How and whether to ask guests to leave?

1

Advice please. I’ve been doing airbnb on and off for two years. Never had a problem with multiple guests. 12 positive reviews, 4 and 3/4 star rating.

Situation: I accepted a reservation for a week stay from an older guy who wanted to stay here with his wife. First time using airbnb.

I emailed him yesterday to ask what time he was arriving because I had guests and needed time to clean. I reminded him that checkin time is 3 pm. No answer. Then he calls this morning and leaves a voicemail that they’ll arrive in 2 hours, basically 11:30 am. I call back and tell him room won’t be ready but he can leave bags. He says wife needs to change and I said that was fine but the sheets wouldn’t be clean etc.

Guy calls me later, he got lost. Has a hard time driving in the city.

They get here and they’re pretty weird. Guy starts walking around the house and looking at things, picking up books, picks up a guitar I have and starts playing it. Sees a Bible reference book I have and tells me he went to seminary for Unification church – he and his wife are cult members! Moonies!

I’m super uncomfortable now, I worked for a Moonie-owned organization and left on bad terms, publicly. They are some weirdos for sure. The wife changed in my living room instead of the bedroom – I told her she could go upstairs to change in the room even though I hadn’t vacuumed yet and she said she didn’t mind. I minded her being in her underwear doing makeup and hair in my living room, not to mention eating food on the couch instead of at the kitchen table.

Guy asks me for advice on using public transport. Turns into half hour long step by step explanation of how to use metro, how to get to station, where to park, how to get home. Guy doesn’t have a smart phone. I anticipate him calling me a lot instead of texting, he said he has a “simple” phone.

I’m concerned he might snoop around my bedroom if I’m not home while they stay here, he was so nosy about looking all around and using the guitar without asking.

Should I ask them to leave? How do you do that? Wouldn’t that be super awkward? Feel stressed out thinking about dealing with these people for a week when they’re clearly really dependent and don’t have gps on their phones.

I’m thinking about putting a lock on my bedroom door and going somewhere else to stay this week.

Advice please!

2

I put a lock on my bedroom door before my first booking.

More experienced hosts will give good advice and I am looking forward to reading their posts.

3

Sometimes you can tell that with some guests they are going to be high maintenance

  1. You tell your guests your check in is after 3 - they ignore you and turn up 4 hours early
  2. You tell your guests they can leave their bags, they ignore you wonder around the apartment and the female guest changes down to her underwear in front of you when she could have changed in the bathroom
  3. The male guest starts playing your guitar without your permission

You need to take some responsibility for not being firmer with these guests - why didn’t you tell her to change in the bathroom, them that the apartment wasn’t ready (you could have told a white lie and said it was occupied).

In your position i would call BNB and say the guests make you feel unsafe and uncomfortable because of your past association with this cult and ask for them to be rehoused.

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4

Will I be penalized if I do this? $100 fee etc?

I emailed some other hosts in the area with availability and asked if they would take the guests. Waiting to hear back. In the last 10 days I had a death in my family and that’s part of me being sensitive to this stuff I think – I need space to grieve so I’m hoping that suits the “exceptions” policy as well.

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I did tell her she could go change in the bedroom, to which she replied “Oh I don’t mind, it’s just you and my husband.” Was kind of flummoxed.

6

I have learned that you should start planning how to ask your guest to leave when: Your guest arrives, brings his bags to his room, comes downstairs, sits on the couch and as he is taking off his shoes and says, “Guess where I spent last night? In jail.”

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7

No - you don’t have to cancel. Ask BNB to cancel the guests because of their unreasonable behaviour and they make you feel unsafe. BNB will then try to find your guests an alternative.

I am sorry to hear about your loss Do explain that you have had a recent bereavement and need time to grieve.

As I mentioned before it doesn’t matter whether the guest feels comfortable changing in front of you. You don’t feel comfortable and it’s not normal behaviour. You could have said to her that you didn’t feel comfortable and insist she used the bathroom or bedroom.

I think it’s important as a host to have clear boundaries on behaviour or guests will walk all over you. Of course if you had only let them drop their bags as they arrived early - you wouldn’t have had to put up with this odd behaviour before check in.

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This is why I never let people drop bags off before checkin, they can’t help them self but start checking in. I do think they sound like weirdos and can see why you are uncomfortable. However, I don’t think they’ve done anything to warrant Airbnb supporting you to cancel. Does not mean you can’t, it’s your home as you should feel safe, might just mean you have to wear the penalty. If you really need the money, maybe go and stay with s friend for a few days?
I did get Air to cancel a guest group once, I still agreed to keep them for 1 more night after already putting up with them for 4 and it was a bit of a push to get air to take action. They had basically broken every single house rule I have & I don’t see your guests breaking any yet so you’ll have a hard time.
I’ve had some racists stay here and some extreme religious people, I’m neither & I just ignored it and focused on their good qualities. Some of the ‘nice’ ones are the
Guests who stole from me & broke stuff (& hid it) so sometimes it’s better the devil you know.

9

Definitely put lock on your door. I did it right away, and lock my room from inside when i am home, and from outside when i leave. One guest just opened my room, when i was resting and walked in.

My question is Do you feel unsafe with these guests, OR you just dont like them? I have an impression that you are just stressed about your future encounters with them.
I pesonally would not be bothered with wife changing in my living room, unless i am a guy. Whatever, if she is not shy, i am not shy either. Eating on a couch its a different story. I sent quite a bit of guests off that couch to the table.
Some people just have no common sense, they need to be told.

I kind of got a picture what these guests are. I dont know this word in English, but there is a very good word in my language for this kind people. Though these people act like this in a beginning but they pretty good of detecting when they pushed far enough, and then they stop.
But this is your call now.I would not have problems explaining to them how to get places, and do little things for them. I once had an older couple here who i had to cater for every single day. They had no phone. They used public transport, and asked me to pick them up form train station. Wife got sick, i went to the store, got her meds, and lemon. Then i googled for them all buses scheduled. Then they wanted a refund on one of the tours they did not like, and i did it for them. They spoke only Spanish, and though i do speak basic Spanish, they wanted to converse non stop. IT was a good practice for me:)

They were obviously saving money as much as they could. When they asked me to take them food shopping, i firmly said NO. I told them about few cheap restaurants within 2 min.walk and they started eating there.

If they are invading your house, going somewhere they are not supposed to go, tell them. There is a way to be nice and firm.