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I was not sure what people normally do in instances like this, not a huge deal but wanted some opinions.
One of our guests pulled onto the grass/near a shared pathway to park their car. It had just rained and the grass is thin/mossy/sandy so I’m a bit worried about damage. The driveway can easily fit 6 cars so them pulling onto the grass was unnecessary. I did notice this from our camera that points out at the driveway/side of the house.
I wasn’t sure if it’s normal to reach out to the guest and let them know our camera got pinged that a car was near the side of the house, and to please park on the
driveway. Or do I wait and see IF there is damage and just include in a review? I’m a new host too so trying to get my footing on situations like this. I appreciate any feedback!
I would wait first to see if there was any damage before contacting guest. It’s possible that the person parked at night and didn’t notice that their tire was on the grass. Hopefully, the person will move it today.
Thank you! I was thinking the same. Not that this was a big deal but more so just made me start thinking if something similar happens what the normal process would be.
Perhaps if it becomes necessary to bring this up to your guest you could say something like “please take care when parking that you stay on the driveway” without mentioning cameras etc? It could have been that you walked by your property (or your landscaper did) and saw this?
Guests LOVE CCTV when they are used to their advantage (prowler on their property, seeing who stole their Amazon package, justice when sideswiped overnight) but become righteous when THEY are caught by cams.
Remember that we’re all different and that there really isn’t a ‘normal’ in situations like this.
Many times I’ve had to mention to guests that something they are doing isn’t acceptable and 99% of the time, the guest has been apologetic. You might find that it’s the same in this case.
I always mention stuff to guests (mainly because the president of our HOA lives next door to one of our rentals) and guests don’t seem to mind if it’s done in a friendly way.
For instance “Hi Amy, can I ask you a favour? I probably forgot to mention that the pathway at the side of the house is shared and I noticed that you’d parked there last night. I wonder if you could make sure that you park on our driveway? There’s always plenty of room. Thanks so much. Hey, how was your fishing trip yesterday?”
Trouble is, the last time I asked guests about their fishing trip they gave me some of the fish they’d caught … and we are vegetarian. The local stray cats had a great time.
Put parking directions and a picture in your listing. “Please park on the driveway just here (and insert image with an arrow) and not on the grass. Thank you.”
If you have not disclosed the cameras on your listing, then even if there is damage, do not say anything. Undisclosed cameras (even outside) can get your STR shut down. I’m sure that there are previous posts in this forum about what happens.
Cameras are visible and disclosed to guests. It was the first time we ran into seeing the driveway pretty much wide open and someone instead drive up and park entirely on grass/near a walkway that other neighbors can use.
But again, since I only saw through the cameras, and without it seeming like we are just watching them (which we don’t), I wasn’t sure if it’s common to acknowledge something a host sees on the cameras to their guests.
I would give the guests a head’s up. What if they come and go and keep tearing up your landscaping?
No need to mention the cameras, just send a reminder about the designated parking area. “Dear Guest, we hope you are enjoying your stay. As a reminder, please park your car on the driveway. No need to worry as you come and go; there is plenty of space.”
Are they concerned about being blocked in given the configuration? If so, you need to figure out how to address that.
Concur about having signage or other indicators. I have an arrow sign for “Visitor Parking” that I got on www.myparkingsign.com
With the generic sign, I am still in compliance with my local STR regs not to have advertising signage on the residential property. I just zip tied it to a a sawhorse in front of the garage.
I have our cams set up to send a notification if they detect motion. Then I get a link to the recorded activity. Sometimes it’s a coyote or a rabbit. We don’t sit around staring at our camera feeds. Do you? Well, one time our guest drove in with a really nice Corvette. I stared a while.
