Unreasonable requests from guests

[Priyanka44]

Hey guys,

I have a guest staying with me. He’s actually very low maintenance and quiet. Initially, he reached out to me via Airbnb and never finalized request. A few days later I get a request from his wife and she books my Airbnb. After he checks in and all goes well, she books another trip for him here in January for 14 days. I didn’t know these two were related to be quite frank with you. Anyways, I don’t know what their personal situation is. But he is the one staying here, but his wife is the one communicating with me through the Airbnb app.

Since they have come in it’s been mostly fine. He’s quiet, clean, considerate, but his wife and him keep reaching out to me either via Airbnb or through texting to ask for random things. 

1.) He wants discounts because Airbnb is expensive. I offered a 10% and said the fees are not from me but from Airbnb.

2.) He wanted to use my laundry even though I don’t advertise my home with laundry. 

3.) He wanted to stay here as a month to month tenant instead of via Airbnb. I said no because frankly I prefer Airbnb right now and they made an insulting low offer.

4.) He texts me to ask me if he can park his car while he goes to Texas for Christmas and New Years (he’ll be gone for 2 weeks!). When I said no, he started to argue with me which just bothered me and started asking about what my liability is in this situation.

5.) This is just a pet peeve, but he leaves every light and appliance on at all times.

First off all, I have a rule. If someone wants to have a conversation, negotiate or ask for help I will work with them. But when people want what they want and aren’t willing to compromise in anyway or engage in a conversation then I don’t engage with those conversations or those people because those are the type of individuals who ask for a mile when you’re only willing to give them an inch. That’s what I’m sensing here.

I reached out to Airbnb now to cancel their second trip because I don’t want to repeatedly deal with this. I’m seeing the trend and I’m just expecting them to continue asking for things or concessions. Does their requests seem unreasonable to you? I’m curious if you think my assessment is an overreaction.

My thinking right now is I should wait till he checks out to cancel the second trip. Any suggestions on this?

I just don’t appreciate that they think I’m a billionaire of some kind who can just give them an extremely cheap place to stay at a loss with free parking for their vacations. I’m running a business here. 

[Chill-and-Relax0]

It seems like a major pain in the butt, and it's barely starting. I'll get rid of the dude as soon as I could w/o taking a loss. Also, third-party reservations are not allowed as per TOS unless it is a business account; this may be a good excuse to cancel his reservation w/o getting cancelation on a record.

[Marie6762]

So, are both of them staying with you?  You say “a guest” staying but “since they have come...”  Because, while I agree about no second-party bookings, if they’re both staying this would, of course, be moot.

The requests are all outside the boundaries for most hosts- including excess power usage, I would bet.

Sounds like they/he are trying to create the perfect cheap month-to-month situation, and maybe think they’d be doing you a favor (??!?) by suggesting you go off-platform.  Don’t give them that first inch- trust your instinct that “knows” they’re going for that mile!

As far as cancelling the second stay, that will be tricky to time so that they can’t burn you with a retaliatory review.  Best case: they cancel themselves, when you fail to meet their ridiculous  demands!

Good luck - and please let us know how it goes😉

[Priyanka44]

No. I thought they were both going to stay with me, but really only the husband showed up. Sorry if I worded things weirdly wasn’t trying to confuse anyone. Essentially the wife booked for the husband and he showed up! 

I think someone else mentioned the term bargain hunters that seems very accurate to what they’re trying to do. At this point I am fully expecting a bad review from them.

[Sarah977]

@Priyanka44  You aren't overreacting. The guest is demanding and entitled and doesn't understand that he can't expect things that aren't offered in the first place, and get upset when he's told no.

With guests like this, you have to be polite but firm and educate them a bit if possible. "XX, you've been a good guest as far as being quiet and clean, but you seem not to understand that you can only expect what is offered in the listing information. If you expect to have a washer and dryer to use, you need to check to see if the listing  offers that before you decide to book. I don't offer laundry facilities in my ad. There's a laundromat close by- just down on the next block. And if you think the price is too high, you should book places where the price is amenable to you. "

Unless you can get him to see the light and change his attitude, I woukd get rid of him as soon as you can, and definitely explain to Airbnb why his next booking needs to be cancelled without any penalties to you (if his wife is not also staying, explain that it's a third party booking) . Or maybe if you offer to refund him in full for the second booking, he will cancel himself. He won't get the Airbnb fees back, though, which I'm sure he'll be enraged about.

[Laura2592]

@Priyanka44 did the wife instant book? If so you can cancel her with one of your 3 freebies per year. Also you may have grounds to get ABB to do a penalty free cancel if you have evidence on the platform that the wife is booking and not staying. That is a third party booking, which are not allowed on ABB. The wife may be booking for the husband if he has poor reviews from other hosts. 

Anyone who wants a long term stay on an ABB, in my humble opinion, is likely trouble. There are landlords (With leases. And credit checks.) that offer such opportunities. Guests who want to bypass that have found this platform an easy way to do so. Some may even be happy to pay a premium above market for people not to check into their credit or background. But this guy sounds more parasitic in that he wants all the anonymity and freedom of a lease-free stay but doesn't want to pay market rates. 

The husband and wife may be working as a team to scam or wear you down. I wouldn't put that out of the realm of possibility and would act swiftly and decisively. Make up an excuse if you have to: " I am sorry I have to cancel your stay as I JUST found out my sister needs to move in with me for a bit!" Up to you if you do it now, or wait until he leaves. I would probably just cancel the rest of this stay and refund him, sending him and his car on the way to Texas.  It may even be worth it to block some of the dates they are looking at so they don't come back trying to book from a different profile. 

Your review should be honest and unemotional. 

"So and so's partner booked the space but so and so stayed. Communication was confusing as the person I spoke with on the platform was not the guest. Guest asked repeatedly for discounts and amenities I do not offer. Guest was looking for an off the books long term stay which I cannot provide. House rules were not consistently respected. Guest was clean and quiet otherwise. "

And for the love of Pete, RAISE YOUR PRICES!! My mom used to live in Centreville so I know exactly where it is and what its like. I would at least be at $75 a night if not more. $33 is just begging for bargain hunters. 

[Priyanka44]

Hey, I don’t do Instabook. I understand some people think there’s value to it. But I’d like a little bit more control in understanding who is booking in my place because I still also live here. It’s a shared home. I usually only accept females with some rare exceptions. Some people just don’t understand how to be nice individuals or read the full listing. So I literally vet each individual person. And it goes well about 80% to 90% of the time. I actually had the greatest success story with Airbnb with my last guest that stayed here last weekend. She’s coming back in January and March!

That said, it’s a good idea canceling for a family emergency. Thank you! The thing with Airbnb was they reached out to me yesterday after I spoke to someone and temporarily resolved the issue. The plan was that I would wait until he checks out to cancel their next booking. The rep from Airbnb who called me made it really clear that regardless of what part of the TOS they broke I would be penalized for canceling. The call bothered me because it was very clear that Airbnb was prioritizing it’s guest over a host. I think that’s ridiculous because Airbnb’s platform wouldn’t exist without hosts. Tbh, I think the only reason they called is because they wanted to drill into my head that if the guy damages anything they’re not responsible because it’s a third party booking. I really don’t think there was any other value to the call.

So the only reason I haven’t raise my prices is because I seem to have trouble getting bookings when I raise it over 40. I want to raise my prices and I really agree with you. But given that I’m so new to this and I have so few reviews it’s not helpful when it’s hard to get a booking. Any suggestions with that? 

[Laura2592]

@Priyanka44 All I can tell you is that when we started we had our prices at $50 for an entire house. There was nothing else in the area, and its not a touristy location (have you heard of Keymar MD? Thought not! And you are in the DC-MD-VA area.) It was an absolute wrong decision. Our guests stole all the firewood, made really absurd demands, complained about everything, wanted ADDITIONAL discounts and generally left the place really dirty/didn't respect rules. Not all, but enough. We were booked months in advance, which ended up coming back to haunt us after I raised our prices: the weekends were gone at a low rate. 

Over time I inched up $15 at a time to where we are now, which is still a bit too low. Its true that we are no longer booked out solid for 6 months but we do great. We make more money per stay. The guests are much more respectful and clean on the whole, though they can still be demanding. But now I am getting paid to deal with demanding. 

I would start a social media account for your space. That really has helped us to get booked. Post nice pictures and introduce  yourself. Advertise open dates and give people a small discount if they mention where they saw you. You can also look at Wheelhouse, which some swear by as a pricing tool. 

[Huma0]

@Priyanka44 

I agree with everything else that's already been said here. The guest and his wife do not seem "mostly fine" to me. You are not overreacting. This booking sounds like a massive headache. There's so many red flags.

I totally understand why you choose not to do Instant Booking. I wouldn't do it if I felt I didn't have to, but my bookings dropped to almost zero until I turned it on. One advantage with it is that you get three penalty free cancellations a year. However, if you are getting enough bookings without it, I would keep it turned off. It's not something I would recommend to a new host.

The Airbnb rep is not being terribly helpful as these guests have clearly broken Airbnb policy by making a third party booking, trying to then book off platform etc. etc. Sadly, you don't get penalty free cancellations when you cancel a request booking, which is not really fair in situations like this.

So, yes, you have a couple of options here. You could either wait until the current stay is over and the guest has left the review if you think the review will be okay and you feel like you are willing to put up with this guest for the rest of the stay, and then tell them that you are unable to host the second stay and offer a full refund. Personally, I would tell them that you are happy to refund all of the accommodation costs of the second stay providing they cancel from their end (that way you won't be penalised, but don't mention that bit). They might still not be happy with this as they won't get their Airbnb fees back.

Or, if you can't put up with it and want the guy to leave, you could offer to refund the remainder of the stay (see if you can get his wife to cancel from here end), seeing as their requirements (laundry, parking etc.) are not offered on your listing and perhaps they would prefer to stay somewhere that better suits their needs. Unfortunately, you cannot offer more than what was promised on the listing. You are, of course, more likely to receive a bad review in this scenario, but it's no good being held hostage over reviews as it'll just make your life miserable. I have also found that often (not always), bad guests don't leave reviews anyway.

In future, I would suggest:

1. NEVER accept third party bookings. You are not covered at all should something go wrong. Airbnb is not going to help you. It sounds like you vet your guests quite carefully, so this couple may have deliberately mislead you. Perhaps there is something on your listing that says you primarily host female guests and that is why they did it. Still, I always ask the guest to tell me a bit about themselves and the purpose of the stay, so it's crystal clear who will be staying. If someone else turns up, you need to turn them away, unless they are willing to make a booking from their own account.

2. Be wary of people asking for additional discounts. I have long term (weekly and monthly) discounts built in. I never agree to discounts above that.

3. You might already do this, but I always give my guests a thorough check in and tour, during which they are gently reminded of some important house rules (the ones that I find people often ignore), such as not leaving lights on all the time.

Anyway, I hope you get this situation resolved. Do let us know the outcome!

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Priyanka44 

The 3 suggestions offered by @Huma0 are solid. You've made your house rules with the intention of making hosting work for you. You really need to stick by those boundaries. Most guests are wonderful and grateful for the excellent hospitality that you offer. It is these folks who are pushing your boundaries and making life miserable for you. It is unfair, and mostly preventable. It seems that once you accepted one broken rule, they have decided that the rest can also be pushed aside as well. Unreasonable, definitely. Another learning experience, for sure.

[Priyanka44]

Hey guys, I really appreciate the support and the feedback from all of you and the advice. These are all great suggestions and I will find a better way to market my place. I do offer a wonderful space and honestly this house has been decorated/set up in such a way that it offers every creature comfort a person could want. That being said I wanted to update you all that I actually ended up needing to kick this guy out. I slept in today which I’m not particularly proud of but I had the week off so why not. I come out and I smell smoke from his room. And turns out he had left all the lights and the appliances on which included a space heater right next to the bed. It almost lit up the comforter. He also left the front door wide open without any regard to my safety. I say almost lit because it wasn’t fully on flames but i smelled a burning/ smoke smell and I immediately texted both of them and went into his room. And then I contacted Airbnb. I think I actually got the best end of the deal because even though I lost some money and had to refund them for the days date couldn’t stay here and the damage was very limited. At least I don’t have to deal with them anymore and because it is a cancelled trip they cannot leave a review for me. I’m still fighting with Airbnb that they should refund them and write it off. I don’t know if that’s doable.

I have learned my lesson with third-party bookings even though it’s not some thing I generally engage in. I am very focused on reporting their account though because I don’t think any other host should have to deal with this.

I think you guys are right upping my prices is going to be the next thing I do. But I’m waiting to speak with someone from Airbnb. I will be honest it really depends on how they speak with me. I am not sure that I want to stay in the short term rental business given the issues that come with it. The money is great but it’s always a trade-off of how much you’re willing to put in to get that money. I’ve made some great friends who have been former Airbnb guests for me and I love that, but not sure it’s worth it anymore.

[Huma0]

@Priyanka44 

I am glad you got some resolution to this and got the guest out. It might have been tempting to let him finish off his stay, but it didn't sound like it was going to end well!

However, please be cautious. Guests who cancelled their stays or whose stays were cancelled CAN leave a review. Even guests whose stays were cancelled before the check in and never stayed at the listing can sometimes still be allowed to leave ratings, including for things such as check in and cleanliness, which is obviously absurd considering they never stayed. Hosts on the CC have been vocal about the injustice of this for years, yet Airbnb seem deaf to these concerns.

Anyway, hopefully you won't need to deal with a bad review situation (like I said, often bad guests don't leave reviews I guess because they are afraid of retaliation or they are just plain lazy and disorganised) so no point stressing about that unless the situation comes back.

Once again, I want to stress, do not accept third party bookings.

This has been a bad experience, but chalk it up to experience. If you have otherwise had mostly great guests, don't give up. We all experience at least one of these types sooner or later. If they were the majority rather than the tiny minority, I would certainly not still be hosting!

[Priyanka44]

Hey that’s good to know about the reviews. Airbnb guaranteed me that they would not be able to leave a review. I’m hoping that that is in fact true. Regardless I just got another review from a guest that stayed over the weekend and it’s amazing. I have multiple calls I’ve made to Airbnb and photos of the condition he left the room in. So if Airbnb does not support me I am going to cause a lot of issues.

I like to remind customer support from time to time when they’re being unreasonable with me that their platform would not exist without hosts, but their platform will continue to exist if a customer walks away. Sometimes it works. Other times it falls on deaf ears! 

I don’t think Airbnb does a good job to support its hosts. I can see all the issues that I’ve seen here on this platform and on other forms that Airbnb hosts discuss these issues in. Thank you for the encouragement to continue and I really appreciate all of the feedback here.

[Suzanne302]

@Priyanka44  The guest is being unreasonable and keeps pushing your boundaries. I would not put up with that.

I would wait until a review is left for the first stay, then call Airbnb to cancel the second reservation saying you are "uncomfortable" hosting this guest again based on his first stay. Don't elaborate, just say you feel uncomfortable. If no review is left and there are at least 14 days between stays, wait the 14 days and cancel. If there aren't at least 14 days between stays, you can call Airbnb and cancel and risk him (her) leaving a bad review, or, you can leave the reservation and continue to have your boundaries pushed during the second reservation.