I find myself adding new house rules after each guest

I leave the cards, they have to add value to them to use them on the metro. Of course, the previous guest may have left value on – or not. It’s metro card roulette! The metro system to get cards always stymies out of towners they stand there staring helplessly at the machines. I’ve stayed a several airbnbs where the host has left their personal gym and museum membership cards, but I don’t think I would ever do that. So haha I’m on the east coast and why am I up so late? ALL my bedspreads were dirty and I’m waiting for one to get done in the dryer for tomorrow’s guest!

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I suspect your guests are more capable than you give them credit for :slight_smile:

As long as you don’t have to replace the cards with cash each time no problem I guess. Oyster cards here are £5 and a minimum to up of £10 on a new card. No way I’d be offering those to guests …

I just returned from Japan and had to buy one for 500 yen (just under $5 USD)… it’s easy for any metro user to understand to buy one of these, or make a deposit and get it refunded when they leave the area.

You have enough to worry about… let them buy their own cards… let some of the minutiae and responsibility go. Anyone who uses a metro knows they have to buy a card first.

I just feel like if there are ways you can reduce your headaches and labor for each guest you should. You won’t get more stars because you have provided blank metro cards. Let the guests get their own!

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HEhehehe, dont you know? Guests do it all the time. My question WHY was long time ago, now i KNOW they will take it. Thats why dollar store works for me very well. 1$ for 10. Even if each guests takes all 10 i still make profit on their stay.
The most memorable was my “shower” guy who had around 80 shirts. I am not joking, he had so many shirts my walk in closet was sophicating from them. He told me right away that he needs more hangers. I told him : i have 30 hangers in there, i think its more than enough for a normal person (no, i did not say that:):slight_smile:
He went and bought his own.
WHen he left a 2 months later he took all of it. Literally he did not even leave 1 hanger in a closet.

Yesterday was the same story. A guy stayed 3 weeks, Made his escape ( another story) early ina morning, took all the hungers from the closet and almost all plastic bags in a cupboard:):slight_smile:

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When I stayed in the DC area last fall my host had a metro card available to recharge. For me the issue is reuse, renew, recycle not the value of a card. The fewer of those plastic pieces in circulation, the better. Thank you for doing your part.

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They already are recycled. You pay a small deposit and can turn them in and get the value of the card back in nearly all metro stations. Agree it’s a good perk if it doesn’t start getting to be a headache for the host to replace them constantly. I usually save mine for the next time I’m visiting there or give them to my boys to retrieve the deposit (visiting the boys is usually the reason I’m going in the first place.)

When confronted with something that constantly seems to be an issue I change my approach. For example, I had standard Mr. coffee makers in the room and the guests could not stop breaking the glass carafes. I replaced five or ten of them and then just throught hell… there must be a better way. I bought a coffee station. It doesn’t use glass. Or how guests could not stop breaking boogie boards. They wouldn’t tell me and then I could never figure out who did it. I stopped providing the cheap ones. (They are a liability anyway.)

If the guests cannot stop losing the metro cards, stop providing them.

That was the point I was trying to make to DPfrom VA

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Oh I’m stuck now! having got private and public comments about how nice it was to have the metro cards there.
This is my experimental airbnb year; if it’s too much work or not enuf $ I’ll close shop. Entire year of it for tax reporting simplicity, then I’ll assess, Including my valuable time. Glad I found this site super helpful.

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@travellinbug
Agree on providing a luggage rack! Hmm…I have a rule about moving furniture as we have wooden floors. People tend to drag furniture instead of lifting and the floors get pretty beat up. When I didn’t specify this rule, guests would just keep on damaging our floors.

I know some hosts will probably disagree with me, but I have quite an extensive list of rules. Usually, a rule will only be added if a transgression unacceptable to me reoccurs one too many times. Then I know that it’s not common sense for some people, and I have to list it down. That said, I’ve only had to add rules in the first year or so of doing Airbnb.

I have to be pretty strict because we rent out an entire home: it’s a pretty large space, and we have big groups stay over. Leaving out vital rules is too much of a risk in my case. I also have “treat my house as if it were your own” as the first line, but I also clearly specify what behavior is unacceptable to me. I guess I’m uncomfortable having people over who can’t even be bothered to respect other people’s property, even if they are paying to stay. So, to each his own.

The downside to having an extensive list, as others have said, is that some guests will see that, think I’m pretty anal, and may not book with me. However, the way I balance being “strict” about rules is by being engaging and friendly during the booking process. I would like to believe that putting in that effort of being approachable helps put guests at ease.

I always remind the lead guest (via the messaging system) to read our House Rules completely before every booking so that everything is clear. I tell them nicely that they are responsible for all guests in their party. And when they have booked, I keep communication lines open throughout their reservation. I believe that has helped prevent an untoward event or two.

And although I am one of those who always say “guests don’t read!”, having it on record that they SAID they read it and agreed to the House Rules certainly has helped me in the past to support claims for any major damage or loss. Having an extensive listing description and House Rules (even though most don’t read) has also protected me from bogus claims of some sneaky guests. At least, so far!

@dpfromva
If you plan on continuing to offer the use of your metro cards and constantly have guests inadvertently take them home, have you considered giving your guests a call on check-out day to remind them to leave the cards together with the keys to your property? It takes a bit more time but it might help.

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I can’t agree more! I’ve been doing this for a few years and I do find myself getting aggravated by guests behavior and expectations and I feel like I need to make new rules after each episode (are we still doing our realty show? Hosts of AirBnb?). In fact, I had one delightful and charming gentleman staying here from the Netherlands who make a funny comment to a group of people gathered in my kitchen having a few cocktails one evening … he said “uh oh, looks like she’s going to have to make another rule about that!” It was quite funny and he left me a stellar review which leads me to believe that people do (sometimes) read the rules and those that do, appreciate and respect your wishes. I have luggage racks SET UP in every room - I do not have a rule for “no luggage on the quilted coverlet” and recently a hunter with a heavy and HUGE rolling duffle bag wrangled this monstrosity on my white quilted coverlet - totally disregarding the the fact that a luggage rack was 3 feet away. He was a super nice guy and I never said anything to him, but there were nasty roller marks and thread pulls on the coverlet. Fortunately the coverlet did come clean in the wash and I was able to trim away the pulled threads and the coverlet is still usable. Had it been destroyed, I may have contacted AirBnb. But I think now, I will add “no luggage on bed - please use luggage rack” to my rules. Here are my rules which are not only posted in the listing but also printed out and placed in each room - and many of these rules only exist because guests have already overstepped boundaries - which I would have thought were purely common sense to most. One other thing I have been doing is removing amenities on the listing and I can add them back in as needed - for instance: the hot tub, fresh eggs for breakfast from my chickens, washer & dryer, kitchen usage and my great room with the 60" TV and ALL the premium channels (guest rooms all have TVs with basic cable). As guests have come and gone, I’ve realized I do not want those whom I do not enjoy having full usage of my private home and amenities - but the guests I like - I offer back these amenities as a BONUS! I love cooking fresh eggs and bacon in the morning, sitting in the hot tub with a glass wine with my pleasant and delightful guests who appreciate these things and not the ones who EXPECT it! :slight_smile:
• MUST LOVE DOGS
• By accepting this reservation, it is agreed that all guests are expressly assuming the risk of any harm arising from their use of the premises. The homeowners are not responsible for any accidents, injuries or illnesses nor are responsible for the loss of personal belongings or valuables of the guest.
• Please only bring in guests with pre-approval. People other than those in the guest party set forth above may not stay overnight on the property.
• No smoking on the property.
• When not in use, please turn off lights, fans and TVs
• Keep the property and all furnishings in good order.
• Guests will have some space in the refrigerator for drinks or snacks. Minimal kitchen privileges apply which include having morning coffee and to reheat items in the microwave. Please always clean up after yourself, and keep all of your personal belongings and dry goods in your room.
• Quiet time is between 11pm and 6am.
• Please know that the dogs will bark whenever entering the house, it’s their job - if you enter the house late at night, the barking will wake up others in the house, please be courteous and quiet the dogs as quickly as possible.
• The front door is to be kept locked at all times. All other doors locked when no one is home.
• Housekeeping: While linens and bath towels are included, daily maid service is not. If you need a fresh towel, please ask.
• Body wash, shampoo and conditioner are available in the shower for your use. There are many people sharing the hot water, NO long showers please.
• Illegal drugs are forbidden and please no excessive alcohol use.
• Please leave your pets at home, we have a houseful here already. Please make sure interior gates are always closed shut.
• There is a keyed lock on the bedroom door, you are welcome to lock the bedroom and take the key with you. If the key is not returned - there will be a $25 replacement charge.
• The AC is kept at 78.
• Park in front of the house on the lawn, or directly across the street in the grass. Please, do not block the driveway in any way.
• Each of the 3 rented bedrooms has it’s own TV with basic cable, Netflix and Amazon. Please understand the family room and kitchen are for homeowners use only. Guests are welcome to sit on the front porch, the back porch and relax in the front parlor, and use the outdoor shower (as noted in the guest access area of the listing).
• Please provide a drivers license prior to checking in.

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I’m going to add this one to my rules. Not sure why it never occurred to me, as it makes me absolutely nuts when people leave their room for the day and leave the AC set at 65 F, the ceiling fan merrily spinning away, and the TV on! Many people will be guilty of at least one of these, and 2 sets of people have been guilty of all 3!

I think you can say this all you want, but it’s not enforceable.

I like your idea of removing amenities and only adding them back in for people you actually like. The only problem I see with that, which I ran into myself, is people mentioning these amenities in their reviews.

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Thanks @Chloe - I wondered if that was at all enforceable - but at least it’s there and the seed is planted and I’m trying to cover my butt! And I agree with you about people talking about the amenities in previous reviews - If someone does ask about the hot tub (which was mentioned in previous reviews) - I say it’s broken and that is why I removed it off the listing. And I do now currently ask for my guests NOT to mention if I cook for them or share wine or the hot tub or fresh eggs or watch a premium movie with me in my family room - that these are NOT amenities offered to everyone - they are special and to please not mention in their review - so more and more of the recent reviews do not make mention of these special extras and when people read my reviews they would have to go back pretty far to see those previous amenities mentioned. I have another friend who also is removing her amenities as people take advantage - she lives on the water and offers kayaks to use and also has a few bikes that people can ride around downtown on. Wouldn’t you know it - people complain if someone else is using the kayaks when they want to, And one time one of her bikes had a flat tire and she needed a few hours to get it fixed and people commented that the bikes were not available. MY THEORY - the less you offer is LESS they can complain about! :slight_smile:
Another thing I did was to put a lockbox on my thermostat - I got pretty sick and tired of coming home to a 68 degree house with NO ONE HERE - I live in South Florida - it makes my air conditioner kick into overdrive, not to mention the electric bill for a very old wood house PLUS I am uncomfortable and freezing. I have had a few issues with people and the air conditioner which is why I listed it in the rules - It’s out there and if they expect to keep the house at a temperature that they want - then they should probably book a hotel room or at least not a shared home. My friends make fun of all my rules - one friend suggested that I get velvet ropes to rope off my family room - whereas another suggested I put footprints on the floor showing people where they can walk! ha ha I’m a superhost and have been for 2 years - so I guess I’m doing something right! :slight_smile:

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This is really good. Guests who don’t get these things won’t know their missing anything, and the guests that do will be made to feel extra special; perhaps lessening chances of less than 5 star reviews! I will adopt this practice too.

Recently we had a very nice young man stay with us for a couple nights. He is a super geek, like my husband, and the two of them hit it off right away and disappeared into the man cave. My husband, who was later thoroughly chastised, let this young man use his gaming computer. He left us 5 stars across the board but pretty much the only text in his review of us is how awesome it was that my husband let him play games on our blazingly fast computer.

A lock box on the thermostat. Hmmm. Definitely something to think about!

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Oh my - yeah - you need to ask them not to mention those special extras! You don’t want the geeks thinking that the blazingly fast gaming computer a ‘given’

Just change it up if you want though, no matter what the comments say. As long as your actual listing is accurate. I stopped providing boogie boards and new guests never knew.

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I feel relieved to know that I’m not the only one who doesn’t treat all the guests equally. LOL.

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After clearing up a lot of menstrual blood on towels, bathrobe and sheets today, I’d like to have a rule that all guests should be post-menopausal :slight_smile:

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Or time their visit with care. :wink:

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Ewww!! That is so disrespectful of a female guest not to make an effort to remove any traces of a bodily accident caused by her.

Truthfully, I would be hard-pressed not to send an email to her after her stay and ask the reason for her oversight. It’s such a basic courtesy to the hostess. For any female not to even attempt to make things right in that regard is inexcusable. Sheets are one thing…leaving towels and a bathrobe so marked are utterly despicable and I for one, would not let it pass without mention.

She would get it both barrels from me.

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I had 3 girls that were traveling together and were obviously in sync … that was a fun laundry day!

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How old are your guests? And their poor backs?