I had a guest inquire before booking if there were stairs. I found this odd since they had said they were coming to Vermont to go hiking. I thought, if they have to be concerned about climbing stairs, they’d really have a problem with the mountain trails in Vermont. But I let it go and, eventually, after a couple of more questions, I booked them. And then more questions came in. Did the room have windows? What? There’s a picture of the room in the listing. It’s also listed as a 200-year -old farmhouse. Even back then, houses had windows! She wanted to know if there was any mold since it was such an old house and she had allergies. She wanted to know if my pans were Teflon. Finally, I told her that a house as old as mine was bound to have issues. I asked her to please cancel the booking as I felt that we were not a good fit. Fortunately, she canceled but told me that she didn’t want me to think she was needy and difficult to please. I think I dodged a bullet on that one.
Too late, lady, too late.
If a host spent quite a bit of time making rules, then a guest will spend quite a bit of time reading it:). Simple rules takes 2 minutes to write down. I encountered listing with so many rules that I just skipped it. And the reason why I skipped these listing as I am always afraid to forget something and then have a host to be mad at me. In my experience guests rarely read any rules, that’s why I have 2 rules and I am not sure they read those also.
I prefer mostly hotels for the reason that it’s much easier to check in. Especially in cases where I have to meet a host at the property.
Some websites have apartments listed and I don’t even book those for the same reason.
In my opinion to ask about early check in is an innocent question that doesn’t deserve too much thinking over. Yes or no are equaly accepted. If a host wants to charge for it fine, if a host want to be a good guy even better.
No, the guest doesn’t. They just don’t bother to read them in most cases.
One problem is that Catherine Powell, the Global Head of Hosting, recently wrote in the forum: “House rules set and manage expectations for guests. For example, if you have a backyard pool, you might include a note that you make every attempt to keep the pool as clean as possible, but at times leaves and debris may end up on the surface. This can help guests understand why there may be leaves in the pool.” This “guidance” just makes house rules longer and pushes guests away from reading them even more than before.
I suspect this guidance is because the CS agents use the house rules and not common sense when refunding guests.
That had to be one of her most idiotic statements. Unless the pool is in the middle of the desert, if there are any trees around, of course there might be leaves in the pool. Do we need to warn guests that if it rains, the outdoor uncovered areas will be wet? That they might hear a bird chirping? That there could be a pebble or twig on the walkway?
And leaves in a pool is an explanation, not a house rule.
Doubt it. I’ve never had repeat guests either, but everyone has left 5* reviews, nice written reviews, and verbally made it known that they had a great stay. But I live in a destination beach town- people go somewhere else entirely on vacation the next year. You have the same kind of situation, I think.
No matter how much they enjoyed their time at your place, it’s a “been there, done that”- they want to have a new experience and see new places the next time they go on holiday.
Hosts get repeat guests if their guests come to visit friends or family in the area, come for work, or because there is an activity in the area they do on a regular basis, like go skiing or fishing.
Thank you for your thumbs up RR! It really is a mystery to us, all our guests are invited and welcome back at a book direct discount, except for the B$%^&^# who tried to scam us so wrongly and the girlfriend of a friends son who gave us 4*'s!
KKC, I think this may be the reason, it is always hard to duplicate something so fantastic that provides an alive and happy memory! “Maybe there are no return guests because it’s too special.”
Calendar availability could be it too, but we don’t have usually more that ten advance bookings these days.
I’ve noticed that some guests are quite talkative / maybe a little bit questing in their messages and I think it is because they are making the extra step to be known, but also to be accepted and that they hope to have found a friendly and receptive host.
A host that is racially profiling someone, for example, might be making them uncomfortable and the result is guests are reacting to that, either trying to be pleasing or just giving up and being sad and demanding guests.
this is a pattern for me as well. If they don’t book after the first set of questions, they are not worth hosting for me… such people have so many questions about the number of spatulas, pots, pans.
They can go somewhere else. The worst is even though I decline their inquiry, they still instant book.
Yes. Because of the stupid guidance from Airbnb, someone might include instructions on how to flush a toilet and how sometimes it makes a noise and can disturb the sleep of other guests in their group.
Guests will pretty soon stop reading all house rules with the stupid rules Powell wants us to write.
I need some help creating an illustration that shows why the deck around the pool may be wet. Can I show arrows from the sky to point how where the rain falls from? It can rain anytime of the year at the location of my listing, so I think I definitely need to include this in the house rules.
Definitely. You’re going to need a good graphic for that. I suggest also having an arrow coming from the pool as well, showing how water splashes out onto the deck when someone jumps into the pool.
You could also have your guests sign a waiver/contract attesting that:
- I understand that the pool is outside.
- I understand that there is not a roof over the pool.
- I understand that there are not any walls around the pool.
I had a guest who complained that she couldn’t use the pool because there were leaves in it (We have twice weekly pool care), by the time she contacted me about this issue was the 2nd last day that she was there! I had to explain that the pool net ( right next to the pool) was there for her to remove any debris that may have blown in. She argued that pool maintenance had not been there because it was the same leaf that had been in the pool since she arrived! 
I must be missing something. Is there some reason a guest can’t pick up a leaf that may be floating in the pool and remove it if it disturbs them so much to share the pool with a leaf? Are they as terrified of leaves as they are of an ant?
Gotta go now- I had to reschedule my entire day so I could make a sign mentioning that the doorknob may be warm to the touch when the sun is shining on it, and add the warning to my house rules, description, and Other Things to Note. And message my upcoming guest to reiterate, just in case it’s a deal breaker. 
But those are just interim measures until I crochet a doorknob cover.
I don’t know what is wrong with people 
For the last couple of days, I have been searching for a house with a pool for our summer vacation. I have been voraciously reading the house rules hoping to find someone who has added something about there possibly being leaves in the pool.
and fat lizards that might look like a rat if your eyesight is compromised can bite you if you pick them up 
I don’t know if Virgil and I are demanding guests. I have ended up asking a lot of questions before we’ve booked Airbnbs. I thought it was because the listings weren’t very complete.
We need to know whether there are any steps (and how many), whether the bed is king-sized, whether the bathroom is en suite, and (depending on the season) whether there’s air conditioning. Also whether parking is near the Airbnb entrance, on fairly level ground. And whether there’s a walk-in shower.
No place we’ve booked has ever specified all those things in their listing. They all required a number of questions. I hope hosts didn’t think we were being fussy.
As long as you ask questions in an organized manner with language easy to read, it’s fine by me. I don’t like guests asking questions every few hours, in SMS language, or with lots of typos.
If I can’t meet any of your needs, I will tell you that my listing is not a good fit.
My OP was about a guest who could have easily asked that she wanted an early check-in AND late check out in the first set of questions. But she did not. She asked about it when I could no longer deny her inquiry.
Asking a host to provide things that are not in the listing after booking is like holding the host to ransom. The host cannot cancel the booking due to penalties and denying these requests puts the host in an uncomfortable spot due to fear of a bad review. Not all of these guests will give a bad review but I have received 3 and 4* reviews from guests who did not get early check in.
I prefer no booking over unhappy guests. Usually another guest will come along who doesn’t have specific requirements about spatulas, pillows, double paned windows; so I prefer not to host people who have specific needs since providing for such specific needs is not my hosting style.
I appreciate and like it when guests ask questions.
Honestly, all the things you mentioned you ask about seem to me to be basic information that should be made clear in the listing info, so those aren’t fussy questions at all.
I see all these listings where the hosts have listed all the attractions in their area, and waxed lyrical about how great their place is, yet neglect to mention the most basic of information that guests would want to know.
I agree… most guests don’t read the rules. It might not be as big a deal if the host is living in the same building where you can deal with things as they come up, but when you’re handing over your whole house to someone it is important that the rules are understood and accepted. It’s better for both the host and guests to know in advance to avoid “surprises”.
My rules state that after a booking is accepted they need to send me their direct contact info so that they can sign and send back our policies, and that they have 48 hours to cancel their booking.
The group coordinator for my last guests sent me her email address right away and I sent the policies. I’ve never seen such poor communication. They booked about a month in advance and I could not get her to answer through Airbnb, email, text or even phone. After a couple of weeks of daily reminders, I told her that I wouldn’t give them the access information until this was complete. She finally apologized and said that she was very busy. I asked for a different group contact for me to work with that had time to deal with it… no answer on that until the day of their arrival. It was VERY frustrating.
Though she signed the policies it was clear they weren’t read or distributed to others in the group. They didn’t respect the hot tub hours (which can get noisy at night), used 2 extra parking spots and had extra guests. The stove was disgusting and took about 20 minutes of scrubbing to get it clean (we ask it to be left in the same condition).
I’m still trying to figure out what to write in her review.
Regarding asking for early check-in or check-out, I will try to accommodate up to 2 extra hours only if we don’t have back-to-back bookings and it doesn’t affect the cleaning schedule.
But guests arriving early has been such an issue! Even 10 minutes makes a huge difference when there are 4 people cleaning (40 minutes of lost cleaning time). Last month part of a group arrived 10 minutes early and just walked in with a bunch of questions (which are covered on our listing and hosting app). Then when others arrived 5 minutes after check-in time they were angry that the house wasn’t ready. It’s stressful for whomever has to deal with it.
I now tell guests that their access code will only start working at X:00pm, and that the cleaners will not answer the door due to the disruption causing the house to not be ready for their arrival time. It sounds harsh but nothing else has worked until stating that. Cleaners aren’t there to deal with questions.
Last year… when pushed, I told a guest (also a host) that insisted on arriving an hour early with kids that we would clean the important things first - beds, bathrooms, kitchen, vacuum - and when they arrived the cleaners would stop and they could take the house “as is” as long as we weren’t dinged for cleaning. Things like dusting, mopping etc might not be done. She opted to arrive at our normal check-in time.
I seldom get a lot of questions. This is probably because I try to anticipate any questions that might be asked and either say something in the listing text, or show it in the picture.