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I am so sorry for this experience. I agree with others as hosts we need to be firm with our guests so we don’t get walked all over.
When the first Amazon package arrived, you could/should have refused it. Not accepted 19 of the damm things. Not sure about your point around packaging - why were you doing anything with those boxes. You should have contacted the guest and told them it was completely unacceptable and that any packages in his name would be refused. Delivering 19 packages to your address is not a mistake. It is taking the piss.
I would have told him he wasn’t paying for the premises while away so no left luggage facility. If he wanted to store his stuff - here is a nearby address for left luggage. Or if he wants to leave items at your place and the room is free, he can pay for the room to store his belongs.
I had a cancer patient stay with me. On her second visit she informed me that a package with meds would coming to my house and she hoped it arrived before she left. She didn’t ask permission in advance. I’m sure she just assumed because it was her second stay and I’d been so friendly the first time it would be fine. And it was, but I still would have allowed it.
Unless they ask in advance, you can’t stop people from sending packages to your address, all you can do is respond when the package arrives. I don’t think there is a one size fits all approach on this issue. If I were on the road I would love to be able to have my Amazon packages sent to my host down the road. Of course I would ask permission first.
Having that many packages sent is outrageous. Were they visiting from another country and doing their Amazon shopping at the same time? Medicine is one thing. Shopping madness is quite another.
I had a guest nearly demand that I accept his shipment of oxygen. No, not for medicine! Yes, he was shipping oxygen here to climb the volcano. Absurd, this is not K2 or Everest fer cryin out loud! No one takes oxygen to our mountains. I said no… twice. When they arrived, the guests were very nice. (They were the ones who had non stop excessively loud sex that woke up all the neighbors.) He said his oxygen was sent to general delivery. Good. Better them than me! Later he told me he barreled up to the summit in his rental car, in violation of his rental car agreement. I just don’t have words for those kinds of guests. In the end… I wonder if he stayed all day up there like he said he was going to do. The telescopes are up there yes, but the stargazing is better at 11,000 feet as the views are distorted to the naked eye. But some guests don’t listen. Who am I anyway? Just some host who has lived here 26 years and should know a thing or two by now. Sigh.
Yes, he was visiting from another country, and it’s MUCH cheaper to buy things here than there.
He left behind an Iphone X empty box. And all the tags, wrapping, etc.from everything else he bought so he wouldn’t have to pay duty when crossing back into his country. This means he must have spent several thousand dollars in the U.S. while here!
These are the Big B’s. Bigger, Better, Cheaper bargain hunters always looking for a discount, I just reject them because you should not be going for a holiday if you can’t afford it! SIT AT HOME!
First line “am thinking of coming to learn english in October as it will be cheaper for me” , i would like a discount perhaps €20 per day, just to make sure I have my own bathroom with bath and shower and sitting room.
Eh thanks but no thanks, I have no problem getting double/triple your suggested price, I would advice a youth hostel or shared room with shared toilet. as u won’t get much for €20 a night in a capital city.
He has not factored in food, after a day, he will be looking to cook and then would be "borrowing"my items or stock piling at the breast table. I had 2 guys do that once, took everything they could carry
Agree. I think I would respond with ‘What can you tell me that would make me want to host you? Because, I gotta tell you: you’re are already fighting an uphill battle here.’
Hmmm… I wonder… What if it’s in your House Rules that packages delivered to your address without permission, are considered gifts and now your property…? Just tossing that thought out to the cosmos to see what happens…
That’s one possible response to a package arrival. It would be interesting to see how Airbnb responded to an enforcement of the rule. Keeping things that aren’t mine violates my sense of right and wrong so not an option for me.
I’m skeptical that anyone who would send a package to your address without asking has read the rules so I don’t think such a rule would act as a deterrent.
Isn’t opening someone else’s mail a federal offense? In that case you would have to keep all the packages without ever being able to open them . The suspense alone would be killing me. So not an option for me either.
Also what Karma said above about conflics with her moral compass.
Thanks to reading these forums, I added NO MAIL to my house rules very early into hosting, and redirected guests to the post office, where they can receive mail general delivery. I can’t remember guests ever violating this rule until this past week. I just had a guest recently inform me that he had a package sent to my house that would be arriving in an hour. It was contact lenses, so I probably would have said yes if they’d asked. I didn’t answer the door for the delivery driver, but the guests still needed my help locating where the driver had left the package.
Oh, right… that’s why I keep writing, “Return to Sender - Not at this address” and sending them back. Oh, well… I was hoping that there was another option that I hadn’t thought of… :-/
While we are on the topic of mail, I could use some help on how to review my recent difficult guests!
They broke four house rules: they had a friend over, left the garage door open, had mail sent to the house, and checked out late. The guests informed me (didn’t ask) that they’d be having a friend over and having mail sent here. I’d probably have agreed if they’d asked. They asked at 10:30 if they could check out at 11:30 because they were out to breakfast, and I declined because I needed the full window to get ready for the next guest and do my own laundry (my washing machine is in the guest suite). They ended up leaving at 11:10, which was only ten minutes late.
Any one of these things alone I could ignore, but these four minor rule violations added up to an unpleasant experience.
I prefer to leave unemotional reviews that don’t sound nit-picky, but these can be hard to write.
They’ve already reviewed me, so I won’t need to wait until the last day. I might give it a week or so before reviewing, however, to get some more reviews on my listing, since these guests may retaliate that I rushed through through breakfast. But their review could also be positive, as I let them drop their luggage off early and they expressed gratitude for this courtesy.
These guests were NOT bargain hunters; they didn’t ask for a discount. Now, BACK to the topic of bargain hunters! I’ve had a few lately complain about how high the AirBnB fees and my city’s taxes are. I’ve offered $5 or $10 off as a courtesy and then redirected them to call AirBnB to ask them to wave their fees. None ended up booking with me. I think guests are expecting me to drop the price to the point that the total cost is the price initially quoted when they put in their nightly price on the search tool, before fees and taxes are calculated. I think we’d be better off if AirBnB just included fees already when asking guests what their price range is.
When I started hosting two years ago, I initially had a few people ask for discounts for whatever reason, but none gave the rationale that the AirBnB fees were too high.
Breaking 4 house rules is one star on rules from me…or it would be if anyone ever broke 4 rules. So what’s wrong with leaving a review that simply says what you posted?
Then add something about communication and cleanliness. For me leaving a garage door open because they didn’t read instructions on how to close it is unforgivable and would get a thumbs down from me. Certainly leave out why they had to check out on time. If they need a place where they can check out later they should search for it. Or book the night after and leave in the afternoon. NOT YOUR PROBLEM.
As for discount seekers, just say no. Taxes and fees…NYP. There are thousands of Airbnbs in Seattle. They should choose one in their budget.
As salesperson myself, we are trained to always negotiate the listed price. If they say no, no biggie. I would not take it personal.
As a host, if the person has good reviews I host them. I do not lower the price when asked.
As a guest, I almost always ask for a lower rate when I’m booking on Airbnb. I’m an excellent guest who leaves the house cleaner than I found it.
My point is … try not to take it personal. Everyone loves to save a buck. Go with your gut though, if the person tries to haggle too much, move on to someone who does not mind paying for value.
I agree 100%.
I am not sure why many hosts here are so upset about negotiating and even refuse guests based on it.
I had the most excellent guests who negotiated and even for very insignificant amount. I also had guests who booked me for enormous price only because I never adjusted the price according to the market and they just booked me. If they asked for discount I would give it to them for sure.
I am actually surprised sometimes that people don’t negotiate. For example last March I made 4 K more with a group of workers that I ever expected. Only because they never asked me for discount. The funny part was If they booked from the start for a whole month they could have saved these 4k based on monthly diacount, but they booked first for 3 weeks and then added another week.
I was in high end retail business for years and we had wealthy customers who negotiated all the time and they stayed with us for many many years. Some did chew us down and we dreaded them but we still made money even with furious negotiators like they are.
I also ask for discounts when I travel unless it’s very low as it is. Especially if I want to stay longer. And very often I am getting better price than listed .
. The suspense alone would be killing me. So not an option for me either.