When you can’t do a thing about it...

[David6]

2 night stay. Over years we got the whole ‘get housekeeper to take pictures once she’s finished  cleaning’ . Send on WhatsApp as date/time stamped proof. 

But today these guests outsmarted. Smoked but blew smoke out of window. The room has lingering smell but managed to clear it . But this damage to the window frame is new! But of course i can’t prove it, as I didn’t take a picture before they arrived.

Host zero!  Guests win again!

* Managed to remove the red wine  ‘ring’  stains, but the burns have actually melted the plastic window frame, and can’t get off 😞 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@David6 

stick a white duck tape on it

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@David6 

If you check out the filler sections at B&Q or other local DIY place they sell two part filler which looks like a thick glue stick, you mix it by cutting a section off and rolling it  like putty in your (gloved) hand and is pliable plastic in texture. It sets like rock in 5-10 mins. Theres a white version which would work on your window frame. I'd maybe Dremel an indent on the badly damaged parts and then fill and sand those. You may be able to grind away most of the burn to reveal original plastic(?)  The filler can be sanded quite accurately afterwards. Obviously check the colour first but I bought one recently for filling a crack in plastic but used an old pack I had already opened instead. Despite this old version having a two colour mix of white and blue the finish was predominantly white.

[David6]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

Really appreciate this tip & advice! Thank you very much 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@David6 

Another easy option: White electrical insulation tape trimmed to fit to edges with a scalpel.

[David6]

Just got a same day booking! So when I flip the room I’m going with temp option you suggest 

[Mark116]

@David6  I was going to suggest trying to sand the burn out with steel wool or sanding paper or paint over it, but @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  idea of using filler or duct tape seems a better solution.

@Sarah977  I almost always agree w/you, but I can't agree that 'smokers will smoke' so let them smoke in the house.  We let people smoke on the front porch or otherwise outside in the front of the house and we give them an ashtray as well.  But if someone smoked INSIDE the house, that would be a huge breach of the rules and our trust.  Smokers will smoke but they have to still walk the 10 feet to the door and step out.  I am usually a little perplexed about people who have large houses and property and they flip out if someone smokes outside on the deck or the yard....but inside is a no no.

[Sarah977]

@Mark116  You misunderstood what I was trying to say, sorry I wasn't clear. I wasn't suggesting that non-smoking listings allow guests to smoke inside, not at all. What I meant was that since so many hosts have had issues with this, that providing an outdoor space which is comfortable (some kind of cover from the elements, a chair, an ashtray or a container of sand), which in fact you do, can save hosts a lot of aggravation from smokers, who will smoke inside if there is no other place for them to do so. Indoor smoking is so frowned upon in most places now (and totally banned in most public spaces) that I think the majority of smokers will be respectful if they don't have to stand out in the rain.

I fully understand that a lot of people are thoroughly disgusted by cigarette smoking and even take a hard moral line against it, but if it comes down to a choice between having to empty an ashtray used outside, or having to cancel the stay, get some retaliatory review, try to charge the guest for extra cleaning, spending days washing everything in the unit, using an air filter, fans and leaving windows open to air the place out in the dead of winter, and having to close one's calendar or cancel a reservation while you get the smell out, I'd take the ashtray emptying as the preferred alternative. 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sarah977 @Mark116 

If only smokers would use the ashtrays provided !

A recent group had a smoker who practically lived outside. He (and they) were informed by me where they could smoke and where the ashtrays were. Not one single butt ended up in the ashtrays. Over 80 butts as well as other related litter were retrieved from my neighbours fields and yards after a 3 night stay.

This, along with other smokers who discard their waste wherever they stand make themselves and other smokers unwelcome guests. As @David6's damage shows, these people are just irresponsible. 

I clean our listing. I know every scratch, burn, crack, cup ring, hair straightener burn and hair bleach stain inflicted by guests thinking it won't be noticed. It is noticed and it is unacceptable.

Guests need to fully understand that these are people's homes they are benefitting from at less than commercial rates and not just some faceless hotel. They need to show at least, some respect.

[Sarah977]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  How rude of the guest. I'm a smoker myself, but I carry a little tin with a tight-fitting lid in my handbag to put butts in when there is no other appropriate place provided. Throwing butts on the ground is nasty and inexcusable, not to mention an extreme fire hazard if the weather is dry.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Sarah977 

I think our expectations are lead by the way we lead our own lives and in my life none of this irresponsible expectant behaviour happens - even if it is being paid for. There are some responsible smokers and they are appreciated, but they seem to be in the minority unfortunately.

[David6]

Do you know @Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  @Sarah977 

it’s the reckless disrespect that’s getting to me. I went the extra mile for these guest. (I appreciate we all do every booking)

On check out day. My cleaner arrived 12.30 and they were still in bed. I said ‘no worries, it’s Sunday. Don’t rush. Let’s say 2pm so you can take a shower and don’t worry (3 hr extension, as we list 11am)  and I asked my cleaner to start on the other rooms. End result paid my cleaner worked extra 30 mins and she had finished and was  waiting! I know what a fool) haha 

and why is this getting to me after Much worse damage & problems? Why? Because as an ex smoker I would never, ever have done this! 

[Rosemarie9]

It gets to all of us, airbnb hosting is like a battle of attrition at times. All the bits of damage, entitled attitudes wear you down. I had a doozy of a guest who got drunk on top of taking some serious medication, and started smashing up my furniture. Mind you his father was there along with two other friends, and they were doing nothing to stop him. So my hand painted floor boards now will need to be redone. I'm fuming! You are not the only one! 

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@David6 @Sarah977 

Each time you think you have a good one and that fails to be the case you hope that the next will be. Theres only so long you can on with that same level of optimism 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Yes, rose-colored glasses tend to discolor after awhile. I have never had any "bad" guests, but have certainly dealt with those that would qualify as that in other circumstances. One of the saddest things for me about it is that while I used to be quite trusting of people unless they proved themselves to be untrustworthy,  I now do not just blindly assume that everyone has good intentions or cares about anything other than themselves.

I think that's basically the same thing that @David6  said above "It's the reckless disrespect that gets to me". It's demoralizing when you find you can no longer be fully open to people, and find that you are being forced to give up a basic faith in the goodness of human nature.

Everyone isn't doing their best or trying to do the right thing, and it's quite a shame.

[Helen350]

@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0  Your final paragraph ^^^^^^^ "Guests need to fully understand that these are people's homes they are benefiting from at less than commercial rates.........."   should be the 1st thing all prospective new guests read, when they first log on to the Airbnb website!