House Rules Recommendations?

61

Evian,

I like some of the phrasing, and the humour… but I think it leaves the door WAY too open for guests to push it! I believe it also sounds a bit wishy washy and would allow guests to think it’s OK to bring pets, extra guests or sleep through check out, only because you’ve planted the seed in their minds that it’s OK as long as they ask. Most likely they will remember the OK part and forget the “ask” part.

Also, some of the phrasing is just too “goofy” for some international guests, and may totally get lost in translation. Keep it simple is my motto. I am firm and direct in my rules so I don’t get any misunderstandings. I do this after six years of hosting… so there has been a lot of trial and error!

I try to state things positively.

“Only your approved party allowed on the property” as opposed to: “Absolutely no strangers or additional guests allowed.” And especially not: “More people are probably OK, but just ask, we’re reasonable folk.” NO!!! Wow, that would really open a can of worms!!! Expose you to liability and security issues and all the rest. You didn’t screen those extra people, you aren’t covered by Air if those “strangers” you tacitly approved do something to your property!

Here’s another example:

Quiet time is 10Pm. This is our neighborhood curfew hour and must be respected. Please, no loud parties at any hour, as this is a very quiet neighborhood.

Evian, you may not have had the experience of confronting a nightmare guest who has brought strangers over with the intent to drink, get loud, party, smoke pot and get sh*t-faced on your property. It’s crazy stressful and nervewracking. Taking over your house as it were, leaving you feeling helpless! Calling AirBnB, pacing around while they try to calm you. Wanting to do something to get them out, but feeling so helpless.

You have to be clear on the rules, not wishy washy.

That said, I do like some of your phrasing and might steal a few lines. :wink:

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62

I have to agree with you, Kona. The rules are so wordy - I’d never get to the end of them. I think something in between is best - firm with a soft coating. Such as with additional guests - just “Only registered guests on the property, please”. If they really need to have a friend, they will ask.

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63

Hi @konacoconutz,

Those are all valid points.

In an ideal world, we wouldn’t be ‘softening’ our clearly-intended house rules. We would be clear, explicit and exactly to the point of what we do and do not tolerate.

Only you as a seasoned and experienced Airbnb host will know what is right for your listing - you know your guests, you know your neighborhood, and most importantly, it’s your place!

Therefore all of the suggestions above are purely that… suggestions.

Use these as a starting point to either ‘go harder’ or ‘go softer’, or at minimum, seek inspiration for the type of categories you may wish to develop house rules for. If you are fortunate, you are the type of host that may not actually need to provide any house rules at all.

The most important thing Airbnb hosts need to remember when listing house rules is that for better or worse, they provide little inherent remedy in and of themselves should they be broken. Their primary purpose is to establish your expectations upfront, so there are no surprises down the track.

Should you have a problematic guest, you will most likely need to rely on other forms of remedy with your rules being simply supportive evidence for these options.

As a secondary consideration (and one less critical for long-time hosts like yourself who probably receive a good influx of booking requests), when guests are presented with a sea of alternatives – many of which do not have house rules – the tendency to simply dismiss any listings with house rules may seem like a natural part of their selection filtering process.

At the end of the day, 99% of guests are unlikely to eventuate into real problems that need dealing with.

Unfortunately we all have our ‘horror story’ guests. I hope these remain the exception and not the rule.

As you and @dcmooney rightfully point out, the best outcome is striking a balance between explicit rules with a soft coating.

Please see these merely as inspiration and come back to the community with the phrasing of your rules that work best for you - I’d love to hear what’s worked!!

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64

Yana, we always ask guests if they are planning to cook oily or strong smelling food when we’re reviewing their request. We indicate that deep fried foods, strong smelling foods such as curries, fried fish, etc will not be okay. You could try that and see if it works for you. As Kona pointed out, I never understand why people want to go on vacation and cook up a storm either! I had one guest say they wanted to do “basic cooking” and asked if I had pots, pans, a rice cooker, oil and a multitude of spices. That’s basic cooking? lol

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65

Kirsty, I also have a very strict rule that’s highlighted in bold that says please do not wear shoes inside the house. Yet invariably I will come home and see a clear dirty shoe print on the floor. I get so enraged when I see that. Has that ever happened to you?

66

neither can I and we have recently had guests who took over the kitchen every night…its winter our price is already half of what it is in summer!

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67

Yes it has, :frowning:

From now, when someone requests to book I’m going to nicely ask them to read our house rules first.

68

At my son’s dorm in Tokyo, it was a ¥2000 fine to walk on the dorm floor in shoes. They are serious about no shoes inside! (Although they didn’t even notice or care when the hardwood floor got a deep scuff from his rolling office chair. Go figure.)

69

Ackkk! Maybe you should ban cooking altogether as Yana eventually did. I mean, you are on holiday in England for cryin out loud. Go get a pint in a pub and have a shepard’s pie!

Yana might be able to tell you whether banning cooking of all kinds affected her bookings or whether it didn’t really. I think it’s a real imposition on the host personally and if I did home sharing, it’s something I’d never allow.

70

Actually i have more bookings since then:). I do not feel it effected my bookings. I get occasionaly someone who still asks for cooking. I had this vegan couple who just wanted to steam veggies. Oooo, okey, i let them.
Then i had a couple who just wanted to fry eggs, i let them too. But at least its my choice whether let them or not. Before it was a given.

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71

I am on instant book, there is no prior conversation. I eliminated kitchen from amenities all together

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72

I think I might do the same!

73

Guest Rules

  1. Please let me know your estimated time of arrival and departure and keep me updated. I want to greet you and introduce you to Jacob, my dog.
  2. Only registered guests are allowed on property. If you want to have guests join you, please arrange with me.
  3. I like to keep the gates and outside doors locked as a security measure. While the Fan is one of the safest areas of town, I want to ensure every guest-stay remains problem free. Please keep valuables out of sight and car doors locked.
  4. Please be aware that noises; high-volume music or talking, downstairs, sound very loud in the upstairs apartment.
  5. This is a non-smoking household. You may smoke or vape in the small open house in yard. There are chairs and an ashtray and trash receptacle for your use.
  6. Use the kitchen for light cooking only (salads, sandwiches, boiling eggs, pasta, warming up stuff etc.) Please, no frying!
  7. Wash dishes and leave on drain. Please wipe down counters and wipe up spills on floor. Thank you for not leaving food in refrigerator, when you go home.
  8. A surefire way to disrupt an enjoyable stay is a plumbing problem! Toilet paper only, in toilet, please. There are brown bags in cabinet for disposal of sanitary and other personal items, before placing in trash can.
  9. Deposit trash in baskets. Rinse and place recycling in blue bin outside the back door.
  10. If you have a dog with you, please supervise in yard and pick up after her. Do not leave dog in yard or in the house for extended periods, without arranging with me to do so.
  11. Guests will have the use of one off-street parking space. On-street parking is restricted to one hour, except weekends.
  12. Bicycles may not be stored in front yard, downstairs areaway nor chained to iron fence in front yard. They may be taken through the side gate.
  13. Please take your possessions home! Double check; pull back sheets and look under bed. Do you have your towels, wallets, etc?
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74

I love the friendly playful tone of your rules. It reflects your personality and help guests feel welcome.

I would change the sheet-stripping rule simply to say ‘ensure you have all personal belongings before checking out. We cannot be responsible for items misplaced or left behind.’

Honestly, I’ve stayed as a guest in places where I was asked to strip the bed before I leave, and I found it off putting. I’m not paying to do the housekeeping here.

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75

And you never quite know just what stains may be on that bright white mattress cover even after washing and bleaching it…

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76

That’s one of the things I ask of guests. Not all do it; but most do, and no one has complained. it’s a quick thing and isn’t too much to ask.

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77

This is very helpful. I had stopped with the sheet business some time ago.

However, yesterday I was tired and a bit weary of my current guests, and in reaction to what my they were doing went on my listing and hammered (and I mean hammered) out a bunch of new rules. But I think it’s a mistake to shape an attitude or rules around what one guest does. Your comments about the friendly, playful tone prompt be to return and lighten it up a bit. Meanwhile same guests are cooking my family dinner tonight - so -bonus!!

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78

I’ve been guilty of this in the past. One time someone clomped down the stairs with their luggage and made a ruckus. Another time some European guests put briquettes in the gas BBQ and lit it, ruining the BBQ. I realize most people won’t do this… so it’s probably a good time to take them out of the “guidelines.”

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79

I know!! I once had some guests leave the house with the window wide open, in November, with the space heater still on. I sat right down at the computer and made a nice little sign with a hot/cold graphic and everything, and put it in a little frame on the window sill. Then I realized - ugh - a little over reaction. We could drive our selves crazy trying to ‘legislate’ everything.into perfection.

Or the time a toilet got plugged up so spent a lot of time coming up with my ‘3P toilet’ sign only to find out that, for my Japanese guests I was inviting them to some risky business in my WC, and my British friends would be looking for a little slot into which they should put their ‘3p’!!

I used to try to really restrict the use of heaters and then realized that some will, some won’t, and it’s not worth freaking out about.

Thank God most guests are amazing. The last group I had was a professor and his wife, from China. They were so, so, so quiet that they were at breakfast at a table on the other side of the kitchen and I forgot they were there. These Indian guests have made me a bit crazy with the cooking, but have been very pleasant and interesting to talk to and tonight made us dinner.

What an adventure, for sure for sure.

80

House rules can be long enough without adding puns, proverbs and reasons behind the rules.
You will risk guest getting bored and not getting through the entire list.

No need to explain, your house, your rules.

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