Ooh, can I be the first to beat you up? Joking! I know what you’re saying but they weren’t actually underage, were they? You can have an Airbnb account if you’re 18, the generally accepted age of maturity in all countries except the USA it seems. (I’m saying that but for sure there will be other countries that deny citizenship to those under 21.) USA, I think, is alone in treating anyone under 21 as a “child”.
@Magwitch, you made me smile.
Yes, the booking guest must have been of age. I was thinking more of the other guests where all ABB knew about them was possibly their names.
Agree. I can picture someone going into the bakery and asking to buy this cake, and the ‘protection instinct’ baker in his ‘gut reaction’ saying ‘You’re a bit oversized to eat that cake, my dear’.
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That’s too controlling. You are taking money to provide accommodation, not judge someone with age and gender prejudice. How incredibly unwelcoming and undignifying that you made them step outside and quizzed them. How senseless that you publish a door code but expect guests not to use it. You really need to be more responsible and mature about the way you handle guests.
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And perhaps this message could be conveyed more welcomingly and dignifyingly? At least the OP posted the entire scenario and has asked for our opinions. Why get abusive?
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Abusive? These people left upon check in because they were so upset by how they were treated. You might want to think through how and when to appropriately assign this term.
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To me, that’s the main point. I don’t understand why someone would publish a door code if he doesn’t want guests to use it.
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I really like it when guests find reasonable solutions to small problems. Such as letting themselves in using the door code. I really dislike it when they freak out, demand that I make everything conform to their idea of perfect, and then leave bad reviews because they are inflexible or incapable of adapting to the situation.
So I’d say the guest found a very reasonable solution to the problem of the host not answering the text.
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An update for y’all. A resolution was reached with the guest.
I would also like to add a couple of details that influenced the interaction. Hubby’s impression was that the males in the group were approximately 23-25 years of age. The female was dressed like an adolescent, not a woman, wearing high cut shorts and a baseball cap, worn sideways.
The other detail that came out from the conversation outside: The booking had been made by one of the males, using the woman’s account. In fact, I had been communicating with him, not her! The account was new – no reviews. We later realized he probably set up her account and booked the space under her name in order to hide something – poor reviews? Clearly he was more experienced with Airbnb than she was since he found the self-check-in code. They misrepresented themselves and it was enough to raise suspicion. In any case, I’m glad hubby erred on the side of caution! Transporting a minor across international borders regardless of intent is kidnapping.
Maybe in the future when there is doubt about the age of some of your guests, you or your hubby can put on a big smile and ask for their ID’s “Can I have all your ID’s for our registration process?”. (Or isn’t that allowed where you’re at?)
That way a lot of drama (taking them outside, interviewing them, etc. …) can be spared, and your guests won’t be made to feel uncomfortable.
So did you pay them back their money?
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If you are going to be in the hospitality business you need to be hospitable under all circumstances right from the start. I’m sure it all would have went differently had the hubby welcomed them to start with and apologized for making them wait and have to let themselves in. Then get to know more about them from inside the room.
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Maybe put up that sign on the door we see in pubs in Britain: “If you are lucky enough to look under 25 you will be asked to prove that you are aged 18 or over when you buy alcohol”
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Ugh, there’s that phrase again. I disagree a million times!
I don’t consider myself in the hospitality business. I rent a suite at a reasonable price and give my guests everything I can think of to have a good time in Hawaii. But I am not responsible for their trip as your phrase implies.
It’s exactly this kind of thinking that has created so many entitled guests the world over!
Plus the implication here is that the customer is always right. They might be always right at the Hilton and use that entitlement to get things free or be demanding but they shouldn’t be doing that at our Airbnb’s.
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I have no idea where you think my phrase implies I am responsible for their trip? I’m not taking that on.
I am in the hospitality business and I offer my guests a lot of services that would come under the heading of hospitality. I want my guests to be happy, feel safe away from home and in a different country, I want good reviews, and I want to stay booked for as long as I choose and reviews have a lot to do with that. Guests tell me that all the time. It all works together, one leads to another. However, I don’t have people here on vacation. What I do probably wouldn’t work then.
Getting back to the subject, I always welcome a guest upon arrival. Even if they are late and no matter the circumstances. Since they are staying in my house with me in a shared living environment it’s a good way to start off. It’s the only way to start off actually. Then I start to get to know “what the deal is”.
It works a lot better than making them feel like they are making a North Korean border crossing.
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And?? Where do you get off judging how a person dresses? What the hell is a woman supposed to dress like, anyway? Unbelievable.
I hope you refunded them all their money and, frankly, seriously re-consider being a host.
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There’s a fine line between doing extras for guests and letting them take full advantage. It only takes getting burned once or twice to want to cut back on offering extras and benefits.
Guests are not checking into a hotel when they stay with us. If they choose to book an Airbnb, they need to follow the rules, which may be a little more than a hotel requests of them.
Frankly, this is why I stay at hotels. I don’t want to worry about rules, check in times and other things. That’s my choice. But if I stay at Airbnb’s I need to be cognizant of the requirements of each individual host.
As I mentioned in another thread, I miss the old days of Air, when it was just a funky platform that connected guests and hosts. Now its phenomenal growth as a company is dwarfed only by the ginormous expectations of guests these days… partly because hosts think they are in the hospitality business.
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I kind of do too. But I still get majority good guests who understand the concept that this is my HOME and it is what it is. There have always been demanding obnoxious guests, even in the good ole days! The idea of being “in the hospitality business” is semantics really, though, don’t you think? Of course we’re not hotels and we don’t have any official qualifications but it’s only common sense/decency to provide a certain level of hospitality and professionalism, no? Judging people on how they dress, quizzing them about their intentions and making them feel uncomfortable and unwelcome is just wrong, imo.
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Honestly, no… the guests of old were not like this. They were the adventurous type who took a chance on a crazy new way to stay that was an 1/16th the cost of a hotel. At least those who came to stay with me were. I got amazing guests from Croatia, Estonia, Norway. New Zealand and the Czech Rep. some of them have remained good friends and have inspired me to go visit their countries (which I did–went to Prague earlier this year.)
Now I get only American and Canadian mainly. A few Swiss. 
Knock on wood, have only had one lump the whole year. The rest were good.
Anyway… back to the OP. It sounded like there was some confusion about who the guests were and who booked. I think you are being a bit harsh with the OP.
How could anything happening in the U.K. be worse than Trump!!!
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Yeah, maybe you’re right. But I maintain there’s a slight rose-tint to your spectacles 
I don’t think I’m too harsh on the OP. Judgmental people deserve to be judged themselves!
I have some unpleasant guests at the moment. This is the review I’m thinking of leaving:
X and her friend Y left the room clean and tidy (TBC!). I got the impression that my place was not to their liking. It was hard to tell, though, because despite my best efforts X was uncommunicative and stand-offish to the point of being overtly unfriendly so it was an uncomfortable hosting experience for me.
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Oh dear, sorry to hear that. Maybe that’s why you’ve been a bit cross the last few days on the forum? Or not. Maybe that is Mags being Mags? 
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