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.

[Sarah977]

@Anne10908  I know, it seems ridiculous. 

Raising my 3 girls, I learned some tricks to avoid battling them over chores (none of them were bratty, but they conveniently "forget").

Once when it my oldest daughter's turn to do the dishes, but I came home from shopping  to find she had gone off to her friend's house instead, I took all the dirty dishes up to her bedroom and piled them up on her desk. Now this daughter happened to keep her own space really clean and tidy- her closet looked like some fancy clothing store with everything perfectly folded and hung up, all color-co-ordinated, she made her bed every day and her desk was always pristinely tidy.

So she came home, went to her room to find all those dirty dishes, then started carrying them downstairs with a grim expression on her face and washed them. No words exchanged betweeen us over it, and she never "forgot" again 🙂

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

I'm glad that tactic worked for you. I tried it once and it backfired. 

When I was 21, I lived in Capetown and shared a flat with two other young women. One of them would throw big dinner parties and then just go out leaving all the dirty dishes piled in our tiny kitchen.

One day, we got so fed up with it that we put the dishes under her bed (but in plain sight) because there weren't really any clear surfaces her room to put them on.

She then decided she would simply disappear for a few days. It was the height of summer so pretty soon it began to smell. Cockroaches can also be an issue in South Africa. So, we couldn't wait any longer and just had to wash all the dishes ourselves, which was much harder as the food had really dried on! 

Oh dear...

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

Very true. I would have just taken it all out myself, but I had to leave for the airport while other guests were still there using the listing, so I wanted to make sure ALL the trash was taken out.

[Anne10908]

:(.  Why people act like this is beyond me.  Seems that perhaps we have a lot of guests forgetting that they are coming into someone's home, and we still have people adopting that "hotel" Mentality of "there is a housekeeper to pick up after me", which is sad as one should still always leave behind a somewhat clean hotel room.  Being a host now, I am starting to be even more cognizant of how I leave the hotel room should I ever book a hotel.  

[Huma0]

@Anne10908 

This is the problem. Some people do forget they are coming into someone's home.

In the example I gave though, it was not a homeshare listing. It was basically a huge building that had been split into four apartments and we were able to rent the whole thing for our group. I never actually met or had any contact with the hosts, although they did check in guests who arrived earlier than me.

I was impressed with how spotless the place was and we actually left it in a pretty clean state. It was just the rubbish that was an issue.

Amongst our group was a couple who were also Airbnb hosts. I did notice that while we were cleaning up, they were making the most effort (moving the chairs on the roof terrace to the same position they were in before and that sort of thing). They also backed me up on the taking the rubbish out debate.

So, there was a big difference in attitude between the hosts and non-hosts. I think that many people, even if they are very clean and tidy in their own homes, don't expect to have to do things like take out rubbish when they are on holiday. They didn't understand that there was a very good reason for the host to ask us to do this.

I, like you, am always pretty tidy in hotel rooms (I've stayed in a lot for work trips), but I have become much more conscientious since I started hosting. I'm shocked sometimes at the state of some of my colleagues rooms though. Again, that's the difference between being a host and a non-host and what we think of as 'obvious' in terms of good behaviour is not so obvious to others.

[Anne10908]

Yes. It’s sad because I’ve noticed too in some of the Facebook groups that I’m part of that hosts will come down on other hosts who raise concerns about an issue completely forgetting that some of them run their Airbnb‘s as absentee hosts. So when an on-site host or even newbie host raises concern they get ridiculed by some (not all). Add to that the social media practice of people ganging up on one and everybody jumping on the bandwagon 🙄. It’s really sad that people rush to put down others without really stepping into their shoes. I have found myself stepping in to defend posts/hosts that seem to be getting attacked for raising innocent concerns.

[Sarah977]

@Anne10908  "Quick question, are you saying to pick only one and build on that, or can I cater to a few different needs/niches as I have listed here?"

No, not just pick one, but as your listing reads now, it sounds like your target market is specifically young stoned-from-morning-til-night potheads with their ill-trained pandemic puppies 🙂

It's a matter of you thinking about the demographic of guests you want to attract and who will be a good fit for you and your place. That could encompass a lot of different guests.

I get it that the Denver area is one of those places where 420 friendly is some sort of all-encompassing way of life, but there's a difference between people who might smoke a joint or two a day, like we would have a glass of wine with dinner, but are active people, out and about, hiking, biking, skiing, etc. most of the time, rather than sitting around smoking bong after bong all day, and leaving their dogs alone when they do go out.

As an example of a target market, because I live in the quiet countryside, in a beach tourist town, but a 20 minute walk from town and the beach (and my guests tend to fly or bus here, they don't come with private cars), I say in my listing that it's a good choice for those who want to have a quiet tropical vacation, working on their art, writing, reading, doing yoga, taking walks, who like a quiet place to home to. 

I do get a lot of guests who do and enjoy exactly those things, but I also get ones who are outdoorsy sporty types who are out running, surfing, taking diving or sailing lessons. The common denominator is that they aren't partiers, they aren't the types to stumble home drunk from the bar at 3 am (my town is full of bars and nightlife, and is known as a party town), waking up all the neighborhood dogs and me, because I've tried to paint a picture of a quiet area and lifestyle.

[Anne10908]

Ohh, Now it is starting to make sense.  Oh boy, I have been targeting the wrong guest all this time then get mad when they do what they do.  So overall, don’t just think money or don’t box yourself based on your environment, instead go where you want to go unless you are willing to let the environment/surrounding dictate your target client.  Uhhhhhgggg this is where I am stuck. In the ideal situation, I’d love to have non-pot smokers, but the reality is that living on East Colfax, Denver CO, am in 420 central.  Have actually told my real estate agent, I never again want to buy in the neighborhood.  So I guess am trying to make do with what I have vs. going after my dream coz I know I can’t really and truly get that where I am.  Limited by location.  ☹

PS.  Still working on the listing so what you see right now is still a work in progress. 

[Normen0]

@Anne10908 Another way to avoid the headache around holidays is to change the length of stay for those periods to much longer. So you can only rent for a long term, and likely a more serious guest(s). So you don’t have to miss out completely.  

[Anne10908]

[Anne10908]

Brilliant Idea, I saw both from you and another here so yes, I have set it up per Screen shot.  🙂  Thanks so much as this is key to know.