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Guests agreeing to custom house rules. Reality or illusion?

#1

HI, I am wondering if when a guest makes an instant booking, does he really need to agree to the house rules and abide by them or are house rules just “recommendations” .

Basically, are those rules really enforced (besides the obvious ones like no children, no smoking, no party etc…) when you add and write your own custom rules or is it just an illusion?

Do you have direct experiences and real world cases dealing with Airbnb and issues involving guests and custom house rules?

Based on my experience, Airbnb makes everything the host problem and they are really good at shifting responsibilites. Besides, in case of a disagreement they have the final decision is theirs and the decision can vary greatly depending on the experience of the operator on the phone…

My feeling is that Airbnb is a great and amazing concept as long as you dont have to deal with them with complex issues with guests or financial issues.

Maybe some hosts have had some similar issues like I did with financial claims for broken items, refunds, deposits, extra guests, drunk people at home etc…

I would welcome any thought on this

Thx

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#2

They are as enforceable as your will is strong. If you are strong-willed and willing to fight, then yes. If not, they will be discounted.

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#3

Great answer. As long as we see Airbnb as an advertising platform and nothing else, we’re fine. It’s the host’s job to enforce their own rules.

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#4

I agree in the case you are at the listing with your guest. I did not mention but I should have said that in my case I host remotely. I rent my rooms while I am out of town. I had the issue with a guest that booked for 2 for one night and brought an extra guest which was a kid. I never allowed extra guests and never allowed children at my listing and it created issues with my other guests staying next door. They broke 2 of my basic house rules and airbnb still took the guest side saying I should have called while my guests were there but they checked it at 9pm and checked out at 10.30. How would you have dealt with that Felix?

#5

Thanks Jaquo, I agree with you that Airbnb should be seen as an advertising platform and their “social/shared economy” for me its just a sugarcoated form of neo capitalism. Have you ever dealt with Airbnb in the past for claiming damage deposit or any other claim. And if yes, what was the outcome?

#6

Perhaps you could have a personal representative check your properties. We have not had that kind of problem but we live on our property and rent accommodations that are located on the property. This way we, or at times a representative, have been able to greet guests upon arrival, or in the case of late arrivals greet them in the morning. We think the personal contact has been beneficial in keeping potential problems down to a minimum. We have had a couple of resolution cases that have been satisfactorily resolved. We provided plenty of documentation in each case so Airbnb had information.

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#7

Hi @viznou - no, I’ve never tried to claim. We’ve been renting the place for several years (only since last December on Airbnb) and so we’ve never relied on their system. To us anyway, it’s just part and parcel of renting a property.

Mind you, I live adjacent to our rental so I keep a close eye on the place. For example, extra people just wouldn’t get in because I meet and greet.

We’ve had damage/loss but never enough to consider claiming.

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#8

thx, on which other website do you advertise?

#9

Thanks. Good suggestion

#10

As to dealing with ABB, and specifically The Resolution Center, I once had to make a damage claim. A woman had vomited red wine all over linens, carpet in bedroom and through the hall to where her bathroom is. Required professional carpet cleaning, replacement of linens, pillows, throw rug. I had an exceptionally responsible guest who paid the $532 in damages through the Resolution Center. Always make sure, if you are to make a damage claim, to take many photos to attach to your claim.

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#11

If I vomited red wine all over everything I would be absolutely mortified. I’d be paying all the damages and leaving a large cash tip.

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#12

I had to file claim twice, and both guests were very rude with me. They both refused to pay. For one claim i got almost all i asked. For another not even 1/4 .

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#13

In my experience Airbnb was always very helpful.Of course there are individual case where a person in call center is totally clueless. To have written house rules is crucial, and it does work. If a guest breaks them, you can cancel the reservation based on it. I did couple times. And in one case i even kept the money.

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#14

I did not get a cash tip out of it, but was super happy just to get the damages paid for! I was sooo stressed out about it, because I was not even sure the stains would come out of the carpet even having it done professionally.

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#15

I’m not sure how effective it is after it dries but I once spilled a glass of red wine on my carpet and OxyClean removed it immediately. I was astonished at how well and easily it worked.

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#16

The cleaner I eventually hired was an Oxiclean franchise of carpet cleaning, and he pretreated the areas and it came up beautifully!

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#17

There is a listi g in dublin, ireland. In her description she says, you must read my house rules and agree to them before co sideri g booking my place. I think she must of had some awful guests, as one of her rules do not put used tampons or pads in my sink

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#18

If a reservation is cancelled because they broke the rules, do the guests still get a chance to leave a review?

#19

I’ve hosted over 40 guest in the last 18 months and never had a problem with damages. I think there might be a difference between an onsite and remote host. Maybe guests subconsciously know they can get ‘away with’ more when it’s a remote host? I have a room in my house and a stand alone studio apt in the garden which is completely private and independent. But they know I’m right next door. And I choose - and am able to meet and greet every guest, as well as be there when they leave. I realise not everyone can do that but I believe it helps.

#20

Your day will come! I live here, rent a private apartment, and guests do all sorts of rule breaking. :smile:

1 Like
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