Disrespectful guests and how to avoid these situation

Adriana1182
Level 2
Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Disrespectful guests and how to avoid these situation

Hello dear hosts,

 

I need your advice please on the issue I had with my last guests.  It was one of the worst experiences I had so far and I would like to know if there is anything I can do to prevent this in the future. 

 

So I had 3 guys staying for 5 nights.  The one who booked had a full black profile picture and 2 reviews (the last one was perfect!). I have Instant Booking on.

 

Communication was scarce from the guest's side, but polite. Before checking out he wrote that they broke 2 glasses and apologise. 

After their check-out I found out that there were many more issues. 

The couch cover was missing. Upon my question, he wrote me that it's folded in the laundry. But no sign of it. My gut  feeling told me that there was more and indeed there was. 

All signs indicate (women's aparell etc.) that they broke some of the most important house rules. I had 3 males as guests and all in one, this seems to have been a sex trip. So they had parties and extra unregistered guests staying over night.

The house rules are stated clearly in the description as well as in the printed welcome package I handout to my guests. 

Since the guest hasn't been onest about one blanket, I didn't bother to ask him about the other aspects. 

I will request money from him for the damaged (chair, umbrella, fridge shelf) and missing items. 

I would like to also have him pay for the extra guests, but I don't have the exact numbers. 

I will definitely write him a review warning other hosts about him. How specific would you be in that review?

I was scared to receive a revengeful review from him, but the Airbnb support informed me that I can ask for it to be removed as being biased. 

So what would you do to avoid such situations and to ensure a bit more that quests respect you and your place?

I don't have a safety deposit and I'm afraid nobody in our area has set one. 

Thank you so much,

Adriana 

11 Replies 11
John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

@Adriana1182 Sorry to learn of your bad experience with these guest. You have several options to help deter these kind of guest from booking again. In your listing settings, click on policy and rules, and then edit Instant Book. There you can toggle on three settings to require profile picture, a positive review and no negative reviews, and require guest to submit government ID to verify ID. I just turned on the gov ID requirement myself so guest that don't have it will send request to book instead it says. You also have the option to cancel up to 3 guest per year without penalty. I have done this twice and it works fine. If 3 guys managed to book without a profile pic, I would cancel them. Also, although it is encouraging to learn of your experience with your customer support, for minor damages its usually not worth confronting guest and just leave them an accurate review, change your settings, and update your listing.  You might consider adding in other things to note and your house rules, your maximum number of guest and if guest have more than what they indicated in their reservation they will immediately have to vacate the property. (It lets guest know they are expected to follow the rules, and other guest don't mind) I looked at your listing and you might consider only having maximum number of 6 guest for 3 bedroom. Most host with a whole house listing have a doorbell camera as well. Hope these suggestions are of some use, and you can decide what might work best for you. 

@John5097 thank you so much for taking from your time to advise me. 

The settings you mentioned have already been set from the beginning, but the guest managed to book because he uploaded a picture as his profile picture (a full black jpeg, this is what I would call bending of the rules).

A doorbell camera is indeed a great idea that I will implement asap. 

I will still ask money from the guests, cause the repairs and replacements will cost me. BTW, one of the house rules states that I am to be informed about any damages. 

We can host up to 9 guests because we have 3 bedrooms and one additional inflatable mattress. And having 3 bathrooms as well is like having 3 individual apartments in one. 

I'm trying to keep my head cool thinking that it's a business. But the true experience and respect are very important to me. 

Thanks again 😊
Screenshot_20211028-152259_Airbnb.jpg

John5097
Level 10
Charleston, SC

@Adriana1182 Appreciate the follow up. If I noticed a blank profile pic I would request that they update that in a constructive way. I might apologize for there being some kind of bug with the website but that as a host its very important that all guest follow the booking process and that a proper profile picture and ID is required by your insurance company, etc. Especially if its a whole house type listing where the host doesn't live there. 

I would also have all guest provide a first message. I will not host a guest who doesn't provide one. You could ask them to let you know how many people will be there, and why there are visiting. 

Finally, I meant to say that while the your customer support was reassuring, your first concerns of a guest retaliating against you with a negative review were valid. Host are at a disadvantage when making a claim. Hopefully other host can also chime in. There is usually at least one topic like this a week, and its a really good idea to learn all the policies. I'm really hoping this all works out for you! I wish it were a little easier for host but some situations can be challenging. In your review you want to be accurate but not mention something you can't prove. "Unfortunately there was quite a bit of damage, things were missing, and the place required substantially more cleaning that what my listing was intended for." 

I'm not the best a phrasing but you get the idea! It takes a some time and effort to research all these different situations. 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Adriana1182  Just because you could sleep 9 people doesn't mean it's a good idea. 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms is perfect for 6 guests. And inflatable mattresses are something  to be used if you have family or friends come to visit you and need more sleeping  space. If  you use them in an Airbnb, it just seems like you're trying to cram more people in and can lead guests to  have the attitude that they can exceed your guest count.

 

Hosts find that in general, the smaller the group of guests, the less potential for damage and a mess left behind. You are asking for advice on how to help prevent scenarios like you just had and lowering the maximum guest count is one thing that helps.

@Sarah977  Lowering the guest count has definitely worked for me. I used to allow 6 in an 1100 sf condo with 2 bedroom/2 bath with a king bed in one bedroom, 2 XL twin beds in another, and one queen sofabed in the large living room. Seemed reasonable for that amount of space. However, I started noticing that during the infrequent times when I would have extra messes, damages, etc., it was almost always when I had 6 in-house. So I lowered my guest count to 4, and removed the sofabed from the listed beds, figuring I could always put it back to 6 if my bookings fell off.  Ever since, I still achieve the same occupancy, and almost all of these kinds of issues have been eliminated.

 

I recommend that all hosts test out lowering their guest count if they are experience excessive messiness and damage.

@Pat271  Yes, the more people, the more of a party atmosphere and unless they're the sort of guests who leave the places they stay clean and tidy, more people means more mess. 

 

It's good you pointed out that you could always change it back again if it resulted in less bookings and income. Hosts neeed  to keep in mind that their settings aren't written in stone- there's no need to agonize over whether to turn off instant book or not, for instance. Try it for a month and if bookings dry up, turn it back on again.

 

Hosts need to weigh the perhaps somewhat extra income by having a higher guest count, against added costs in utilities, amenities used, laundry, damages, and cleaning time. Not to mention stress level. As you found, there was no significant difference in occupancy and profits.

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Adriana1182 

 

I would have been apprehensive about 3 single males booking although they might have a reasonable explanation.

 

Around here their chances of encountering human females to entertain are slim to none, so we haven’t had that problem.

 

Three males would probably be planning to hunt or fish. If they volunteered that information I wouldn’t be worried.

 

 We have also found that less guests = less mess and although our Chalet could easily accommodate 12 people we no longer accept more than 4 and prefer 2.

 

Initially we had a property manager who convinced us that the more the merrier, inflatable beds are absolutely necessary, couches and reclining chairs should be listed as beds, etc.

 

 We had some very unpleasant experiences and actually made less money after the manager siphoned off his cut.

@Brian2036  Hey, you could stick 12 bunk beds in there and sleep 24 🙂

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Sarah977 

 

If we did it the Navy Way they could hot-bunk and we could accommodate 36.

 

It probably wouldn’t be a 5* experience though.

I had a simular experience with an extra guest & sex party last New Years Eve @ my 1 BdRm house = Air BnB; they booked for 3 guys, arrived after dark (I could see from my house (about 60' away) 4 guys standing outside the house smoking cigarettes.  When they left, the tolit was load with with tolit paper, blood smears were on several floors, blankets were all on the floors.  I was on instant book.  Now I call Air BnB before guest arrive to muster information not shown, to ask why they selected my 1 BdRm house, ="The Spiritual Space", especially if it is a last minute booking. I pay attention to the red flags now and work this as a business I enjoy doing & not for the money I can collect.

Normen0
Level 10
Canada

@Adriana1182 Install security cameras so you can observe who and how many are in the house.  Indisputable proof. You can contact them as soon as you see issues forming and have an accurate number for charging back.