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As this thread progresses I am adding the changes suggested and posting the ‘latest’; please scroll down to see, as this version has changed a LOT:
We prefer guests who will be comfortable with these house rules. Please read them carefully and consider before booking. Please do NOT book my home if you feel that any of these rules are going to impact your stay negatively, because I cannot offer ‘exceptions’ to them.
This is a quiet place for reading, surfing the net, and sleeping; We prefer folks who are out and about during the day.
No smoking or vaping inside or outside
No shoes in the house or your room. Shoes REQUIRED outside, remove them when coming back in.
No food or drink in the room. Food or drink are allowed the kitchen only .
Only confirmed guests are allowed on my property. ‘Visitors’, deliveries, and 3rd party bookings are not allowed. Everybody on the reservation must read and agree and abide by the house rules. Parties, animals, immature or insensitive guests are prohibited. No illegal activities anywhere on the premises or property.
You have access to your room, the kitchen area, and the bathroom assigned to your room ONLY. We share the public areas; please be considerate of sleeping guests.
So, basically, no men. Seriously, though, there isn’t really a clear definition of this, so enforcing it is entirely subjective. You should remove this and put it what you really mean to say, if anything at all.
What’s this all about? I’d just leave this house rule as “No shoes indoors.” (That’s kind of nuts that a host would tell me what I’m allowed or required to wear outside their house? Do you also check the length of my skirt and how much makeup I put on? )
Change to “No smoking or vaping anywhere on the property.” The whole rest of the world exists outside your listing. Surely there’s somewhere “outside” they can smoke without your approval
Also, TOS require that guests educate the rest of their group on house rules. You could remove that line unless you really feel the need to re-state it.
We prefer guests who will be comfortable with these house rules. Please read them carefully and consider before booking. Please do NOT book my home if you feel that any of these rules are going to impact your stay negatively, because I cannot offer ‘exceptions’ to them.
This is a quiet place for reading, surfing the net, and sleeping; We prefer folks who are out and about during the day.
No smoking or vaping anywhere on the property
No shoes in the house or your room.
No food or drink in the room. Food or drink are allowed the kitchen only .
Only confirmed guests are allowed on our property. ‘Visitors’, deliveries, and 3rd party bookings are not allowed. Parties, animals, immature or insensitive guests are prohibited. No illegal activities anywhere on the premises or property.
You have access to your room, the kitchen area, and the bathroom assigned to your room ONLY. We share the public areas; please be considerate of sleeping guests.
Lose the capitals, they make you look ranty and immature.
Put a few “please” and “guests are requested to” in there so as not to make it look like a list of “orders vich must be obeyed mein fuhrer”
I’d also refer to them as house guidelines rather than house rules (I hate that people call them rules, makes it sound like guests are at school).
People are much more open to being asked to do things than told and you will come across as a much more approachable & less combative host too.
I am conflicted about this. Yes, you are right, but they are in a section called ‘house rules’ on airbnb and are sometimes grounds for kicking out a guest. Better wording?
Hi Rolf
House rules are a great idea for clarifying what you do and do not allow in your property - but remember these are your guests and you want to make them feel as welcome as possible. Be clear, but be cheery!
The first few lines are a bit too wishy-washy and long winded- “We prefer guests who will be comfortable with these house rules etc etc”
Instead keep it concise e.g - “Hi guys - please ensure you have read and are happy with our house rules, we would be grateful if you could confirm this prior to booking our property.”
Please remove outdoor shoes before entering the property.
Please do not vape or smoke anywhere on the property.
Please do not take food or drink into your room.
Please do not bring any pets
Please note this property isn’t suitable for parties!
For your safety and ours we only allow confirmed guests.
No illegal activities should be a given, there should be no illegal activities anywhere anyway? As the others have said it’s difficult to offer a vague “No insensitive or immature guests,” how would you police that?
You could add a spiel that describes who the property is ideal for - e.g.
“Our property is ideal for those who enjoy quiet pursuits such as reading, and relaxing. There are some great attractions nearby and we would encourage you to explore during the day.”
You can’t really tell folks you prefer them to go out! That would be difficult to enforce once they have paid their money.
Hope that gives you some food for thought, good luck!
I like very much @iGMS’s approach.
I will actually borrow a few rules for myself.
I actually allow guests to smoke on my patio, should they chose so.
Using please and outlining what they can do sounds positive. Don’t sounds negative. I also don’t particularly like people who come to my own house, where I live, and sit all day indoors, but I’ve got some grad students who had to study and only went out in the evening, so I went out instead. I did shopping, went to the gym, gardening.
As much as I love people who are out of the house during the day we can’t enforce them going out. Guest have their own schedule and we must respect that.
Thanks Adrienne12. Totally with you - err on the positive side rather than the negative! Hosting isn’t always a blast, but fingers crossed you can come through it unscathed and with a bit of money in your pocket too!
Please ensure you have read and are happy with our house rules We would be grateful if you could confirm this prior to booking our property.
This is a quiet place for reading, surfing the net, and sleeping; We prefer guests who are out and about during the day
Please do not smoke or vape anywhere on the property
Please, no shoes in the house or your room.
Please do not take food or drink into your room
Only confirmed guests are allowed on our property. ‘Visitors’, deliveries, and 3rd party bookings are not allowed. No parties, no pets.
You have access to your room, the kitchen area, and the bathroom assigned to your room only. We share the public areas; please be considerate of sleeping guests.
ROLF: Can you please give us the weblink to your Airbnb rental listing.
I am curious what your rental property looks like. It sounds like a university dorm room or a house that has been divided into several small-unit bedrooms.
my 90 year old house is set up for business travelers. I have 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, and I am within walking distance of a major train line, 2 mins from major highway, and prefer not to have tourists (mainly because very few want to come to this area).
I’m going to disagree. “Please” an “guest are requested to” make things seem optional, turning rules into guidelines for the guests that want to break them.
Seriously, though, there isn’t really a clear definition of this, so enforcing it is entirely subjective. You should remove this and put it what you really mean to say, if anything at all.
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