HERE COMES THE CRAZY NEW YEAR'S EVE SHENANIGANS

[Anne10908]

1.  5 potentially more (2 cars pulled up yesterday, 

) Not 3 guests (4 seen on exterior ring camera getting into car, 1 or more must be in unit as smelling marijuana right now).

2. Repeat smoking of marijuana in unit coming through strong in the up/down duplex despite guest apologizing at 8am this morning when called out guest on this last night (1st night) both on platform and text to ensure he got message and stopped. I charge $250 for this. Guest responds today first with “Am sorry” = acknowledgement. Then moves to say was not smoking in unit but may have been not in designated area. House rules reflects designated area in yard far away building.

3. Port to window from portable AC disconnected, now makes sense as they are trying to air out while continuing to smoke.

4. Door from unit into garage appears open (potentially another airing of unit). 2 dogs (not paid for) observed walking in and out of garage.  Now makes sense too why that door is open, to air out unit.

Reached out to Airbnb. They are going to call guest then reach back out to me. In meantime, trying to get these extra people removed. I’d rather have suite empty than put up with this.
Happy new year! 

UPDATE:

1. Extra guests(1 extra seen on exterior camera, I suspect one or more in the unit smoking marijuana because they have left and there is no way that marijuana is going to light itself unless the support dogs left behind wandering and barking are smoking it😞Guest’s wife called me after AirBnB reached them. She admits that they have 4 people, her brother came to drive the second vehicle because they had extra items. She said she’s willing to pay for the extra person.2. Smell of marijuana detected late last night, wife admitted that her husband was smoking. She insisted it was not in the unit but it was rather outside but not in a designated area. Says she went off on hubby as she too has concerns coz she’s pregnant. When asked about the smell that’s coming through right now and the dismantled portable AC port and open kitchen door which seems very clear to me that it’s supposed to be airing out the one smoking in the unit right now, she had no comment.When I asked that if there is no smoking, can I then go into the unit to check. Of course she denied, which I was not going to but I just wanted to see what she would say.

We are barely 24 hours into this reservation, no pet fees for two dogs reported as support animals, repeat marijuana smoking coming through, unregistered guests, yeah..... just exactly what I need to assure in my new year. no thanks.

[Sammy-L-0]

I would tell them to leave and call the police aif they don't. There is no excuse for violating this many house rules, particularly since they have already been questioned and lied. 

[Anne10908]

Thankfully Airbnb helped kick them out.  The cops had told me to call back if after they were asked to leave by Airbnb, they refused as at that point it becomes trespassing.  Thankfully they left.  Some minor damage, nothing that I cannot fix.  Lesson learned, forget opening up listing during this time of year, will use if to family, friends or self.  I don't need the headache that comes with the money.  

[Mark116]

@Anne10908  I think its okay to have guests for the holidays, but you have to be more careful in who/what/why are they booking.  We have a group who are leaving tomorrow and they've been out sightseeing for 12 hours a day [my favorite kind of guest], and are taking a cruise tonight, so out of the house again.

We did end up crazily approving so many bookings that we had a turnover on Christmas night, that was  extremely stupid on our part and made the holiday weekend more stressful than the $ was worth. 

We also last year started raising the price for certain nights, like Xmas eve/Xmas, Thanksgiving day, NY eve/ day, etc. so that IF we did rent it, we're getting extra $ for the extra trouble.  Just an alternative perspective.  We also often have blocked Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks for our family to visit, pre covid, so far, they won't fly yet. LOL.  It will work both ways, but you have to be really vigilant for 'party' holidays.

[Anne10908]

Oh thanks this is good input.  Either block it, or raise the rates and be prepared to deal with some stuff (may not happen, but best to be prepared).  I might actually like this.  Thanks.

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

As a homeshare host, I don't get partiers, unexpected extra guests/vehicles or pets, and I think I only once had guests smoke pot inside the house (while I was away - another guest informed me). However, in the past, I have found Christmas/New Year guests to be problematic in other ways.

Guests arriving on Christmas Day was always a nightmare, because they never arrived on time. The other problem is that these guests often turned out to be cheapskates and therefore unappreciative.

The only reason to fly on Christmas Day is because the flights are super cheap compared to the days just before or after. Said guests hadn't done their research and would then be very annoyed when I reminded them that there was no public transport that day. The taxi fares are at least double and the airports are far, so any saving they made on the flight would be negated or significantly reduced. The only alternative is a private bus which takes forever and is unreliable. So, guests arrive late and already in a bad mood. Plus, nothing is open so there's nothing for them to do except lurk around fuming about their 'bad luck'. You're never going to get a good review/rating from a disgruntled cheapskate!

So, I started blocking off Xmas Day for check ins. Simple solution.

Now, I rarely have guests over Christmas/New Year because I host long-term and most will go back to their families at that time, with new guests arriving in the New Year. However, if I ever went back to doing short-term, I think I would block of the holidays altogether. 

While I have hosted a few lovely guests at that time, the ratio of difficult/badly behaved guests versus nice guests was disproportionately high compared to any other time of year.

[Anne10908]

Agreed!  I recently went and updated my bookings based on some comment from this (or perhaps another group) to require 5 to 7 day stays around the holiday.  Said person mentioned that this will deter those just out to book for 1 or 2 nights and allow for good families looking for a place.

I also got some really good input from the community on calling out my stay on property as an on-site host so I have updated that and hopefully that cuts down the riff raff, I also went ahead and just cut down my maximum occupancy from 5 to 4 and re-wrote my listing description to create a clear target.  Oh, I also removed instant booking.  I know this last one may impact how I show up on search results, but my health and safety and making sure folks actually read my rules is important to me.  I prefer to verify this before anyone books as I really want to make the booking one that is pleasant for all parties.  I LOVE THE AIRBNB COMMUNITY.  Got some really good input so running with that and waiting to see what happens 🙂

[Huma0]

@Anne10908 

Let us know how it goes with your views/bookings after switching off IB. I have recently switched it off for one of my rooms. It's hard to tell yet what effect it will have though as bookings have been so erratic since the pandemic started. 

[Anne10908]

I will. I just really want a little bit more control and to make sure that guests are actually reading my house rules especially after the recent guest accused me of being obsessive with my rules.👀 I couldn’t understand why he went ahead to book if he thought my rules were obsessive. Just another clear sign that guests sometimes don’t read House rules before they book and being an on-site host, I can’t afford that. IB has not really done much for me and so hopefully the idea of “scarcity”  will kick in and maybe the less available something is the more inquiries you’ll get about it🤪🤷🏽‍. Overall my health and safety is key and I really just want to make sure that any guests coming into my home respect my rules to make for a pleasant stay for all,

[Huma0]

@Anne10908 

Many guests do not read the house rules, which is why I really make a point of making sure they have. That doesn't mean guests actually follow them, but I have found that it has greatly improved the chances that they will. 

A guest that tells you are obsessive with your rules is just an entitled, selfish person. Like you've said, he didn't need to book if he didn't like the rules. Unfortunately, that type of guest reads the rules but believes they don't apply to him/her or that they can cherry pick which ones they will follow.

I had one very unpleasant guest who had clearly not read the listing or the rules properly, even though she had confirmed that she had (didn't even seem aware that I lived at the listing or there were cats). When brought up on this, she replied that, "Yes, I have read the rules. That doesn't mean I have to remember them." In her review, she wrote that my house rules were 'TEDIOUS' in caps. Airbnb actually had this review removed and it was actually their suggestion (back in the days when it was still possible to have a revenge review deleted).

There's only been a few occasions where the situation with this type of guest has gotten so bad that I needed to get Airbnb involved and I have been lucky that CS was very helpful but, as we know, CS can be hit and miss and has gone downhill in the past couple of years. 

The best solution is to try to spot these guests in advance if you can and turn them away (much easier with IB switched off) but, unfortunately, they keep it well hidden that they plan to ignore your rules...

[Anne10908]

I agree, it really confuses me when guests come into your home then want to complain about your rules because they probably got away with much elsewhere.  Sorry but homes are different and each host has and should have their own rules.  I try to cater to many different guests which forces me to set rules that will allow me to offer a quality stay to all, not just one guest.  I think we are seeing a lot of entitlement with guests that assume just because they pay, you must accommodate them.  I always try to make a guest feel special and even do special things like Christmas socks with guest names and their pets, hang up before they arrive.  But there are certain things that I will not allow and I try to emphasis it in my policies so guests know ahead of booking.  Pets on beds is a no for me and as such I provide free pet bedding for those coming with pets and I also have crates that they can rent should they leave pets behind in unit on their own when not home.  It just seems like you cannot please all guests, but the attitude about what you should do as a host, always amuses me.  Hoping that with IB off, I can get guests to really understand before booking that I do very much want to make their vacation a pleasant one, but I need them to respect my house rules as set to give them and future guests quality and if that cannot happen, then its best not to book.  It really is that simple.  I find that IB doesn’t seem to allow me to do that.  As a single female living on my property it becomes even more critical that those booking understand my expectations before booking.  Anyway, I probably should not be putting it out there that I live alone ☹.  Just trying to explain why the rules are key for me. 

PS.  Your comment about them keeping it well hidden is so true.  It is possible too that sometimes those accompanying the guest are the culprits but unfortunately it is up to the one making the reservation to educate their guests to hosts house rules as they remain liable for any and all damages.  I think guests really need to know this to help protect their own reviews.  

[Huma0]

@Anne10908 

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@Anne10908 wrote:

It is possible too that sometimes those accompanying the guest are the culprits but unfortunately it is up to the one making the reservation to educate their guests to hosts house rules as they remain liable for any and all damages.  I think guests really need to know this to help protect their own reviews.  

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Yes, this is so true. Unfortunately, I really don't think that many guests do this.

The first time I had to call Airbnb about guests breaking my rules, it was very much the partner of the booking guest that was the problem. The partner kept breaking rules, but didn't seem to realise that he was doing anything wrong. It was the booking guest who was getting the feedback and he was very apologetic, but the rule breaking continued. Some people do not like to 'bother' the person they are travelling with with details such as rules.

Another time, I had a guest book and confirm she had read the full listing/rules. It turns out that it was actually her husband (who wasn't even staying) who had been corresponding with me, using his wife's account and pretending to be her. I only found this out after she arrived and started breaking rules. She had not read/understood a thing and admitted that her husband just showed her the photos, told her there were cats (which she loved) and she had said, "yes, go ahead and book it." Meanwhile, the husband (pretending to be her) had confirmed that (he) she had read and agreed to the rules.

A similar example was when a son booked for his mother, using her account, because she didn't speak English but again pretended to be her in the correspondence. I only realised just before they both arrived that the son was even involved. The mother had no idea of anything and, even though the son was not supposed to be staying, he was in and out of the house several times a day, they were both cooking and eating here and he was even going up and down to her room, which was alarming to the other solo females staying who were not expecting a random guy to be roaming about.

It seems so odd that someone would pose as their relative/spouse when corresponding with the host, but some people do it.

[Anne10908]

Yes, sad when they are coming in groups and only 1 (if that) reads the house rules.  I generally have the house manual printed and left on countertop as well together with a single page laminated copy of check-in/check-out, wifi, emergency info and some host recommendations.  This way even those that did not look at listing can at least glance at the house manual to better comprehend my rules.  Ofcourse this is assuming they will care to look, 😞

[Huma0]

@Anne10908 

Another problem is that often the additional guest or guests do not think about the review. I once stayed in a beautiful and immaculate listing in Athens. There was a large group of us, mostly adults.

There was literally only one thing the host asked us to do on check out, which was specified in the house manual, so we could all see it, and that was to take out the trash. There was good reason for this. Firstly, it was very, very hot. Secondly, in Greece, you can't flush anything down the toilet. You have to put toilet paper, sanitary products etc. in the bin.

Despite this, other guests (and we're talking middle aged, professional people with kids, not youngsters) didn't want to do it. They just couldn't be bothered. I reminded them that it was literally the only thing the host had asked us to do. They didn't care. Then I reminded them that we didn't want our friend (the one who had booked) to get a bad review, did we? Only that prompted them to do it! 

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  The group probably spent more time talking about it than it actually took to just take the garbage out 🙂

[Anne10908]

Sad that grownups act in this way like bratty little kids being pushed to do their chores.