THAT’S the problem! I wouldn’t be able to host if I couldn’t. I don’t want to get blamed for a problem caused by someone else.
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I hope that you took a picture, so you can send it to Customer Disservice when they complain and want a discount…
Definitely review as overall 1, “won’t host again” and a 1 for communication.
Youre probably correct in assuming it wasn’t an oversight by your cleaning people. For whatever reason, the guest is lying but, really its a minor irritant not worth worrying yourself sick over it. Leave extra sheets & pillowcases in a closet or drawer for future guests.
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One thing we do is prepare a house at least one or two days before arrival (whenever possible).
We get it ready for the guests. We turn on lights (most guests arrive after work. Late or really late. A dark house is not a welcoming house nor easily found on a dark country road).
We open windows (or turn on the a/c) in the summer or turn up the heat in the winter. If there’s a problem with the heat or the a/c we now have two days to get it repaired BEFORE the guest arrives.
We walk through the house to double check how it looks. Furniture put back after cleaning, curtains pulled back, etc.
While we’re preparing each room, we’re double checking housekeeping from their previous cleaning. Sometimes we find towels folded sloppily (no biggie, we redo it), or a spot on the floor that they missed (no biggie, we clean it), or smudges on the exterior French Doors (maybe no biggie, but usually it’s easiest to just clean it).
But sometimes we find things that we believe require more attention. I’ve been known to contact our housekeeper and request they return to finish the job correctly. (another reason to open a house at least a day in advance)
This system has worked great for us over the 17 years we’ve been managing STRs. Most times (like 90%) it’s in and out… no problems.
But then there were the few times we found a problem that needed attention. No hot water, burned out light bulb or two, a wasp nest (being constructed) over the deck, and once we found a mouse in a toilet (imagine getting THAT call from a renter - and yes, we check each toilet as part of the walk-through). All these things got corrected before the renter arrived. So any problem and any subsequent complaint was pre-empted.
Since you aren’t close enough to do this yourself, it’s my suggestion that this could be the responsibility of the co-host.
This is just how we’ve been doing it. And for us it’s worked wonderfully for us. And I wish our housekeepers all had OCD-ish work ethics! 
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“No eating or drinking anything whatsoever in the bedrooms”??? Is making whooopy forbidden as well 
? If I’m renting a nice, 4 bedroom house, I’m going to eat wherever I want … but I’d be respectful and careful so as not to dirty or spill.
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I certainly do not want you as a guest. I have stayed in a 6 all ensuite mansion in Miami that cost $4k for 2 nights and I obeyed all the house rules which included not eating or drinking in the rooms. I agreed to the rules before making the booking. I am not going to give you reasons why I have those rules in place but believe me, it wasn’t me just because. It’s either you like it or you don’t. You can make whatever rules you deem necessary in your listing. I have a lot of common areas and back yard that guests can utilize for entertainment. That’s why I refrained from putting televisions in the rooms.
I hope your guests don’t break your rules like you would blatantly break someone else’s.
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This is true. As long as a host is willing to take whatever hits come from having too many rules, it’s no one else’s business.
I’ve also stayed in two multi million dollar mansions. One in Boston, one in Costa Rica. Neither had a long list of rules or anything stated about food or drink in various parts of the home. So, a lid for every pot. But I still assert you’re making an unenforceable rule. All you can do is “punish” evidence of breaking the rule and getting bad reviews in return.
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I’ve stayed in places with rules and notes posted all over the place … basically I ignore them because I’m going to treat a host’s place like I’d want them to treat mine.
I’ve rented my $300/night house for over 25 years without excessive rules posted, and have had literally no problems of any consequence. I prefer to screen my guests the best I can, and trust them to conduct themselves in a respectful way … funny, but it seems to work.
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I do screen guests too but unfortunately not all guests are considerate and clean…I have had my house trashed from corner to corner by a Registered Nurse who I screen and met during check in.
It deters the belligerent guests. I know that some guests will eat and drink in the rooms and clean up after them . I am not anal about it. But I hope that guests understand the general idea.
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Rule #1 for hosts has always been to NEVER assume a guest knows how to act. Beginner hosts always say stuff like ‘treat my home as if it were your own’ and then are shocked when it is a mess - but the guest DID what you asked… the guests’ home is a mess.
Also, when a guest says things like “I always ignore…” that is the very DEFINITION of a bad guest - it is not your job to decide what the best way for the bathroom door is to be left (for example) and ignoring the host request to read their intentions is arrogant and cannot lead to a good result.
Also, not allowing food and drink in certain areas in a ‘one of a kind’ space like mine is so that I do not have to climb everywhere to look for food pieces and spilled drinks. I am not, after all, a hotel with 100 rooms so that I can simply put you in another room if the previous guest left a mess.
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I guess you missed the main point another poster mentioned … why have rules that you can’t enforce? Where someone decides to eat or drink can’t be enforced unless you have cameras, you catch them, and enforce your rule. Therefore, in my experience, “suggestions” of what you prefer the guests behavior to be works best. My only strict “rule” is “no smoking inside the house” … pretty obvious.
I’ve had almost no problem guests in 25 years with my vacation rental, and on the rare occasion something needed fixed or replaced due to a guest’s fault, the deposit covered the lose.
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This seems contradictory. Realistically, ANY rule you make is ‘enforced’ by your review and the ability to cancel a guest who does not follow them. Why is ‘no food and drink’ different than ‘no smoking’?
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Somebody eating or drinking in a forbidden area without detection is quite different than someone smoking … the smoking lingers, so the infraction can be cited. With food or drink, unless evidence is left behind, how would you know and be able to review them badly … you couldn’t. That’s the point. Without the ability to enforce, why have the rule.
How are you able to enforce the " no smoking" rule then?? At the end of the day, you might as well not have rules and let guests do as they deem necessary.
It’s enforced with a penalty … keeping some of the deposit to pay for extra cleaning to rid the area of the smoke.
I am not sure what Airbnb support you talk to but I have been told on several occassions by different agents that the deposit is not really a deposit. I was not covered or paid for extra cleaning when a guest trashed my listing.
My rules have worked for me so far, most times at least. I do not penalize little things that will not cost me extra. I look at their stay in general and determine if I am willing to host a guest again or if It’s something that can impact another hosts decision to host that guest. I write my reviews based on those.
And BTW, there is a way to mask the odor left by a cigarette.
I disagree.
But regardless, a rule that can’t be enforced is a foolish rule to have. As an FYI, Rolf lives in the same home where he rents rooms. So seeing a guest bring in their carry out and take it up to their room, or to walk from the kitchen with breakfast to a forbidden area is quite possible.
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Telling my guests that as we are in the bug-filled tropics means that if they eat in their bedroom they are likely to quickly have an ant invasion, or cockroaches, pretty much works 
Still, I occasionally find cookie wrappers and such.
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Certainly is advisable to “suggest” what you might not want a guest to do, and maybe cite the reason … i.e. if you eat in the bedroom, you’ll be inviting ants, etc.; but, as noted, unenforceable rules don’t work so why have them.
The problem with smoking inside is not just to avoid the nasty smell, but to try avoiding burn holes in couches, sheets, etc.
It is correct that Airbnb doesn’t permit use of the deposit (in general) for things like this, but you can put in a “demand for payment”. With the proper support/evidence (photos, copies of extra bills), I’ve been successful having Airbnb support on the few times I’ve needed it.
What deposit? direct bookings, VRBO?
RR