Define 'Private Room' and Host accessibility thereto

[Ken28]

As a part of hosting, I take it upon myself to do a quick walk-through every couple days. I've been doing this since day one. First, I check that they're not home (car isn't in garage or driveway), and then I knock on the door, and then I let myself in when I verify that they're not present.

I take a quick look around, make sure the trash can isn't full, tissues are stocked, and then inspect to verify that towels are in their proper locations (the bathroom, and not hanging in the bedroom), food is not being stored or disposed of in the rooms, and that they are taking good care of my personal property. (Those are all things that they agreed to in the rules.)

I just had a long term guest leave a week early. She requested a refund of her unused days via the resolution center. Her reason was listed as "uncomfortable" with the host entering the room without permission.

Airbnb reached out to me, and I confirmed that yes, I access my guests rooms without their consent or even notice. Their response said:
"I do truly understand that you would just like to protect your home from damages, and I get that with guests in the past, this has become your primary goal. However, like I said, this is absolutely not something you are allowed to do on our platform. If a guest books your listing as a "private room" they are not expected to share their living quarters, which means this is only for the guest that had booked. By going into this guests listing without her permission, this makes for an uncomfortable and potentially inappropriate situation between you and your guest, and this is something we always would like to avoid."

"With that being said, per our Terms of Service, Section 9 paragraph 5 & 6, I will be proceeding with refunding your guest for the nights she did not stay in your listing. This will amount to a total of $[xxx]. At this time, because you have already received this payout you will be seeing an adjustment to your account for this total. This adjustment will be due to come out of your future payouts."

Nowhere in my reading of the Terms of Service does it say that a Private Room is not accessible to the Host. I've challenged the Manager, but haven't gotten a response back yet.

[Ann3]

I'm sticking to my guns on this one.  I've been a dog owner most of my life, and am still active in animal rescue.  We've fostered dozens of dogs over the years, and my own dogs have always been crate-trained.  I could see asking a roomate to share responsibility for your dog, but not your GUESTS. If that was the only issue, well, it would be different.

Along with a number of your fellow hosts I've weighed in enough on this. Your legalistic overthinking does not address the fact that your guests and some folks who have posted on this thread feel that entering a guest's room without prior notice/permission is creepy. That's about all there is to say at this point.

[Todd-and-Reese0]

@Ken28and others who wanted follow-up. It's only been a little over a week since I put the new code phrase in the house rules, and it's going really well! Last two IBs came in with the phrase at the top of their booking message! I have to thank @Momi0 from another thread on creating good house rules. She's got some super tight ones.

Also to Ken, I don't want to pile on, and I get that you were only doing long-term stays (like roommates), but I agree with not making your dog anyone else's responsibility. You can ask them nicely if they could please do this, but you can't make it a requirement. Some folks will love doggos and love to help, but some might have fear or ignorance and this will be a problem for them.

And to respond to one other person asking about my changing the rules and/or telling the guests I did - that's not quite right. If you read the post better, I was saying that if it's been a while since they booked I tell them that AirBnB changed some things (which they did just roll out new Terms of Service) and to make sure they check the listing details and house rules and let me know if they have any problems with anything so we can sort it out before they arrive. If they still break house rules or don't know where anything is or how to use things in the home after all my attempts to get them to read the listing info, it's on them and will affect their stay (and my review).

Side note: There have been so many threads begging hosts to please honestly review and rate rule-breaking guests, that I'm trying my best to abide! I want them to be rated honestly, too, so I can have great guests in my home.

[Farah1]

@Reese when you cancel IB under "not safe", do you do it yourself through the site/app, or do you contact airbnb first? For listing with active IB feature, host can cancel if the guest does not agree with house rules and other reasons that allowed by airbnb without penalty and there is no cancellation limitation # on this, am I correct? Have you done cancelling IB confirmed reservation under "not safe" because the person does not send the code or does not agree with your house rules? How did it go?

I am currently only have IB active on the entire unit that I rent out. I have been thinking to activate IB on the private room that is available in my house too. However, I am nervous as I share common spaces with guests in the private room, I am afraid that having IB activated will not work well because people do not read, do not want to follow house rules, there is no prior discussion, etc.

[Momi0]

@Todd-and-Reese0 

Thank YOU for taking the time to post a positive comment of gratitude towards me.  You are most welcome.  So glad its worked out for you.  I still tell others (hosts) who reach out to me via social media needing help about what you chose to put into your House Rules....makes everyone laugh including the Airbnb community manager that I shared the story with. 

IMPORTANT UPDATE: I would like to point out that I have discovered in the last 2 months that depending on what kind of smartphone a guests is using to access the ABB mobile app, their system could cause a glitch to not show all of the House Rules (perhaps their WIFI or browser)...I had a guests screen captured how it appeared on their phone (mobile app) and they didn't get all of my House Rules.  (they were cut off)

That being said, going forward, if I have someone who says they read my House Rules but don't understand what I am talking about when I say they have clearly missed something important, I now copy and paste my House Rules into the ABB message thread giving them a clear view of my House Rules to read, and they quickly realize they need to send me my required movie quote once they've read all the way through.  

I have my House Rules saved in the Automated Saved Message system which is a fantasic new feature I have been using since Day 1.  Love it!!!  I have about 15 saved messages to help me when it deems appropriate to send to a particular guests depending on their ABB experience/needs to help them as much as I can.  

One example, is my list of restaurants recommendations around my entire island which they ask me for after check in because my local Guidebook is more about my specific part of my island.  Saving me tons and tons of time.  haha.  But I always make sure to add their name to make it more personal.  🙂

The best part for my guests is.....I have a comment next to each restaurant where if they mentioned my name, they will get a free soda, or 20% off their bill, or a free beer, free appetizer with purchase of a dinner, etc.  The guests just love this.

Thanks for reading and I hope my post has helped someone. 

[Ken28]

@Momi0 ... yes, I've also seen the cutoff text on my phone before. I think that any decent guest would take the time to find another way of reading them. Good thing we have the messages option just in case, though.

P.S. > I reached out to you on social media, Momi 🙂

[Ken28]

Okay, so it's obvious now that 90% of the Hosts that post in this forum are ready to jump to conclusions about a person that they've never met.

This is not a post about what makes guests uncomfortable.

This is not a post where you tell me what you think is 'creepy'.

This is not an opportunity for you to offer snide remarks about any Host's personality.

This is not about how I treat or my guests are expected to treat my dog.

This is not about my house rules at all, for that matter.

I came asking a SIMPLE question. CAN WE PLEASE STAY ON TOPIC????

Can anybody DIFINITIVELY show that I violated a policy by entering an unoccupied guest room without notice.

I've already shown that local Landlord-Tenant Law does not apply, so I'm asking for proof from Airbnb's Policies, i.e., the Terms of Service.

[David126]

As far as your local law is concerned you have only mentioned part of what I am sure is a long document and I have no idea how local precedents would impact. When it comes to it all you can get would be opinions, the Judge would be the person whose views matter most.

I can see some of your conclusions re likely incorrect.

As a general comment any given ABB Host could be a Landord, not a Landord or both depending how they operated their business.

ABB conditions give them a fairly wide range of latitude and can not be expected to cover all circumstamnces in detail, I think it is reasonable to assume that uninvited unnanounced visits to personal space would be deemed a no no.

[David126]

I prefer Customers, a guest is free.

In ABB lingo Guest = Customer.

Happy Hosting.

[Rachael26]

@Ken28

I think this would be an excellent opportunity for you to confirm your comments, and it would help possibly hundreds of other hosts.

Why don't you get a legal opinion from an attorney who specializes in housing law - ask them and share the results.

That would be super useful!

[Joanna85]

In my renting out regular rental units I have learned people have rights.....the law is quite clear that you must give written 24 hour notice before you enter a home.  This is what the law determines as proper. This also applies to our airbnb spaces. If I were to just enter a home...to take a look around and not give proper 24 hour notice to the tenant, I would/could be sued by the tenant as well as fined by the city.  It's like when owners try to change the locks on people when they people don't pay rent...uh, there is such a thing called due process and the owners always end up paying out the wazoo and tenants get to stay way longer due to the owner not following due process.  That's why the police cannot just send SWAT into a home even if we all know they are selling crack or making crack or storing guns..they have to have a search warrant and to get it...they have to have actual evidence.  Someone is accused of beating his child....the authorities just cannot take away the children, there is a long investigation and there are procedures in place so that people's rights are not infrindged on.  We all have rights and this is the cornerstone of what we Americans really, REALLY covet.  Once you hand over keys to a unit, the person there has rights and you cannot violate those rights.  The reason you are justifying why just doesn't even matter because that is not your space...even if they are not there--they still have 'possession' of it unless they return the keys to you and have left.   

Now the other day I had guests who were yelling and screaming and going crazy fighting--so I knocked on the door and asked to go in.  If they had said no, I would have busted in once I heard him slapping the crap out of her because that is an emergency situation, but if they had not agreed to let me in, I would have had to stay out.   I smell smoke...yeah, I"m busting in because the place is on fire.  I smell a dead body...uh, yeah, I"m going in.  To just poke around and make sure there is no possible situation...no, can't do it.  Rotting food, lights on, music playing too loud, meth making, 100 people inside...nope, can't go in.

I"m not critisizing your abilities as a host, I"m just saying you should really examine the laws pertaining to rentals so you are informed and so that you aren't monetarily penalized again further in the future for a mistake that could have been avoided.  I know it's hard to surrender your space to total strangers knowing people sometimes lack common sense...but again, they have possession of that space and they have rights.  You have to just trust the process (and make sure you have great insurance lol)

[Ken28]

@Joanna85, Your answer you provided relates only to your Local NV Jurisdictions based on your Rental Units.

I want to know what *Airbnb policy* specifically restricts a host from entering a private room in their own residence. Because where I live, there are no local statutes in place that apply to my rented rooms.

[Robin4 · Accepted solution]

Maybe this thread has gone far enough, it is taking a massive amount of email alert space and is going nowhere!

@Ken28 is not looking for advice, he is after validation of his position. Every piece of advice that is given here he will come back and counter with his own interpretation, however tenuious! There is an old saying....'There are none as blind as those who will not see'!

Healthy discussion is great but It's time to let this one go and get on with giving advice to others that can be of some use!

Cheers.....Rob

[Ken28]

@Robin4

I agree, this went on WAY too long and got WAY too personal for my taste. I'm going to continue this investigation privately with Airbnb (if they ever respond), the Better Business Bureau, and whatever local law experts I can find.

I'll be sure to post my findings, when I do get an answer to the Original Post.

Thanks guys, for a gutwrenching 5 days. It's been ... an experience... that I never want to repeat.

[Momi0]

@Ken28  I was a bit bummed to see that you "deactivated" your listing today.  I was hoping to see a pic of your adorable dog Duke.  I too am a animal lover and own 3 rescue pets myself.  And my guests just love them.

Please do not allow the others to discourage you from hosting.  Trust me when I say I understand that guests do not read House Rules. I even hosted an "ABB host" who didn't read through my House Rules or *gasp (look at my photos of my pets). She had to leave because she was allergic to cats even though my listing has 3 paragraphs about our beautiful cat.  Proving she didn't even read my listing either.  Weird that she was an ABB host but doesn't read a listing to make sure there are no cats around in the host home to book a Private Room.  IMHO.

I have a fool proof way of proving whether they read my House Rules or not.  Perhaps you can take a look at my listing and see if that helps you...remember, you have to read all of them to understand.  And the best part is, Airbnb has stuck by me 100% since July 2015 when it comes to my House Rules being adhered to and respected.  Don't give up on hosting....just be more selective on WHOM you host....like I do.  Communication is key and I firmly believe that between the host and his/herguests, there cannot be too much communication even prior to check in day.  Some guests I even call them to say "ALOHA" to help them out when they express in their messages having alot of "needs" or "wanting extra help".  They all appreciate that I do that too.  Verbal communication is great.  There is no rule that you can't call your guests ahead of time.  Who wouldn't love to hear a smile from their host prior to arrival day? 

[Ken28]

@Momi0, Thanks for the kind words. It occured to me when you posted this that I never added him into my listing photos... he was in my old ones, but when I moved I forgot to add him in! (Which explains why some of my guests acted so shocked to see him!)

I'll PM you a couple photos of Duke. Forgive me, it will be later this evening. I'm out grilling now and playing fetch with el compadre.