How have your house rules changed?

[Dave-and-Deb0]

It has been quite some time since I have posted anything of my own as I usually just help answer host and guest questions but I was wondering, how have your house rules changed from when you first started hosting on Airbnb?

I have been hosting for over 8 years now and as many have found out (or will find out), our house rules tend to change as we get more experienced with guests and the issue that may arise.  We use to have very basic house rules but we have had to add or modify several such as extra guests, infants, not washing laundry.  Here are our rules now and the reason (in italics) for adding the rules.  I look forward to seeing yours.

Please read these house rules before booking the house:

• This is for the entire house, both the main floor suite and the basement suite.

• No smoking or drugs in the house. (had to add this even though it is part of the general rules as people would smoke pots and one person even ruined our knives "hot-knifing"

• Absolutely NO pets or animals. (also a general rule but people snuck in a cat which took "furever" to get rid of the hair)

• Quiet time after 11 pm.

• Only registered guests are allowed in the house. (too many people booking and then inviting over several guests for dinner or a party - we do allow this if requested and not too many people)

• If a guest brings more people than were booked, the reservation will be canceled with no refund. (added this for protection as many would sneak in extra guests beyond what they booked which adds extra costs such as cleaning, utilities, etc.)

• All children are considered guests and must be included in the occupancy count which cannot exceed 8, including infants. (added this as Airbnb does not consider children under 2 in the guest count)

• The booking guest must be staying for the duration of the booking as per the Airbnb Terms of Service. (included this as many are not aware and may book for their parents, children, etc.)

• Let your host know if anything can be done to make your stay more comfortable and enjoyable!

• To prevent damage to bedding and towels, please do not do laundry that belongs to the suite. We will gladly provide replacement bedding and towels upon request. (too many people ruining sheets and towels by not treating stains properly and then locking in the stain)

• If you break or damage something, please let us know and arrange for its replacement or repair.

• Please, no outdoor shoes beyond entry door.

• Leave the suite tidy with the dishes clean and put away. It should be left the way you found it.

• Please close and lock all windows and doors when you leave the house.

• Stay is governed by the Alberta Innkeepers Act. (Added this to hopefully curb squatters)

Some may think this list is quite exhaustive while others may have many other house rules.  I would rather have everything covered and if a guest thinks it is too much to abide by, I hope they will skip over our listing and book with someone who allows more leeway.  

What are your thoughts and what rules have you had to add to due to experience with previous guests?

David

[Dawn241]

Our jurisdiction recently required strict licensing- $250 annual fee, fire & safety inspection, and a 3 fine/ 3 strike you’re out rule.

We constantly have issues with “visitors”, excess cleaning, and occasionally an undisclosed overnight guest. So I have dumbed down the definition of a guest- visitors are guests too, whether staying overnight or not, whether inside or out, no dinner parties regardless of reason (someone died has come up multiple times now, they think this is an acceptable excuse for having visitors), max 4 guests the same 4 people throughout the duration of your stay not 4 different people every day, if visiting local friends and family visit at their house not ours, do not invite local friends and family over to do laundry (yes this happened and resulted in a clogged sewage line and sewage backing up into the tub, guests left without reporting this to us), outdoor security cameras in use.

This info shows up at least 3 times- additional rules, other things to note- licensing info, and automatic booking message. I get lots of instant bookings that immediately cancel because they clearly intended to have more than 4 people. 

to combat the excess cleaning issue, I recently got rid of the cleaning  fee and opted for a higher nightly fee instead, and hold people accountable for cleaning up after themselves during their stay and utilizing  the new checkout instructions. So far so good on this one. 

[Sarah5245]

Hi David, 

I’m a new host in BC and just this week, after only our second guest, I had to update my rules. 

We had a group of 8 stay at our place (which is the maximum allowed). They stayed for 3 nights. When our cleaners arrived the day after check out, they found 17 bags of garbage (one leaking all over the floor), which took 2 trips to remove. This added an additional $100  charge for mileage. Every towel in the house had been used and washed/dried (they were in the dryer - stuffed to the max). Seven towels were permanently stained.  We have 16 bath towels in the house, 8 beach towels, and lots of hand, face, and dish towels.

The cleaners also reported that some bedding was soaked with urine and as the remaining unwashed linens were in a pile, everything smelled. Thankfully the beds were all dry and there was no odour.  

This experience has really left us questioning a lot of things about our listing, including pricing, cleaning fee, # of guests, instant book (which is turned on), our rules, and guest reviews guests. 

This guest, came to us with five prior 5 star reviews. In my review, I ended up simply saying that she was friendly, easy to communicate with, etc., but that, “unfortunately, our cleaners arrived to find soiled bed linens, stained towels, and a significant amount of trash that required two trips to remove.”

The guest contacted me and was angry about my review. She argued that the amount of garbage wasn’t unreasonable, given the number of guests. She denied that anyone had had an accident on the bedding, and said that stained towels are to be expected. 

To add insult to injury in this situation, we had contacted this guest in the morning on check out day and advised we would be giving her a partial refund ($400) as the air quality was so bad during their stay and we felt so bad for them. It was 11 out of 10 for severity. I know we didn’t have to do that, and she didn’t ask for it, but it still stings.

I’d love any advice/suggestions, thoughts on this situation. Was I in the wrong for putting that in my review? 

Thanks!!

Sarah

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Sarah5245 

I applaud you for including this in your review.  It is important for hosts to write factual and honest reviews about their guests so other hosts can know what they are getting themselves into.  I do not use Instant Book but even having it turned off likely would not have helped in this situation as you said the guest had all 5 star reviews.  I am sorry you experienced this.  

David