Complaints of noise

[Carmen802]

Hiya, I have airbnbed for at least 6 yrs and never had a complaint about noise.  It is a Victorian property, with wooden floors that are covered with underlay and flooring.

I am really concerned because my guest is complaining because he can hear noise such as walking in the room above his snd he cannit sleep. I do not know what to do as it is me, in the kitchen on my tiptoes for about 10-20mins or less. He has been with me for a week now and complained 2wice.

The first time I apologised as I had pulled a chair out and it made a scraping noise and walked normally, heel first, socks/slippers on. Last night, I tip toed around for about 10 mins.  This led to him messaging me that the noise was disturbing his sleep again. I really want him to have a positive experience in my home but I just don't know what more I can do.  Today I am looking at buying a rug and more substantial ear plugs.  Ideas please. It is an old house that does have movement and a few squeaks and I do sometimes go upstairs in the night if I cannot sleep, to make myself a hot drink. Or to put cooked food away because I have forgotten to do it earlier.

[Helen3]

Is your kitchen upstairs @Carmen802 - that is an unusual layout .

sometimes you can't please everyone and you should be able to use your own kitchen at reasonable hours without tiptoeing about .

i am sure you weren't in your kitchen very late at night.

personally i would say that it doesn't feel like your property is a good fit for him. That he knew he was occupying a shared home and therefore there would be some household noise . And that you aren't making noise at an unreasonable time 

I would offer him a penalty free cancellation so he can book somewhere else @Carmen802 

[Carmen802]

He has booked until end of March. If I offer a penalty free cancellation, I stand to lose a substantial income do I not? 

Yes the layout is unusual. Is there an unreasonable time to be in one's kitchen?

Thanks for your response😀

[Rebecca]

Hello @Carmen802 👋

I'm tagging @Helen3 here so they receive a notification of your message. This ensures that they get a notification that you've replied to them specifically 🤗

Quick tip: if you type "@" and then the username, this will tag the member that you're replying to. 

[Helen3]

Your listing says quiet hours are 11 pm -7 am' so these are the hours I would avoid using your kitchen particularly if it's above the guests bedroom. @Carmen802

i would also mention in your listing if the kitchen is above the bedroom. 

personally as a homeshare host I wouldn't want to have this guest staying for another three months and would take the hit and refund the guest if they want to cancel . 

[Joan2709 · Accepted solution]

@Carmen802 

Well....I guess it depends on what time the guest is going to bed? If you state your Quiet Hours are 11pm-7am, then the guest might assume you wouldn't be moving around in the Kitchen and are probably sleeping too after 11pm.

Not sure you can do much now except "walk on eggshells for the rest of the stay, or do as @Helen3 suggests in offering to cancel. However, he will still be able to leave a review, which most likely will be a negative one.

Potential For Noise Section

I would definitely update your Potential for noise section on your listing (you only mention car noise) and add that your kitchen (and bedroom I assume)  is upstairs and the guest room is downstairs. I try to be as quiet as possible during 11pm-7am, but you may hear some noise as we we have wood floors. I would also add this info to Other Details in the description, as many guests don't read the Property Info section.

Messaging to Guests

You could also maybe consider adding a message to guests after booking that you are looking forward to hosting them! Please note, this is a room in a shared home in a charming victorian with wood floors. We do our best to minimize noise 11pm-7am, but If you are a very light sleeper, we do offer a white noise sound machine and ear plugs.

[Carmen802]

Thank you.  Because it has never been an issue, I have not thought to mention it & hesitate to do so as it is not music, loud talking or sustained noise and may gove ppl the wtong impression.  I will definitely buy some more sunstantial ear plugs for the guest.  I like the description of the house, I might add that in.  Thank you @Joan2709.  I am going to get a rug over the weekend. Hopefully this will help.

[Carmen802]

I have contacted Airbnb and the sound of footsteps is not considered a noise problem.   - so I am going to leave it to the guest to decide if they want to stay or not. guided by my years as a host and never having had this problem before. 

I have made clear to my guest that he will have to accept that there will be the sound of footsteps due to the nature of the property, particularly as he is aware that no one is stomping around and the noise is clearly functional, me tidying up once everyone has finsished in the kitchen - hence, we are talking about a short period of time.- 10 mins. -  I will be mindful and try to do this earlier, where possible. (tidying up is just putting dishes away and wiping surfaces down)  I will endeavour to do this before 11 pm.

Quiet time between 11 - 7 ( I cannot find where it says this) but in no way did I assume that fellow adults would think that this meant that we had a bedtime curfew and that no movement occured between those hours - what if there was a toilet above the room!  My quiet hours means that if you have been out on the town - as many of my guests are - then please return back home quietly. or move quietly and speak quietly, as some guests have done - in order to maintain relationships in different timezones - they will facetime or share a meal with their loved ones during these hours.

I have adapted my possible noise section to include footsteps of occupants moving around the house as it is Vistorian with wooden floors in some spaces.

I am going to put  a rug down tnis weekend.

Thank you for your suppport with this issue.

[Joan2709]

@Carmen802 

All good ideas and think what you're saying is reasonable. Quiet time are found in House Rules. Yours show 11pm-7am. The guest can see them under "Things to Know" at the bottom of the listing page. 

Hope it all works out. I think what you are doing is very reasonable and balanced.