Hosts beware! Your homes are not safe with Airbnb

[Jason843]

I am very sorry to all my past and upcoming guests.  I am leaving Airbnb.  I can longer trust my home with Airbnb.  I can no long afford to keep my home rented to Airbnb guests. 

In November I had a guest stay in my home.  I have very specific instructions about the trash removal and recycle.  It is posted on my listing, it is in every email I send, it is posted on signs in my home, and it is in the binder in my home.  These guests mixed all the trash and recycle.  This caused my property manager to spend a couple extra hours sorting through these guests garbage to get it bagged and the recycle sorted into the recycle bin so the trash company would take it all away. 

We charge $125 for a cleaning fee.  My property manager charged me an additional $200 for sorting and bagging the trash.  My instructions say that if this is not done correctly the guest will be charged.  I supplied Airbnb with the invoice from my property manager and pictures of the trash.  It was so clear that the guests didn't follow the instructions and as a result I was charged an additional $200 for their stay.

Airbnb reviewed the case.  They determined that my instructions are not their problem.  In Airbnb's good faith they decided to give me a $75 in resolving this issue.  Airbnb's stance is that this should fall under regular cleaning charges so they said that if the property manager charges me $200 and I charge the guest $125 I am only owed $75.  Their math is wrong.  $125 regular cleaning fee + $200 additional cleaning fee is $325 total. 

I 100% agree that the guest should be charged the $200 additional fee since they caused the issue.  Airbnb will never hold a guest accountable.  This is the mistake and why I can't trust my home to Airbnb.  My home is a second home.  Like most we are not a business.  We make no extra money on these Airbnb bookings.  The booking help offset some of the costs of owning a second home.   Every time a guest causes damage or additional service fee that comes right out of my pocket.  This is money that I would have reinvested in the home for a better place for guests to stay. 

We are the Airbnb face but how can we trust our homes to Airbnb if they won't support us.  If this continues Airbnb will go the way of Sears sooner than Sears did.  I am not listing my home on Airbnb until they change this policy of not supporting the hosts when guests cause damage or additional services.  I urge more hosts to do the same.  They will only make a change for us when there are enough hosts listing their homes some where else.  If they don't have hosts, they don't have a product.  Please join me in this movement if you care about your homes and the service you provide.  I want all my guests to feel like the host cares about the home I am providing to them.  I can't do that if I have to pay out of pocket.

I have print screened this post as I am sure Airbnb will take it down.

I would love to hear your opinions and your feedback.  And if you choose to stay with Airbnb, please protect your homes.

[Huma0]

@Jason843 

Wow. Well, you would think that would be enough to encourage guests to comply....

[Jason843]

Wow, so many great responses today and I am so energized by this thread.  Thank you so much for communicating.  We need to keep this going.  It is us that can change how Airbnb supports us hosts.  If we continue to push Airbnb will be better for us and our guests. 

keep up the great work!

[John5097]

@Jason843 That seems to be very clear! When I first started hosting and added a security deposit limit, I didn't realize that guest have final approval of the amount and can decline. 

Also most host are listing on multiple sites. Many Airbnb host cite the lack of real security deposit, as you mentioned. 

I think this could be an ongoing issue as some people are just trashy. I've worked in in construction a long time and have learned that cleaning up and getting trash picked up is critical, and get stressed out if trash isn't picked up, and if guest put stuff in outside bin I bag it. 

I'm at a loss what else you could do to solve this issue, but always think there is a solution! You could try phrasing it so that it says the city will fine the host, etc, so they don't think its being forced on them. 

Unfortunately a lot of guest don't bother to read the listing. Even my best returning guest don't like to message. 

Alghough it seemed kind of minor at first, and I was expecting some horror story where guest caused a lot of damage, you might be better off listing with some other booking platforms that actually hold a security deposit. 

If it were me, I would include that in a message they have to respond to, and pharse it, "I realize this seems minor, however for this listing, the city will fine me $200 if recycles are mixed with trash or trash isn't put in a bag and placed out on the street the night before. I"m just trying to keep the rates down and communicte so this issue doesn't ruin someone's vacation. If this is something you are uncomfortable about you can cancel the reservation within 48 hours for a full refund. Thank you so much for your cooperation and understanding, as I enjoy accimidating guest as best I can." 

Some gated communities are very strict with this and impose steep fines for even putting out trash the night before. 

I've looked into listing on other platforms as well but so far they don't even provide guest name or any reviews. Although your intuition may be right, as many of us host are concerned the unacceptable behavior may just get to be too much, and switch over to long term rentals or other options. 

You could also charge an extra $200 and say that will be refunded if trash is put out and recyclables separated. Nothing is perfect, but I'm convinced you can always find a solution. Good luck! 

 

[John5097]

@Jason843 This sounds like it may be in a gated community? If so overzealous HOA can ca have trash ordinance so strict it will be ongoing problem no matter what booking platform. It can be $100 fine or more for simply putting out trash bin the night before instead of same morning. 

[Emilia42]

Apologies to the hardcore environmentalists, in which this would be a Cardinal sin, but couldn’t the property manger just have spent 10 minutes consolidating everything into trash bags? I would have abandoned the recycling at this point; it’s all contaminated trash now. It just seems like there is a lot of unnecessary heartache and stress over such a simple issue. Give the guest a bad review, raise rates, and move on to the next booking . . .

[Sarah977]

@Emilia42  As Mark pointed out, there are many places where homeowners get fined by the municipality for having recyclables, yard waste, etc. mixed in with the trash.

[Emilia42]

@Sarah977 but if it’s all bagged up in a trash bag covered in Pasta sauce and dumped into a truck with the rest of the block, how are they going to know? 

[Sarah977]

@Emilia42  In places where it is illegal and a finable offense, the garbagemen actually look in the bags, or garbage bags have to be clear so it is evident what is in them. 

There may also be bag limits per household, with a charge applied to anything over that.

[Huma0]

@Emilia42 

I don't think I am a hardcore environmentalist but, yes, these things do matter to me, plus there is the possibility of a fine by the local council.

However, you make a very valid point. Once it's contaminated, it's contaminated. There's only so much you can do to rescue it from going to landfill.

I just have to accept sadly, that some guests will leave recyclable goods in a state that they are contaminated to the point beyond which they can be cleaned and recycled.

[Emilia42]

@Sarah977 i hope to never live in such a place.

@Huma0 these things do matter to me too, But in this case, I would have just taken a deep breath and accepted the fact that not all recycling will escape the landfill. I would be thankful  that the vast majority of guests get it right instead of canceling thousands of dollars worth of existing bookings.

[Huma0]

@Emilia42 

Yep. Guests frequently get it wrong. All I can do is try to encourage them and, occasionally, point out that the council can fine me for it.

I would never, ever cancel bookings because of something like this. If I did, I'd have very few bookings and a bunch of penalties.

I suppose it's different for every host in terms of what they think is very important or not.

I love it when my guests make an effort to sort/recycle properly, but it's not the end of the world if they don't. I am a home stay host and I don't mind so much getting the rubber gloves on and getting on with it. I just see that as an unfortunate, but necessary, part of being a host. 

However, I can see maybe it's different if you have to pay someone else a huge sum to do it in your stead.

[Sarah977]

@Emilia42  Well, what would you suggest as an alternative to reduce the waste stream?? Simply expecting the general public to responsible about recycling doesn't work. The majority of people seem to require being hit in the wallet in order to change their ways, in many aspects of life, not just garbage.

When they started charging at the store till for recyclable containers in Canada (wine and juice bottles), people then stopped throwing them in the garbage, taking them to the recycling depot instead, where you are refunded the deposit you paid at point of purchase.

But I do understand what you are saying. I try really hard not to create unrecyclable garbage, but  sometimes you just don't want to spend time washing out or sorting something gross. I pick up lots of garbage by the side of the road where I live. Some could be recycled, but I sometimes don't bother. At least I got rid of the eyesore along the road.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977 

I think you are right. Legislation is the only way to get the majority of people to act. If it costs them something, they are less likely to ignore recycling or other environmentally related requirements.

Since the government here introduced compulsory charges for plastic shopping bags, there has been a huge difference. I used to get laughed at when I went into a local store or supermarket and said, no I don't need a bag because I have my own. Now it is standard.

Unfortunately, you have to hit people where it hurts, i.e. their wallets.

I am still not convinced that it's okay to charge $200 to a guest for not sorting their trash., but maybe it's just different in my neck of the woods.

[Jason843]

@Sarah977, this is why we as hosts need to hold Airbnb accountable to our rules.  You are right that majority of people seem to require being hit in the wallet in order to change their ways.  I am hitting Airbnb in the wallet by removing my home from their site.  Airbnb has to hold the guests accountable to our rules.  We should be able to fine Airbnb for bad guests.  Airbnb can fine us, charge us a service fee, and suspend our listing but when they don't work for us we have no recourse.  Sorry I am taking a hard stand to Airbnb. 

[Huma0]

@Jason843 

I am not arguing that point. You are absolutely right in that Airbnb tends to favour the guest in disputes. It's not fair that they can override our rules but, unfortunately, this seems to be a very common occurrence from what I have read on the CC, even if it's not my own personal experience.

If you don't want to continue with Airbnb and can find viable alternatives, then good for you. I have found that, as a home host in the UK, there is not much out there for me, and I have looked.

'Don't put your eggs into one basket' people often say, but what if that is the only basket available? 

This is the problem. Airbnb have cornered the market to such an extent that they just don't care about their hosts (in general). We are so disposable.