Increase in terrible truly awful first time guests

[Dennise-Ann0]

I have had about half of the new to Airbnb guest turn out to be really awful.   The worst have been disrespectful of my cabin.  It has now taken me the better part of a week to clean the cabin back to its original state, from my last guests.  They didn't read any of the messages on how to find the cabin (they got lost), didn't try the front door only the sliding glass door and called me saying the cabin was locked (my welcome message gives detailed directions and state the front door will be unlocked),  left an absolute mess in the kitchen with oil congealed on the stove and dirty pots in the sink, and left the front door open.  The cabin is in a national forest and this means instead of the neighbors cat in the cabin it could have been a bear.  Another guest, I believe, she didn't read I live on the next property, kept bringing more and more guests.  I confronted her and charged her.  The problem is the trash, we have to haul it all out, and the septic, too many people could overwhelm the system.  Another guest left for supplies in town and the others left behind I caught trying to break in through one of the windows.  

The problem seems to be there is no standard from Airbnb to advise the guests on the basics of how to treat the hosts and how to respect the properties.

Is there a welcome to Airbnb guide I can send to these new guests?   I am tempted to drop Airbnb completely, since these horrible guests make it difficult to want to continue.

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Dennise-Ann0 

I am sad that this has happened to you, and so often!  As another N. California wilderness host, I have the same concerns about trash, septic, bears, and guests who fall in love with the photos and fail to really read the listing.

Granted, my listing is long, and there is a lot of information there, but I'm going all in for a well informed guest who knows what to expect and what not to. My solution has been to do a whole lot of communication, pre arrival. I confirm that they have read the rules and the description. I have posted enough photos of details of the place, with labels. I ask more than once if they have questions or concerns. So far, so good. It takes more from you and me, and our guests to successfully do this out in the woods. I am a home share, you live next door. This is advantageous, and I'd not do this as an absent owner. We are off grid, by necessity, and far from the highway, which adds another layer of complication to safely and successfully operating the home and safeguarding our property. So far we've had completely respectful guests, not many dirty dishes, and those who use our kitchen have left it in the spotless condition they found it in.

We separate all trash, and haul everything down the mountain to the town dump, constantly. Yes, they do leave us a lot of trash. Thank goodness our guests separate trash, recycling and compostables into the labeled bins we provide.

We did have one big issue - someone flushed dental floss and someone flushed tampons, in spite of our signs over the toilets. The resulting plumbing problem was enormous, costly and property wide. Anything with a string collects everything that is flushed until it is a fat ball clogging the entire system. If you've not labeled your bathroom walls yet, I strongly recommend it.

I leave the doors unlocked, and greet arriving guests at the door, give a tour and explain details that would be helpful to them. Even with providing a detailed House Manual online and hard copy in a binder, I don't believe in leaving them to their own devices to figure out how to operate everything.

I agree it would be a wonderful thing to have a welcome guide for guests, and so I've gone completely to great lengths, to create my own. 

[Dennise-Ann0]

Thank you for the response.  After posting I started a Welcome to the Cabin letter to new guests that goes over the basics. I am going to leave it on the counter with the keys.   I am thinking this might help a bit.  I did find a guide for guest on Airbnb that was buried on their website.  The Airbnb guide I had never seen and suspect very few have also seen it.  I pulled some of the guides off and added some that are pertinent to my cabin.  I mean most rentals don't have wild animals that frequent the properties

[Ann72]

@Dennise-Ann0  Can you give us a link to the guide you found?  There are so many new-to-Airbnb guests out there I’m sure a lot of us would find it useful.

[Dennise-Ann0]

Here it is.  I hope it transfers well.

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2894/guest-reliability-standards

[Ann72]

Amazing @Dennise-Ann0 @I’ve never seen this before!

[Sarah977]

@Dennise-Ann0  Do you message with guests before their arrival? Or just send them necessary information?

It's really crucial when you have an off the beaten track listing, with quirks and special concerns, like bears and garbage, to establish a personal dialogue with your guests before they arrive, so you know you are both on the same page, and they have a clear understanding.

Set advance notice for bookings, so you have a chance to do this- don't take last minute bookings. 

[Cave0]

Well, that's a load of old rubbish isn't it?

The Terms of Service state, quite clearly:

"Except where expressly authorized, you may not allow any person to join a Host Service unless they are included as an additional guest during the booking process."

In the Guest Reliability Standards:

"Our goal is to ensure that these standards are clear"

it goes on to say:

"Guests should respect the approved number of guests—both for overnight stays and for other visits to the listings -- and should inquire with their host if they're unsure about the rules for visitors."

Seems that the Guest Reliability Standard is diluting the message of the Terms of Service rather than reinforcing it, surely the message has to be that only those on the reservation can use the Host Services.

You'd have thought.

[Anonymous]

@Cave0   

"Airbnb encourages hosts to promptly report violations of these standards. A reported violation of any of these standards is considered alongside past violations, which informs the enforcement decisions made by Airbnb. Reports are reviewed on both the severity and frequency of violations.

If it’s determined that a guest has violated these standards, we’ll provide information about the policy and warnings. Guests who frequently or severely violate these standards may be suspended or removed."

I don't think that will leave anyone quaking in their boots about the consequences of violating the so-called standards. 

@Dennise-Ann0  So many hosts have reported a steep decline in guest behavior during the pandemic, and not just from first-time Airbnb users. It seems more important than ever now to engage guests in some in-depth correspondence before accepting a request, and make sure you're truly on the same page about what you expect from each other. I've never found it effective as a strategy to give people extra reading material; the ones who are conscientious enough to do the homework are not your problem guests in the first place. The only thing that's worked well for me is raising the bar for communication and declining those who don't inspire me to trust them with the keys to my house.

Airbnb doesn't like declines, but their only goal is to make money. When your own property is at stake, a vacancy is better than a lousy guest.

[Cari3]

HI Andrew, I'm afraid airbnb's words on bad guests and their violations don't impress me. I reported (twice) a guest who booked for their 'cousin' who turns out had 32 warrants out for his arrest.  We had our house surrounded by 6 fully armed SWAT team members trying to apprehend him.  He got away and also took our linen with him, plus I sent airbnb a photo of his meth pipe he left behind.  He had one previous review that I only saw when I went to write mine (it was not there when I took the booking), it was also a 1-star rating.    Unfortunately, as I was working with the police when the last day to do a review rolled around, I couldn't put in my review that the guy who arrives has all these warrants.  Yet the so called 'cousin' who books for him, is STILL on the airbnb platform and I have presented airbnb with all the information.  So reporting violations is a waste of time.

[Christine615]

@Anonymous  

that last line should be repeated! 

“….When your property is at stake, a vacancy is better than a lousy guest….”

[Laura2592]

@Dennise-Ann0  unfortunately the only recourse a host has in this situation is an appropriate review.  If you didn't terminate the stay I would suggest waiting until the final day to leave your feedback and make it factual and honest. Something like 

'New Guests to the platform. Had trouble with instructions and following house rules,  clean up took more time than usual and did not communicate the number of guests staying on the reservation accurately.  We would not open our space to these guests again and urge other hosts to confirm that they have fully understood all listing details prior to arrival. '

[Cari3]

HI Laura - I feel your pain.  I have had a similar experience with new guests (usually young) in my non-standard airbnb.   They don't read a thing.  I too have detailed arrival instructions, which reminds them of house rules and what to do on checkout. There are also laminated instructions in the cottage.  Nor do they respond to anything communicated to them via the Airbnb messaging system.  It always interests me though because they seem to read enough to get the gate and wifi codes.  But yesterday I spent 4.5 hours cleaning my unit after first time guests stayed for 2 nights.  

EVERY SINGLE pot, pan, every utensil and every bit of crockery was left encrusted with dried food.  We have a no pet, no smoking anywhere on our property house rule.  I saw the young man with a cigarette sticking out his mouth when he came out to get something from the car, when I confronted him and reminded him of the house rule, he told me it was unlit.  True!  Only I don’t know any smokers who walk around with unlit cigarettes dangling from their lips who don’t intend to smoke them.  Found a lighter in the bed.  When I went by the one time, I heard a dog bark (I know they were in there because their car was parked outside and the dog only gave one bark before it was silenced). I went over and knocked and called out to them, they refused to answer.  I messaged them - got no reply.  And unfortunately I was already running late for an important meeting so I literally had to let sleeping dogs lie and when I got back their car was gone. Turns out the dog was on heat so everything had blood specks on it, including the bed they hadn’t slept in, there were food pellets strewn all over the floor and EVERYTHING smelt of dog… I had to wash couch cushions and every bit of linen in the place.  They also obviously used my spare duvet to make a dog bed -covered with hair and they left my duvet on the ground outside.  They only stayed 2 nights, but the 2nd night they went out the whole night. They came back around 9am.  My checkout time is 11am…..at 12.45 I was still unable to get a response from them. 

They WILL get a 1-star review from me on the final day.  BUT HERE IS WHAT I WOULD LIKE AIRBNB TO DO.    We need first time guests to become regular guests,…. But no-one wants guests like these.  I’d really encourage airbnb to have someone who follows up with all 1st time guests who get anything less than a 3-star review from their hosts to discuss with them how they might become excellent guests.  How to check out the house-rules to make sure (in my case) that if they are smokers with a pet they find an airbnb that matches their requirements, how to download the airbnb app and communicate with hosts, and to talk about leaving spaces clean and neat.  Also, I’m obviously going to check that I would NOT host them again…. Does anyone know if once you’ve done that they are barred for ever booking at your airbnb again?

[Christine615]

This may sound counterintuitive, but Airbnb would actually make more money if they made it more exclusive. Better vetting up front and harder to qualify to be a guest: (you have to provide information for a background check), dinged for being a bad guest and banned on second occasion. Special perks for the best guests.  Special perks for the best hosts (the ones with legit good reviews from experienced guests - not the ones who have friends and family stay and fake the reviews).

That's business school 101.

[Sarah977]

@Christine615  They obviously failed that course.