Reading and Agreeing to the House Rules

[Mark5779]

When someone requests a booking at our cabin, I always respond with a nice note that asks them a little about themselves and asks them to read the house rules and agree to abide by them.  We have had some guests who say that they don't read the rules and don't care, and we have had other guests just don't answer, but they don't cancel their request. We don't accept the booking until we hear back from them. We ask because although the property sounds like it's large, it's only a 1 bedroom cabin designed as a romantic get away for two, and it's a no smoking/no pets/no children property. We want to ensure that they understand and that they are making an informed reservation request.  We've tried to make sure the listing says it all, and it does. When someone reads our message and either cancels or doesn't respond, we start to think that they were hoping to do what ever they wanted to do and not get caught.  I'm starting to lose faith in the rental market. We have had some great guests and we have had a few that have pushed the limits of our hospitality.  This is one reason that we don't use instant booking. I guess many people don't really read the listings.  This cabin is our retirement investment and want it to stay in great shape. What do you think?

[Joelle43]

Hello @Mark5779 

Same! 😊 I'm not on IB because like you my apartment is non smoking, not pet friendly and for security reasons, only older kids are welcome.  All of this is clearly marked on my listing and in my house rules but this doesn't stop me getting requests to book from people with young children or who want to bring pets🙄 

Like you I always send them via the Airbnb message stream my house rules and explain to them that as soon as they tell me that they are fine with them, I will go ahead and accept their reservation.   I tell them that they are free to withdraw their request if they feel that I am maybe asking too much but  Up until now, I've never had someone do that🤞 When I do, I'll think that I probably dodged a bad guest.  So far so good and hoping to keep it that way by asking appropriate questions to my guests and going by my gut instincts.  

But yes IB is just not feasible especially now that the good track record has been replaced by a no bad recent review.  I just wish the guests were held accountable in the same way we are.

Joëlle

[Mark5779]

Thank you for confirming that we are not crazy!! 😀  I like that you tell tehm that they are free to remove the request if the rules wont work for them, and I'm going to add that to my note.  I just feel that we are not a giant hotel chain with unlimited resources to be able to accept any request.  This is our 2nd home and we've put in a lot of money and work to make it what we love. We don't want someone to come in, break the rules, and then have to re-do everything. Our grandkids are grown adults and some have allergies to smoke and pets. When they come to town, we want the cabin to be their clean safe place while they are here. And that goes for all guests as well. Our guests deserve a clean, fresh smelling, and enjoyable place to stay. And as far as children go, the cabin is not child safe, has steep stairs, and only has ONE bedroom with only ONE bed.  Our rules say that only 2 adults over 25 are allowed to stay overnight. We are very specific about it in the rules. 

[Joelle43]

We’re definitely on the same page you and I @Mark5779 😊

[Basha0]

I send house info and agreement which needs to be signed before they guest entry instructions. Only a few times over the years have I had push back. Too bad. My house my rules 

[Elaine701]

@Mark5779 

In a practical sense, unless you've got a team of lawyers prepared to threaten and engage lawsuits, "house rules" are unenforceable .. or at least you're unlikely to get any help from Airbnb in enforcing them. But guests won't necessarily know that. 

Yet...  there's the impression that normal, desirable guests can be left with when they receive a list of "rules" they are required to follow. As if you're the stasi or something. You need to be careful about giving the impression that you have a lot of problems with guests, because it's easy to assume the host is "problematic". "Please do not throw food at the TV". Erm, does that happen a lot? 

In my experience, simple guest screening is far more effective than forcing them to "agree" to a set of "rules" (especially since they're unenforceable anyway), some of which should be self-evident, at least to the types of guests that you'd like to attract. 

[Mark5779]

Hi Elaine, How do you screen guests?  I can't read their reviews  by other hosts until I accept the reservation. I don't know anything about them until I accept the reservation. To screen, you need something to go on, something about them.  I'm confused by your answer.  

And I fully believe that House rules are enforceable.  The rental agreement is incorporated by reference and in it there are conditions that can be enforced when a guest has breached the agreement. For instance, if the guest smokes in the NON Smoking cabin, an additional costly cleaning fee can be applied through Airbnb. If they bring a pet to the NO pets property, damage (including hair on furniture or smells or scratches to the floor) can incur an additional cleaning fee and damage repair.  Or perhaps they bring a child with them to a property that states it is not child friendly and only has one bedroom, and the child gets hurt or damages the sofa (since there is not a second bed), it's considered damage and additional cleaning fees/damage repair fees can be assessed through Airbnb.  Breach of contract can be applied to the rules, but we would rather be proactive than reactive.  We are in this rental market to have guests enjoy the area, not to make money. Our place is fully paid for and we can carry the costs even if it is never rented.

My rules are simple, basically - NO PETS, NO SMOKING, ONLY 2 OCCUPANCY OVERNIGHT (there is only one bed). Yes, there are other basic rules like no hunting, no discharge of guns, county noise ordinances, no outdoor fires, no glitter or parties, a limited number of daytime guests (county ordinance), no children (for safety purposes), and taking care of the property.

So please tell me how you screen guests? We have only had a few problem guests so far. Most have been very satisfied with the rules and have taken good care of our place. So it's not problematic. But we want it to stay that way.

Mark & Ruth

[Shelley159]

Your requests are 100% straightforward and reasonable @Mark5779 

As you know, it's in the practical application that things can go wrong. You're right that you can file all the claims you mention above, but claims are filed within the review period, often resulting in very low review ratings both ways and unpleasant arguments. Some wait until the last moment before they file claims or write reviews, in order to manage this (there are lots of tips here in the CC).

I agree with @Elaine701 - it's much better to put the majority of effort into preventing conflict in the first place. Guests who read and pay careful attention to the rules (the majority), are usually the ones that wouldn't have needed those rules. The ones that don't care, don't care, so it's not unusual for hosts to feel that rules don't serve much of a purpose.

In my case I don't screen guests (not my strong suit), I try to screen my calendar instead (I find it much more predictable!). I look at the open dates and try to manage them. Each listing (even in the same town) is different. I can avoid potentially loud guests if I set my weekend minimum for advance bookings to 3 nights instead of 2. It doesn't always work out and get booked that way (especially in the off season), but when I need to drop the weekend minimum, I try to increase the price to try to attract a more considerate guest. That's just one example, and your listing could have a different pattern - for example - when are guests more likely to bring unauthorised children? Are there certain days you can block from check-in or check out that can block some problems?

For many of us, the main concern is the neighbours (once they're negative about the listing, it's very hard to keep going).

I think you're well aware that nothing we do (prevention, rules or a combination), can guarantee a good experience every time, we can only try 😃. And the important thing is that you and most of the hosts in the CC seem to agree - the vast majority of guests are really great and appreciative.

[Elaine701]

@Mark5779 

It may be different in the US, but in my patch, hosts can read every previous guest review by hosts prior to booking. It's a critical part of screening.

Second, I communicate. Ask benign questions "are you coming for the golf tournament?". There is no golf tournament, but it encourages them to talk about themselves and why they're coming. The responses (or lack of them) can reveal a lot.

Third, I keep my prices a bit above my local competition, and deliver a product worthy of that difference, which in turn generates glowing reviews, which attracts a better quality of guest. The most problematic guests generally first target whatever is the cheapest. 

Those more desirable guests also don't need to be treated like children. And doing so can send them elsewhere. And that's the point. You want to attract the good ones. 

And maybe you have very few undesirable guests, but that may explain why you seem unaware that expecting Airbnb to enforce your house rules is only a recipe for disappointment and can even result in serious damage...  Retaliatory reviews, refunding the guest, suspension or even delisting. 

So simply strive to attract responsible guests and you won't need to impose a lot of unenforceable rules. Those things are self-evident to responsible guests. 

[Richard3358]

Its a good idea.  When I receive a reservation I immediately respond with a thank you and remind them of the main rules for max guests, minimum age, and the no pets policy.  I also have in our policies that if we find that there are more than the 2 guest max, the rate for each additional person is $200 per night, same with pet and notice that if the no pet policy is violated they will face eviction immediately which is backed up by our condo association.

So far in 3 years we've only had 2 bookings where they tried to BS their booking and we immediately cancelled it and were supported by Airbnb.

Most people are honest but some are  not, but its important that you make your rules clear but polite, so that they know you mean business.

Good luck!