How should I react to a Vaping guest?

[Kathie21]

Guests arrived yesterday (1st time Airbnbers) - smoking anywhere on the property, inside or out, is banned in my listing. Yesterday evening I saw one of them vaping in the garden. I'm unsure how to handle this, since my rules don't say anything about vaping! They seem nice but I've already had to tell them off for throwing their leftover sandwiches into my part of the garden for the chickens to find (illegal and dumb!).

[Pete28]

Sadly where legal they will most likely be vaping canabis which leaves a terrible stench. In a family neighborhood it doesn't go down so well. I believe it is also not legal in public spaces or hotels.

[Helen427]

thanks @Pete28 

There's all manner of laws surrounding the use of vapes from State to State, Country to Country.

Fyi - You may like to look up JUUL LABS Inc., US District Court Documents updated file on April 16 2020 re this in relation to Corona virus claims punitive damages & ongoing medical notifying to allow for timely  treatment & prevention of exacerbation of injuries.

I understand that there's also US Federal Trade commission and FBI investigations that are ongoing that impact on everyone's health.

Hope you are keeping well there

@Kathie21 @Charlie215@Ann3 and others.

Thanks for sharing your stories.

Keep safe 

[Charlie215]

Well, I just encountered my first guest that blatantly ignored my no smoking policy as listed in the ad. Is there any type of vape detector so I can ask guests to leave if they are doing that? I am not always on the property and I do not want to come home to this again. The smell is not very strong but my future guests deserve a place that is free of the chemicals that are in that stuff. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Kathie21 We have a No Smoking policy. We would be entirely happy to ban smoking completely from our house and grounds. Being reasonable, we allow smoking outside.

Unfortunately, we feel that giving that permission to smoke outside provides a stepping stone for smokers to then smoke inside. We don't mind guests smoking outside but we hate clearing up their debris. In that respect they are just filthy litter louts who are just disrespectful.

In regard to your vaping guest... at least you shouldn't have to clear up their litter.

@Charlie215 I've not heard of a vaping detector, but smoking detectors exist and I'll be investigating those further along with CCTV to collect evidence to provide to AirBnb should we need to back up any claims.

[Charlie215]

Unfortunatley I did clean up their litter. They left a water bottle full of cigarette butts outside. I steam cleaned the room to help with the smell. 

[Suzanne302]

I don't want my property smelling anything like smoke. Smokers don't exactly get it because they smell like that all the time, but that smell lingers and it's simply gross. Not to mention over time the smoke will yellow anything that is remotely white including curtains, walls, furniture, etc. And who wants to deal with cigarette butts everywhere? (or a bunch of them sitting in a bottle on your porch, ewww!)

In my listing I make it clear no smoking or vaping anywhere on the property, inside or outside. I write that "If you smoke or vape, another property would be more suitable to your needs."

And vaping isn't harmless. It produces a huge cloud of white smoke that stinks! Yuck! I don't want to breathe in the huge cloud you just exhaled!

Not allowing smoking/vaping shouldn't be considered unreasonable. It's simply another rule like any other you want to implement. It is YOUR property, afterall, and your rules should be respected.

[Sarah977]

@Suzanne302   Of course you have every right to not allow smoking or vaping on your property. But just to correct something- vaping doesn't produce a huge cloud of white smoke- it is water vapor, not smoke. Just like the cloud of water vapor that you'd see coming out of a boiling kettle.

[Suzanne302]

@Sarah977 

Whether you call it water vapor or smoke, it's still something that has been inside a human and they are then spewing out and I don't want to breathe it in! 🙂

The "vapor" that is expelled is large and white, not clear.

[Charlie215]

I have found something that I think might aid in detecting when people are vaping or smoking so that you can ask them to leave. There is an air purifier that automatically adjusts when there are particles in the air. You would still need to be there and use good judgement of course. Look for the Silver Onyx air purifier. There are many others but this one has the auto feature and has very high reviews. 

[Aambr0]

Funny story, humans also breath out carbon monoxide, which they also don’t want to breath in…..

[Aambr0]

*dioxide

[Ann3]

I had folks vaping recently (I allow smoking in my courtyard) and it was some kind of blueberry or fruit flavor that permeated the entire property while they were out there, got into our house-- this time of year we have the windows open-- AND all the sheets smelled like it. It was super-strong. I've never experienced that before. I did say something to them about how strong it was, but they were jerks and kind of laughed at me. Not the easiest guests.

[Charlie215]

Ok, I think I have found a solution for the problem of detecting unauthorized smoking/vaping. What you need to have an indoor air quality monitor that is PM 2.5  This measures particulate matter in the air. There are many devices available, some of which have web connectivitiy for monitoring remotely. If anyone has experience with any of these products I would love to hear about it. 

[Dave1074]

1st time Air Guests and even long-time Air guests often do not read the full listing.  As hosts, we need to decide for each stay how much communication is needed so that we get what we want without causing offense. 

If a guest smoked or vaped outside, we are ok with that.  One must be careful to avoid causing offense where there is really no ultimate harm.  In short, pick your battles carefully.  If you must "speak with a guest", take pause before doing so and consider what will get them to help you without irritating a paying guest.  And, always start such a conversation with pleasantries (nice day, isn't it?  How is your stay so far?  Smile a lot!).  

Perhaps a sign outside like Please do not feed the chickens might help?  Their intentions were good.  Only correct behavior that you really need to.  Otherwise, save the critique for the review and do not risk your own. 

[Tammy556]

You might be able to find a creative solution to the chicken feeding. Everyone loves to feed cute animals! So do what some zoos do - tell them they can only feed them approved chicken feed, which you will sell them for, say, $2 for a packet (a Ziploc bag) and they can go ahead and feed those chickens! One way would be to have the bags in the room, or out near the chickens with a sign explaining the rules & cost, count them before & after, and charge the difference to the room.