Guests staying in their room whole days

[Samantha1410]

I recall a similar post from the past, though it seems quite dated now.

I currently have a couple occupying the spare master bedroom in my apartment. At the time of booking, they claimed to be adventurous, outdoor enthusiasts who would be working full-time following their relocation from another city.

However, it turns out they prefer staying in their room, cooking large meals if not, consuming takeaway food in their room, and lounging in the living room, which disrupts my quiet time. They only seem to leave when I'm off to work or out and about. After reaching out to Airbnb for assistance, I was informed that nothing could be done. I questioned whether there was any host protection for instances where guests misrepresent their intentions, but Airbnb did not address this particular concern. It's quite frustrating.

They've already stayed for three weeks and wish to extend for another two, but I declined.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Samantha1410 A few thoughts:

I would limit stays to 7-10 days in a homeshare situation in case I didn't get on with the guest. Not allowing a 2 week extension is very sensible.

I assume the rules of your listing have been updated based on these guests. We operate a 3 strikes concept whereby we don't add things to rules or change things in the apartment unless 3 people have caused an issue or suggested a change. Knee jerk reactions to an individual guests will end up making your rules read like War and Peace.

I am sure your next 10 guests will be perfect!

By the way - What do you fly?

[Helen3]

Have you sat down and had a chat with your guests about what happened to their plans to be working full time and to travel around the areas  (did you clarify if this was from home or outside in a workplace when they booked). @Samantha1410 

I am a homeshare host and have it in my house rules that guests can't eat in their rooms.

If I get an inquiry for a longer term booking I always talk to guests about their plan for their stay including cooking in my home to ensure its a good fit.

If you don't have any restrictions around use of your lounge/kitchen around guest use you can't really now put in restrictions but there is no reason you can't agree times when they might want to use your kitchen/dining room to cook so you both have time to use it.

[Samantha1410]

Thank you, Helen. Unfortunately, after discussing their plans, I've decided not to extend their stay because they have indicated they are not seeking employment. This decision was reached following our conversation.

I will not sit down with them to discuss leaving the house, as it violates Airbnb's policy, nor will I remind them to secure a full-time job as they assured me, since it is not my responsibility. But thanks for your concern. 

I neglected to mention that this is my first experience with Airbnb. I've learned that I need to set clear restrictions for every area of my home.

[Helen3]

Hi @Samantha1410 

I wasn't suggesting you sat down with your guests  to discuss leaving the house/them securing a job . They have a set leaving date and you have decided not to extend.

I suggested you sat down with the guests to talk about use of kitchen/dining space as you mentioned this was an issue so you could agree times for using it .

[Jennifer1897]

@Samantha1410 Welcome to hosting. I too rent a room in my main home and have encountered guests such as this. It's always a little tricky to find a balance with home shares. While we want guest to feel welcome and be able to utilize the space(s) we also need personal time to ourselves where we can utilize our home, such as the kitchen or living room without feeling crowded. Additionally, while we do hope guests get out once and a while during their stay, if they opt to sit in the home their entire stay that really is their prerogative, unless house rules state otherwise. 

I had a medical student come in once who verbalized that they would be working at the local hospital approximately 5 days per week. Come to find out they barely went in one day a week and spent the majority of their month stay between the living room couch, the shared office, or cooking three extravagant meals a day in the kitchen. Needless to say, it felt a bit crowded in the home.

Here are some things I have done to mitigate this issue

-Vet guest. Open communication before a stay is a great place to start. Ask them for details about their trip. What brings them to the area, what are their plans while they are here? etc. etc.

-Limit the duration of your stays. I have since made long term stays by request only. This allows me (as stated above) to really vet my guests and see if we are a good fit. Also, shorter term stays make not so great fitting guests more tolerable. 

-You can limit guests access to certain areas. For example, you can restrict usage or make usage available at designated times, for example you could say "Living room usage is for family only, or limited kitchen use is available with prior arrangements." Just be mindful as someone else said, you don't want your house rules to read like war and peace, and you also don't want guest to feel like a prisoner or burden in your home. 

[Paula]

Hello @Samantha1410, welcome to our community 😊

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