Link to House Rules

[Jillian115]

I recently had a young couple from the local area book my listing. It's a bit of a red flag for possible entertaining. I didn't cancel it, but I wanted to make sure they read that the house rules include "no parties" and "this listing for a maximum of two people." Unless I'm missing something, it appears you can not link to the rules. The rules only appear at the bottom of the listing page, and when you click on it, it's a pop-up. I ended up taking a screenshot but just wondering if there is another way. Since guests now bypass the rules when booking, I would like to link to them in my communication moving forward.

[Gordon0]

You can't use hyperlinks unfortunately, but you could always have them as a photo early on in your pics, @Jillian115. Doesn't mean they'll take any notice, but it's another avenue to try.

[Emilia42 · Accepted solution]

@Jillian115 You could copy and paste them into the message thread ...

"Just a reminder that the house rules are as follows: X, X, X"

[Kia272]

Your terms pose a contradiction. You say capacity is two guests only. You then say that additional guests are not allowed at any time, and then you say that additional guests will result in additional charges? Even I'm confused. Additional guests beyond two should result in the original two guests being booted from your property. I'd clean that up before sending it to guests. 

[Jillian115]

@Kia272 Yeah, I know. But since people break the rules, you have to list the consequences, or they cannot be charged when they do. I have in my listing there will be a $25 charge per additional guest to prevent parties; here's why: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvjH_bxkC78 

I also have in my rules that my listing is it's not suitable for infants under 2. Why? Because when you set your rules, Airbnb gives you guidelines, like do you have cleaning supplies that are not locked up? If so, then your listing is not suitable for infants under 2.

Then Airbnb allows booking for children under two regardless of if the house it's suitable or not and regardless of if you have it in your house rules. They also do not count infants under 2 in your guest count. So yes, there are some contradictions. But I see it as necessary in order  protect myself from being held liable if something happens.

[Kia272]

@Jillian115  My point being that when they break house rules they need to leave. It's that simple. I'm not talking about leaving a dirty dish. I'm talking about the fundamentals of the contract they agree to when they book your property. 

It's a bit different for me because I'm an on-site host (most of the time), but if I had solid evidence that a guest brought others onto my property, or brought a pet, you better believe I will get those folks gone as soon as I can.

It's up to YOU to enforce your own rules. AirBnB won't do it for you. You say, "But since people break the rules, you have to list the consequences", and I'm saying the consequences are forfeiting the remainder of their reservation and leaving the property. You're allowing guests to do this. 

[Colleen253]

I agree with @Kia272 , @Jillian115. The thing  to consider is, guests are more likely to break your occupancy limits/rules when they sense you are wishy washy about it. Not saying you are per se, but your wording conveys that, with it's mixed messaging. I updated my house rules over a year ago, using explicit language regarding guests/visitors/occupancy limits and have not had one problem since. I don't mention extra guest charges.

[Colleen253]

@Jillian115 'House rules' is a bad word as far as Airbnb is concerned. Those pesky house rules may turn a guest away from booking. That's why they don't make them very visible or easy for us to share them. You can paste your house rules into a saved template message so they're easy to share any time you want to.

[Jillian115]

@Kia272 @Colleen253 

My post was actually about linking to the rules but since you brought up the contradiction in my rules I wanted to show you what came in today from Airbnb on the arriving soon message highlighted in blue.

This is what I was trying to say. There is no other way around it. 

• Infants (under 2 years of age) will not count toward your guest maximum. You can specify whether your home is safe or suitable for infants, and note the maximum number of infants you can accommodate, in your House Rules.
  
• Travelers won’t be charged additional guest fees for infants or pets. If you want to charge an additional fee, put those details in your House Rules and collect the fee using the Resolutions Center.

[Sarah977]

@Jillian115  The examples you quoted above do not mean you have to allow under 2s. It says they don't count towards the guest count and that they are free of charge. It doesn't say guests can bring infants to a listing which prohibits that.

I agree with the others who said your wording is wishy-washy and allows for guest interpretation. The consequence for arriving with over-capacity numbers should be "This listing has a maximum guest capacity of 2. Exceeding this limit will result in immediate cancellation of your booking and eviction."

Otherwise, you're basically saying that they can have 15 people stay, as long as they each pay an additional $25. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jillian115  yes, you are right and I noticed it as well and that's not good.

@Colleen253  yes, of course Airbnb has done it with purpose... but it creates a lot of problems, it's bad for everybody. Since ABB placed house rules on the very bottom of the page almost NONE of my guests reads them. Not even basic and shown rules like our check-in times and this is a huge problem. Guests book and then say they will arrive sooner or later than our check-in time is. When we say this is not possible they cancel. We already had more cancellations in the last few months than in the previous 4 years of hosting together and most of them are house-rules related.

My very first sentence in the listing description is to please read the DESCRIPTION and AMENITIES and expand the HOUSE RULES but 99% of guests don't do that. (I placed the password in our house rules and they should copy/paste it to let me know they've read it. )

I also tried to copy-paste the link but it's impossible.

Then I copy-pasted the whole house rules in a message.... and you know what? I got an alert message from Airbnb not to duplicate the text!

Immagine!!!

[Anton7042]

When you say you put the password into the House Rules, by “password” do you mean the access code to the house? Isn’t it a security issue since the rules are visible even before they book?

Or is it just an arbitrary code they need to recite to you when they book? If so, this seems kind of kindergarten-y, I could see how some guests could be annoyed by this.

On the other hand, putting something the guests NEED inside the House Rules section could be a genius solution. I’m just thinking what could that be, so it’s not a security issue. My first thought was Wi-Fi password, but that opens up a door for unauthorized access.

Maybe it could be a part of the WiFi password, like a suffix or a prefix and the rest would be available as private info.