I have a guest just on a 9 day booking. In my house rules, rule 5 of 5 says do not give out my private address to anyone for parcels, letters or callers. If there is something important then ask me first on the app. Couldn’t be clearer.
My guest has, without even mentioning it, got mail at my home today re getting a national insurance number. This is a total PITA because the process takes about 6 weeks, therefore pointless. I have already had cause to speak/message him re shower room and kitchen use on multiple occasions. I called Airbnb, they offered to ask him to leave, but I feel sorry for him because it is raining so I asked them to go through the rules with him and get my address withdrawn from wherever. If he persists in rule breaking his leaving is in the wings.
Any tips for what else I can do to prevent this problem in future, or alternatives for guests getting a nino?
You can’t control what guests do or prevent this in the future. If you aren’t going to enforce rules by having negative consequences actually apply to them there isn’t much point in having them. He did it because he wanted to and figured the advantages of doing it outweighed the disadvantages of asking in advance. I’d assume this doesn’t happen often anyway.
No most people respect the rule or have more sense than to start a process which will end in an important letter arriving for them weeks after they have left.
It’s making me think now he should go tomorrow because he has been disrespectful, and what next? There’s no trust. As karma says what’s the point if there are no consequences. I am too soft.
If there has been more than one rule violation I would definitely end the reservation.
As for the rain, doesn’t it rain all the time there?
Yes. We get all the rain from the Welsh hills here. When I arrived for university it rained for more than 40 days and 40 nights.
They have been petty things like leaving mess in the kitchen for me to tidy up and in the guest shower room which is shared with another guest. I am cross because I asked him about those petty things a couple of times then on the app a couple of times and he took no notice. Being ignored isn’t nice and it makes it tricky to keep things sweet for my other guest and family.
What else can you do to prevent abuses in the future? STOP FEELING SORRY FOR PEOPLE!
Stop letting people walk over you. You need a “one strike and you’re out” personal policy – break my rules, disrespect me or my house, and you’re outa here!
Lol I could be the towel fascist who gets to cancel a guest’s reservation for leaving it in the shared shower room rather than their bedroom! Seriously though, with some guests their little inconsiderate behaviours just drip, drip, drip until the dam breaks.
Where I live in the USA we get 66.5" of rain annually. In New York the figure is 49.9". London’s annual rainfall is 22" annually 
@Jess1 - I assume that you have a regular letterbox? Although I don’t like those cage thingies that people have to stop mail from landing on the mat, couldn’t you put a similar, but tasteful, box over the interior of the letterbox? A lockable one? Then you can just mark any erroneous mail ‘return to sender’ and (what I would do anyway) go ‘ha, fooled ya’ if mail is for a guest.
I know that hosts shouldn’t have to do these things - I know that guests should use their brains a bit more. But just as we child-proof our homes when we have toddlers, I think that to some extent we should guest-proof our rentals
Interesting idea. I was thinking of a mailbox rather than a letter box because letterboxes are draughty (remember?!). Mind you if a guest is that stupid they probably wouldn’t even notice they couldn’t get to the mail!
The guest just messaged me and said he didn’t know how the mail arrived for him. I must be almost cooked because I answered the fairies must have given them your name and my address. I can’t trust him so think he should go tomorrow. Airbnb were asking if I would give him a refund. Having a giraffe I say, check the app thread, rules, cancellation policy. What a PITA.
I was confirming this post which Jess made a few days ago.
The reason Florida or even New York get more annually is due things like hurricanes, tropical storms and good old thunderstorms which dump buckets at a time as opposed to the steadier light drizzle over much of the UK. But Jess has indicated that she is out west towards Wales, not in London. It’s my understanding that it gets a good deal more rain than London.
However, I could have mixed up my UK posters. I await Jess’s correction!
My memory is hopeless 
You are right of course, the west near Wales is much wetter. I am originally from the south coast (from whence the Titanic met it’s death) and it’s much drier there. Constant drizzle rather than proper rain is the thing. My poor lads are trying to enjoy a music festival today, the young are all in shorts and plastic macs. Did you see my photo of the first Autumn mushroom to impress me? It’s very green and mild here due to the Gulf Stream.
My memory is spotty. I’ll recall a forum post but can’t remember where I put the Bose remote for the Airbnb room or the name of my guest dog’s owner. There seems to be an inverse correlation between the importance of the information needed and my ability to recall on command.
Update: guest has admitted he deliberately broke my rule because he felt intimidated by the staff trying to help with his national insurance. It’s sad really, they’re not exactly heavyweights, but maybe would be so in eastern Europe? Why did he not ask me about it and lie by saying he didn’t know? Because he was scared I would say no. Right, I would say no because it takes weeks and would be pointless! Did he think I wouldn’t find out?
Cultural lesson for him: honesty and respect are important in the UK, it’s what our seemingly liberal democracy depends on.
Personally, with issues like, I think it’s always better to chat through the issue in question so there is a clear acknowledgement and response, before putting things through Airbnb messaging as a follow up.
Yes I did talk to him first about the shower room and kitchen issues, the app was a reinforcement and a record. The using my address without asking was a shock as the letter just came through my door. It was a step too far. If a guest is not listening and doesn’t care I am not going to subject myself to the unpleasantness of sitting him down for a chat with the headmistress.
He admitted deliberately using my address secretly so he could attempt to circumvent my house rules. As it is he’s not only further delayed his national insurance number application, he’s also out on his arse to the youth hostel tomorrow. He brought it on himself, for a 9 day booking he was acting like he owned the place.
Hum … Then I would mark “return to sender” and claim i didn’t know how that happened either.
What an ass. He disrespected your rules and is now lying about it? What else does this immature man-child believe he can not be held accountable for?
Yes I shouldnt have given him the letter, I’ve already been told I am too soft. No room at the backpackers tonight so he’s not going til the morning.