Hot Tub rules ..... how to tell guests "No sex"

[Tammy110]

When we first got our outdoor hot tub and allowed guests to use it, I really didn't think guests would be so bold as to use the spa for making 'whoopy", considering there are several windows from our home that have clear views of the hot tub. Boy was I wrong!!!! The problem is that it really messes up the chemical balance (most importantly the sanitizers and water clarifying chemicals) in the water, and we have had to drain, clean and refill it several times, which is expensive, and in the wintertime.....a royal pain!!! Not to mention and most importantly, the possible health risk of creating potentially unsanitary water for anyone who goes in the hot tub afterwards!!!!

Does anyone have any ideas on a polite/non-offensive way to let guests know that sex in the hot tub is not permitted, while at the same time letting them know of the potential health risks it could cause for those who go in afterwards? Or do you think it would be fine to just post a sign at the hot tub, simply stating "No sex in the hot tub"?   

Any ideas would be appreciated 🙂

[Lorna170]

@Tammy110   I did not mean to offend you, and I understand that you are in Canada.  We have a 4 or 6 person hot tub at several of our properties.  We use a pump to drain them, so draining takes less than 15 minutes.  We fill directly from our spring water wells (40 degrees Fahrenheit), and that takes about 30 minutes.  As long as we have the changeover done by Noon, the hot tub is at 104 degrees Fahrenheit by 8 pm when most of our guests are thinking about jumping in with their glass of wine.  

[Tammy110]

@Lorna170, You are very fortunate that you can drain, clean, reheat and have your chemicals balanced in your hot tub that quickly. I, unfortunately do not have the same luxuries as you, due to specific restraints of my situation. I take hygiene very seriously, especially since Covid 19.  If I would not feel comfortable getting in the hot tub myself, I would not allow my guests to do so either. I still believe that how I maintain my hot tub is sanitary and meets any/all health regulations, which I am certain are just as stringent as they are in the USA.  I don't believe you meant to offend me, however, perhaps in future comments to others, you might take the time to determine the full parameters of a situation, before arbitrarily laying judgement. 

[Tammy110]

@Lisa723, Thank you again for your thoughts. I think that idea of letting guests know they are easily visible from our house could potentially keep things G-rated (as you say 🙂 while using the tub. Yes, we do provide towels for the pool and hot tub, and I could place a note there and/or right at the hot tub. It is definitely worth a try 🙂

[Leatha0]

I think a combination of a fake security camera mounted in plain view, a sweet note -every guests health and sanitation is priority. To ensure this, suits must be worn at all times. Any violation of this policy will result in 100.00(whatever you deem appropriate) I would also put the notice in house rules. I am just getting back into hosting but I believe you can put a dollar amount for an infraction.

[Anonymous]

@Tammy110 I suppose you could indirectly discourage whoopy by putting  a (fully disclosed) external CCTV camera in the hot tub area and requiring swimwear to be worn. But I wouldn't recommend making any explicit reference to sex in your rules. If enforcing a rule would mean admitting to guests that you witnessed them having sex, you'll have some seriously unhappy customers.

And I think @Lisa723  is quite right, that there are so many ways that human bodies can make your hot tub unsanitary that aren't quite as visible and obvious as sex. Not to get into the nasty details of what might be brewing below the bubbles, but suffice it to say, most of these things are beyond the scope of what you can regulate. 

I think if I were going to offer a hot tub for guest use, I'd want to make sure the Cleaning Fee fully compensated all the hassle and expense of the draining/refilling/sanitizing process. 

[Tammy110]

@Anonymous , thank you for your ideas. I had thought of a camera but thought that might be too invasive? Yes, I believe you and Lisa123 have made really good points towards not addressing this issue to guests from the perspective of whether they are having sex in the hot tub or not, regardless of whether or not that's what causing some/all of our water balance issues.

The only reason we know that people were 'doing it' in the hot tub is that I tried leaving the blinds open on the windows that overlook the hot tub from our house, in hopes that would discourage guests from 'getting it on', however, that didn't work. Just walking by the window was enough for us to be able to witness what was going on, unfortunately!

Uping the cleaning fee to cover the extra costs of drain and refills several times a month would likely price our listing out of the market, especially for those guests who don't use the hot tub. Perhaps charge a fee for using the hot tub, so that those that don't use it, don't have to pay that extra amount? It might just deter all from using it? I'm still at a loss on this issue 😞

[Anonymous]

@Tammy110  Pricing is always a little tricky in a competitive market, so it might take some experimentation to find your sweet spot. As a guest, I'm generally turned off by extra charges for basic amenities such as linens, but I don't mind premium amenities coming with a separate fee - especially ones involve a lot of extra cleaning and maintenance. It's too bad that Airbnb still doesn't have a feature allowing hosts to build optional add-ons to the booking process - you still have to send Resolution Requests for those - but a one-time hot-tub cleaning fee sounds reasonable to me if the base price is on point.

Another way of dealing with high-maintenance amenities is to raise the minimum length of stay. Especially if you're finding that the 2-3 night guests are taking more liberties with the hot tub. I can't put myself in the mindset of someone who would expose themselves like that in front of their own hosts' window, but I suspect that some of them would be a little more cautious about what they did in the tub if they knew their flotsam would still be in there on subsequent uses.

[Tammy110 · Accepted solution]

@Anonymous, thanks once again for your input! Yes, it would be wonderful if Airbnb allowed more customization when it comes to the booking process. The other one is our pool. Some want to use it some don't. Those that do, often book with us specifically because we have a pool, others don't really care one way or the other. It would be nice to be able to balance our fees using add-ons as you mentioned.

You are totally correct that the guests abusing the hot tub the most, are those that are here for 2-3 nights. My minimum stay is 2 nights. Those that are here longer tend to have other things to do while they are here, and use the amenities only occasionally, and with respect. I will seriously consider lengthening my minimum stay. Longer stays appear to be the trend these days anyways. Thanks 🙂

[Anonymous]

@Tammy110 Your place actually looks like a great setup for longer stays like 1-3 weeks (I don't recommend doing bookings over 1 month on Airbnb, especially if you're in a location where guests can acquire right of tenancy). Just today my husband, who has been working from home throughout the pandemic, mentioned how nice it would be to work remotely for awhile from a house with a pool, if we're still under lockdown in summer. Currently, all the gyms and public pools in Berlin are shut down for Corona, which has put a big dent in our fitness routines. This makes a home with pool access exponentially more of a draw than it was before 2020, when we were privileged with several nice city-run pool facilities in the neighborhood. 

If it's the same in your area, that might open up the opportunity to offer an appealing weekly rate/paid pool-spa access combo package with digital nomads in mind.

[Tammy110]

@Anonymous, thanks for the additional thoughts.  I never really had digital nomads in mind, but that makes total sense and I do have a special weekly discount of 15%, hoping to entice people to stay longer than my current minimum of 2 days. Considering Covid, do you have thoughts on how long I might extend my minimum stay to? I enjoy having guests here for longer, rather than turning over every few days. It allows me to get to know them a little better and suggest things to do in the area that they wouldn't have had time to do on a shorter stay.

I used to live in the Netherlands. I never made it to Berlin, however, took a trip to Heidelberg Germany with a group of Canadian women on a bus for Christmas shopping one year. It was magical!! I loved all the street vendors, hot gluvine, and the decorations all over town were beautiful and so festive. We also visited a castle, which was amazing. We don't have structures or history that old here in Canada. If you ever head this way, consider staying with us. We had a couple here from the Netherlands a couple years ago. It was so fun to speak with someone from there again. They loved how much space our suite offered and especially enjoyed the pool all to themselves when they used it. They said our Airbnb suite was twice as big as their apartment in Holland. I know that to be true after living there myself 🙂

[Anonymous]

@Tammy110  Heidelberg was a good choice, very charming historical town! I love Berlin for all its gritty freaky big-city charms, but I'd say it has more in common with Toronto than with Heidelberg. Your place looks delightful and very nicely designed, and I'll definitely look you up next time I visit Canada.

Just like with pricing, I think it takes a bit of experimentation to find the ideal min/max stay. My favorite minimum at home has always been 3 nights, but that was in a small space that was easy to clean and change over in just a couple hours. If I had more labor-intensive features to deal with, I'd probably go with a range of 5-27 nights and avoid the Weekend Warriors. If you're willing to do a bit of fussing around with the calendar, it's totally possible to set a default minimum stay but manually override it when you have in-between dates that you'd like to fill. For those dates, you can also customize the nightly rate to make sure it's worth the while. The key is to optimize your prices and parameters for the kind of bookings you most enjoy, so they're good value for your ideal guests and unavailable to the ones you'd rather not host.

Also, if you don't use Instant Book, you can usually get a good idea of how respectful your guests will be from the initial correspondence. Even if it weren't for the hygiene issues, people who have sex in their host's backyard don't strike me as very respectful. Not to be sex-negative, but people who like getting it on in the open air should either book a more private place or stick to swinger parties.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w7knDiVh-Q&ab_channel=GospelChicken

[Lisa885]

Tammy,

I can't tell you how much I relate to your story. We just installed a brand new hot tub at our cabin and the first guests to use it basically ruined our brand new tub.

The guests have all the power and we have none. 

[Tammy110]

@Anonymous , I agree with and like your thinking! You made me chuckle with your last comment 🙂 How were you able to track and see my listing? I tried to find yours but couldn't figure out how to do that.

[Anonymous]

@Tammy110 if you tap on anyone's CC profile, in the upper left corner there's a link "view Airbnb profile," where all the user's active listings and reviews are visible. My listing is currently snoozed due to Corona restrictions; it was not a self contained space, so it won't be viable as a rental again until we get past this pandemic. 

[Tammy110]

I understand! Thanks!