[It's escalated; cops involved.] Guests breaking the rules; how do I ask them leave and cancel their stay?

They will withold it from future payments if they decide to refund. You need to keep dialogue open and keep getting reciepts, etc and you need to file a claim. You should get paid as they blocked your calendar and they have, in effect, violated their contract with you. You should also be paid for damages.

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Make the claim anyway.

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AIRBNB has dealt directly with my guests in the past. I didnā€™t HAVE to message the guests first this was during 2018 summer. AIRBNB also assisted in getting a guest to pay over $300 damages & another time AIRBNB reimbursed me over $60 for damages when a guest refused to pay it. I am very careful to document everything immediately.

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One of the frustrating things about dealing with Airbnb seems to be their unpredictability and capriciousness, based on what people post here. But we have no way of knowing who isnā€™t telling the truth in their tales of woe anyway.

Just in principle I think itā€™s best if Airbnb hosts deal with problems themselves as much and often as possible. Airbnb is a booking and payment platform. Anything else you get out of them is a bonus. Airbnb should be the last resort if there is a problem, not the first resource, IMHO.

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I went back and forth with them on email and on phone 1x, and finally gave up. The way it was laid out to me: I should take more precautions to avoid something like this from happening again. I didnā€™t know what other precautions I could take. I wrote the strictly non-smoking policy in the property description on Airbnb; I put a sign in the property; I wrote it in the house manual; I wrote it in the check-in instructions email. I think these are sufficient precautions.

The CS asked me to check my guests in personally and asked them to sign a contract, which include the non-smoking clause and penalty, or collect a deposit. Then when they check out, I also must be there to inspect the unit or to return the deposit.
For me, this is not logistically possible as I hold a full time 9-5 job.

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I donā€™t know what proximity you live to your AIRBNB, I live right next door & Iā€™m disabled. To prevent confrontations that are distressing to me I go through AIRBNB, when I started on AIRBNB they strongly encouraged this to prevent altercations, especially when home sharing, which is how I began, letting guests Stay in my guest room. Guests also would contact AIRBNB first & AIRBNB would contact me about issues & we (AIRBNB & I) were able to resolve issues that prevented escalation, guests that hadnā€™t properly read the rules thinking they were entitled to things they werenā€™t & guests listen to AIRBNB more than they will Hosts usually. Itā€™s similar to why we go through our Community Services Police Officer instead of directly to our next door neighbors. This isnā€™t the way it was when I grew up in my town (where I still live) but itā€™s how you avoid getting your car keyed, house egged, etc.

What a ridiculous response from Airbnb. Tweet something about it? ā€œAirbnb told me I personally had to have guests sign a written contract at check-in if I want them to follow the no-smoking house rule, otherwise claims for smoke damage are not accepted.ā€

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Sorry to hear youā€™ve had these distressing experiences. This is outside my realm of experience as a teacher for 28 years and as a dog sitter and Airbnb host in retirement. Interesting you mention house egged, and car keyed as I just posted about that in another thread. All of us are shaped by our experiences and mine must be outside some norm.

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Oh, also, Iā€™m next door as well. Itā€™s my guest room and I just put in a door to separate their space and mine together with giving them their own entrance.

I find it unreasonable too, but I let it go. I pray my future guests are all non-smokers :slight_smile:

Having used Airbnb for a number of years, longer as a guest and recently as a host, I have always find Airbnb (or any booking platform for that matter) to side more with guests than with hosts. For example, I recently had a booking cancelled by the host just 3 days before my arrival. Airbnb immediately issued a VERY generous voucher to cover any future booking. I was able to use that voucher for a much better property at a much better location than I had originally booked.

If you have a negative balance on the Airbnb side, in my experience it means they will deduct that amount from the next bookings. I would contact CS and ensure you have documentation on that and be sure you have submitted for reimbursement of damages.

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Sorry for the problems you experienced - my take on the sitrep is to hang AirBNB out to dry, they take enough bucks out of you and hardly do a thing to assist when issues ariseā€¦in the main it is basically ā€˜computerisedā€™ and even when you actually talk to someone if the issue is not on their list they are confused or not sure what to do, but pass it onā€¦so pathetic when they say ā€™ we are here to help you and we can resolve this issueā€™ when in fact they have no clueā€¦just a script reader!
While we have had only experienced very mild issues, mainly due to cancellations - and I tell them everything from the moment they step inside (we live in the house also) we are seriously thinking of getting out of hosting - at least with Airbnb -
I hope this is sorted for you

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Please understand that my comments are not aimed at anyone, and are somewhat tongue in cheek:

Anyone here secretly happy that hosts leave airbnb for reasons like ā€˜not wanting to be called too late at nightā€™ or ā€˜I gave in to the guestā€™s requests and now I am contriteā€™?

Seems to me that this Darwinism works for the remaining hosts - guests who are happy you will take their calls for questions, or clearly understand that house rules are inviolate, will be good guests in the future? Or at least be grateful that they are not dealing with hosts that are unclear or angry?

As I said, not really serious BUT in a way, seems to me that being a host who can put themselves in the guestā€™s shoes will eventually be the most successful onesā€¦

Please do not shoot me!

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I donā€™t allow smoking & now I also have to begin forbidding Vaping. Vaping does more permanent damage to paint, upholstery & especially carpet & more fabrics. I guess I will have to write up the no smoking/no vaping contract & damage fees, I do personally check my guests in, but rarely see them the day they depart.
I guess Iā€™ll have to call AIRBNB to make sure Iā€™m doing what I need to do to protect myself financially and my property from damages or expensive professional cleaning fees.