What to do about obese guests?

[Susan21]

To my surprise and horror, for the first time in all these years that I have received Airbnb guests, two obese guests arrived. There was no prior indication from photos et al that they are obese. As my beds and chairs are antiques, I am terrified they will not stand the weight.

What can I do -  prohibit obese guests in my ad? It doesn't sound right but it would be for their safety besides ruining antiques.

[Emiel1 · Accepted solution]

Maybe learn also something from this posting:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Appropriate-checkin-concerns-about-size-and-weight-of-guest...

[Fred13]

  People with definite 'special issues' (to put it mildly) should have the consideration to not 'pretend' as if they are perfectly 'normal'. They are not. It is not the end of the world really, just be condidered and up front with the host.  

   I had the same issue, in fact 4 of them; they did let me know they were 'quite overweight'; told them 'no problem'. I replaced/moved some of the interior furniture with much stronger deck furniture. They had a great time and thanked me for 'working with them'.

[Jo516]

Airbnb perhaps should have guests have section where they indicate if they have special needs with an explanation of special needs. Some hosts are more equipped to handle special needs guests, such as guests who require a space able to accommodate a wheel chair.

[Ale113]

@Fred13 @Susan21  It happened to me twice in a year:

One couple: the man was more than 2m high. They complain about the bed.

Come on, please!! Why didn't you ask when you booked??!!! :#

One man: nearly 2m. He complained about the bed

WTF is going on?

I wrote in the pics the bed size. Never happen again in 7months 😄

[Jasmine104]

I just experienced a 500lb guest who broke a chair- and another obese guest that broke the couch in the past, and another obese one who broke another chair   I learned my lesson.

I now post in my listing:

This house is not suitable for people over 225 lbs. The furniture will not withstand the weight and can be potentially dangerous. Please dont rent this space if you exceed 225 lbs. This is grounds of forfeiture of your deposit.

[Letti0]

@Jasmine104   You do realized that a man that 6'4" and slim could weight 230-260 easily. You are going to be eliminating a whole lot of normal sized people with 225 pounds. 

[Deidre45]

If the concern is really with the weight capacity of the furniture, then it doesn't matter how tall the person is and whether or not they look 'fat'. Weight is weight. 

Your post makes it clear that you favour discriminating according to appearance because you don't like fat people, and it is not really about the furniture at all. Maybe hosts like you should have some kind of 'sizest' warning attached so larger folks who fall within your weight requirements don't make the mistake of giving you their money.

[Susan151]

225 lbs is obese? There are many people, taller and wider, that would not be considered obese at that weight. I am also fascinated that you knew how heavy the guest who broke a chair was. I can never guess people's weight since I have no idea what type of frame they have.

[Lisa723]

@Susan21 @Letti0 yes, my 6'5" normal-weight husband would be disallowed by this rule.

[Weston17]

I’m sorry, I have to comment. She never said that 225 is obese; she said her house cannot handle people over 225. And yes, speaking as a vet who knows quite a bit of healthy people way over that mark, it probably takes out a lot of business but if it doesn’t bother, leave her alone. It is her house and her choice because she has been gracious enough to open it up to the public so they have a safer more comfortable place to stay. Besides the average weight even in America still hasn’t reached over 200 so she really is still catering to the “average.” Then we have some lady commenting about how she wouldn’t rent because it’s “discrimination. Uh, no. She is simply stating that she is not willing to pay for the potential issues people with weight can bring to fragile interiors. If had an antique house or antique furniture I would have to do the exact same thing. It’s safer that way anyway. Wow people, when did we become this obsessed with running everybody else’s lives? Get off your high horse and step into the hosts shoes before you start screaming discrimination. 

[Ginny30]

If I read this in your house rules or in your listing,  I would probably not book with you.  Do you realize how inappropiate that is?  It's discrimination in it's own way. 

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Jasmine104 , I fear you unleashed a S417storm with that one!  225 is not rare for humans in a healthy world, Im only 7 lbs from your imagined obese size but I'm 73" tall, not 48.  That said, 400 lbs of guest (much less a couple weighing that much) is not someone that should sleep on grandmas 1915 mahogany spindle bed either. 

I believe hosts must try to outfit your rental space with safety in mind especially when it comes to beds @Susan21 .  The pictures you get with little green aliens, kitties and other non representative images won't always  (or ever) be useful,  maybe consider a steel frame platform with headboards mounted on both ends if you want that look. Safe hosting, JR

[John1080]

One of my early set of guests were obese, but the woman's picture was taken in a way, where it wasn't detectable. I usually check the video footage very quickly just to make sure who arrived, when they arrived, and so on and I was surprised to see two very large individuals, probably 350 pounds each. Nothing against them, but as with the OP, I was concerned for my furniture, especially the bed and the kitchen chairs, not to mention the toilets. 

Of course they were very sweet people and it turned out great. I took it as a learning tool to remind myself that these things are going to happen and going forward, any new furniture I purchase needs to be sturdy. 

[Ginny30]

You are the host & your job is to make sure your guests are comfortable.  Don't you take this same chance everytime you have a new guest?  ANYONE OF ANY SIZE can ruin your antiques and furniture, it's a gamble you take whether it's due to drinking too much and falling on them, accidently breaking something, etc...you really should look at it that way and not judge them on their weight.