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!
So… I should say that a bee might fly through the window if they open it? Seriously? Bees aren’t “hazards” by the way. They are a vital component of our ecosystem.
I acknowledge that I’m pushing things here and I have no wish to be combative. I am genuinely interested in what you think constitutes an environmental hazard and how you can guard against it. For example, I live on a busy road. I can detect gas fumes when my window is open. The guest room is at the back of the house so it’s fine. But I can’t 100% guarantee that some of those fumes might not filter through the entire house.
Luckily my house is quite draughty and I live in a very windy city so it’s not been a problem so far.
Despite all the sidetracking about cats being environmental hazards , my house is finally peaceful again. The guest cancelled the reservation in the middle of the night, but is now demanding a refund for the unused nights (including the partially used night when she left at 1 am) and the cleaning fee. I gave her a refund for today, despite my strict cancellation policy, because I said I would as a way to get her to leave. She’s trying to coerce me into giving more money by saying she could complain to Airbnb about other things and claiming she left everything in pristine condition (not really, I had to do all her dishes for 3 days and she left the bathroom totally cluttered).
I preemptively notified Airbnb and they said that any refund is up to my discretion as the reservation is now over and any claim should have been filed within 24 hours of checking in. I’m glad to hear Airbnb sided with a host for once! Hopefully she won’t leave a review, and then I can move on with my life and forget this ever happened.
I’ve just choked on my early morning tea; still spluttering.
I don’t “keep” bees in my garden, but they do choose to visit in prodigious numbers. Indeed, I entice them by growing nectar rich flowers; six different varieties at the last count.
Bees are an endangered species of pollinators through intensive farming, putting our whole ecosystem at risk. The scientific research is out there, and I’m trying to do my bit to help.
Wasps stings are more common in the UK, therefore more of a risk for people who are prone to anaphylactic shock syndrome, as in nut allergies. It is incumbent on them to continually carry an emergency epi-pen kit containing adrenaline.
Edited to add: how did it come to pass that a discussion on a cat meowing become one about bee stings???
@GardenFairy, if her review of you says, “The cat meowed!” it will almost be worth all the trouble.
Regarding the bees-on-the-property tangent, I’m deep in the country, so cannot list every little thing that might happen by (hornet, mosquito, crazed neighbour), but we do have beehives 550 m down the road, so I am careful to mention that in the dangerous animals section. Shout outs, too, to the owls, the shy coyotes, the hawks and the eagles. They don’t mind being called dangerous. Big shoulders.
At some point it becomes ridiculous to try to mention everything that might be dangerous since humans are far and away the most dangerous animal anyone is going to encounter on their trip. I’m all for safety, but it just seems we’ve really gone overboard as a society with the idea that no one is ever responsible for their own safety.
You should start a new company with a more realistic slogan.
RealBnB “where expectations are low and so are prices”
LowBnB “we’ve got friends in low places” (oh wait, that’s taken I think)
ExpectlessBnB “high standards are for losers”
Our rental is a basement-level apartment located beneath our house with its own entrance - totally separate and our pets can’t get in there. However, soundproofing isn’t 100% and our ancient 19-year-old cat’s yowls are insanely loud (you’d never guess a six-pound creature that sleeps 20 hours a day could make such a racket). While we can’t do much about that I did include a message in the FAQs of the apartment manual about “that weird noise that sounds like a baby crying” and no complaints so far.
To me cats are people. If this would have happened to me i’d risk a 1* review, cuz I love my cats to pieces and say: “lady she’s my fur baby. She lives here, you don’t. You are free to leave if you don’t like it!”
Cats mew only to communicate with humans. I have “conversations” with my cats and depeneding upon breed, some are more vocal than others. Siamese for example, are very vocal, although I had one who was quite quiet. But one of my babies mews a lot. when he comes in from outside, like to say hello, when adults are speaking and he wants attention, when he’s hungry, when he wants to be petted, when I come home from work, when he wants to tell me me something, when he wants me to open the door, when he wants to go in the attic, when he’s locked in the attic or whatever… Cats mew from a variety of reasons…
when I travel i specifically look for Airbnb with cats! OMG if she asked to book my place I wouldn’t know how to push the decline button faster. And I would so like to book your place One time I stayed in a home with 2 cats and the lady owner was not in town. That weekend was a bliss! The cats slept on my suitcase, we played, followed me around. Awesome!
We had cats that would mew and claw on closed doors if there was someone inside. I loved my kitties, but admit that was annoying. However, we found they would not go near a large Mylar balloon. So when we had guests we would give them a Mylar balloon to set outside their door and presto! No cats bothering the guests.
@adrienne12 Adrienne, I need more guests like you! Most of my guests love the cat (or at least don’t complain about her), but to have someone ask me to shut my cat up was just so unfathomable to me. That’s like telling a human to shut up. My cat is just trying to have a conversation! The guest did leave after 2 days, but boy were those two days miserable, and I was running out of my room any time I heard my cat meow in the middle of the night…I shouldn’t have to do that in my own home. The cat is fully disclosed in my listing (litter box and all), and this woman was a guest in our space, so we shouldn’t have to bend over backwards to accommodate her if she picked my listing knowing full well that there was a cat living there. Now I could see trying to change things up if I was getting constant complaints about the cat, but this is the first complaint out of >50 guests.
BTW, you’re welcome to stay here if you’re ever in Los Angeles. My cat loves people and sometimes sleeps with guests if they’ll let her.
My two newish kittens, with us for two months today, are half Norwegian Forest Cats. When they came and were looking for Mum, they chirruped like chipmunks. I’m now mum, and they were meowing normally for the past few weeks. Until spider season arrived this week, with attendant cobwebs and smally flies caught up. They are chirruping at creepy crawlies as they traverse the kitchen floor. Before being eaten.
They also box together like hares. Quite funny to watch.
Exactly. I sympathise. My cat’s photo is in the room description, loads of reviews mention him but yet I still sometimes have guests who look surprised and say ‘oh, your cat lives here?’
Well of course he bloody does you stupid person.
I’ve also had the occasional companion of a guest with severe allergies and the booking guest didn’t check or didn’t realise, whatever. Anyway, that’s not my problem - it’s fully disclosed so yeah, you just wander around my house with a scarf over your mouth like some kind of ninja! (yes, that happened)
I know I’ve posted this before, but the four female scientists still make me laugh. They arrived with full knowledge of the cats, but were surprised that we lived here too.
My response was quite harsh, along the lines of " oh, you expected complimentary cats", you stupid people.
I love my two cats to pieces as well and quite honestly, take an instant dislike to the rare guests who are put off by them.
But, because I am running a business here that helps keep said cats in kibble, I make a distinction between “guests” and “paying guests”. The former, if they were to complain about the cats meowing, would probably get a shoulder shrug and an explanation of how cats will be cats. The latter are paying for an experience that doesn’t include cats yowling in the middle of the night, so I take steps to keep that from happening, if possible.
I understand completely that some cats will not be corralled, and can be quite destructive if you try to contain them. Luckily, mine bellyache a bit when they first encounter my closed bedroom door, but they quickly give up and make the best of it by snuggling on the bed with me.
@joan OMG I so envy you for your fur-babies. I want a Norwegian cat too.
I had guest who canceled because of my cats. After someone IB me I immediately reply saying you know I have cats, right?
A few people booked me and when I asked them that they were like, no, I can’t do this I have allergies. I told them the cats are fully disclosed in the listing plus they appear in a couple of pics. Their reply: I booked you on my phone, i only looked at a couple of pics. @GardenFairy, I’m so going to visit you.
, my house is finally peaceful again. The guest cancelled the reservation in the middle of the night, but is now demanding a refund for the unused nights (including the partially used night when she left at 1 am) and the cleaning fee. I gave her a refund for today, despite my strict cancellation policy, because I said I would as a way to get her to leave. She’s trying to coerce me into giving more money by saying she could complain to Airbnb about other things and claiming she left everything in pristine condition (not really, I had to do all her dishes for 3 days and she left the bathroom totally cluttered).
and depeneding upon breed, some are more vocal than others. Siamese for example, are very vocal, although I had one who was quite quiet. But one of my babies mews a lot. when he comes in from outside, like to say hello, when adults are speaking and he wants attention, when he’s hungry, when he wants to be petted, when I come home from work, when he wants to tell me me something, when he wants me to open the door, when he wants to go in the attic, when he’s locked in the attic or whatever… Cats mew from a variety of reasons…