parked illegally while secretly staying at the AirBnB. 

.

Hi @Emily487

 

This is cool. Your unregistered local guest wants $800 for being towed-away. Who owns the tow-away company, his local brother? Great business concept, I never thought of that before.

 

@Ute42

Hah! I never thought about it that way! 

@Emily487

 

...his brother contacted us through AirBnB a month later asking for $800 for tow fees because he had parked illegally while secretly staying at the AirBnB. 

 

O   M Y   G O D !  U N B E L I E V A B L E !     😄 : D

 

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Oh dear @Ellie96 @Emily487

 

It sounds like both of you host remotely and haven't installed CCTV or similar.

 

If you had you both would have known whether you guests broke your host rules by either having a party in Ellie's case or sneaking in extra guests in Emily's case.

 

Please make it a priority to install outdoor camera for your own security (and that of your guests).

 

Ellie in your review I would describe your experience of hosting the guest and then report that unfortunately your neighbour complained that the xxx had a party at the premises and there was a smell of cigarette smoke in the listing that indicated that the guest had smoking against your house rules (or something similar).

@Helen3

You are right, we host remotely (from a few blocks away) and rely a bit on our neighbors and long-term tenant to let us know of any concerns. We are getting some cameras this month and hope helps us **bleep** future problems early. 

@Helen3 thank you for the review advice! After the last couple of guests, I am DEFINITELY installing security cameras! Clearly, I was too trusting in the goodness of humanity.

Ben551
Level 10
Wellington, New Zealand

@Ellie96  It’s interesting because my wife and I were discussing the smoke smell issue recently.

 

Our place has a lot of tiered gardens and, we know full well smokers will be smokers, so although we don’t allow smoking in the cottage (have little signs on the walls even) we tell them, if they must smoke, to head down to the lower garden. We even put out an extra table and chairs to encourage them to make that little remote spot their preferred smoking spot... and not a doorway or window.

 

Recently we had our first guests where one was a smoker.  We noticed he obeyed the rules and went to the lower garden (I was taking out our compost and smelled the smoke from across the forest). BUT.... the bedroom they slept in smelled of cigarettes.

 

What we laerned was the smoke smell transferred from our guests clothing (and body) into the bedding and area around the room. It took a full steam clean and light bleach wipe down of the walls around the bed to get the smell out, but it wasn’t strong enough to get into the carpet or curtains (which told us he didn’t smoke inside).

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Ellie96  You have a lovely guest cottage with very positive reviews. Two of your reviews reflect that the guests had parties with significantly more than 4 people attending.  Your rules are somewhat confusing in that you state no parties and then state parties are okay if you are notified and some unspecified additional costs will apply.  I think in addition to adding a front door camera, you could be clearer about parities.  Most of us who have been hosting a while have had to adjust our rules and/or listing description to be very, very clear.  Additionally, welcome message with confirmation of your expectation as to how the home will be used is good.  Ask for the guest to confirm.  I usually preface my expectation confirmation message with, "It is important to me that your expectations are met so please confirm my understanding."

 

As to a review, I think you are not on firm ground to post a negative review, but you can be less than enthusiastic in the review.  

@Linda108 thanks for the advice! I am still trying to figure out the best wording for the party situation, but obviously, I haven't found it yet! I did previously allow events as long as I was notified/approved them, and the ones the reviews are about were approved, but I recently changed my rules after a very large and damaging party that DID NOT have prior permission. I was hoping to find a way to say that if you still think you're going to break my rules and have a party, there will be a penalty. Should I just say no events and leave it at that? Has that worked well enough for you and other hosts?

In your rules, you could mention that due to poor experience with parties this is no longer an option.  After a while those reviews referencing parties will slip down but right now the reviews give the impression that parties are allowed.

Unfortunately, Air BNB does not use the security deposit for guests breaking rules so you cannot threaten that.  The SD is only for damage claims.  Breaking rules is addressed in the review system and can adversely affect the guest from being able to use the Air BNB system.  As other hosts have recommended, having a way to "inspect what you expect" with the door camera will be a great deterent as you must disclose it in your listing.