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Would this involve adding more breakers? My house was built in the 60s so it isn’t too old, and thankfully it’s in good condition, but there were some DYI upgrades where I’ve wondered, “what were they thinking?”
I think you’re right: it’s a difficult time for me with a newborn and a recent lost. I intended to learn so much more from my dad, but I thought we’d have another 20 or 30 years together. I’m learning to do more maintenance myself, but learning to do so is tied to my grief. I’ve been hosting 4 years and have outlasted most of my peers. It is hard to imagine Airbnb still being around in 15 years, but I suppose there will be some equivalent if climate change hasn’t ended tourism yet.
Hopefully there won’t be anymore issues and these guests will leave quietly tomorrow, and then all I’ll have left to do is to ask for help with the review. The guests never got back to me if they wanted me to enter the unit to fix the door, and I didn’t check back in because I don’t want to talk to these guests anymore than I have to.
Yes, you would have to add more breakers. But it wouldn’t necessarily involve breaking into the walls, as you can run wires on the wall faces, rather than inside the walls. There are special covers, like long plastic pieces, that cover the wires and conceal them.
I followed @jaquo’s advice and turned my phone off when I went to bed. I woke up around midnight to see my guest messaged me and a few missed calls. He was not able to get the garage door open and checked into a hotel. I confirmed via the Nest camera archive that this was true.
I called the Superhost line and the CS agent immediately asked me two key questions: how much I wanted to refund the guest and for what missing amenity? I said none because the guest should have knocked or rang the doorbell. I wanted the CS agent to review the case. She clarified the guest was not asking for a refund, but was asking for hotel reimbursement. I asked her to consider my history as a Superhost for four years with no major issues, and that I’ve done everything, all in the app message archive, to make this unhappy guest happy.
I’m very curious if CS will rule that I should have had my phone on at night. I understand we are on-call 24/7 as hosts, but I don’t think this expected availability should preclude the ringing of doorbells.
Now clearly some of the issues with the stay are on me, some on the guest, but I’m hoping Air will cover this guest’s hotel via the host/guest guarantee. I think it would be fair for me to reimburse tonight’s stay, but I initially said no refund to the CS agent with the mindset that I’m going to be negotiating with them. They may decide there was a missing amenity and reimburse 50% of his stay (I believe this is their policy).
Interestingly, the CS agent voluntarily said the guest would get a late-check-out fee if he didn’t come get his stuff. Sheesh. I have a same-day turnover to deal with so he needs to come back, BUT I’m not about to go turning around and demand extra money from this guest.
I will be reassessing how guests enter my unit. I give them a garage door opener and a key. In the 300 stays I’ve hosted, I’ve had maybe 5 guests have trouble with the door before, either not understanding how garages work (they don’t try pushing the one button on the opener and wander looking for a keyhole) or the battery is running low in the opener (I check the battery before every guest arrives but batteries do die). In these cases I’ve been home to show them how it works or been able to explain over the phone. I also provide two key/openers (more if 3-4 guests are staying), so this guest (party of two) had a second set of keys, but likely left the second in the unit if they’d gone out together.
I used to have a keypad garage door opener for guests in addition to the key/opener, but found it too difficult to manually change the code so I didn’t replace it when it wore out. I believe there are now “smart garage doors” that can be opened and closed via an app. This might be something I should consider. The best solution would be to add an exterior door to my daylight basement. However, that would involve hiring an engineer and cutting into the foundation, so I would expect that to cost more than what I make on AirBnB in a year. The cheaper solution would be to just finish the garage and convert the unit into a 2-BR, which I’m not opposed to, but would need to reconsider the pros and cons of renting a 2-BR instead of a 1-BR guest suite.
I should add that I reviewed the message log to see if I’d ever explicitly instructed the guest to ring the doorbell as part of the check-in instructions. Unfortunately I did not. I said something along the lines of “let me know if you need assistance with check-in.” I hate how we have to spell out things that are common sense, like ring the doorbell if someone isn’t answering their phone. This is hard to balance with the need to keep our check in instructions, house rules, and house manual short and simple so guests actually read them.
It will be interesting to know the final outcome. Normally I would not expect it to be in the host’s favor but am very interested to know if 4 years, no problems, holds any power with them.
Batteries should be replaced regularly, you should NOT wait for them to die. Some people use the time change bi annually as their marker. I’ve had more than one guest have to unplug the smoke alarm and one guest had trouble with the entry lock and one the ceiling fan wouldn’t work. And with the ceiling fan my spare batteries were so old they didn’t work either. If you think the batteries aren’t done yet, use them in your part of the house. I got at least one of my 4 star reviews from the smoke alarm waking the guest.
A smart garage door opener with keypad sounds like your cheapest option for improving access to the suite.
(note to self, check all the batteries with the next changeover tomorrow morning)
The garage door opener batteries tend to have a month where you have to push the button twice (or they no longer work from across the house) that tells me it’s time to change them. This clearly did not work for these guests and it something else to add to my list of lessons learned from this stay, along with don’t silence my phone and check the features of my listing more frequently. With two little ones and their night time routines, I won’t be able to stay in the unit myself for a while, but I’ll continue to grill relatives and friends who stay for their honest feedback.
Everything that can possibly go wrong has gone wrong with this stay on both ends. I feel genuinely awful that these guests have had such a terrible stay, but still can’t shake the question of whether they’ve been angling for a free stay all along. This is one situation where I’m thankful to actually have AirBnB issue a judgment.
It’s hard to know. It’s also hard to imagine an honest worthwhile person thinking it’s right to take for free nights from another person simply because there were some minor problems. Like the breaker box. When we were in Costa Rica the power went out twice. We went looking for the breaker boxes. We know what a tripped breaker looks like (and that you don’t have to flip every single one if the whole house isn’t out). Where do these people live that they don’t know how anything works? Still, this is a lot of problems for one stay. I’m happy to read that you are taking responsibility for your share.
I like your mention of reviewing guests as Self-Relient - it seems like a graceful way of indicating which guests are high maintenance and which ones are flexible.
This does read to me as if this group is going after a discount or free stay. If something is difficult or not working to expectations, I hope that guests communicate and remain flexible - I would offer small discount or bottle of wine if conditions warrant it, but not if one is demanded.
I’m on your guests’ side on this post. You sound like you didn’t want to be bothered on your holiday instead of being a proper landlord.
This is something that needs to be addressed - even on Christmas Day. The garage door was left open and their door blew open? Not good at all. Their door should have a lock, preferably a smart lock with a changeable code, just like the garage door. ALL DOORS SHOULD LATCH PROPERLY.
Frankly, on this one I don’t blame them. And check your oil heater - they have to be refilled every couple of years at the most, and checked every season as in when you bring it out for guest use and when you put it away. If it gets used a lot, then every month.
YOU should fix a fuse, not the guest. This is a HUGE liability issue for them, you, and your home.
You’re going to get a bad review and I don’t blame them.
I’ve seen a lot of guests lack what I consider to be common sense: how to use a garage door opener, open a sofa bed, use a coffee maker, how to reset a breaker, etc. The worst offense was guests who used the old oil space heater to heat up food.
But I also need to remember not everyone has the same background as me. For example, if they’ve lived in an apartment, they may never have used a garage before. I explain all in the house manual, but as we all know guests don’t read. Perhaps I need to be more insistent on giving a tour rather than asking if guests would like one. Most my guests are self-sufficient and want to self-check-in and have little interaction with the host.
I’m not sure if you’ve finished reading the thread yet, but the guests couldn’t get the door open last night and decided to check into a hotel, which they’d like me to cover the cost of. I was home but asleep. They called but did not ring the doorbell. My husband’s phone was on and they did not try calling him either (I provide both numbers as emergency contacts).
I’ve escalated to AirBnB because I really think I need an objective third party opinion because both host and guest are at fault for the number of problems with this stay. Right now I am willing to refund the night they didn’t stay, but am hoping AirBnB will cover the hotel through the host/guest guarantee. I am hoping they’ll take my history into account. I’ve never had any issue with damage, refunds, or the like, except a number of times I’ve used the resolution center to collect the $15 extra guest fee and AirBnB comped me because the guest didn’t respond.
I imagine the advice on how to review these guests will be polarizing. I’m inclined to write something along the lines of “not self-sufficient guests,” which is an honest description, without getting into the dramatic backstory of this stay from hell. I’ve given the thumbs down for guests leaving the exterior garage door open in the past.
But it is still three hours until checkout. More drama may unfold if/when these guests return to collect their belongings. I have new guests arriving today.
I see. This incident begs the question of how on-call we are expected to be for guests. Are we expected to have our phone on at all hours? To return home at all hours if a guest trips a breaker? I may sound defensive but am asking in earnest. My extended family lives an hour away, and I work an hour away, so it is not easy to pop in when I’m away from home. There is a point where the expectations of hosting aren’t worth the money. Thankfully I’m not reliant on the AirBnB income to meet pay my bills.
The guests left the exterior door open through forgetfulness, which was negligence on their part. Yes, the interior door should latch properly. I haven’t entered the unit yet to assess if the door, the fuse, and the heater are not working properly or if the guest was just inept.
Adding a smart garage door opener with a code is a good idea. The interior door should also have a smart lock? I’m not sure what the purpose of this would be since the garage door is essentially a locking exterior door. I worry this would be another thing to confuse guests.
I don’t think the oil space heater needs to be refilled. It is this type, where the oil is used as the heat conduit rather than fuel. I’ve been using my personal space heater for over a decade without a decline in performance. This type of heater just takes ten minutes to heat up and is to supplement the central air in the house.
I tested the guest heater about twice a year. I’ll test it again today. It may be broken, or it may be that the guests are just unfamiliar with this type of heater. This begs the question how much I should be testing the seldom-used amenities like the pack-and-play, fans, and space heater. I should have caught the issue with the door, but I don’t have time to check the seldom-used amenities every turnover.
I’m so very sorry for the loss of your Dad - and with that your handyman - but you need to find someone local soon so these things can be fixed in real time. If something breaks in our homes and we’re not there, it’s up to us to fix it ASAP, especially when there are guests.
I agree that some guests have unreasonable expectations and I often wonder how they manage to tie their shoes based on the questions I’ve gotten.
I have the same type and it’s great. It may be guests being unfamiliar with the thermostat controls. I’m sure you have instructions in your house manual. Only check it twice a year, then. They do go wonky.
Smart locks with wi-fi capability on the garage door and the guest suite door are mandatory IMHO. You can remotely change the codes, open and close the garage door, and they will add safety features to the guest suite and the garage. I’m about to add more to my home - to the guest room, my office, and my master suite (I’m a live-in host renting a room).
Do smart locks and garage door openers still work if the WiFi is out? Does the smart lock work if the power is out? (Obviously the garage door opener does not work when the power is out, but I’ve only had one power outage while guests were here, and I showed the guests how to manually open the garage door. They were pleased with how I handled the situation.)
I’ve talked to the guest and he’s coming to get his stuff before checkout. I apologized and we were cordial. I have decided I’ll tell the CS agent I’ll refund the night the guest didn’t stay (I was planning to refund unstayed nights if the guest decided to leave early), but I’m waiting to see what AirBnB decides to do. Normally hosts here advise not to refund because you’re going to get a bad review either way, but I’m theoretically willing to refund the unstayed nights if someone is unhappy with the accomodations (that just hadn’t happened yet).
@casailinglady, we’ve done what you said. We have wifi-capable smart locks on the front door, both guestroom doors, and our private master bedroom door. They work very well.
Smart locks are powered with batteries. Once the guest has the code they should be fine, you just wouldn’t be able to open it remotely if the wifi was down. Garage door key pads also use batteries. But you are going to have to get in the habit of changing all the batteries regularly to make sure they are fresh. A smart lock with a key can be opened manually and I’d advise hiding a key in the garage as a backup. You can also get garage door openers that retrofit existing openers. You don’t have to get a whole new opener.
You can also get battery backups for the garage door if the power goes out.
Oh, this is perfect! I won’t have to buy a whole new garage door opener system, I can make sure guests close the garage door when I’m not home (my camera is not facing the door), and presumably I can reset the key code via the app.
I think this is a really good idea and my guests are the same. I don’t make a tour mandatory, but I do encourage it, and it seems to be working.
BTW, I am most amazed at the number of guests that have never seen a switched A/C receptacle before and plug the lamps into other outlets.
In my opinion hosts need to be reachable 24/7 and somebody needs to respond for urgent problems. No host wants to deal with property damage or injury that could’ve been avoided simply because the guest couldn’t reach you.
Seems like you are handling this very professionally, including the feedback here. Hoping for the best outcome for you.
If guests are averse to having interaction with the host, they should be booking a hotel, rather than an Airbnb. Don’t give them a choice about the orientation tour. But also maybe set that up for a little while after they check-in. Overloading people with too much information right off the bat, when they may have been travelling for quite awhile, may hinder their comprehension.
As far as your house manual goes, guests will be more likely to figure out how to work things if you use some graphics and photos in your house manual, rather than a string of text. Take photos of things and then draw arrows and such on them to indicate how to turn on, open, etc.
