I rented for the first time to a long term guests of 3 weeks. Before it was only 2-5 days stays and I loved it.
These guests were here for work. They stayed nights and weekends at home but not in their rooms like most of my other short term guests. They hang out on a kitchen a lot, making food. They occupied my living room couches, and dining room table with their computers, talking loudly. They watched TV non stop in living room.
These 3 weeks were very difficult for me. Though I loved the fact that I was paid without a break, and I didnāt have to wait for another booking, it was hardly bearable to see so much of them with their obnoxiously loud voices, laughs and constant present in shared spaces.
I felt uncomfortable saying something to them, but in fact I wanted to say something like "you didnt rent from me the whole house, but only 2 bedrooms, something like that.
Has anyone has this situation, when guests basically took ver the house with no room for owners? And how you can deal with that?
Unfortunately, I do find that guest who rent for more than a week tend to āfeel at homeā a bit too much ā¦ like you said, the do take over the whole house. I think that this is just the nature of a longer rental situation, which makes shorter rentals more attractive despite the extra work of turning over the room/s.
I have not found a good way to limit guest cooking ā¦ which can be a major issue. I would welcome any insights on this. It is a difficult issue because kitchen use is one of the selling points of Airbnb. I do have a separate small fridge for guests, because I found it too confusing to have all their food in my own fridge.
Fortunately my house is setup in a way that my own bedroom is upstairs and all the guest rooms and common spaces (kitchen, living + dining room) are downstairs.
Somethings that have been a big help for me:
I have now put TVs in all three of the guest rooms, so guests can watch their own shows
I put a small fridge, microwave and coffee maker upstairs in my own room so if I donāt want to interact with the guests while they are busy getting ready for their work or appointments first thing in the morning I can just stay out of the way
Once I get the idea of what the guestsā schedule is, I try to work my own needs around them and if needed be gone more when they are āin the wayā. Yes, I hate loosing my own use of my house, but this is the trade-off and I would rather be nice and get good reviews than make an issue with the guests.
Also, Iāve tried to better judge which guests to accept and for how long and not accept all guests 
I hope this gives you some ideas. My feeling is to just hang in there and know that these guests will soon be gone and the money is good
Thatās really difficult to live w strangers. It only works well for me because my guests are in a detached unit with their own private garden. I donāt see or hear them. Itās hard enough to live with my husband let alone strangers. You might want tob more selective and only rent to people who plan to be gone all day.
Quite a few hosts give the guests limited axcess to the kitchen. For example two hours in the morning and evening. But. Make a thing like this very clear in your listing.
The only way you can deal with it is limit how long guests can stay, or else carefully screen guests who do apply to rent long term. Ask them what their schedules will be like, how much theyāll cook etc.And make house rules clear i.e. kitchen use only during certain hours, or no cooking, or whatever it is you prefer.
Thank you guys for answering.
Limited kitchen time is a great idea, though for me 2 hours twice a day is an enormous time to spend on a kitchen, unless you are cooking for 15 people.,I personally donāt cook every day. I might cook twice a week enough for a couple of days, thatās why for me this non stop cooking was so much irritating with all the smells. Me being vegeterian didnt help also.
TVs in rooms I was thinking about. So far we had ony young people with their own IPads where they watched Netflix at night in their rooms.
Do they clean up after themselves in the kitchen?
They washed dishes after themselves only. But countertop, floor was all messed up, and they never threw their garbage away. It was an everyday job for us
Donāt let guests push you around Yana. Decide what YOU want for your own space and make up the rules to apply. I canāt really relate to some of these issues as mine is a separate and lockable space so guests can cook to their heartsā content. Hats off to all of you that share your personal homes with these clods. I couldnāt do it. Or if I did, it would be one bedroom with a separate entrance and its own coffee pot and hotplate. How about setting that up in one of your rental rooms? And just say the kitchen is off limits. I donāt think your bookings would decrease just because you limited the kitchen use.
Ahh, I know, I should have said something after the first āattackā on my kitchen. But first of all, I never ever seen anything like that in my whole life like this insane cooking for hours and hours every single day. These guests left me with a supply of olive oil, vinegar, protein powder, and spaghetti. O, those spaghetti of various kind for probably another 6 months. They made gourmet sauses using all kind of herbs several times a day. Itās like I had an army of chefs in my kitchen. It was not just normal cooking like most people cook.
Honestly I think I was in shock at first, not knowing what to make of it.
It was not only cooking, it was their overbearing behavor with their presence in shared spaces. They could as well stay in their rooms with computers but they accommodated themselves at the dinner table, and would just leave their computers there permanently.
If it was one thing, I would probably say something, but there were so many things to mention that if I started I would literally had to tell them everyday something NOT to do. Not to talk so loudly early in a mornings and late afternoons, not to slam doors, threw the garbage, not use laundry every day, not open windows while AC is working ( actually this one I told them). They did so many things that made no sense that I didnt even know what to start with.
I changed my house rules from āfull use of kitcheā to limited, and laundry use only if staying 5 days or longer. I wonder if it will effect my bookings.
Just ughā¦Please also consider making up a document you send in advance so they can read about what you expect in terms of behavior. As I have said before, I sub teach for kindergarten a lot and need to tell those 5 year olds before the school day starts exactly what I expect of them during the day (specifically outlined) or i have nothing to refer back to later when they misbehave, and then I go on to have the day from hell. Guests are like that. TELL them IN ADVANCE how you expect them to behave clearly and politely. Otherwise you will have them doing what the hell they want and steam roll you around like these crazy culinary guests.
Oh, a questionā¦ since they took over your house, did they even invite you to try some of that gourmet cooking? Were they running a culinary tour or something? Who were all those people?
If I were you, Iād put a hot plate, coffee pot or electric kettle in their room and say no kitchen.
I think you will still get bookings! Where are you located? Do you allow additional people on the property? I donāt! But it took a lame brain nit wit dim bulb guest to start partying with strangers they brought from the beach before I actually had to write it in my rules.
Just when Iāve heard it all, thereās always some new guest horror story. Makes you wonderā¦isnāt there any easier way to pound a penny?
That is true. I had the neighbors from hell for one solid year. Six months of hillbilly meth head trailer trash who played drums loudly and badly any hour of the day or night and six months of a wolf whistling parrot directly next door who ruined our peace of mind 90 decibels at a time. Completely amazed I never had a guest complain about those things. Thankfully both neighbors from hell were renters and both are gone forever, good riddance!
Kona, they never offered to share their cooking and the reason is they knew we are vegeterians. They cooked meat and fish non stop, that was a suffering for us the most. See , the thingis when I initially met them I thought it was one family, but it was 3 separate people. They came here in Miami for training for competition in roller blades. So, n top of that they were sportspeople , who burned 5k calories a day and then of course they had to replenish it. They only spoke spanish, and my spanish is at the end of the list of the languages I speak, so I couldnāt quite I understand in a beginning what was going on.
Lack of experience definitely played the role.
Well,I hope I will never ever experience this again. And if by any chance I will encountered guests like this again, is ill insist on reminding their money so they can find a different accomodation.
As for washing up after themselves, I agree with Yana, the guests never do a good job on the whole kitchen. And I donāt think Iāve had a guest yet who takes out the garbage or recycling.
Another host and I were laughing because when I visited her she was busy washing the pots and pans that the guest supposedly had washed ā I have to do that too. I certainly donāt want the next guest to take a dirty pot or pan to use and think thatās the way I would leave it. My current guest always leaves some food stuck to the cookware after she has finished cleaning it!
I had a couple earlier in the year who cooked every night for a month ā drove me crazy after a week ā and they always left everything with a thin film of grease. The cooking issue is a major hassle that I am still trying to come to grips with ā maybe only shorter stay guests will be the answer.
Or just no cooking allowed. Make them go out to eat! They can use the money they save on booking your place to go out to a restaurant.
Make your kitchen off limits.
Iām shaking with rage? Violation? Right now. I donāt know what to do about the guests I have right now. Iāve hosted a few people and theyāve been great. The last few have been awful, but these guys take the cake.
I believe they did not realize the listing was for a private room, and treated the house as if it was theirs. They burnt my 1940`s, irreplaceable, vintage countertop with a hot pan while taking over the kitchen for hours. They showered or were in the washroom to the point that I had to use my neighbours washroom most of their stay. When I did get in, I found a chunk of human feces smeared into the plush bath mat. They left their things all over the kitchen, hung clothes up all over the place (in kitchen and in my garden?), and went into private cupboards in the kitchen though the airbnb cupboards are clearly marked. They came in late and showered late at night on weeknights. They yell, hang out in all the shared spaces though they have a massive double room with their own living area and 50" TV.
My main concern is the counter-how do I deal with that if they refuse to pay for it?
Seriously considering quitting airbnb after this. Itās super violating.
So sorry these monsters invaded your home. Please immediately take photos and get estimates to replace the counters. You only have 48 hours to make a claim. If you havenāt already done it, call Air immediately and report the behavior of these nasty excuses for human beings. Do leave an honest review but do it at the last minute. If you want to share their profile on a private thread, let me know. Iāll add you. Again, so sorry.
I donāt think I can replace the counter with anything remotely comparable, they are original counters from when the house was built, theyāve been kept immaculately since 1947. In two days these people ruined them.
That said, I will look into prices for regular replacement countertop and will do it first thing tomorrow. Thank you so much for your advice. I didnāt realize there was a 48 hour window to report.
In future I am going to post house rules in the kitchen and make sure to direct guests to read them. No more āhang outsā in the kitchen which is too bad, because Iāve had guests who were reasonable.
Read through the many threads here which discuss getting firm with guests. This must be stated so clearly that even a child could understand it. So sorry about the vintage counters. Maybe in the future donāt allow any use of the kitchen at all. It wonāt cost bookings at all.
You must be sick. I would be.
Are you sure the spot cannot be sanded out? One time a friend left a hot popcorn pan on the Formica counter of the house I was responsible for. We were somehow miraculously able to get the burn mark out by sanding and oiling. Itās worth a try. Look it up online?
Yes, stressed doesnāt come close. I almost cried. I look after toddlers for a living, and Iām realizing that some adults really arenāt any more well behaved than a 3 year old.
Thatās a good idea, they are still here until tomorrow morning, I will get a better look at it then. If I can sand it that would better, even if some burn is visible.
Is it possible to say no kitchen access? I provide guests their own full size fridge, so maybe saying no using the oven/stove. Light meals only. This is all a learning process. This forum had been great for my sanity. Was on here last night while being kept awake. Lol.
Thanks again!