Need help ASAP - 28 day guest one week in, broke 2 house rules

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Need help ASAP - 28 day guest one week in, broke 2 house rules.

I have a long-term guest. I don’t normally allow long bookings but winter is very slow so I extended the stays I allow.

Here’s the message I have written to send to him. I’m not sure if I should or not.

I don’t want to cancel his reservation but I really am concerned that I have a guest from outside the US on a work visa and now that he is getting mail, I could possible by on ICE’s radar. I should add that I’m a team leader of my local Indivisible Group so I’m probably already on their radar.

I really need our group of trusted hosts to advise me.

Hi XXX,

It’s come to my attention that you have broken an important house rule. Per my rules that you agreed to in addition to my including this info with the check in.

1`) RULE Please note that you may not have packages delivered except for food and medical needs and you can not bring in any electronics except for phones, iPads, computers unless pre-approved.

a) You mentioned after the fact, that you were having a credit card shipped to my home. I didn’t say anything and I would have approved this had you ask because I understood that it was important to you to get a replacement for a lost credit card.

b)Additionally, I have received two additional pieces of mail, one that has been recycled because I sometimes get mail from a previous owner by the same first name. and didn’t connect that you are having mail sent to you at this address. Then yesterday you got second piece of mail that I left at the front door, which you picked up.

This house rule is there because:

a) It prevents establishing residency in the state of Massachusetts and specifically this address.

B) Given your status as a nonimmigrant here in the US, I have a concern for my safety that I could have an unwarranted visit from ICE or Border Control Agents long after you are gone.

  1. And while we are talking about house rules, while we have discussed this verbally, and I have accepted a modification to my house rules below, you initially had a guest over and notified me AFTER the fact. You also

→ 1. Your reservation includes you and your GUEST ON YOUR RESERVATION for a maximum of 2 people sharing the king bed.

→ 2. No unregistered guests are allowed in the suite without prior approval. No infants or children under the age of 12 are never allowed in suite.

I have not requested that you provide details of this guest which includes name, address, age, and photo because I didn’t want to micro-manage your stay and understand that things happened that can be spontaneous but you also woke me up at 2:30 in the morning.

I haven’t decided how to end this.

Please let me know what you think and thank you.

Lynn

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TMI.

Guests who break house rules are bad guests and they need to leave.

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Item B - as an fyi - it wasn’t a typo to say nonimmigrant. That is the legal term for his visa work status

I’m really looking for advice. I don’t want to cancel his reservation. There are 3 more weeks. For the most part, he leaves at 7 am and gets home at 9 pm and then goes to bed plus he’s payment me for a weekly cleaning fee.

So I’m more worried about if I should even send this letter, let it go, or shorten it, etc.

Thanks.

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Just tell him that you cannot allow him to have any more mail sent to your address for legal reasons, and give him the location of the nearest rent-a-mail-box place. Further infractions will result in his stay being terminated.

Send this over AirBnB and call AirBnB to tell them you have warned him.

I’m presuming your fear of getting on ICE’s radar is worse than your fear of losing the rent for his stay.

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I agree with @PitonView. That draft letter has an unnecessarily harsh tone. Like some threat from a collection agency.

Just message him, in a straightforward, firm, but relaxed way, letting him know he has to respect your house rules if he wants to continue to stay- no mail delivery and no visitors.

As if he’s some young family member who came to stay and is ignoring how you told him to do things in your home.

And back it up with Airbnb, as suggested.

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Thank you. I was pretty sure I was being to wordy, etc. I appreciate the feedback.

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And of course if he tries to argue or responds belligerently or continues to do as he pleases, contact Airbnb right away and get them to cancel the booking. (And get an assurance that it won’t go down as a host cancellation)

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Is this any better?

Hi Daniel,

Moving forward, I wish to clarify a couple of house rules that you agreed to when you booked the suite regarding vistors and deliveries.

  1. VISITORS
    a. Your reservation includes you and your guest on your reservation for a maximum of 2 people sharing the king bed. Your reservation only has you listed and therefore only you can stay overnight in the suite unless pre-approval is sent and approved by host. Pre-approval requires the full name of guest, legal address, age, and photo of visitor and acceptance by the host prior to guest’s arrival.

b. No unregistered guests are allowed to visit the suite without prior approval. Guests not registered when booking are not permitted to have overnight stays unless pre-approved. Pre-approval requires the full name of guest, legal address, age, and photo of visitor and acceptance by the host prior to guest’s arrival.

  1. DELIVERIES
    a) You may not have packages delivered except for food and medical needs unless pre-approved.
    If you need to have mail sent to you, please purchase a USP mail box. Here’s the closest The UPS Store Saugus, 1268 C Broadway (Route 1) , Saugus, MA 01906.

Please respect our house rules if you wants to continue to stay - no mail delivery and no visitors.

Thank you,
Lynn and Mark

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If you are just repeating the house rules, you’re not clarifying. If he isn’t fluent in English, your message may not have the impact you want it to.

Make it shorter:
You only booked for one person. If you want anyone else to visit you at any time, you need to get my permission first.

You may not have anything other than food and medicine sent to you at our [home/property]. You need to use [Daniel XXX c/o Mark YYY] as the name on the package. If you need anything else sent to you, you canuse a nearby mailbox service. I’ll be happy to give you that address.

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Just a comment - telling them they can have food or medicine delivered to them opens the door for them lying to you about what’s in the package. I assume you allow GrubHub, Instacart, the local grocery stores, etc., to deliver, so maybe you just bar anything being delivered by the US post office or UPS/Fedex/DHL, etc.

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I would find the first part of your draft very confusing. “Your reservation includes you and your guest on the reservation” sounds like he booked for 2. Simplify per @PitonView’s draft.

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Candidly, if you have to do anything to explain the house rules that you already have, then you need to rewrite them for future guests. And if these guests have violated your house rules, simply send them the house rules that they violated. Then, either kick them out, or don’t mention it again. You should not negotiate shadings of your house rules.

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Well, one would have to assume that they actually read the rules. I write the house rules in a way to cover myself with airbnb.

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Deleted by poster. 202020

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Remember that not all the AirBnB CS reps speak English as their first language. And even the ones that do may have trouble with complicated language. Don’t use “legalese” on AirBnB. The rules should simple and clear. You can always give exceptions to the rules.
Your “no visitors” rule could simply be “Only registered guests are allowed on the property.” That’s all you need. If they ask to have a visitor, you can tell them the conditions.

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When dealing with support, I always make things as simple and clear as possible. No writing in paragraphs, use simple vocabulary, nothing extraneous that could draw their attention to the wrong issue. Use bullet points, outline things in chronological order.

On Jan. 10th, xxxx.

On Jan. 12th, xxxx.

My house rules, which I reiterate in messages with guests are…

Etc.

I’ve never had to contact them about a bad guest, nor anything urgent enough to necessitate calling rather than messaging, so I prefer messaging, as there is a written record of the exchanges, but I find when I communicate with them like that, although sometimes they are frustratingly dense, I usually get an acceptable resolution without too much grief.

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I think if there is any risk of getting on ICE’s radar the best call might be to get him out asap. What I hear of ICE over here in the UK is quite frightening and I’m not sure any rental income would be enough to balance out a real risk of drawing their attention.

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Life is so much more simpler as a UK host - no ICE agents turning up with loaded guns or concerns of guests gaining residency rights.

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I would mark the mail not at this address and drop off at post office.

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Go and talk to him if you live nearby.
What kind of world do you live in that fear of a visit from an ICE agent is the norm???