Guests who do not follow the house rules

[Maryam166]

Hi everyone,

I’m hosting a young guest who has been making very unusual requests. Last night, she started calling for help around midnight because there was a butterfly in her room. I went downstairs and asked her to open the door but she kept calling us to the point that me, my husband and another guest woke up. Unfortunately, this disrupted our sleep (my husband and I had to get up at 5:30 a.m.), and we all had to take sleeping pills to get back to sleep. I woke up with a migraine and missed a few meetings this morning.

I’ve never dealt with a guest like this before and am unsure how to manage these situations. What are my rights as a host, and how should I approach this going forward?!

I appreciate any advice,

[Elisa]

Hi @Maryam166 😊, 

Thank you for asking this question here! I’m truly sorry about this situation, and I understand it’s not easy to manage.

I’ll mention some hosts who have had a similar situation for their advice: @Harriet4, @Michael8065 , @Olivier970, @Maryam166 and @Pamela-And-Jack0. 

In the meantime, I’m sharing this conversation that might be helpful for you 👉

Guests not following house rules.  Feel free to check out this article from our Resource Center about 👉 How Airbnb protects Hosts. 

Let me know if this helps!

Warm regards🌻,

[Maryam166]

Thanks, @Elisa !

[Jennifer1897]

@Maryam166Sorry to hear about your situation. This is a tricky one. I completely agree that the hour in which she asked for help was inappropriate, however; while butterflies are harmless, I can empathize with her possibly feeling scared. I will give you an example, I am terrified of lizards. When I went to Indonesia, they were a very common site in the home. The first two nights there I was terrified of them crawling across the walls and had trouble getting myself to sleep. Eventually I got used to it and it stopped being a disruption. Fear is subjective, so while you may have seen it as not a big deal, it may have been for her. 

If you feel it is necessary, you can remind her of your preferred method of communication and times in which you are available. For example, you can say "In order to maintain a quite environment for all those in the home we ask that you use the platform to communicate.  We are available to answer question or address any issues during our waking hours. Anything after XXX time that is not considered an emergency will be addressed the following morning. "

You said unusual request, which I assumed was plural, but you just mentioned the one incident. If she is following house rules and not causing a disruption outside of this incident, I would not take any further action aside from potentially reminding her of the above. If she is disruptive in other ways and is not amendable to any re-direction or feedback, then you have the option to end her stay. If this is your choice, I would enlist Airbnb support to assist. Le them know of the issues and have them complete the cancellation. 

[Maryam166]

Thanks @Jennifer1897 !

Yes, I talked to her the day after and she has been alright since then. She is quite young and perhaps from a rich family so may not have much experience sharing a house with someone else 🙂

[Helen3]

@Maryam166 However young or rich she is it's unacceptable to call you at midnight about an alleged butterfly and then not answer when you knock on her door but keep calling 

quite honestly it's more likely to have been a moth attracted by a light in her room 

do explain the impact her behaviour had on you both and that a) she should only be calling you for emergencies at that time of night b) it's not acceptable to call you , not answer the door when you try to help then keep calling you . 

do follow up on the platform so there's a record 

[Maryam166]

Hi @Helen3,

I completely agree with you- she should only call me for emergency not for stupid things like me! It was actually a beautiful moth, and I did explain the consequences of her behaviour to her, hoping she understands that I rented my room to an adult, not a child.
By the way, I think my first message might have caused some confusion, so let me clarify.

She called me (waking me up, of course), and I went downstairs, suggesting she open her door and turn off her light for a few minutes so the butterfly would leave on its own. But she called me again after a few minutes, waking up the whole house, and I eventually had to go downstairs again to guide the butterfly outside myself. It sounds ridiculous, I know! but that wasn’t the end of it- She then called her mom and was so loud it sounded like they were arguing—though it was in Mandarin, so we couldn't be sure. I was really worried that she may wake my neighbours up too! As you can imagine, this all disrupted our sleep.

She has been alright since then but because of her unusual behaviours and requests, I was worried that was else she is was to do next 😞 

thanks again for your advice regarding the following up the platform

Maryam

[Greg2406]

@Maryam166 

Curious to know what were the unusual requests?   

A call at midnight concerning a butterfly?   Hard to believe that this harmless insect falls under the Hosts responsibility.   Provide a fly swatter in the property and call it a day. 

[Maryam166]

Hi Greg,

Exactly! And it was just a harmless, cute little moth!

One example of her unusual requests was asking for a heater while it is summer here in Perth now—and it was actually a very hot day! I ended up turning on the central heater downstairs (where her room is) and set it to the max, 30 degrees, but we all had to open windows as it became too hot! She still wanted a heater directly in her room!

She’s also asked to cook in her room, even though the kitchen is fully available for her use—none of my guests have ever requested something like that!

Another time, she asked me to put her drawers back for her... I was shocked! It almost felt like she thought I was her maid.

There’s more, but I’ll leave it there. Thanks, everyone, for your support. Since we talked, things have been alright, so fingers crossed it stays that way!

[Greg2406]

@Maryam166 

>  Provide blankets - it's summer. 

> Turn Heater on in the summer?, extra fuel/electric charges, not negotiable.  

> Cooking in the bedroom?,...no, liability risk.   Ridiculous, but believe that you need to add that one to the House Rules, if one asked, you may have others.

> Put her drawers back?  That's an easy one, I would have first said excuse me? Then a quick but polite sorry, no.

This one sounds like one for the record books.   Think ABB would be good to have a trophy for the Hosts at the end of the year, title it;  'Hosts with the craziest requests'.

[Maryam166]

Exactly! You are absolutely right! I think I was just too soft with her! I did actually turn on the heater but I did not accept cooking in the room... really strange requests!!! But yes, I'll add this to my rules even though I have never ever had such strange guests and requests! 

I did actually put the drawer back which I regretted so much... but you know it wasn't as bad as waking us up in the middle of the night for a little butterfly!!!! It's great to have your support and suggestions how to deal with strange requests though! 

hahaha- I LOVE your idea: 'Hosts with the craziest requests'. I think this case would be the only guest that I would NOT recommend to future  hosts, sadly, but I'll have to be honest in my recommendations!!!!

[Frances3408]

@Maryam166 . Yep, lots of needy people around. Just set your boundaries and be clear. Your rights are that its your house, so your rules. Dont be afraid to say no. 

But its another example of why I don't home host. Love to have them come and gain new experiences, just not share them all with them at the same time 😉