1 Star Review for Host when Guest Breaks House Rules

[Yiwei3]

Hi everyone,

I'm a pretty new host, so I may be a bit strict on house rules.  I had a guest who was trying to have a party with 10 guests over in a 1 bedroom condo.  When I saw this, I messaged her on Airbnb app to ask her guests to leave since her phone was blocked.  She also had extra guests staying over than the 2 she booked.  After the stay, I requested additional money for the vomit in the bathroom, extra guests, and breaking house rules.  She gave me a 1 star review.  How do you all deal with guests like this?  How do you prevent this from happening in the future?

She has no reviews and said that she was visiting friends and family in the area.  

I started 1 month ago and have all 5 star reviews except for this one.  Now Airbnb is sending emails about my listing being at risk.  What should I do?

Thanks so much!

[Sarah977]

@Yiwei3  There's nothing "too strict" about expecting a guest to be honest about their intentions or enforcing guest count- there's nothing you've done wrong on that front. Other suggestions building on what Andrew said, is to not take one night bookings, as those are the most likely to be the "party" bookings. You can also adjust your setting to require up to 3 days advance notice for bookings, so you don't get any last-minute "Hey, I know, let's book an Airbnb for a party tomorrow night" guests.

If you don't already, make it very clear in your listing info that any guests not accounted for on the reservation will not be allowed on the premises, and if more people are found to be there, it will lead to the entire reservation being cancelled then and there. Repeat this in a message to guests when they book.

You might also consider not having self-check-in, if your schedule would permit you to meet and greet on arrival. You can get a sense of whether they are likely to need some watchful vigilance on your part, or it's just some quiet middle-aged couple on holiday.

Be aware that these scammers who lie about hosting a party tend to look for new listings, assuming, usually rightly, that the host is inexperienced and they'll be able to bamboozle them. As you build up more reviews, up your price a bit, and get established, you'll be less targeted for this type of activity.

And ask a friend or family member who looks like someone not to be messed with, if they would be on call to attend the house with you if ever have to confront this kind of scene again, so you're not on your own. I have a friend people call on like that- he looks like some bada** straight out of The Godfather, even though he's really sweet and non-violent. But you wouldn't know that to look at him.

[Yiwei3]

@Sarah977 I can't believe how savvy some guests are.  She also had no reviews, so I wonder if she's been doing that with other people?

[Evan-and-Shelby0]

If you discover there is a party happening in the home can you call the police to break it up and evict the guest? 

[Anonymous]

@Evan-and-Shelby0 You'll get different results in every jurisdiction. Many cities' police are sick and tired of being treated like a private security service for AIrbnb hosts that can't keep their properties under control - and plenty of residential communities are fed up with their streets being invaded by unruly strangers because space zoned for housing is being misused.

There are times when you may have to call the police in as a last resort, but you really should be doing everything you possibly can to stop these things from happening in the first place, even if that means fewer bookings and lower short-term gains. If "get the cops to help" is a part of your business plan, you've got an awful strategy.

[Sarah977]

@Yiwei3  Yes, there's apparently all kinds of blogs and such where people tell each other how to scam a free Airbnb stay, what sort of nonsense to tell a host to hide the fact that you're intending to throw a rager party, etc. Makes things hard for hosts. And if guests get bad reviews, I hear they often just delete their profile and set up a fresh new one. Not sure how they do that if they have to submit govt. ID, but I know it happens.

One reason I suggested setting a 3 day advance notice is that it buys you time to dialogue with guests to try to get a sense of what what they are telling you is true- if you get some spidey sense that they're not being honest, you then have time to contact Airbnb to cancel the reservation based on feeling some red flags and being uncomfortable, or impressing on the guests that you keep a close eye on things and won't tolerate extra guests, etc. But even experienced hosts have been caught out by clever guests lying about their intentions.

Advance notice and not accepting one-nighters doesn't work for a lot of hosts whose bread and butter is last minute bookings because they live near an airport or something (delayed or postponed flights, etc), but if you don't think it would hurt your business, it's a good idea. Better to have a few less bookings and no issues than a full calendar and a bunch of headaches, IMO.

[Yiwei3]

@Sarah977 I have 1 day in advance right now with requests for same day because I have had gotten some really valid last minute bookings before.   I think now, the quality of the guests are not the same.  For this listing, I removed it and did more nights minimum now.  Would I get penalized for asking Airbnb to cancel based on being uncomfortable etc?  I need I need to used to declining more.

[Sarah977]

@Yiwei3 Well, if the reservations are IB bookings, then I know you have 3 penalty-free "I'm uncomfortable" cancellations- after that, you'd have to convince Airbnb that you have a valid reason for cancelling. If they are Booking Requests, always try to have a message exchange with guests before clicking on "accept" or "decline". Since we have 24 hours before we have to do that, use that time to check their profile, look at their reviews, ask them any questions you might have. If what they are asking for isn't suitable to your listing, or you don't like their tone, or anything else like that, messaging something like " Hi XX- I'm sorry, but I don't think my place is a good fit for your needs. Please kindly withdraw your request, so you can look for a more suitable listing." If they don't withdraw it, then yes, you'd have to click decline before the clock runs out. But declining should be your last resort, if possible, because it affects your acceptance rate, and Airbnb will start sending you warning messages if you decline too much.

[Yiwei3]

@Sarah977 okay got it!  

[Pete69]

Some guests are just plain entitled. Their attitude is "I'm paying you all of this money to stay. Who are you to tell me what I do in the room?"

I recently had guests who were smoking inside my guest suite even though I redundantly say "no smoking" in my listing and I have 2 no smoking signs inside the suite. Now I say "non smoking" in the headline of my listing. I figure, from the get go, they'll skip over even clicking through to read about my listing. So in  your case, consider adjusting the wording of your headline. Say "quiet" if it is a quiet spot and say "no parties" in the headline.

[Yiwei3]

@Pete69 I do think some guests are really entitled!  Even I don't do that when I stay in hotels...  I've noticed that the guests who stay when it's cheaper are the ones who feel that way.   I haven't had these issues with the ones who have paid more per night.

[Pete69]

Yes, a higher price will help weed out more problematic guests.

Also, people who have been doing this a long time will tell you never to accept same day bookings. I would even consider requiring 2 days advance notice. The two different guests who smoked in my guest suite were 1) a same day booking and 2) a next day booking, but requested late (after 9 in the evening). After the first guest smoked, I stopped accepting same day bookings. Now, after having had a second group of guests smoke, and since this is the quiet off season, I require 2 days advance notice. During the busy summer season, I think it's less risky to accept next day bookings.

[Lola41]

You can contact Airbnb and ask to open a case. Remind them the guest  damaged your home and broke the rules by having more guests. That’s a violation of the terms. You need to request at the guest’s negative review be removed because it was not only in retaliation but also they violated the agreement and damaged your home by throwing party and vomiting on the floor. I would insists Airbnb remove the review as well as ban the guest. 

[Yiwei3]

@Sarah977 @Anonymous so it sounds like I shouldn't be too worried about this 1 star review.  I just have to keep getting more reviews and if need to, I'll create a new listing with the same property?

[Anonymous]

@Yiwei3  Definitely not worth worrying about. Actually one potentially positive side effect is that prospective guests can see from your response that you handle things in a professional manner and take your rules seriously. Good guests won't be deterred, but hopefully some of the bad ones will.

[Yiwei3]

❤️@Anonymous ❤️ Thanks for making me feel better about this!