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Eventful week for my Airbnb rooms.
Got our first 3 star review today and it was a weird one. Gentleman arrived to stay one night on a road trip. While here, he Face-timed his wife to show her the place and the neighborhood. I was at work at the time and received a long message from the wife about how shocked her husband was because he walked into the shared kitchen and there was a female guest there in her underwear and I was to immediately address that and let these people know how unacceptable it was to expose oneself like that in a common area.
Iāve got three teen/near-teen sons in my house and my sister lives downstairs. Thinking it was maybe one of the other guests who had committed this wardrobe mishap and that I couldnāt really have such things happening with three boys in the house, I called my son and told him to go downstairs and consult with my sister (who is 54 years old) so they could figure out what happened and kindly approach whoever the offending guest was.
Turns out, the mysterious woman in underwear WAS my sister, only the āunderwearā was a long-sleeve burn-out shirt over a tank top over a sports-bra and work-out shorts (she is a personal trainer). I politely explained this to the wife as well as letting her know my sister was changing into clothes her husband might find more appropriate.
My sister was horrified, angry, and embarrassed. The guest did not respond at all to my explanation, but left a 3 star review stating, āGood place to stay on a road trip. Bed is adequate for one person.ā No other comments.
Then a different guest in a different room checks out the next day and when we go to clean the room, we find the white-noise maker (those things that play rainforest or thunder, or wave noisesāwe have one in each room) is gone. Just gone. No where to be found. Every item in the roomāthe TV, lamp, clock, etc, is unplugged. Random weirdness.
Previous to all this, we have a group of three stay a couple of nights and when we go down to clean the room we find food everywhere, like they had some kind of demented feast. A large portion of the supplies for guest breakfasts is gone from the kitchen (waaay more than one would think 3 people could possibly eat) and there is some sort of white substance in the trash can that has attracted every blessed ant in the Western United States. Thatās a lot of ants.
2 hours after these folk left, we start getting somewhat frantic messages saying they forgot something important in the room and were on their way back to get it. They wanted to know if we had finished cleaning the room and if it was ātoo late.ā Well the boys hadnāt finished cleaning the room yet and when I saw that message (being a nurse and a cynic), I tell the boys to search the room and make sure they look under the mattresses. Sure enough, they find containers labelled āMedical Cannibis.ā No names on the containers, just stickers labeling them as such. Kind of explains the food situation. I had no idea if they legally had the stuff or not, so I told the boys to put it back where they found it and let the guests come back in and get it when they arrived. Took the poor guests what looked like 10 very frantic minutes of searching before they recalled where they had put it (in the back of a dresser drawer). And yes, even the guest looked under the mattresses. Probably not a good sign.
Wow! I guess thatās what makes being an Airbnb host so interesting!
I came in to clean a 3-bed house we let out and found nearly every decorative object in the house was moved into other rooms. Mirrors, ornaments, small furniture, I couldnāt believe it. Took me ages to put it all back together again!
The bullshit 3-star reviews are frustrating though. Mine are always from much older women who nit pick EVERYTHING and are better off in 5-star hotels, I guess you have to just take it as you canāt please everyone all of the time.
Not sure how I gave the impression I was okay with drugs and having guests devour everything in a munchie haze, but as the guests had already checked out, there was very little I could do about it. They may well have had a legit medical reason for the āMedical Cannabisā, though it seems clear to me they moved far past such. Unfortunately, without knowing medical background I canāt even legitimately mention it in a review, though the uber-munchies and mess they left certainly can be addressed.
I agree that pricing is always a big question mark when you get a string of folks like this. Iāve repeatedly checked local prices and mine are actually slightly higher than others. I use Wheelhouse to automate the prices, but I also check them over every couple of days. Iām in a reasonably nice area and nothing in the place screams āSteal Random Objects!ā āBring Your Drugs Here!ā āInsult The Hostās Family Members Wardrobe!ā
Iāve put a security deposit on the rooms (seems Airbnbās lowest allowable deposit is $100) to see if that make a difference, but I have to admit, Iām concerned that will simply kill all bookings. In general, we have fairly pleasant folks stay here, but it seems now and then we get a string ofā¦wellā¦obnoxious twits.
I guess I was confused about the way you told the story. When you let them back in the room, they went for their stash and just left? Or did you say, āhere, looking for this?ā I meanā¦ if the latter, how did you address it with them? I would have said, you broke my house rules by bringing and using drugs in my home, and Iām not happy. If you have a license I expect to be shown that license and would expect you to smoke off the property." Something like that.
Jjust because they labeled it medical doesnāt mean it really was. I think (but am not sure) that they are required to show their license when asked. We shouldnāt be held hostage to asking whether something was medical or not. What if cops had knocked on the door for something else and found drug use going on? What if neighbors had reported pot smoke? Guess who would be held responsible?
Again, not judging or being critical!. Just wondering if you may have let them get off easily for doing a really bad thing in your homeā¦ sneaking drugs in and using them.
Or did you look the other way when they came back for it? Not making judgments or accusations! Just trying to figure out things went down.
Adding a deposit should have no bearing on your bookings. Raising your rates a bit wonāt either. I adjust my rates manually rare than relying on these pricing apps.
Marijuana is now legal in California. I donāt mind at all if guests smoke weed. I tell them that as long as they are outside with the doors closed I donāt care what they smoke. We recently had some guests who left their weed on our porch bench. I handed it to them saying, āI think this might be yours.ā
If that were to happen here, I would be beyond upset. We are in a legal marijuana state but we clearly state in our listing that people cannot bring it to our home. Having pot in our home could jeopardize my spousesā employment.
True but the guest should have been up front. I guess what bothers me is that these guests snuck it in and hid it in the mattress. For shame.
Meanwhile in Hawaii they seem to be starting up Green Harvest again. Ridiculous waste of money when we have a full fledged meth crisis here.
When my twins were babies I used to get so aggravated at Green Harvest. They would fly WAY LOW over our houses, criss crossing over us like a war zone. If you came out to look, a guy with binoculars is looking in your windows, It would always wake up my boys from their naps, and believe me, that would impact the rest of the day. WTH!!!
I would suggest if it was legit āmedicalā weed then they would not go to such lengths to hide it.
Also, is there evidence they actually USED it on site? Or just have the munchies after the fact, off site sonewhere? Iād be pissed off if our neighbors caught a wiff of it, less worried if they just had it on them, and not worried at all if they werenāt so stupid to even alert me they had it.
I wouldnāt like guests hiding anything in their mattress because it could damage the mattress, but I donāt think guests have an obligation to disclose legal items they are bringing with them. Iāve had guests bring liquor which in my mind is pretty much the same as marijuana (although I drink, but I really dislike the high from marijuana). I had an adorable guest who always brings a big bottle of bourbon with her when she travels.
Iāve had a āsecurity depositā since the beginning. Iāve never had the impression that it has any deterrent effect on bookings, though I get the occasional question about it. Bear in mind that it isnāt a ārealā deposit, as in money you are holding. But itās possible it might cause the wackier class of guest to think twice. If you are having problems with guest quality, I think itās worth having a ādepositā if you are having problems with guest quality, though I doubt it will have a significant positive effect either.
It all depends on what you consider to be acceptable.
Alcohol is legal in my country. So is pot by prescription. I donāt allow either. I have rooms in my house, and I only accept single persons. Toking up in the yard or drinking alone in a room isnāt the sort of thing I personally feel comfortable with.
Because āfitā is so important, I ask a lot of questions up front. Most of the questions I learned here! If itās too much like work for a prospective guest to answer them, I understand. Plenty of other Hosts in my town are more lenient. But these are my terms.
I got my hard knocks in the beginning and learned from them. Through this I was better able to define my ideal guest, which they also suggest here. Easier on them; easier on me.
Itās not foolproof. Sometimes itās not going to work no matter what you do. So I developed a policy of my own. My terms are strict and I donāt apologize. However if it is apparent that the booking sucks within 24 hours or less, I call Airbnb with my story. Then I invite the guest to leave with a full refund.
Hey! Iāll make it up. And besides. My peace of mind is worth it.
I meanā¦ if the latter, how did you address it with them? I would have said, you broke my house rules by bringing and using drugs in my home, and Iām not happy. If you have a license I expect to be shown that license and would expect you to smoke off the property." Something like that.