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I’m sorry if my question is a duplicate of others, but I’m still new and not sure how to post queries, and where I’ll see any of your collective ‘sage advice’?!
I’ve had a couple of guests now, 2 bookings out of 15, where they clearly have not read any of my ‘notes’, ‘house manual’, description, and most importantly ‘house rules’.
What is one to do? Do I just think ‘oh well I’ll put that down to experience’ ? Or is there something I can do differently or better? I have been quite clear, but polite in my few rules, and honest and open about any small shortcomings of my accommodation, but questions and problems have arisen, even allowing for language and cultural differences.
One thing I think is that with so many people accessing the site on their mobile phones rather than the full, bigger website, that a lot of information is not being seen or ignored.
Hi Kennedy, I am in Scotland, and I have had the same problems. What I now do is when someone wants to make a booking I send them a pre-prepared message which highlights the important house rules, and I ask them to confirm that my terms are acceptable. This has gone some way to tackling the problems. All the best
I switched to longer terms now from 1-2 days stays, and when people inquire I ask them if they paid attention to my house rules. Some do, most don’t .
I had an inquiry yesterdat from a woman who was looking for a room for her 65 year old retired mother.
My description said who my perfect guest is and it’s the opposite of a retired person. I said that I will only accept a very busy individual with a full schedule. Also I don’t allow much cooking. Daughter asked if her mother has an access to kitchen as she loves to cook.
My answer was " have you read my house rules???".
She says: " o sorry, , I see now, "
But even if guests are already in your house and breaking rules, it’s ok to remind them . Don’t be shy:)
IMHO a lot of the “people don’t read my…” problems can be solved if you actuallygreet your guests, and in the process of showing them around your place, go over the rules with them. Then show them your Lodging Book with all your collected local information, coupons, WiFi code and a written copy of the rules (should be less than 10) etc.
Another possible solution is to hand them (not just leave for them) a typed copy of the (less than 10) house rules, which they then read and sign as having read and understood.
Where are you in Brighton? My partner, Sally, was born there.
I had an interesting conversation with a guest about this exact situation yesterday. My listing says “perfect for someone who is under 6’ tall, as ceilings are low”.
During our preliminary conversations, I asked him to confirm that he had read the brief description, had read the house rules and could confirm that the place would suit his needs. Of course he replied “yup, good to go”.
So I meet the guest about an hour after he’s already checked in, and guess what? You all know the punchline. He’s 6’2" if not more. I burst out into laughter seeing him, and after recovering, I asked him if he’d brought any pain meds, as his neck would surely hurt from crinking it up whenever he wasn’t sitting or sleeping. He also laughed, and told me that he had not actually read ANYTHING he had only seen the pictures, the name, the price. Because he was very chatty and a good sport, we joked about what it would take to get guests to read the house rules/description in advance and we both decided that it’s just human nature to skim, to bypass, to assume things, etc. People are so used to bypassing Terms, Rules, etc. I know that I never read Apple’s new T&C but I always accept them. Why should a guest be any different?
All we can do (in advance) of a booking is ask them to confirm that they’ve read everything, allow them to say yes, and then it’s caveat emptor…
