Sleeping on sofa in shared area?

[Todd-and-Reese0]

We got home last night to find one of the guests sleeping on the sofa (snoring even) in the shared living room. We used to have mention in the rules of no sleeping on the sofa but it's been such a long time since this happened that we removed it thinking it was common sense and wouldn't happen again. It was only 8pm and we had to be quiet in our own home as to not wake the guest. I suppose we have to put this in the rules again. What do y'all do when this happens? Do you have a house rule against it?

[Willow3]

I think I would start unloading the dishwasher in a very loud manner. No way would I tiptoe around him. 

We maintain quiet hours in our home, but it's our home and I remind guests that we live here. No one is entitled to uninterrupted sleep in a common area. 

[Carol-Lee1]

I don't have a shared area but I would have woken him up assuming he fell asleep unintentionally.  My only comparison is when one guest came in very late (private area) and proceeded to make a lot of noise.  My dogs started barking which they never do and I didn't stop them.  It let the guest know he was disturbing the whole house.  

[Marzena4]

@Todd-and-Reese0 @Willow3 Or a vacuum cleaner? 😉

I would comment that "it's great you feel like home but..."

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Todd-and-Reese0

I would have just assumed the guest just fell asleep there, not planning to sleep on the couch (because this does happen~) so I would have gently waken the guest up with a cheery "You must have been really tired to be passed out on the couch like that! You should go to your room and get some proper sleep now~ G'nite" and turned all the lights on.

[Todd-and-Reese0]

Wow. It never crossed our minds to wake her. We speculated that she had a fight with her husband or got too high (weed is legal here in Colorado) or other wacky imaginings. We have had a slew of entitled and/or mentally questionable guests and are in recovery mode, so we operate out of fear now and say nothing to the guests about their behavior during their stay for fear of bad feedback. We will leave appropriate feedback.  I'm actually staying up late to see if this has been happening every night. They get home from a concert soon.

[Soleine0]

Same exact thing just happened to us, except it was past midnight when I found one of the guests snoring in the sofa in the shared area, so it was obvious he wasn't just napping but intended to spend the entire night here... and the other nights to come. 

I didn't wake him up but messaged the guest in charge of the reservation to explain that the sofa wasn't part of the sleeping arrangements provided. 

Now it just feels a bit awkward. It's a family with two teenage boys and they don't want to sleep in the same bed. I feel torned between adding yet another rule making it clear that the sofa is not one of the sleeping arrangements provided (I keep addind more rules to make clear things that are just common sense to me and have had guests complaining that there are too many rules) and giving him sheets...

[Inna22]

@Soleine0 They chose to reseve one bed. Do not feel guilty. It is their family matter and for them to deal with.

[Soleine0]

When I explained the situation to Airbnb, I was told in a very condescending tone that since it's a shared area, they have access to it, so they can sit, sleep, do whatever they want unless I specify otherwise ! 

It's becoming really exhausting to have to explicitely outline every single "rule" that any normal and considering person would naturally abide by. It feels more and more like I'm running a kindergarten. I wonder when I'm gonna have to specify in my listing to not draw on the walls. 

[Ava30]

Unfortunately, common sense is not very common. I have learned the hard way as well, that you have no choice but to lay it all out in the House Rules. I am actually in the process of making a special sheet with the mattress protector built in for the couch. When that is done, the rule will be "Guests may ONLY sleep on the couch AFTER you put on the special sheet set to protect the cushions." We get a large number families with children and they seem to want to have them sleep there instead of the bedrooms, of which we have 3 and 2 of them have 2 beds in each one. Plenty of sleeping space for all. We don't take reservations for more than 6 guests at this time. 

[Kirsten122]

Unbelievable. Guess I need to update my house rules. I had a guest couch-surfing in my den this weekend. Not cool. My listing is very clearly a one bed/one bedroom arrangement, with shared access of the den. I didn't realize I had to specify that sleeping in there does not constitute "shared access".

I had another couple seem to think they could just take over the den completely like a second private room. Just no. What are people thinking??

[Helen3]

To be honest @Kirsten122 I would have woken the guest up and said that although you understand they may have fallen asleep by accident, they will need to sleep in the room they booked and paid for.

If someone takes over shared space (how were they doing this?), I would just make it clear that it is shared space so for example any possessions need to be kept in the room they booked.

[Kirsten122]

@Helen3 The guest this weekend clearly did it on purpose. He had his own pillow and blankie! Super awkward.

The woman who actually booked had said she was bringing a friend, but I assumed (since my listing is for 1 room/1 bed) that the friend would share the bed with her. I didn't make a stink because I was leaving for the weekend anyway, but if I had been around I would have asked the add-on friend to vacate.

The other couple "took over" the shared room by putting their belongings everywhere and closing the door as if it were their own private room! I politely let them know that was unacceptable, and they apologized and moved their stuff back in the rented room.

But seriously, why does this need to be explained??!

I have now added this to my house rules:

POSITIVELY NO COUCH-SURFING. Sleeping is not allowed anywhere other than the assigned bedroom, unless specific arrangements have been made with me in advance. When in the shared den and living room, consider how a reasonable person would behave in a hotel lobby, and act accordingly. Feel free to lounge, read, watch TV, have a drink, etc., but do not sleep on the couch or leave your belongings lying around. (I am sorry to have to post this rule, but not all guests seem to understand the concept of shared spaces.)

I'd appreciate any feedback on this...

[Sarah977]

@Kirsten122  I think what you've written is fine. Only I might not bother to put it in house rules on the listing, as I believe the longer the list of rules and the text about it are, the less likely guests are to read it all or remember and a long list can give the impression that the host is a real fusspot. In house rules on the listing, I'd maybe just write "Sleeping in bedroom only."

Then have the rest of what you've written as something you send in a message to guests when they book, and also in the house manual, or however you convey information to guests during their stay.

[Kirsten122]

@Sarah977 I think having house rules as part of the listing is super important. When people book, they have to agree to the house rules, and if they break them, I have recourse. If they think my rules are too fussy, they are not a guest I want to have. But, you are right that if the text is too long, people will glaze over. I probably need to tighten it up.