Long term guest never leaving the house

[Marit0]

I have a guest who has rented a room for 4 weeks in my small apartment shared with me, and he never leaves the house. He sits in his room with the blinds down, and will continue doing that. It freaks me out and makes me very uncomfortable. This has happened once before, when someone was sitting by the kitchen table for 13 hours a day for more than a month. I have had many long term guests, and it has been great, but this... oh, I don't want this to happen again. What to do?

[Daniel10466]

I would recommend that you put in house rules that would make your place unattractive to a guest that chooses to be a recluse. Maybe state in your house rules that you must go in their room weekly to clean, or that shared spaces must not be monopolized. 

You may even state in the description of your place the type of person it is perfect for. Say for instance, you say "perfect place for outgoing individuals who like to interact with host" then you will probably scare off someone who wants to be alone and secluded. I want quiet guests for instance so I say "super quiet home that is perfect for working professionals or those looking to explore the neighborhood". I put the word quiet in the title and also all throughout the listing description and house rules. I have found doing this I usually get the type that I describe in my listing, and probably scare off a lot of people who like partying and loud music. In the end you may lose some income by being more picky but then again you probably will deal with this kind of uncomfortable situation much less. 

[Jennifer1897]

The only way to avoid this 100% is to limit the duration a guest can book for. I too rent a room in one of my properties and have had guest who probably only left the home 1 or 2 days of their entire month stay, despite saying they had plans or jobs to attend too. 

I'll be honest, it was an adjustment for me, because I somewhat assume a guest will enjoy time out of the home doing things or potentially working. However, at the end of the day, as uncomfortable as it makes us, a guest is intitled to an extent to use the room as the wish (within our rules). If he wants to hole up and spend the month in there you essentially have to accept it, as long as he is not breaking rules or damaging the home.  

He could have social anxiety, not be feeling well, having trouble adjusting, etc. You could try to engage him or tell him about local attractions or restaurants. Maybe it will encourage him to get out and about more. 

[Marit0]

This person’s preference is to sit inside the room with the blinds down, that was communicated upon arrival, not before. The plants die in there, and room looks awful. He can’t clean or take out the trash, can’t clean the toilet after himself. It is not at all helpful that the only solution for avoiding such a situation is not to rent out. I am an experienced host, and prefer long term guests. I share my 58 square meter flat with strangers, and it is not only up to the host to make flat sharing work. I have read several threads about this, and it is repeated that this is only avoided by not renting out or interrogating guests upon request. Something is missing here, and can be improved. It has to do with safety and responsibility when all of a sudden there are psychiatric issues you have to live with for a month or two as a surprise. Renting out is a risk, and the answers from level 10s are not renting out as a solution to the problem. 

[Marit0]

In this case it is not possible, I have tried. There are issues... What I want is to avoid similar situation in the future. It has happened to me twice, and it is a bit beyond my imagination that someone is travelling across the globe to sit enclosed in an appartement or room with the blinds down letting the plants die. These guests had intentions of doing that, and I think it should have been communicated beforehand. They both gave other impressions. Tips about the listing, how to be clear without being off-putting, and maybe guests should have to be clear with intensions beforehand, and not something that the host should guess through interrogation. 

[Daniel10466]

How about you require guests to call you prior to booking and explain you just want to make sure they are a gpod fit for your small place?