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?

Mark5779

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But yes IB is just not feasible especially now that the good track record has been replaced by a no bad recent review.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.

Mark5779

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

Mark5779

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