Noises worth noting?

I operate my Airbnb on the Big Island of Hawaii, where we have coqui frogs (same as Puerto Rico) that chirp at night. A recent guest commented that I should disclose that there is “noise from frogs” in my description. So I want to know, if a “noise” isn’t something unique to your space but may be unique to your area, do you disclose this “noise” and how do you go about it? I think Kauai has roosters all over- do they disclose? If you host in a rainforest do you disclose that it may rain?

The person gave me 3 stars and it is clear that she didn’t read my listing (there are 6ft ceilings throughout most of the unit, well she didn’t interpret the “most” part to mean “to a great extent” instead she interpreted it to mean " a small amount" and she ignored all the reviews from short people that said the ceiling height didn’t bother them but would bother someone over 5 ft 8in. Apparently, this woman was 6ft. tall…)

But nevertheless, I would like to see how you all address it?
I have a handbook in the unit that talks about coqui frogs, our chickens, and that they may see lizards… but nothing before they get to the Big Island.

If I were you I wouldn’t specify that there is frog noise. I believe this would set expectations that you specify all noises guests might here, which could cause complaints about “undisclosed” noises from chickens for example. If I were you I would say something like, “I am in a rural area. Guests are likely to hear noises made by animals.”

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6 ft ceilings would be illegal here for a living space. I am surprised that you were able to get a Certificate of Occupancy with that height.

As to the frogs, no. That is not a disclosure issue, but I do like @EllenN"s verbiage above. Covers the bases without being too specific.

I think I can cut and paste my answer from a different, recent noise thread:

Yes you should warn. Part of your success is based on managing expectations. Underpromise and overdeliver should be part of every Airbnb’s business plan.

Remember this isn’t about what is reasonable or what is common sense. Your listing information is to give the guest information and to CYA! I stayed in a Hilo listing 4 years ago with the frogs as well as the parrots they had in cages out back. I loved it. But for those other people, yes, tell them it rains in the rainforest!

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Laughing out loud here!!! Really? Rain? Rainforest? :wink:

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We’re grandfathered because our house is 100 years old. I have the letter from the planning department to prove it LOL! It is just the apartment under the main living area though, not the rest of the house. Unfortunately, I am not in a rural area, I’m in town. But the whole island is inundated with the frogs so ummm I think the board of tourism should disclose it on their website.

I never underestimate the stupidity of people under any circumstance. Double that if they are traveling to an unfamiliar place. You know, like the Americans who don’t understand that they speak French in France.

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The guests who just departed were astonished when their first AirBNB host didn’t realize that the UK was an island. “Like with water all around?”

They were so happy that we had actually traveled outside of the United States, like across an ocean. Of their 6 hosts, we were the only ones who had. And this is in New England where people are very likely to have traveled.

So, yea. They speak French in France. Even the dogs speak better French than most of us.

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I worked for a mainland company, and they had me relocate to Oahu from the Big Island. My moving coordinator said that they would rent me a Uhaul…and I said " but I am moving to another island" and they ( I am not kidding) said, " Aren’t there bridges?" :roll_eyes:

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Ummm, this is a tough one. I personally hate the frogs and we are fortunate our neighborhood is clear of them. (One pesky one is making noise a couple of doors down)…he will probably die over the winter if it would ever stop raining!

But anyway…

I think they are soooo very loud and the decibel level is off the charts… and because of that, it may need a delicately worded disclosure. I don’t think Ellen’s wording will quite work because as I understand it, you’re in town, where there are frogs. It’s not accurate to say rural.

How about…

Note: You may hear the call of the male coqui frog at night. They live in abundance on the Island, especially the East side. Some guests really love their calls but If you are sensitive, consider bringing ear plugs.

Also the ceiling thing… sheeze. You get that a lot. I guess you will have to disclose it more firmly somewhere up front.

We have a vintage home, more than 100years old. The ceilings are low (6feet) so please make sure our home is a fit before booking.

You could even put it in your house rules.

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It is in the house rules, and the second sentence of the listing, I also tell people in their ‘thank you for booking’ email. I think I am going to chalk it up to someone who was just miserable on this side of the island. She stayed in downtown Kona right before our place…and we are most certainly NOT Kona. We have a noise cancelling fan and earplugs for guests who are bothered by the noise. But I, do think it might help to that little coqui note.

I can’t help but think back to a thread I read about a woman with a Dragon themed home- the guests booked a place called the Dragon Dreams room, and the picture shows dragons…the review from one guest was " the dragon theme was a little weird." Can’t please everyone ALL the time.

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Are they seasonal in Hilo? They seem to die off or go quiet in the winter. I sure wish there were some predators!

year round, it is the odd night when it is cool enough for them to quiet down. I remember when they weren’t here yet and it was so nice! I hardly notice them anymore but we also sleep with a noise cancelling fan (the sound of the rain wakes my husband up… go figure!)

Who the heck goes to the Big Island and wants to stay in Kona?!

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That is too funny! We go over to the Kona side every couple of months. It is nice to get some sun when the rainy rainy season starts!

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Did you know we have opposite rainy seasons? that’s what our friend Storm says. It’s still raining a lot right now, a lot. I think it will switch very shortly.

Here’s what Storm wrote when I asked him why we were still so dry in February this year.

Aloha K. La Nina just ended in Jan. 2017. We are in neutral territory now with Harry pointing out in one Nino region has warmed up .32 I believe. It needs to get to .50 to be considered El Nino and there are other deciding factors that can’t be met until a certain amount of time goes by…

South Kona is a difficult place to get rain from outside sources. You are currently in your "dry " season Nov. to April opposite us on the east side. Your “wet” season April to Nov. is due to convection and runs from April to Nov. Almost all of your rain comes from this convection.

Occasionally a strong enough cold front will bring rain to Northern West side of the BI but amounts fall as you go south. One of the main reasons for this is it is hard to get low pressure inland there as the island acts as what I call a “natural high pressure” and prevents the cold front’s dynamics from moving inland or over the island from the west. the surrounding waters only record about 20-25 inches of rain per year. I hope this helps-Storm

I know Storm! I was a founder of HiCOP with him!

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I think he’s moved off… no pun intended. But I loved his weather reports. These guys are the best.

Storm is still here! They want to leave but he’s been saying that for the past year and no move so far.

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