Ok, I said I would ban AXE in my Airbnb but it only happened the one time and I didn’t want to be a cow and not allow it. A young couple is staying for a weekend thingy…you know. The dude…really sweet young man is just dousing himself in Axe. We have a double door between the airbnb suite and our home, like you see in adjoining rooms in hotels. The smell of Axe is now in the hallway and in my bedroom. What do I say…I don’t want to hurt his feelings but I can’t stand that shit! Help me! He is super sweet and young and really excited to have a couple of days with his girlfriend…but holy hell. And…how am i going to rent it to the next person.
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But…the unstopables is just another really strong scent and I feel most of my guest appreciate that we don’t use any strong scents, most natural melaluca products.
I have a similar issue with an interim stay guest. She says her boyfriend hates perfume so she uses it when she’s not with him. It’s not an unpleasant odor but both my husband and I don’t tolerate strong fragrances well in our homeshare. She keeps to her room but the scent is starting to seep into our hallways. I give a gentle warning now and then that if she overdoes it, my husband’s asthma will flare up.
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Thank you Christine. I think moving forward I will just let this guest slide, no point in saying anything and hurting his feelings. I put two towels at the bottom of the door and it seems to be helping. I will have to apologize to the next guest if the odour persists after AXE guy checks out. I have now added to my house policies that “AXE” is not allowed.
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Put some open boxes of baking soda by the door. That should help absorb the smell.
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I agree with @Ritz3 - also open all windows and door. Place fans pointing out of the window to channel the smell outside. Clean the place thoroughly. ( I know that you always do but still…)
I have a four hour turnover window and I’ve found that windows open, fans blasting, baking soda sprinkling have always done the trick before the incoming guests arrive.
There are worse smells - the guests who went on a fishing trip on day one and left their catch in the fridge until checkout day, bloody cooked broccoli (horrible smell), fried breakfasts, smelly farts, smelly feet, wet dog, dirty laundry, dirty nappies, milk that’s gone off, rotten eggs, cheap scented candles … and many more things that most hosts have dealt with at some time.
Unfortunately we can’t list all of them as banned items - dealing with them is just part of a sometimes-very-stinky job. 
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While I know many hosts want to maximize their income by doing back-to-back bookings, I have always had one day prep time, which eliminates stress factors like having to quickly address odors, late check-outs, more than normal cleaning times due to messy guests, etc.
Kinda funny when you think of it- axing AXE.
Hopefully his girlfriend will tell him.
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His girlfriend, and he, are probably “nose blind” to the smell. Many people douse themselves in scents because constant use means they can no longer smell it so they keep dousing until they can smell the fragrance on themselves.
TELL HIM! You’re a home share host and strong smells not only affect your next guests but could cause an allergic reaction in you or someone in your family.
“I know you love the AXE spray, but please use less of it as the smell is starting to permeate the entire house and it may not dissipate before the next guests arrive. We use natural, unscented products so none of our guests could get an allergic or asthmatic reaction to fragrances.”
You can also say it has triggered allergies in your other half or asthma. Be sweet, but people do need to know to dial it back a bit. The guy who put his kilo (no joke) of marijuana (medical card holder) in my bureau stunk up the entire house with his “herbs.” I smelled it in the house after the first night and made them keep it in their car, but they still stank!!! I mean reeked. I had to cancel a week’s stay because it took that long to de-stink the place. Baking soda on carpets and soft surfaces, bowls of vinegar left out, fans running, windows open, wiped down interior of bureau with vinegar and water solution. Did it all daily and it was brutal.
Tell him.
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Try walking down the street on a Saturday night in a Mexican town. The men absolutely reek of perfume. Far more than the women. They obviously don’t understand the concept of “subtle”.
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I wouldn’t let it slide. I would tell THEM (he and the girlfriend) that you have a medical issue. MANY people will get debilitating migraines from too many or too strong of smells. And this can develop at any time without warning.
This is a home share and so different rules apply than what I would advise at a stand alone place.
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I do get headaches from strong smell…don’t even mention Febreeze. I have cleaned the suite, washed all the floors, shower, shower walls, head board, door way mat is outside, mattress pad (of course there is a big stain), I know…suck it up…part of doing business. Windows are open, baking soda and vinegar in a large bowl sitting out. I will wash everything down again. Ugh…have so many other things to do than deal with this. Probably having day between guests would be kinda nice. I did block off the day today though.Thanks everyone for the suggestions. On a happy note I was able to buy a big bag of sugar, having a bit of a shortage here in Canada. Have a good week!
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If you have a free-standing fan, set it up by the open window, set on stationary, not oscillating, so it is sucking the air out of the room and blowing it outside.
It’s so screwed up that while you can’t smoke indoors basically anywhere anymore, people can still slather on the perfume and subject everyone else in the vicinity to it.
There is a product called Nilodor that I have used before. It doesn’t have a disgusting “cover” smell, like febreeze, it smells to me like wintergreen, which I love. It apparently is non-txic, and binds to the molecules of organic smells, like garbage or cooking odors, changing them to scent-free molecules. It still has a fragrance of its own, but I find that dissipates quickly. Don’t know if it would work for AXE, though.
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Sorry but can this non-American please ask what ‘what in Maury Povich’ means???
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I was born and raised in the US and I don’t know either.
I was born and raised in England and moved to the US when I was forty years old. Yet Maury Povich is a mystery to me…
Sorry, it was just an attention getter. Maury was a talk show host, kinda sleazy like Jerry Springer.
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Two words: ozone machine
Saved my life when my 7 day guests cooked curry non-stop in my AirBnB. I tried all the things mentioned here, plus a spray odor eliminator recommended by my brother who had a cleaning service and property management firm and that was the only thing that did the trick.
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If I got guests who stunk the place up with smelly foods or perfumes, I would definitely get an ozone machine. It sounds so much easier than washing all the surfaces, the curtains, rugs, etc., setting out bowls of vinegar, baking soda and stressing over whether the following guests will be able to smell whatever the offending odor is.
While I had one “AXE” guest, and one who used a lot of essential oils, as I live in the tropics, where windows are almost always open (I don’t have AC), there is no upholstered furniture to absorb odors, and I don’t do back-to-back bookings, the place aired out with no lingering smells without doing anything special.