Noob host: Guest keeps demanding stuff - please advise

In your original post you said that you were expecting two people, not five. You should have been expecting four people.

Upon reading all the details, this guest doesn’t seem as bad as he did in the initial post. The guest asked for early check in. The host could have declined. As the host didn’t see how many guests were on the reservation, there probably were too few towels. It’s not unreasonable to ask for an iron. When the guest said he planned to check out the next morning, the host should have said that he would alter the reservation instead of asking the guest if he thought he should have paid.

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I can’t add much to all the great advice given above. But I do have a question. Did Air walk you through making the alteration request or did they handle it on their own? I would not trust that. If you don’t see that in your reservation details, I would be tempted to add it. Just so no one can come back and say it was not done.

You have learned really valuable things all in one fell swoop! The check out time of the next day is absurd, and the guest telling you, oh it’s just a few hours is preposterous. What planet is he from and I wonder if that line works with the Hilton?? Eye roll.

The early check in request was equally a joke. This guest is essentially telling you he is going to rip you off for hours and hours of FREE and UNPAID for time. This doesn’t bode well for his performance or attitude as a guest!! Sounds to me like he is also a noob in every way.

As for the iron, he can use all the extra towels he got from you and iron on the floor! JUST kidding!! I have done this myself but would never trust a guest, especially one this clueless or annoying, to iron safely on the floor.

Live and learn!!!

PS. YOU are in charge here, not the guest. Never forget this mantra, your house, your rules!

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Thank you for all the great replies.
I managed to alter the reservation as the guest confirmed Airbnb’s message.
Geeez was that close!

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Make sure all communication is done via air email for documentation. Re the iron, tell him you checked it and it’s not working .

Yesterday night an hour after demanding an iron, he asked if I have an additional pillow and a blanket.
I told him there are 2 pillows on each single bed and 3 blankets for 3 beds.
I told him I don’t have additional blankets.
I took the iron and at the spot made him confirm Airbnb’s alteration email.
I have not heard from him today which is great.

You’re learning quickly! That’s good news. :slight_smile:

Do you not have pillows for the sofa bed? Also, if I were you I would get extra blankets for all of the beds. It’s much less expensive for the guests to use extra blankets than to turn up the heat if they are cold.

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I forgot to mention. The sofa bed has a pillow too.
I should get additional blankets, good idea.

I’m assuming that the sofa bed sleeps two, so you should get three more pillows for it so that each sleeper can have two pillows. I sleep with one pillow, but I’ve noticed that most of my guests use two.

renter101,
Sorry you had to have a crash course so early on in your Airbnb hosting. It gets easier to spot troublesome, high maintenance guests as there will always be a new challenge every now and then.
One practice that I started to do after being blindsided by a first time Airbnb user which are usually the ones who don’t feel the Terms of Service (TOS) don’t apply to them, much less the need to read the house rules, is to send them a Airbnb platform email stating the details of their confirmed booking: Your booking (the booking number) is for 2 Non-smoking adults from Friday, Sept,8th - Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Check in time is from 3:00 pm - 10:00 pm. I find that this is a “nice way” to make clear just what is what, plus Airbnb has a record of it that will help you if the Guest tries to pull a fast one or they just won’t take the time to read and are just going to do what they want. It gives you a nice solid leg to stand on and makes it easier for Airbnb to negotiate with the problematic Guests. By doing this as a standard practice it has made my hosting life a lot less stressful. Happy hosting and good luck. Eloise at Happy Trails.

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Thank you very much, this is a good advice.

It never helps to be a softy. Helpful one thing but a push over is never good.

I have no problem in stopping or preventing people from doing certain things they are not supposed to do as guests. The difference between me now and me then 2 years ago that now i dont get angry at my guests any more. And just tell them calmly and with a smile how I do it and give them no choice of demanding things from me that i am not comfortable with.

I just had a guest who did not read my rules at all. He stays for week and first thing he did he went to the kitchen and started to takeout packages of meat to cook. Thats the conversation:

Me: you did not read my rules, did you?
Guest: Not really, it was kind of last minute booking
Me: Vegeterian cooking only and in general very little use of stove. You can eat and warm up non vegeterian foods.
Guest: O wow, its really strict. So… what am i supposed to do with all this meat?
Me: there is a park across the street, you can grill there. I can give you foil:joy::joy:
Guest: o wow, so …everytime i have to cook i have to make grill?
Me: Pretty much (wide smile)
Guest (kind of upset): hmm… ok, i guess i have to work around that.
Me: would you be more comfortable to cancel your stay? I am willing to work with you on refund if you wish. (I had already a guest from other source who was anxious on taking the room, otherwise i would not offer the refund:):slight_smile:
Guest: No, no, i guess its my fault that i did not read rules. This is my second Airbnb and i could cook in first so i kind of assumed that its allowed everywhere. I can work with that, no worries
Me: ok, great. Thanks

His week is coming to an end. He seems happy with going to beautiful park to cook every day and i am happy with my clean kitchen:):slight_smile:

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This is the problem when guests have stayed with more lenient hosts. Of course, his previous host might have allowed full kitchen use happily, but it does show how we have a duty to forthcoming hosts to ‘train’ our guests!

I’d hate a guest to tell me:

Well, our previous host didn’t mind me playing the bongos at two in the morning.

:slight_smile:

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(I can see it now…“Yana’s Hosting Handbook”, #1 best seller.)

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Whew, awesome conservation and outcome!!!m

Love having you back on the forum dear Yana!

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hehehe, we should all write that handbook together

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Really! It’s too bad there is not a professional writer among us! :sunglasses:

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No offense kona but Yana’s got a certain IDGAF swagger that is hard to replicate. She needs to write her own book. :wink:

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True, love her swag not only with hosting but with lots of other stuff! I want to be like Yana when I grow up! :innocent::heart_eyes::clap:

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