Filtering Smokers & Loud Guests

[Dustin142]

Been hosting now for about 3 months, and very happy with the amount of bookings and becoming a super host. I advertise my basement with a yard to attract pet owners, and a hot tub to attract skiers/snowboarders in the winter months. But I’ve had a string of bad guests lately I’d who lie about how many guests, are very loud, or I catch smoking on my exterior cameras. My house rules clearly define these things are not allowed, and I reiterate these rules with a message a day prior to arrival as well as a laminated placards in the guest space. All of said guests have 4.5 or higher ratings.

My question is, how do you filter these guests out. Questioning them during booking doesn’t seem to help, and I’m fine knocking a few marks off on their reviews, but I’m mostly interested in how to better filter them out.

Ideas that come to mind

1. Raise the price

2. Alter the listing to not attract as many people (which is counterintuitive)

3. Change booking settings to not allow instant bookings

Thoughts?

[Sarah977]

@Dustin142  Reiterating your house rules a day or two before check-in is the wrong time to do this. Those things, checking that guests have registered the correct number of guests, and warnings that bookings will be cancelled if house rules or guest counts are violated need to be conveyed at the time of booking.

Turning off Instant Book would definitely help as you can message with prospective guests and get a feel for them before deciding to accept the booking.

Also change your cover photo- many guests just look at the photos and price and gloss over the written info- the hot tub is not what you want to be their main attraction to the listing, it's too associated with a party atmosphere.

And although you do make it clear that you live upstairs, as I said, many guests don't read through everything, so I would make that more prominent by including it in your main listing descrption.

Something like "Host lives upstairs, so always available to answer questions and assist". Knowing the host is right there discourages those who try to sneak in extra people or party.

[Dustin142]

Thanks for responding.

I have did have an automatic message at booking state these rules, but changed it thinking it would bring hesitation to the guest thinking I would be a pain host, but I’m thinking you’re right that if anyone reads it and changes their mind, it was probably for the best. I’ve got enough satisfied reviews that should help potential guests think otherwise. 

It’s about to be spring, so I have no problem changing the main pic to alter the party theme of the place anyway. It’s tough because many guests have stated it was the main reason they chose my space.

And yes I’ll emphasize that I live upstairs.

thanks for the advice 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Dustin142  tell them you have a smoke alarm in every room and a very intolerant police officer neighbor with a police dog who barks when he hears unfamiliar people or the alarm sound. So if they intend to smoke and be loud then you suggest them to cancel or they could end up shot and bitten 😄

[Anonymous]

@Dustin142  I think when you're only 3 months into hosting, it is way too early to be using Instant Book. That feature works well for some veteran hosts who have learned how to make their setup totally bulletproof, but you're still way down the upward slope of the learning curve, and you have a lot to figure out about what works in your place and how you can successfully enforce your rules. You're clearly a thoughtful communicator, so I think you're capable of gleaning a lot of important detail from correspondence in the booking process and being more discerning about which guests you choose to confirm. (Yes, it's OK to decline sometimes if someone doesn't seem to be a good fit).

Perhaps you've already done your research to be aware of this, but whenever a new Airbnb host mentions accepting pets, the community has to emphasize the fact that the Host Guarantee does not offer any coverage for damage caused by animals. And also, that $400 "security deposit" you specify in your listing is a total fiction - Airbnb does not charge or hold an actual deposit, and it has no bearing on whether you'll have a successful claim if there's damage to your property. Considering that you've already had guests that showed egregious disrespect to your home in such a short time, I hope you proceed with awareness of these facts and screen your guests accordingly.

[Lisa723]

@Dustin142 I think it's possible to reinforce your rules at the time of booking without coming of as "a pain host" and it's advisable to do so. Our post-booking message says, after thanks for booking, "To ensure a smooth stay, please carefully review our cancellation policy, house rules, and house manual right away, if you have not already done so. Your booking constitutes agreement, so if anything presents a problem, please let us know so we can arrange a penalty-free cancellation for you."

The idea is that you want to ensure the guest's satisfaction with their stay by booking a property that's a good fit for their purpose, and redirect them if your place is not.