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Guests from Europe are here for a week. One of them smokes the minute he gets to the sidewalk.
I have posted a NO SMOKING ANYWHERE ON THE PROPERTY and in the House Rules say NO SMOKERS. I get it – they don’t care – and I will give them a bad review for it. Very uncomfortable and disappointed.
The last time this happened, I called AirBnB and they basically said it was discriminatory to say NO SMOKERS…Uh, WHAT??? This is my home, not a hotel. They are guests in my home, and I say NO SMOKERS because I don’t want the odors in the bedding and carpet. I’m also Eco-friendly. And concerned that the guest is leaving his butts on the sidewalk or curb area.
Maybe I should stop instant booking??
Any more advice?
I think it’s hard to prevent smokers from booking your property, you can only control what they do on and in your property. So I’d advise focusing just on things you can control. Not using instant book won’t prevent people from lying or sneaking smokes out the bathroom window and hiding the evidence or flushing the butts down your toilet.
Probably should wait to complain about actual negative impact. Cigarette butts on ground, furniture smells like smoke. Could negatively review if occurs.
I don’t want parties at my place but don’t care if they party somewhere else.
I am an ex smoker. When I quit I became asthmatic. Now any exposure to smoke, even third hand, can send me into a coughing fit. Fortunately there is a hospital nearby.
No smoking is no smoking is no smoking. Most hotels, airports, and public places don’t allow it. Airbnb support of something known to be toxic is prejudicial against those of us who value clean air. What if children or babies were on your property?
Many smokers today are quite used to taking a stroll.
Here’s the thing,
I have found that airBnB are a bit tongue-in-cheek about their own rules. They give you the option to pick choices for your property but will not support you if your choices are violated.
However, if you do kick out a guest for breaking a major house rule eg. Partying after being warned, I doubt they’ll be able to hold you accountable.
I don’t trust AirBnB to be honest. They do what suits their business which is “Getting ur property booked”.
THIS. I suffer from asthma as well, and I have it very clearly stated in the listing that for this reason, smoking is absolutely prohibited. I can’t see why Air would be able to call that discrimination when it’s health related. Plus, they give you an option to indicate whether or not your listing allows smoking (should be in the House Rules tab next to whether pets or partied are allowed).
But regardless of health, like Mandi says, you value clean air! And it’s your property. If “no smoking allowed” is stated in your listing and they’re not able to take a walk to do their smoking, I think you have grounds to make them leave if you wanted to.
There is no room for discussion here. A CS rep may have made a mistake. I have never had to prove having asthma to Air, but it would be easy enough to send a photo of my prescriptions.
If you really want to raise hell, mention you will be contacting the media and/or initiating suit with them if your health is affected in any way.
However I firmly believe that a CSR made a mistake. I have never taken any heat from them. Good luck!
People who smoke heavily are completely covered in the residue, nicotine on their fingers, they excrete throughtheir pores and it gets everywhere. You can tell when a smoker has slept in the bed, used the towels - it gets everywhere!
The first couple thought it meant just in the room. Their English wasn’t good.
With the current guests,
I have come really close to asking them but instead I told them every clearly that staying on someone’s property means agreeing to ALL House Rules, including “Additional Rules.” I said we live in a very health-conscious community and that I had personal reasons for my decision as well, but I want to maintain a clean and fresh environment for all my guests.
AirBnb doesn’t give the option to say No Smokers until the latter section. People don’t read!
If I asked them to leave, AirBnB would not back me up and I could conceivably lose the money.
Now, with every guest’s response to booking, I will include a sentence in my message that refers to the “Additional Rules.”
Except as noted above, Airbnb hosts may decline to rent based on factors that are not prohibited by law. For example, except where prohibited by law, Airbnb hosts may decline to rent guests with pets, or to guests who smoke.
Nothing in this policy prevents a host from turning down a guest on the basis of a characteristic that is not protected under the civil rights laws or closely associated with a protected class. For example, an Airbnb host may turn down a guest who wants to smoke in a unit, or place limits on the number of guests in a unit.“
I’m guessing all the people here who are asking why it’s a problem to let people smoke outside have never dealt with asthma, sensitivity to smoke, or the pain of doing extra cleaning after a smoker who reeks of the smell of smoke. As @Debthecat said, the smoke penetrates clothing and furniture and can be a huge trigger for asthmatics even if they aren’t directly around smoke. I once had to spend 3 days doing deep cleaning to remove the odor after a chain smoker stayed in my house and I’m not going to let any more guests damage my house or health again with toxic odors.
@E_S_MARK, I used to get outdoor smokers early on in my hosting days, but haven’t had one in a year ever since I made it clear in my first paragraph that no smokers are allowed at all (even if they smoke outside) and that their reservation would be cancelled if they are a smoker. I reiterate the no smokers rule in my acceptance message to guests, and I have a “no smokers allowed” picture in my listing since I know many guests only look at pics and don’t read.
Thanks for your information and the comment about putting a photo with “No Smokers…”
AirBnB has not said anything to you about this, I gather. You’re right, people don’t always read. I thought about saying “if you are a smoker, please consider a different location.”
I allow smoking outside and as we’re in South Florida, people often are outside so it’s no problem. But if it was an issue for me, I’d be inclined to put something right at the top of the listing such as ‘smoke-free environment’ or something. It could be that there are some guests with allergies who specifically look for that.
Smoke-free sounds a bit nicer ( ) than no smoking which sounds more like a command. If you use scent-free cleaning products too you can sell your place on its clean air environment. Turn it into a positive.
We put a park bench in the outside courtyard and a flowerpot full of sand for the butt’s about 3 meters from the guests door. Now guests sit outside to smoke and don’t stand in the doorway where the smoke blows back inside. Seems to work fine.
) than no smoking which sounds more like a command. If you use scent-free cleaning products too you can sell your place on its clean air environment. Turn it into a positive. 