Guests disregard house rules and not pay violation fees

[Emily2037]

Hi, My guest had agreed with the house rules but had a cat in the house anyways which violated the house rules. The guest refused to pay the violation fees. Airbnb support was not very helpful. They did helped with the host damage but not with the violation fees. What's the point of the violation fee if there's no way Hosts can enforce them? I would like some advice as to what I can do to prevent this in the future?

Currently, we have all the guests read and acknowledge the document with house rules with violation fees, before we give them the code to access the house. But sometimes,  there are always that does not respect the rules and just do what they wanted to do.  How can Host enforce the violation fees? 

Thank you.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Emily2037 Airbnb rightly does not support 'violation fees' because they are both unethical, and not allowed under contract law  in many jurisdictions.

[Emily2037]

Thank you for the input. What do you recommend to Hosts to work with Guests that disrespect the House Rules and do not comply with violation fees? There's no point in setting violation fees if they cannot be enforced. The house is in FL, USA. Thank you.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Emily2037 For me a violation of an important rule = cancellation of stay and refund of remaining nights. But we are lucky and 99% of our guests comply with our rules - Either we have better guests or fewer rules!

[Emily2037]

That's great for you! We haven't had many rule breakers but we have learned from a handful of our disrespectful guests to help us to put the current rules in place. We were forced to put them into place but some still do not respect them. So the question remains how to address violation fees that they refuse to pay. Thank you.

[Zheng49 · Accepted solution]

There is no way to enforce these violation fees. 

[Kia272]

@Emily2037 It's not a rule if you allow guests to pay money to break it. 

If the guest violates your house rules, kick them out. It's silly to allow them to break the "rules" and then pay. It's more like a suggestion, and not a rule if you do it that way. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Kia272 @Emily2037 

That's exactly what I was going to write. 

[Emily2037]

Thanks Zheng49 for the clear answer! That means the violations fees are just to deter offenders and no one to enforce them.  

I totally agree with you Kia272! Unfortunately, we didn't find out they broke the rule until after they left. I'm gonna install outdoor security camera for the public open outdoor spaces. That may help. 

Thank you Everyone for your input! 

[Maya737]

That's why you should list with VRBO where you can ask for a Damage Deposit and have guests agree to your own Rental Agreement (attatched separately and guest agrees to at time of booking). When you have a Damage Deposit, guests are more likely to take care of your home.

I strongly dislike being a host on AirBNB, they have never supported their hosts and only side with the guests. Covid was a great example of this. Many times I have filed a claim, only to never be compensated for expensive linens ruined or smoking in our luxury home.