Fragrance Sensitivity

[Susan612]

Booking guests with fragrance sensitivities. Your experiences? Good? bad? 

[Susan612]

@Sandra126 thank you Sandra for noticing that. I would do anything I could to return to Australia!!! 

[Sarah977]

@Susan612  "Secondly I would think a guest who shows up and cancels and the host gets paid would be a hosts dream guest. Don’t you? "

No, I don't. I am not interested in wasting my time and energy communicating with a guest (which I do a lot with my guests to make sure we will be a good fit) and preparing the space for them only to have them cancel last minute or after arrival. And with my moderate cancellation policy, I would only get paid 50% for the cancelled reservation which had blocked my calendar to full payment bookings, with no chance of rebooking a last minute cancellation.

I'm in the business of hosting, not  dealing with people who have special needs that do not correspond to what I offer, nor getting paid for not hosting.

My dream guests are those who thoroughly read my listing info, do not ask or expect me to make special accomodations for them, communicate well, appreciate what I offer, behave respectfully and leave nice reviews.

[Susan612]

@Sarah977  Apologies for my short sightedness. I only book new places I might cancel upon arrival (since I am in essence buying something sight unseen) for two days max so when I cancel upon inspection at arrival my hosts always get paid for the full two days. I wasn’t thinking about longer stays where there might be some refund. 

[Sarah977]

@Susan612  Apology accepted, but even if I got paid in full for the cancelled booking, I still wouldn't appreciate an after check-in cancellation. There are more things to consider than money and I have better things to do with my time than clean and prepare the space for guests who don't end up staying.

Both hosts and guests who would be interested in such a filter have been asking Airbnb for such a thing for years and it has fallen on deaf ears.

[Patricia1375]

@Susan612 Susan  To your original question:  I had a couple send 28 inquiryies prior to making a reservation.  The husband had severe allergies, and after way too much dialogue I felt so sorry for him and their need to be somewhere safe as their next door neighbor was putting in new hardwood floors and the chemical smells had put the husband into ICU for 48 hours.  Knowing this and more, I agreed to try to meet their countless needs.  Everything had to be cleaned in non-distilled apple cider vinegar, and all cleaning products removed from the entire cabin.  No complimentary organic toiletries.  Everything like shampoo, dish detergent, etc. had to be removed from the unit.  All linens had to be washed with a specific laundry detergent.  Couldn't even clean the windows with windex.  I was asked to air out the unit 48 hours in advance which I agreed to.  No food, coffee, spices permitted in the cabin. 

The guests arrived 6 hrs. late into the night, and they indicated the next day they stayed for one hour and then had to leave due to the husband having trouble breathing.  Their reservation had been for 4 days, and they asked politely for a refund.  I agreed to a refund for the one day, and in my mind it was a lesson learned.  For all the extra work before they arrived, and then restocking the cabin after they left, I probably would not do it again.  I pride myself on wanting to do all I can for those with special needs, physical challenges, etc., but the hours spent was too much of a human cost for my business.

[Sarah977]

@Patricia1375  If a host is willing to go through all that, the guests should be charged extra appropriately for all the extra time it takes. That they asked for a refund after you went through all that is exactly why most hosts would never even attempt to accommodate these requests- the type of people who would even think of asking a host to do such things, let alone send 28 messages, without even offering to pay extra for that, are most often so self-absorbed that they appreciate nothing and complain if the effort a host made wasn't good enough for them.

A person who has such special requirements should not expect to be staying in other people's homes- they should have their own motorhome or camper to travel and stay in. 

Guests who want totally allergen-free, emf-free, whatever-free places to stay, should set up a website where they and hosts who are interested in and can easily provide that (likely because the hosts themselves also have those issues) could connect.

Airbnb and other str platforms are not the right venue for that.

[Helen744]

 . helen @744@susan 612 I can understand that your allergies are debilitating susn . i use hyperallogenic and no perfume products and test with my own nose but as sarah pointed out bleach and disinfectant must be used and extensively at the moment. No two allergies are alike and some reactions would simply not occur as u enter a house. i suggest that it would be better if u stayed in places without carpets and asked the host about pets or linen but previous guests sometimes leave residue perfumes despite host best efforts or dust from a heater or air con . I think that some extra effort needs to go into your choices because most places are not bubble tents or use your medications which most people with serious allergies have. Airbnb may not be a fit for you. cheers H.

[Liv]

Hey everyone,

Thanks for your contributions to this thread.

This is an interesting discussion that is bound to include people with different points of view.
With that being said, let's please make sure to stay on topic and refrain from making personal remarks - as per our Community Center Guidelines.

Thanks,
Liv 

[Susan612]

@Liv  are you available for me to communicate something to you? 

[Jenny]

Hi @Susan612 

Liv isn't a Community Manager these days, but I'm here, is there something I can help with?

Please drop me a DM if you need me.

Jenny

[Susan612]

Hi Jenny,

I found it curious  that Liv would call a discussion about a disability as "interesting". I wish she was still available to explain her thinking 

[Susan612]

@Jenny 

what would you have said when You were observing me being trolled and bullied over my misunderstood and little respected disability? 

[Huma0]

@Susan612 

I think perhaps you are being overly sensitive RE @liv's use of the word 'interesting'. A discussion on any topic can be described as 'interesting', especially if there are differing opinions. Why is it wrong to describe a thread that involves disability as interesting? I would take more offence if someone said it was 'boring' to discuss such a topic.

I really don't know if you were trolled or bullied here. I can't see anything to that effect, but then some comments have been removed. If you feel that your disability is misunderstood or not respected by some, then this is an opportunity to educate those people. It's certainly something I admit to knowing very little about.

I have to agree though with a lot of the comments that it would be difficult for most hosts to offer a listing that could promise to be completely free of any fragrance whatsoever. There is also the issue of scammers. Unfortunately, this could be used as a loophole for guests (who don't actually have sensitivities) to get a free Airbnb stay. Perhaps that sounds far fetched, but there are actually lots of websites out there that actually teach guests how to use stuff like this to get a free stay. If a guest claimed that a listing that was fragrance free actually wasn't, and was therefore falsely advertised, how would the host prove otherwise?

[Rachael316]

The ableism in some of these responses is astounding.

[Fred13]

What an interesting forum thread.

If someone came at me with an inordinate amount of 'requests' (oftentimes more like demands) I would tell them flat out, my place is not for them and that no, I am not going to turn my place upside down and use all kinds of foreign products (not even available in Belize) just to accommodate them. Maybe everything has to be 'equal' within US shores (where I do not live any longer), but not in many places outside of it where pragmatism still prevails.

Having said that, I just had the most cool experience with a truly handicap guest. She booked and when we were communicating on physical pickup at her hotel, she warns me 'I hope the wheelchair doesn't scare you'. Huh? Sure enough she has been in a wheelchair all her life, but travels all over and takes her chances on the good will of mankind. I told her, if you got the guts to travel all over and does everything to fit and not demand special treatment you are my kind of person. I put her with my best guide. We dragged her everywhere: snorkeling (used propelling sea-scooters), up & down ruins (power chair), got to be with sharks and turtles (new small boat with glass bottom), etc etc. A thrill a minute, the whole week she and company had a blessed ball, with so much laughter they resembled the gregarious Jamaican Bobsled Team. She was really a real treat to host.

To me, attitude is everything.