How to deal with a guest that smoked when it is clearly stated NO SMOKING in my rules.

[Tina9803]

My rules clearly state that the entire premise is NO SMOKING.  I even have in my details that I send prior to checking in that it is against the fire marshal to have any flames on the entire premise and that if you smoke you must leave the building.  Our building is 100% wood and a fire will destroy the entire building.  If I leave her a negative review I am afraid she will retaliate.  I have a perfect 5.0.  How do I handle this?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tina9803 Both reviews are blind so she will not see your review before either she reviews you or  14 days have passed in which case it will be too late for her to review you.

[Karen114]

@Tina9803  Please review your guest honestly.  There is no retaliatory review as they can't see your review until they have posted theirs.  After 14 days the review period is closed and neither one of you can review after 14 days.

Hosts not being honest in their review for this fear is number one, non sensical and number two a disservice to your fellow hosts. This is why everyday we are reading about nightmare guests that all had 5 star reviews. They weren't 5 star guests that just decided to be a 1 star guest at your place. They were 1 star guests that the host gave 5 stars out of the non sensical fear of getting a poor review. 

[Tina9803]

Karen, thanks for your advice.  This is what I’ve written.  I haven’t replied yet as I’d like some help with how/what I write in my review.  I don’t want others to read this and be alarmed that my condo may smell like cigarette smoke now.  Any advice is appreciated.

Hallie communicated well with questions. She and her guests abided by most house rules. However, I received a picture from my cleaner of cigarette burns on my wooden outdoor patio. No smoking anywhere on the property is a rule by the city fire Marshall because the entire structure is wood. I state this in my rules and reiterate it in my arrival information. Very disappointed this happened.

[Karen114]

@Tina9803 @I think it’s fine. It will also let future guests know that smoking is not allowed. 

[Robin4]

@Tina9803 

Your duty to the host community is not to give everyone a blow by blow description of what happened! Doing that may give some a perverted sense of pleasure.....seeing a verbal slogging match between two people.

Your duty is to let other hosts know if this was an acceptable hosting experience for you or not. Tina we are not fools, we can see a red flag when it is waved at us. 

I mentioned in my post above keep it brief, if you mention guest smoking burns the guest will just deny it, say it was some other previous guest and demand Airbnb remove your review as being dishonest.....Tina, it happens all the time! A review that gets removed is useless, it tells us nothing. There is currently a post here about a guest who has a 5 star review rating over a number of reviews......but has no reviews visible.....why do think that is so? 

The reality here is, as pleasant as the guest may have been If the guest was concerned or guilty about the burns they would have owned up, made mention and at least offered an apology. They were simply hoping to get away with it and are not inclined to do an about face and suddenly accept responsibility and do the right thing! You aren't the first host this has happened to Tina and you sure as h*ll won't be the last.

You are not going to be able to wind back the clock on this experience so now is the time to move forward, make yourself the star and this guest, the turkey!

"While Hallie is a good communicator and her guests generally respectful, my house rules were somewhat compromised by their stay and although I wish Hallie all the best, I would decline the opportunity to host her again".

You haven't accused her of anything specific so she can't apply to have your review removed and you have been respectful towards her,  but you have sent a clear message to other hosts. Give her a 5 star for communication, a 3 for cleanliness and a 3 for house rules adherence so she can't claim it is revenge.

Most importantly you haven't made yourself look like a prickly uncooperative or demanding host which will stand you in good stead with future prospective guests.

All the best Tina.

Cheers........Rob  

@Karen114  @Gwen386 

[Robin4]

@Karen114 

Karen, we are not in this business to crucify people we don't necessarily get on with, there are diplomatic ways of warning others when a hosting doesn't go well.

As I said to @Tina9803  a review is only worthwhile if it stays visible and although Airbnb has review guidelines, whether a review stays visible in the final analysis depends on how valuable that guest might be to Airbnb. Perfectly acceptable host reviews according to the guidelines get removed because the guest stired up a fuss, and yet absolutely blatant guest revenge reviews must remain, because as far as Airbnb were concerned they represented the guests perception.

I will always warn hosts if I am in a position where a hosting didn't work out but by getting into a verbal fistfight with the guest in the review process, all I am doing is making myself look like a brittle host, maybe a tough nut to crack and possibly should be avoided.

I wish the review system was  a bit more relevant and we didn't have to go out of our way not to tread on toes but for all the 8 years I have been hosting with Airbnb nothing is going to change and most hosts are doing what they do out of self preservation.

Cheers........Rob

[Karen114]

Great advice on the review and smoke detector.
It is a very un level playing field when it comes to the reviews. 

I will sometimes use a more cowardly tactic and just write “decent guest” and give them all one stars. The guest doesn’t see the stars only the comment. So nothing to rule then up.  However the next host sees the low stars and can see the short comment and put two and two together. 
I did share this cowardly tactic in another group and was told that’s not good enough  because as a host I want to know what they did wrong. Their thought was while some hosts may frown  upon the bad behavior, another host may not. It’s a game of 3 D chess no matter how you play it. 

[Gwen386]

It’s simple. Just ask yourself—

“Do I want a 5* review and my lovely place reduced to ashes?”

or

“Do I want a 1* review and never, ever have to host this guest again?

So now you have the answer. 

[Robin4]

@Tina9803 

Tina, she will not be given the opportunity to see your review of her until she has posted her review of you, so don't concern yourself with what she might write. Try to head off any review conflict by being very pleasant to her till she leaves, you will have plenty of time to have your say!

Your first duty is to yourself and you want to be seen by others  as a conciliatory professional host. A review is only of use to others as long as it remains visible, and these days it doesn't take a lot for a guest to have a hosts review removed if they don't like it!

 Keep your review brief and without being accusatory....."I love my hosting as others can see from my Superhost status, but unfortunately xxxxxxxx did compromise this experience and although I wish her well for the future I would reluctantly decline to host her again"! 

You have told the hosting community that she is to be avoided and at the same time have not mentioned anything the guest can dispute to have your review removed......it was your perception, nothing more, ok! 

To prevent this happening again I suggest you invest in one of these........

They are cheap, available universally and are not a general smoke detector, it is a cigarette smoke detector and if it detects cigarette smoke, it will scream like hell. 

I tell guests when they enter (if they are smokers) they are welcome to smoke in the garden area. I supply ashtrays for their use but, make sure they rinse their mouth out with the bottled water I supply before re-entering the cottage because, the alarm will not just drive you crazy for the best part of a minute it will send an alert to my phone that it has been tripped. That last bit is bulldust but Tina, nobody has ever put it to the test.

It's easy to install and particularly effective!

Cheers.........Rob

[Tina9803]

Thank you for your help.

[Bhumika]

Hi @Tina9803, Have you left a review for this guest since the time you posted?

Hope our members' suggestions have helped you with some good insights into this situation.

Do keep us posted on how this turns out!

[Tina9803]

Yes I left her a review.  I pointed out what was done well and said that she and her group did not follow house rules.  I didn’t point out in the review exactly what happened however I did in a message to her and was very specific to other hosts so that they will be advised.

she didn’t deny it so she must have been aware of the cigarettes.

[Bhumika]

This sounds good @Tina9803 !! Glad to hear that it was resolved amicably. Thank you so much for sharing an update.

[Tina9803]

Never had any issues until this guest and now today had another guest check

out and they didn’t take care of my condo at all.  Cleaning lady said the linens are ruined,

mirrored closet doors were off track, trash can crushed, and crayon marks on doors.  So disappointing that people behave like that.  I’ve never filed a claim before so I guess this will be my first.  Oh and I won’t be shy with this review.  I’ll happily let him and others know.