Hi everyone my name is Julie and I have been hosting for approximately 3 months. I airbnb a guest suite attached to my home. On the whole things have gone really smoothly and I find the majority of guests are really respectful. Just a couple of things I would love to hear other people's thoughts on. We have a lockbox and there was also an additional key located in the property in on the other door. Recently we let the place out whilst we were on holiday (for the first time, with some trepidation). I had family and friends taking care of the place and doing the cleaning. One guest towards the end of our holiday, contacted me to say there was no spare key in the door inside. I contacted family and the friend who was cleaning - they had not seen it. All guests denied seeing it. However, I know it was there when we departed. Because it is a key to part of our home - I wonder if I should be concerned or just put it down to someone losing it or mislaying it and not telling me. It is difficult to contact people a week or so after the event... if I had been there, I would have noticed immediately as I always do an inventory check - so this was an oversight on my part in not making it clear to my cleaner to double check the second key (the cleaner is a close friend and I trust them implicitly). Should I change the locks or just accept it is part and parcel of holiday lets?
My second query is a potential violation of our no smoking policy. I make it clear on the Airbnb site and in a manual that we leave at the property that it is strictly no smoking inside. I allow guests to smoke or vape in the little outdoor area directly outside the property. So far the majority of people have respected it - however, I have suspicions that one couple may have violated it - we found the smoke alarm had been tampered with and they had the windows open almost continuously during their stay - we also found smoking paraphernalia down the back of the sofa. Unfortunately I cannot be certain as my husband did the initial check out and clean and he suffers with anosmia (meaning he has no sense of smell). In the end I chose not to write a review or say anything as I could not be certain and therefore I didn't want to make an accusation - however, I was frustrated as it is part of our home and there are many reasons that I do not want people smoking in there - not least that it is not pleasant for other guests. Does anyone have any tips on this please?
