How to enforce no extra guests and no partying?

[Devin4]

I've heard rumors of hosts being punished for enforcing house rules. We have a strict no partying or no extra guests as our rules.

As of late and due to covid we've seen a lot higher up tick in local guests staying in the unit rather than travelers. Which has caused them knowing people in the city and sometimes turned into partying.
Since my last noise complaint which was just a written warning, I've installed Airbnb signage in the unit, added a digital lock as well as ring doorbell camera to know who is coming in and leaving.

My question is though how can I enforce if I see extra guests staying in the unit? Sure I can try to charge them for the guests but what steps can I take for reporting partying or extra guests or to try to stop or report the guest? I stayed at one Airbnb once that said "any extra incurred fees from the condo board are passed to the guest "however in the past when Ive just requested money from guests they refused.T hen it gets escalated to Airbnb. If I do get charged from my condo board for partying is there a way to have the guests or Airbnb incur the costs under the host guarantee?

Also how can In enforce the no extra guests or no partying when now with a ring doorbell I can see it happening?

[Anonymous]

@Devin4   In every case I've come across where the host tried to pass on an HOA fine to the offending guest, their claim was denied. The Host Guarantee is quite limited, and it's pretty rare for it to be extended to non-physical damage. This makes it imperative to nip these situations in the bud well before things can escalate to a party that will disturb the neighbors.

The "no extra guests" rule has to be as clear as possible that no unregistered guest may enter the property at any point during the stay, so that you can take swift action on the appearance of someone whose identity you didn't record at check-in.

But getting a response from Airbnb that's fast enough to intervene in the inevitable conflict? Good luck with that...

[Huma0]

@Anonymous  is right. It used to be that you could call Airbnb up and get them to help you with these situations but right now that is wishful.

That's why it is especially important to stress the no extra guests, no parties rule prior to/straight after booking and lay out what breaking this rule would involve. The guests need to believe that the penalties are just not worth them taking that risk.

Unfortunately, it sounds like some guests have prior experience of throwing parties in Airbnbs and getting away with it. Those are the ones that are going to be really tricky to deal with.

[Colleen253]

@Devin4  Try using slightly more forceful language in your house rules. i.e. "Maximum occupancy is X. Up to X guests may be on the booking, and those will be considered 'authorized'. No unauthorized guests/visitors may be on the property at any time. Disregarding this is cause for the booking being terminated and immediate eviction". 

Ideally you would be able to contact an Airbnb agent right away, be able to provide proof of the guest defying your occupancy limits rule, have them cancel the booking, then go remove the guests if needed. But as Andrew said, that's near impossible these days. At least with the strong language and making sure the guest is aware of the rule and consequences of breaking it, you may be better able to prevent the problem. 

[Debra300]

@Devin4,

I don't know how close you are located to your rental space.  If you are close, you can inform the guest that you will pass by throughout their stay to make sure they are safe and sound.  If you see too many people entering the space on the Ring doorbell: 1) Call them, and say that there are too many people; 2) Follow up with a written message that there are too many occupants, and they must leave within X minutes, or you will cancel the reservation; 3) Cancel the reservation if the guest doesn't take corrective action.

[Katrina79]

@Devin4 @I think you are between a rock and a hard place with this one. Airbnb commands trust between host and guest and your question implies you’ve lost trust in your guest’s behaviours. You may have to tighten things up, remove IB if you have it, require a longer stay, up your price, etc. You have a beautiful apartment and at the price you are charging I wonder if you could look for stays that are monthly. I would be concerned about getting in the same group of party people booking under new and different accounts, watch out for it! 

[Devin4]

Thanks all for the help! It is tough unfortunately I do not live close to my unit for me to physically enforce the extra guests, I guess contacting Airbnb right away is my only option. If it gets too bad to reduce the maximum number of guests and increase the price per night of the unit might deter some people. Thank you all.

[Anonymous]

@Devin4  Enlisting a co-host who lives closer to the unit might also be an option. The dodgy party guests prefer to target remotely hosted properties most of all. People are less emboldened to flout rules and throw parties when they know they'll be getting an in-person check-in from someone who can check their ID and who lives close enough to monitor the place and intervene quickly in the event of a breach.

[Emily487]

I agree with @Anonymous . You need a narc who lives in the building. I would get a Ring doorbell, too. 

I have snoozed our listing for now but we were careful to always text the upstairs neighbor and the next door neighbor all the info about each booking- number of guests, length of stay, reason for visit, type of car. We had them text us if anything seemed off, if visitors were there after our 10pm cut off, or if a party started. We also let the guests know that the neighbors had this info so they could "help" if they ever needed anything. 

[Sarah977]

@Devin4  Contacting Airbnb right away will not solve the problem. Airbnb cannot physically make the unregistered guests leave. That is up to the host.

[丽萍0]

I just evacuated/removed an Airbnb guest (male) in Spain who invited unregistered female to have a romantic night in a shared place. Prior to the booking I wrote to him saying don’t bring anyone in the building. He agreed. But then I caught him with the unregistered person. My room rate was half the price of the normal rate because I want to be welcoming. But he abused the house rules, yelled at me saying I was BS about covid, that we go outside and get it anyway... what...???? Airbnb simply told: “call police.”

[Anonymous]

@丽萍0   I think you made the right decision by removing a guest who refused to honor your house rules. His argument was total nonsense, and I'm glad you stood your ground against it. I don't feel that the room rate factors into things here - no matter what price the room goes for, hosts owe guests everything promised in the listing and guests owe hosts respectful and honest treatment of their homes.

[Sarah977]

@丽萍0  If by saying your room rate was half the normal price to be welcoming, that means the guest asked for a discount and you agreed, you should be aware that guests who ask for discounts generally turn out to be bad guests, who take advantage of you in other ways, as well. 

If someone asks for a discount, just tell them politely that your listing is priced fairly for the area and what you offer and that you're sure they'll be able to find another listing that meets their budget. Don't sell yourself short- your guest's financial woes are not your affair.

[丽萍0]

@Sarah977 Hi Sarah, you are right! He told me that he was a student, on budget, he really wanted to come and enroll in a course. I have to say that as a parent, I have soft spots for students at the age of my daughter. I just want to welcome him so he could benefit from the course. I gave him one condition: don't bring anyone else in. When I told him that he must leave after breaking the house rules, he was very upset telling me 'I can't find cheaper and better so where am I supposed to go?'. I was speechless...