This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Take into account that in a courtyard or patio the sounds starts echoing, certainly when it’s all hard material. You could consider putting in certain materials that lower the echo. And also that certain types of noise will bother more: A burst of laughs once in a while will not permit sleeping. And whispering could also be bothersome because some people are curious and want to listen in to your conversation (Guilty ).
I agree with most here saying that 10:30PM is a normal time to go to bed for some people. I think it’s good to have fixed (generally accepted) quiet hours. And yes, as a host you should also respect these hours, which is easy to forget. Just a few weeks ago I had to tell my hubby, that he can’t have friends over anymore after 10:00PM. The layout of our apartment with just one door between the living room and the guests bed doesn’t allow this. If he wants to see his friends after that hour and we are having guests, he has to leave and chat somewhere else. In fact this is even stricter than we are for guests, since our official quiet time is 11PM - 7AM.
On the other hand I don’t believe in adapting my normal activities (should these be noisy) in NON-quiet hours.
Agreed, and we are very considerate people! Like I said, this is the first we have every encountered this type of situation.
I think that a lot of hosts are running quiet establishments. And that is wonderful, for that individual host! So I use the word “shamed” because is it bad to offer accommodations that do not guarantee quiet?
Keep in mind that plenty of guests won’t read everything. Regardless of your style, if you have unhappy guests they can, and will give you a bad review. I’ve had to make many sacrifices in order to be able to successfully host and do the dog boarding at the same time. I can’t see how having the attitude of “well, I described the barking dogs” and then letting them bark to their heart’s content could be a winning formula.
I can only speak for myself: When I am backpacking and looking for a place to sleep, any hint of e.a. the hostal being a party place would keep me from staying there. For partying I will go to a party tent, for chatting and drinking I will go to a bar. I go to a BnB, hotel, hostal, hospedaje, … to sleep. So sleeping is what I should be able to do. I don’t go there to listen to other people chatting, laughing, whispering when I am in need of sleep.
Without a doubt there are guests that won’t bother, but I wouldn’t know how to filter them out precisely. And also, I would be afraid of deterring people that in reality would be able to cope. That is a problem I am facing being next to a major highway with a big amount of traffic noise. I would like to inform the guests correctly but don’t want to end up without any guests .
I sincerely appreciate that point! Agreeing, people don’t read - so very true! I might include additional verbiage, but that might be the end of it…
But, let’s think of it another way - What if you booked a hotel specifically because it is advertised as fun, lively entertainment every night, etc.
Would another guest at the hotel have the right to tell other guests to be quiet at any hour because it is his bed time? Why in my own home, do I not have the right to set a precedence that quiet hours are not enforced?
It’s your home and you could easily do that, just don’t be surprised when this will come back to you like a boomerang, with people having a full on party in your courtyard.
Yes, you have the right to be as fun and lively as you like in your house. However, your guests have an equal right to ask you to keep the noise level down when they are trying to sleep as it is also their house during the time they’ve paid to stay there. If you want to avoid negative reviews; if I were you I would make it very clear in your listing that your house is active and noisy every day. You might even want to put it in the house rules that guests agree that they understand that this is not a quiet listing. If I were you I would also provide disposable earplugs. We provide earplugs for our guests for which they are appreciative. We also keep our voices very low in the rooms adjoining the guest room while guests are sleeping. We only had one guest who was irritable about the noise level. She was a self described very light sleeper who refused to wear earplugs. The first morning she was here she was awakened by my husband opening the back door so our dogs could go outside. She told us that we were not permitted to make any noise until she woke up. Then she got sick and slept all day every day. It was a long two weeks for us.
You absolutely do. Maybe we are stuck on the word “right.” What “rights” are transferred to your guests when they make a booking with you? A right to a quiet accommodation during reasonable sleeping hours, to the extent that is in your control, should be one of them. You might even run into to someone who ends up checking out because they can’t sleep, complaining to Airbnb and getting refunded. You are offering what you see as a unique experience. I see it as a place to avoid. But you can make your listing whatever you want it to be, what you can’t control is what other people do or how they react.
As Guthend said, it is not unreasonable for one to think an airbnb or a hotel is a place for sleeping, not partying. If I am staying at a fun place do I give up any expectation of any quiet hours at said place? Do you need quiet in order to sleep? If you go to bed at 2 am and your guest carries on until 4 am is that going to be satisfactory?
I’m curious about several things. How long have you been hosting and how many bookings do you want? I’m wondering what the demand is for your kind of listing. It’s quite possible that if you are in a touristy area this is just a one-off type thing that you needed worry about. You did what was necessary to ensure your guest was comfortable and you needn’t really worry about it much in the future. Just clarify, if it wasn’t already, there are no quiet hours at your home.
I think what got to Content was the curt way they were asked to be quiet. If the guest had asked this in a respectful casual way, I’m sure content wouldn’t have even posted on the board here.
I think content and the other guests had the right to sit by a crackling fire talking in normal tones on a Saturday even and not be urged by another curmudgeon guest to tone it down. Sounds like they should have found a senior center to stay at! Not that I have anything against seniors, but I know I will be getting closer to the sunset years myself when I am crabbing about people chatting over a crackling fire before midnight in their own home.
It’s all in the way you ask. You catch more flies with honey, yes?
I recently had a guest cancel after booking ten days in my high season because I would be 20 minutes of driving from the beach where he was having a dolphin conference. This is the Big Island so unless you are staying on the water (not to be had for under $500 per night) you will be driving at least 20 minutes. But fine, I told him to cancel. Yet he expected ALL his money back (even the Air fees) because he didn’t bother to read my listing well enough to know where it was located. I’m on strict so I told him I was not obligated to return any money and he got all over my case and acted belligerent, just not getting that he was basically at my mercy if I wanted to refund anything at all, then told me I wasn’t harmed by his booking blocking up all my calendars for two days during the high season, preventing anyone else from booking. So he said that both Air and I had stolen his money.
If he had just asked nicely and owned his mistake I would have been happy to refund his money. Instead he got belligerent. So I am keeping a $100 belligerence fee… Minus the 3%. Plus he has to wait until his booking to get any refund otherwise I will be taking it out of my next booking and that ain’t happening.
The point is, you were an arse so I’m not going out of my way to help you get all your money back. Had you been nice, courteous and humble it would have been a different story.
It is really possible that the guest was already asleep and was woken by the voices and joviality happening outside their window. I admit that I am not casual and respectful when I have been woken for a deep sleep. I am gruff and grumpy. Falling asleep can actually be hard for some people, so having to do it twice is difficult.
I don’t think it is the same thing as requesting a refund. One is of the moment while the other, the guest has time to take a deep breath and think through how they wish to approach the request.
I think in this case the guest and space are not a good match, but neither party could know in advance since the listing didn’t mention that weekends are more lively since the hosts use the space more fully on those days.
Well, as KenH mentioned, your guest would get short shrift in Spain … 10.30p.m.? That’s when dinner starts here in Summer! And I think the guest was being over-critical … if you had been having noisy parties every night until the small hours I could understand him (sorry, can’t remember if he or she) getting a bit annoyed, but I agree with Kona that he was out of line to be bossing you about. If your guests know that they are sharing your home rather than it being a separate place then they should recognise your right to enjoy the amenities of your home!
That’s it in a nutshell. I agree that if the guest had asked @ourcontenthome in a nice friendly way, there would be no thread on here and it would just be business as usual. I regularly have guests who have a very early flight so of course we are respectful and try to make no noise. But I’ve had a guest complain (in review) that we were having dinner at 9pm and she couldn’t sleep. That’s just ridiculous, in my opinion. If you need that level of babying then you need to book an entire place in the middle of nowhere.
I get what you are saying, but when you travel you must expect the unexpected sounds. If you want to sleep like a baby, then don’t book a shared space in a personal home.
Content should have told the guest they’d be retiring in a few minutes and not jumped up because a guest snapped his fingers. The guest was rude. Clearly Content and her company were not planning to stay up all night and party.
Whatever happened to going with the flow???
One used to do it when traveling, now not so much. Guest requests these days are just crossing the line in my opinion.
The other night renters in the house below me were partying. Quiet time hours in our subdivision are 10pm weekdays and 11 weekends. I called the cops at midnight about the noise because I was done and fed up. But fireside chatting before 11 on a weekend??? Come on!!! As I said… if yah can’t just roll with a few quiet people chatting fireside next time book the soundproof AARP Inn.
I don’t want this grumpy curt guest booking my house. Stay away from Hawaii please. He’ll probably complain when he hears the whales singing, whacking fins, spouting and splashing at midnight here as they often do.
Funny you should say that because I was just reading Trip Advisor reviews about a stunning place in Mexico that is really quirkily unusual, safe, quiet, clean and costs $25 per night for two people. (Not an Airbnb).
Guests reviewers (mostly American I have to say) were complaining about the most ridiculous things. What do they expect for $25 per night? The nearest ‘regular’ hotel cost $255 per night.
See this is the problem. When I was new and starting out, I was $65 for a full private, separate apartment by the ocean. My reviews would come in and people were complaining because it didn’t have a dishwasher! WHAT? Just what do you want for $65 a night??
If so, please come back on here @ourcontenthome for suggestions on how to reply. I don’t mean to imply that you couldn’t do a good job yourself but it’s always useful to get other opinions.
).
.
Not that I have anything against seniors, but I know I will be getting closer to the sunset years myself when I am crabbing about people chatting over a crackling fire before midnight in their own home.
