noise

[Julie248]

I have been hosting for almost 3 months. My airbnb unit is in the basement and its poorly insulated. I clearly stated in my ad that I have 2 small children that are loud and I am a dog trainer so we have dogs in and out all the time which can have periodic barking at anytime. I thought that explanation was sufficient but I have gotten occasional complaints from guests for me to quiet the dogs or keep our noise down. We do our best to be quiet after 10pm but I am a night owl which I also stated in the ad. I am starting to feel like I have to walk on egg shells when I have guests. I have probably had a mixture of guests that don't say anything about the noise and leave a great review and then I have some that complain. I just had a guest arrive at 10pm for the first time and my puppy barked for probably 2 minutes.. literally 2 minutes before I put him in his crate on the 3rd floor and he did not bark anymore - I got a message from the guest saying he just arrived and the dog is a bit loud, would I mind keeping it down? I didn't even answer this time as I just couldn't fathom not at least waiting a few minutes to see if the noise stopped.. which obviously it did but clearly he didn't wait to message. Should I change the wording in my ad? I don't want to deter people from staying but I don't want to have to live my life around my guests either. Thanks!

[Tim-and-Holly0]

Julie,

You are pretty explanatory about the noise in your listing, but many people do not read the listings in their entirety, especially with as much text as you have. Perhaps adding a sentence about noise to your house rules that a guest must agree to during the booking process will help. It would, at least, catch the ones who did not read completely.

Any way to increase the insulation and soundproofing? Soundboard works really great, although it runs about $20 per 4x8 sheet at Lowes or Home Depot. Think about doing one room at a time as money comes in and in a few months it would be complete.

Oh- one thing about the light switch guests keep turning off- Can you put tape over it, or attach a note beside it to remind people not to turn it off? It's not something I would read in your listing and then remember a month or two later when I arrived.

Anyway, good luck in solving your problem!

[Raffaele-and-Astrid0]

Hi @Julie248

I think you did and do a great job, considering the dogs and kids around.

I checked your listing and it is clear that you have dogs + kids, but is not immediate, most of the pepole barely read the price and just check if there's internet avaible.

We had the same kind of problem with our Bunk Bed, guests didn't check the picture and they was surprised about the bunk bed at the arrival. -_-

In exchange we get 3/4 stars for accuracy,  even if we have 8 pictures of the bed  from every angle.

We fixed this problem writing on top of our description: PLEASE NOTE: .... ....

and reorganize the picture in a way that they have to see the bed almost at first. 

So I would suggest to put in the description section in the first position and capital letter, somethings like:

- please NOTE: consider that we have dogs and kids before booking with us. ( they can make some noise here and there)

and add some picture of your dogs, in this way the guests know that you have dogs in the house also if they don't read the description.

Another things that can help, prepare an email of welcome where you explain the house and in between put it clear the fact that the dogs might be excited when they see a new guest around the house, and you would do the possibile for keep them quiet.

About the guest that message you after 2 minutes, apologize as always but let it go, don't get sick for them.

Good luck

Cheers Raffaele

[Stæven0]

Personally, I'd ask how committed you are to this and really ask if this is a place you would stay. Also, is this a place one of my most respected friends would stay? If you are committed, I'd Hobestly address this and have professional help 

[Ben-and-Anika0]

Hi Julie,

We, too, host in a basement with poor insulation/noise absorption, and have mentioned that in our ad just like you. In addition we provide our guests with earplugs to use as needed - we got a big box of single use earplugs from Home Depot. You may also want to consider starting your quiet hours later, like 1030 or 11p

[Linda108]

@Julie248  Your lovely listing has much to commend it to travelers who have children and/or dogs.  Just reading your description I can feel the energy level of your life.  Perhaps your intoductory description could embrace the general level of activity.  Your current introduction and several pictures focus on the tranquility and may attract travelers that don't really fit.  

Your detailed description is too detailed.  Much of the information about dogs should be removed from the website and put in your house rules for guests when they arrive.  Would be more effective that way.

[Gretchen4]

I am having an opposite but similar problem. I have described myself as a early riser, partly to deter the nocturnal folks and heavy partiers. I currently have a guest who is sleeping til noon. I am tiptoeing around until he wakes up, but feel like I shouldn't have to as it is MY HOUSE. I am guessing he is a sound sleeper, but should I ASK him that? and should I change my listing to convery that quiet hours in the am end at 9 am so I can turn on music and go about my normal life?

thanks

PS I love dogs and don't see them as a deterrent at all, but agree to make it VERY CLEAR since folks who haven't owned dogs may not get it re some noise even in well-behaved ones. : > 

[Paul154]

Julie,

Your introduction says it all "We are a family with children ages 3 and 6."

Guests are now properly warned. For them to expect 24/7 quiet is ridiculous.

Even better, your reviews explain the situation - Annabelle left you a nice realistic review about the noise in your home

Future guests can read this and come to their own decision.

That said, there will always be clueless guests who expect the Hilton experience.  It's a professional hazard.

Maybe at the end of your listing you could repeat.

"you are welcome to our home with puppies and young children ages  3 and 6. "

[Rahul9]

As a guest, Noise is nearly intolerable as long as one is not inside the house.

The issue is that it;s difficult to gauge the intensity of noise from a different place. For eg - A bachelor folk may never know how much noise can 2 kids make. Similarly for the dogs.

You can obviously try explaining in words but I am not sure how you can do that without scaring away the people.

A better idea should be to sound proof the apartment if it indeed is a serious business venture for you.

No host cares if you have 2 kids etc as long as they can get a peaceful environment to sleep and stay 🙂

[Rosa17]

I want to know why, if we have children as hosts, we should say anything at all? If you have a loud household that should be all you have to say. You should not have to go into details about why, especially regarding kids. People are not allergic to children! Airbnb is all about inclusion. Children are people too. Additionally, for safety reasons, I would not feel comfortable posting publicly the ages of my children.