Finally, a solution that seems to work for "guests gone wild"

[Paul1105]

Lately guests  have been disrespectful in the extreme. I've decided to discontinue hosting after existing reservations complete their stay. 

Since Airbnb offers no help whatsoever,  I have decided to pursue  legal action against the offending guest. 

As I help check in new guests and show them around the property,  I assure them that i know I won't have any  trouble and say "yes, I know everything will be fine, not like the recent guest for which I'm seeking legal redress"

I wish I had done this earlier! Since I started saying this, I don't hear a peep out of the guests. They observe house rules, Dont even go outside after quiet hours, obey all house rules, and leave the house spotless!

What a relief! Posing the possibility of being sued changes everything. 

[Huma0]

@Paul1105 

Lol, never thought of doing that! However, not sure it would be so successful here in the UK where we don’t have the same litigation culture.

[Sarah977]

@Paul1105  I read a host post on another forum where the host noticed that the guest had a rather bad review from a place he'd stayed in Italy. She accepted him in spite of that. When he arrived and she was showing him around, she said "Whatever you did in that place you stayed in Italy, don't do that here." He chuckled, said Okay, and was a fine guest. 

Letting guests know in some way, without being rude, when they first arrive, that you're not a pushover isn't a bad idea at all.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

This is pretty much the way we do it. Fortunately in the UK there's a regulation requiring registration of guests with address details. Having address details makes a whole lot of difference in knowing where to serve the legal documents should you need to and makes one less hoop to jump through if ever you start.

Trouble makers thrive on anonymity. Airbnb provide that in shovel loads. Remove that so there's nowhere to hide makes a big difference.

[Ute42]

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@Ian-And-Anne-Marie0 

Exactely. We have a similar regulation in Germany. On check-in guests have to fill out a form with their full adress and they have to show their ID. The number of the ID will be taken down and then we have to submit said form to the local community.

In 17 years of hosting it never happened that a guest refused this procedure. Should it ever happen, this  guest will not check into my place.

[Barbara798]

Well, we usually end the introduction in the mild way, something like "All our rules can be summarized in just a single one: behave as if you were in the house of friends yours". Of course we target a bit what we say on the basis of who is in front of us (age, look, messages exchanged before arrival, or even nationality, not based on prejudices but only on our past experience). However, we always try to use the feeling of friendship and collaboration, and it usually works.
As for address and ID it is easy in Italy: we need this information to write lease agreement and invoice, as well as to declare our guests to the Police, a normal rule in Italy. If you have lodged in an Italian Airbnb and they did not ask for IDs, it is almost sure that they are not doing things correctly, and very likely they do not pay taxes either!

[Sarah978]

@Paul1105 

That is FABULOUS!!! My husband is a retired attorney and he says something similar to guests. It’s brilliant!!!