How to provide review if Guardians book the room for his/her teenager and they messed up the house?

[Raj-Kumar3]

Smoking is strictly forbidden in my property however one of the guests did the reservation and sent teenager daughter and she invited a lot of other guys, and they used Marijuanas and Cigar inside the room and the room is too smelly and cannot stay even five mins inside. Going forward I will not allow those kinds of guests.  Please suggest, how can I block booking such kind of guest in the future and how to review them as Airbnb asking review.

[Fred13]

Dealing with STR guests (nearly total strangers) is hopefully an 'educated' guess. Best way to learn how to detect clues of potential problem ones in the future is from reading of hosts experiences like those shared on this board.

In this particular case sounds like someone did the reservation and then included  their daughter by allowing her to invite  'a lot of other guys'. Experienced hosts tend to ask a lot of questions and over time have develope a 'sixth sense' who to allow in their place. Still once in a while a wrong one gets through.

[Talitha19]

What sort of questions do you ask before accepting a guest? 

[Jennifer1897]

@Raj-Kumar3  I am sorry this happened to you. I am trying to fully understand what occurred. It sounds like an adult booked the property for her daughter, and the daughter caused damage by smoking inside. A few things to consider....

-The person booking the property (i.e. the one on the reservation) needs to present. If not, it is considered a third-party booking, which is against Airbnb policy (Unless it's a verify/approved business account) 

-You do not state the teenagers age, but if she was under 18, she should not be allowed to book the property. Per Airbnb policy "We all love to wander the world, but it’s against our Terms of Service for anyone under the age of 18 to create an account to travel or host."

That being said, you should leave an honest review stating what occurred in a simple and concise manner. Also, mark the guest down in the appropriate categories such as following house rules and cleanliness. Additionally, you can always file a claim as well if things were damaged are required extensive costs to clean. I had a young couple once in their 20's who smoked weed in the home. The drapes, comforters, rugs etc. all had to be professionally cleaned, as I could not get the smell out. I was able to get this cost covered by aircover. 

Moving forward....

-You can turn of IB, which will allow you more opportunity to screen your guest. This could help you weed out potentially problematic people. If you opt to leave on IB, you can set requirements for IB. This can include guest having to have positive reviews in order to book. Although we all know this is not a guarantee of a good guest, it does provide a little more security.

-Communicate with your guest before their arrival. Ask questions like what brings them to the area, how many people are coming, what are their plans during their stay, etc etc. Again, this will often allow you the opportunity to pick up on any red flags and give you a sense of whether you feel they are a good fit for your listing. Keep in mind with IB you get three penalty free cancellations per year. So, if you feel something is off, it's better to trust your instinct and cancel. 

-Be very clear in your house rules. It sounds like this guest had people over during her stay. To avoid parties and unregistered guest, many hosts, such as myself, clearly state this in our rules. Although many people don't read entire listings, you can always remind them nicely to review the house rules, or you can incorporate the important ones into your welcome message or check in directions. 

[Frances3408]

@Raj-Kumar3. Its horrible when you start out to get this. Not allowing and stopping these type of guests relies more on your checks than Airbnb I'm afraid.

In addition to suggestions below I would add if you are going to remote host then invest in quality cameras (not just doorbell cameras). Your smoke detectors should be hard wired (so again cant be interfered with).

Is this the same guest who gave you a glowing review or another? If its the same chances are they were not aware what was happening so you need to do an honest review, just the facts, including all the rule breaking. Sounds like a 1 star to me.

[Huma0]

@Raj-Kumar3 

What kind of communication do you have with guests before they book (or when they instant book)? Also, how many guests did the father/mother book for? If they booked a three bedroom house just for one person, I would be wary and want to know why.

I think it is important to double check with guests the number on the booking and who they are. I only accept solo guests now, but before that, I used to always check who they would be travelling with.

As others have mentioned, third party bookings are against Airbnb policy, unless a person registered to do so is booking business trips on behalf a company. Otherwise, the person booking must be one of the people staying. Whenever I discovered that the guest booking was not the one staying, I would tell them that the person staying needed to book from their own Airbnb account. If the guest refuses to cancel or is unresponsive you can get Airbnb to cancel for you penalty free because it's a third party booking.

If you did not know until the guests arrived, then you need to deal with it as soon as they arrive. Likewise, when guests show up or invite round extra people/unauthorised guests or visitors. If you do an in person check in, you have to deal with it on the spot or, if you do self-check in, as soon as you notice, and inform the guest that they need to amend the booking and pay for the correct number of people (if you are allowing them to stay), or that those people need to leave if you are not. Keep this correspondence on the Airbnb system.

By the way, did you contact the parent who booked about what was going on when you found out?

As for the review, just be honest, but be careful about mentioning drugs as I have heard that reviews could be removed when you do that. So, something like:

"I thought X was booking for themselves, but it turns out he/she booked for his/her teenage daughter, who invited round several other people. They ignored the no-smoking policy and smoked various things inside the room, including cigars, leaving behind an intolerable smell. I would not recommend this guest."

I would give low stars all round and select the 'I would not recommend to other hosts' option.