Recent guest broke a house rule, 'Please do your best to be quiet after 10p.m. as our bedroom window is right next to where you park your car. We have a studio we rent at the back of our. This guest was talking on the phone, right next to our window at 12:30 a.m. We could hear the entire conversation. I gave her 4 stars on obeying house rules.
We’d like to know if other hosts tell guests, in their reviews private conversation, which rule they broke?
I think it’s best to remind them of the house rules when they first book and then again at check in. I would also post a little sign in the studio.
Did you mention it privately to her when you reviewed her?
2 Likes
“Please do your best…” isn’t exactly a rule though so I think it could have been a little harsh.
I don’t have a house rule about noise but I do insist on quiet hours (between 10 pm and 8 am) and have thrown a couple out who were having a noisy conversation, outside, at 3am.
In that case, it was important to throw them out as the entire (tiny) complex of 12 apartments could hear the conversation which at that time in the morning was ridiculous.
But I tend not to mention things to guests if they aren’t being a nuisance to others. For instance, not taking that garbage out when they leave is no big deal.
What is important though is to say which house rules were broken in the review. Reviews that say “broke house rules” or “better suited to a hotel” and so on are no good to future hosts.
Because we all have different hosting standards it’s better to be specific. If a review mentions that a guest was noisy, that bothers me. If it says that there was mascara on the pillowcase, that doesn’t bother me. We’re all different.
5 Likes
I can imagine a guest interpreting “please do your best to be quiet after 10 pm” as a suggestion only, or meaning no loud music, etc.
Talking loudly on the phone right outside your bedroom window at 12:30 am is just plain rude, regardless of house rules. So many people seem oblivious to that these days, carrying on loud phone conversations in public places like restaurants. I’ve been on flights where before or after take-off, passengers have done this, when you don’t even have the ability of moving away from them. And not just a brief, “Yeah, we just landed, I’ll wait for you outside the arrivals gate”, but full on 10 minute conversations complete with hysterical laughter, while everyone around them is hot and crammed in, waiting to be allowed to deplane. Totally self-absorbed behavior.
3 Likes
Thank you for your feedback. I guess I need to change “try your best” I suppose I wrote it that way because it is where they park their car and sometimes it’s hard to close car doors quietly. I did not tell her we could hear her talking on the phone.
1 Like
I did not mention it to her. Just gave her 4 stars. On all of her previous reviews, she was 4 stars for house rules. Perhaps telling her specifically wouldn’t have helped??
1 Like
I think you’re being too nice. And there’s nothing wrong with that. 
Noise is such a hard thing to deal with. I had once had a guest who caused a neighbour to complain to me about the noise. It wasn’t nighttime and it wasn’t music. She just had a really loud and obnoxious laugh.
I told the neighbour that I refused to tell someone off for enjoying herself by laughing in the middle of the afternoon. Once I said this, the neighbour agreed.
But it was an obnoxious laugh!
3 Likes
Did she sound like Janice from Friends? LOL
2 Likes
Actually, it was worse!
1 Like
Guests can’t see the star ratings they are given. So if all her past hosts refrained from mentioning her ignoring of house rules to her, and didn’t mention it in the written review, how would she know her behavior isn’t acceptable?
2 Likes
I did not know that! Good point.
That is one reason why it is important for your written review of a guest to match the star ratings you give them, because hosts who do not use instant book also can’t see the star ratings.
It is a disservice to non-IB hosts to leave low stars but a written review that makes the guest sound fine. In addition to the guest not realizing they did anything objectionable.
1 Like
Thank you so much! You have done such a great job answering my question.
I would also add that just because a guest broke a house rule, they don’t necessarily need to be called out in the review for it, or docked stars. Sometimes a guest is well-intentioned, they just didn’t realize something, especially if they are newbies or young. It’s okay to give a guest the benefit of the doubt and educate them privately if you sense that it will make a difference in their behavior in the future.
My second guest ever arrived with her boyfriend, even though my listing states it is for one guest. But she was totally new to Airbnb, and simply didn’t realize she couldn’t share her room with someone. And as I was a new host, I didn’t think to make sure when guests requested to book that they understand it is for 1 guest only. They were sweet kids and I let them both stay, and just let her know that was an Airbnb no-no, and that while I wouldn’t give her any bad review over it, since she really wasn’t aware, other hosts very well might, or turn her away at the door.
1 Like
this has been discussed a few times and seems to be different for some.
I can see star ratings on my guests.
I have 3 listings, I do IB on one of them, but not the other 2. I’ve currently got an expired enquiry (withdrawn) from a week ago on our non_IB cottage and i can still see the guest’s reviews and ratings across 4 categories.
2 Likes
I would open the window and ask them to move or hang up. I weigh each situation differently. I cut people new to Airbnb a little slack and mention things in the private notes as tips for their next stay. I also think about whether this is a one night stay or I have to put up with the person for a few days. People who are seasoned Airbnb travelers and ignore my rules get lower ratings on house rules and I may be factual, but specific in the public review… If the rules create inconvenience I don’t get too excited. If the behavior is dangerous, offensive or creates lots of work for me I get crankier. Addressing behavior as close to the time it occurs as possible seems to work best.
3 Likes
Thank you! Great advice!
I totally agree. Many onsite hosts seem to be annoyed by something a guest is doing yet say nothing, and if it is an ongoing behavior, get more and more irritated, seething inside, counting the days until the guest leaves. Best to nip things in the bud.
The less time your irritation has to build up, the more likely that you can talk to the guest about it casually and hopefully the annoying behavior stops there.
It’s also more fair to the guest. If hosts want an opportunity to correct issues instead of guests simply making complaints in the review, we need to extend the same courtesy. I’ve had really nice guests who were slammed in a review by previous hosts who said nothing about what was annoying them during the stay, so the guest never realized they were doing anything wrong.
Thanks for that ear worm today! 
1 Like
I’m completely transparent when I mark a guest down. E.g. “In full transparency, I gave you 4 stars on cleanliness because you left a half-eaten s’more in the bedroom.”
Honesty is the best policy.
1 Like