Found these after a poor guest

Laura2592
Level 10
Frederick, MD

Found these after a poor guest

20220126_205032.jpgFound these all over the living room rug. From a pellet gun?

 

Also evidence of smoking inside....second guest in a row that we found cigarette ashes and butts indoors after check out. This person did not communicate well at all and left the place quite messy.  

 

Should I mention the pellet gun stuff  in the review? I do not want guests shooting the wildlife on our property. 

30 Replies 30
Brian785
Level 2
Newnan, GA

"Non smokers only may book a stay" is what the very top of my description reads.  Then I ask ALL potential guests to read and confirm they've read understand the house rules.

Once they have replied in the positive  Ill book them.

Despite all this I still have dickheaded and selfish guests smoke in a around the unit. 

I've put in requests for cleaning damages but NEVER GET A DIME of it.

This so called AIRBNB insurance sucks so does the customer service.

 

Id still put in a claim for damages for the time effort and expense of deep cleaning everything...its a pain in the ass and took me over 3 hours to remove all furniture, wipe them all down, wipe down walls, ceiling, closet, baseboards, floor, clean drapes, mattress lamps etc. Had to throw out 4 oversized pillows whos stench of cigarettes' could not be removed. An of course put everything back...and that was just one room 17x12

image room A.jpg.

 

 

@Brian785 I say the same. I have an Easter egg in the house rules that this person couldn't find. So I cut and pasted all the house rules and asked that they agree to them. Its right there. But now 2 guests in a row. It IS a ton of work to air out and clean the space. In years of hosting we maybe have had this happen twice. Its doubled in the last week or so. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Laura2592 

 

I have areas that guests can smoke in and, like you and @Brian785 make a really big deal about guests confirming they have read the full house rules and understand all of this so I haven't really experienced any problems with guests smoking in areas that they are not supposed to... until recently.

 

I had recent guests who asked if they could smoke weed and, even though that's against my house rules, I said okay, but please do it outside in the back garden. Well, what happens when you give an inch? Guests ended up smoking weed and cigarettes inside, including in the guest bedroom. At first, they tried to be surreptitious, i.e. doing it very late at night when they thought everyone was in bed, but as I am a night owl, I smelt it. Then it was during the middle of the day. You can't really mistake the smell.

 

I thought it would be a nightmare to get rid of the smell before the next guest arrived, which was pretty soon, but weirdly it wasn't. They also left a full rolled up joint in the bedroom. Not sure if that was a gift for me! 

@Huma0 "thought it would be a nightmare to get rid of the smell before the next guest arrived, which was pretty soon, but weirdly it wasn't."

 

Not that weird- pot smoke smell doesn't cling to everything like cigarette smoke does. And dissipates pretty quickly. After a normal cleaning and some airing out, there is usually no detectable smell, unless someone has a very sensitive sense of smell.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sarah977 

 

Perhaps. I hadn't thought of that. I just know that when someone is smoking it, the smell is very strong in the whole property. I am a cigarette smoker myself and I really notice the smell of weed. Maybe it disappears quicker though. 

 

The thing is, I know they were smoking cigarettes as well as joints in the bedroom as I found the butts in the bin in the bathroom which is just across from that bedroom. There is no outdoor access from that floor (but is from the floor below where you will find a nice roof terrace) so there is no reason for those butts to be in the bathroom other than they were smoking in the bedroom.

 

I still have no idea why neither smell lingered other than they left the windows open for some time (I could see that they had been unlocked and it was the middle of winter and cold). Like @Laura2592 's guests, they complained that their room was 'freezing' cold, but refused numerous offers for me to go in and check the radiators or provide extra bedding etc.

@Huma0  "so there is no reason for those butts to be in the bathroom other than they were smoking in the bedroom."

 

They may very well have been smoking in the bedroom but I can tell you that I will often stick butts in my pocket when smoking outside, if there is no proper place to dispose of them. Then I will remove them from my pocket and throw them in the garbage. I would use my outside garbage can for  that, but a guest might not.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sarah977 

 

Yes, I can see that happening in some circumstances, but not in my set up, which is:

 

Ground floor: back garden leading from the kitchen with ashtrays provided, as well as the bin in the kitchen which they pass on their way in and out

 

1st floor: roof terrace leading from living room with ashtrays provided

 

2nd floor: guest bedroom and two bathrooms - no smoking allowed

 

3rd floor: other guest bedrooms/no need for these guests to go up there

 

So, if the guests were smoking the joints and cigarettes outside, why would they choose not to use the ashtrays provided (which they were as I was constantly emptying them) to take the butts upstairs and deposit them in the bathroom bin near their room and then attempt to cover them up with other stuff? I discovered the butts simply because I was emptying the bathroom bins. Couple that with the very strong smell of weed coming directly from their bedroom after everyone, including them, had retired to bed and no one was smoking outside.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Sarah977 

 

PS I have no moral aversion to pot smoking. It's more that the smell can be quite strong and could bother other guests that find it objectionable. Also, smoking joints inside is more likely to result in accidental burns to bedding and soft furnishings etc.

 

I was just annoyed that, having given the guests the option of smoking outside (I have both a back garden and a roof terrace), they chose to have sneaky joints in the bedroom. I know it was really very chilly out, but I think I was already more accommodating than most hosts. Again, if you bend a little, some guests think that ALL the rules are optional.

@Huma0  Yes, I didn't figure you for a moral judgement type 🙂   I'm just lucky that it doesn't get cold where I am, so guests aren't tempted to smoke indoors, when they can sit  on the balcony outside their room, not be shivering, and enjoy the jungle view.

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

@Laura2592 If they were shooting, wouldn’t your neighbors have noticed? I probably wouldn’t mention it unless I knew for sure. But the smoking and other issues are enough for a thumbs down and low stars all around. 

@Colleen253 The neighbors were out of town during this stay-- we only have one which border the property and keep an eye on it. The others across the street would not have noticed.

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

@Laura2592  Yikes, I hope no one was shooting at animals!  How weird and gross.  In this case, I think I would mention you found what look like spent pellet gun shells in the house, because, who needs that?

@Mark116 they already left us a review so I will wait until the last day to leave mine. I just wonder if this will get removed:

 

"So and so was polite to communicate with. Had trouble following house rules with regard to smoking and disclosing pets. Extra clean up was needed.  There were many empty pellet gun shells found indoors, which was unusual and disturbing. Not a guest that is a fit for our space."

@Laura2592  I would think that review is okay since you aren't accusing them of shooting at anything, but stating a fact that spent shells were found in the house, and you have evidence of same.  I suppose you could reword the part about smoking and pets to something more like 'it appeared the guest had trouble/was confused about the rules with regard to no smoking inside and disclosing pets' something that leaves more wiggle room? Or just say what evidence of smoking undeclared pet was found, so no 'conclusions' only stating facts.