Worst guests in 3 years

[Jack70]

To all of you ABB hosts, I just had my worst guests in the 3 years we have been hosting, they were a group of 6 young men, they were all very respectful towards us, they came and went as they pleased at all hrs. of the nite and day. We even let them use the spa till !;00 AM, they were drinking quiet a bit, but were quiet enough to not disturb anyone. When I checked them in I told them to please read our house rules manuel that we provide everyone that stays with us. The first nite they brought in a couple of more friends that were not guests, which is against our house rules, we did not say anything. When they checked out they left 3 keys, we had given them 4 keys, they left, when we went upstairs to where they stayed, I was shocked to see the mess that they left emty beercans, soda cans and liquer bottles plus coffee paper cups and paper plates with leftover food everywhere. We have a large 20 gallon trash container that reads trash in large letters next to the TV, it was empty, there is also small trash containers in the other 2 rooms, they were also empty, and beer and soda cans on every nite stand dressers. I had lowered our price because we were not getting bookings in the last few months, is this the kind of people we are going to start getting. This is the first time that I will be giving a bad review.

[Huma0]

@Jack70, sometimes when times are slow, it's tempting to lower your price or take bookings from less than ideal guests.

Personally, I would not allow a large group of young guys to stay in my house. It's just inviting trouble. I have learnt this from having young male housemates over the years. They can be lovely, polite, well brought up people and they always say, yes of course they will follow your house rules. But then they don't and most of the problems arise because they constantly have groups of friends round. In general, partying is more of a priority and when they are having fun with their friends, they don't think about the consequences. The friends don't think that this is someone's home, but rather 'Isn't this a great place to hang out/party!' This doesn't make them bad people, it just demonstrates a lack of maturity.

I had one lodger who asked if it was okay to have a few friends for brunch while I was away on a trip. I said of course. Even though he tried to clean up all evidence, the minute I got home, I knew there had been a party. It turns out his 'brunch' with a few friends had involved 30 people, a DJ with a full on sound system, copious amounts of vodka and class A drugs. Not cool.

This week, I got a request from two very polite 16-year-old boys. They seemed lovely and would probably have been fine (I travelled with my friends at that age, including staying in someone's apartment in Florence), but did I really want to take the risk of hosting two high school kids? I decided no.

[Jack70]

Thanks huma for the good advise.

[Helen3]

And of course you know @Huma0 it's against BNB rules to host anyone who is under 18 🙂

[Huma0]

@Helen3, actually I didn't know that. After all, under 18s do travel and stay in youth hostels etc. I was very well travelled by the time I was 18! I was only 15 when I first went backpacking, but I suppose that's quite unusual.

However, I think it's right to have that rule and I just wouldn't want to take any risks. What if something were to happen to them during their visit? Even if it wasn't while they were in your home, you would still feel some sort of responsibility. I think we as hosts have enough on our plates without those sort of worries!

[Patrice163]

I didn’t know that!!!! Thanks!

[Song6]

Not entirely correct. You cannot rent to a person who is under 18 as the account holder. The account holder cannot be under 18. They can bring an under 18  guest as long as the host approves. I always check ID's Song

[Kirstie]

Hi @Jack70,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience with these guests. It sounds like it must have been tough to clear up the mess! 

Many hosts suggest waiting to write the review until you have calmed down after the anger of seeing the state of the listing, it's best to write it with a clear head so it doesn't become to emotional. It is important that you're honest in your review though!

Just to let you know that I have moved your post here, as it was getting lost in another long thread. It will be easier for others to find it here. I have also given it a title, please let me know if you want to change it!

Kirstie

[Jack70]

Thank you

[Linda108]

@Jack70  I am glad you have had such a successful hosting experience for 3 years!  While you are much more experienced than I am, I wonder why you decided not to say anything the first night they brought in extra guests.  Is that indicative of your style of hosting or were there other reasons?  

Besides the extreme mess and apparent lack of familiarity with the concept of a trash can, was there damage to your space?  

I don't know if lowering your price attracted a poor quality of guest.  In the hospitality industry, price adjustment is a common practice.  I spoke with an Air BNB system engineer during the LA Open last November who told me that statistcally, most booking is made 8-30 days in advance, except for major event booking.  I look at my calendar using that information and adjust my price a bit if I have openings.

[Jack70]

Linda, there was not any real damage, just stains in the carpet, which was not hard to clean up. As far as my comment that it was a real mess is true, do you think I could put that in my review, that they left a mess. As for them bringing guests in, the guests were only in the house for about 10 minutes, so we just let it go. I also change my prices weekly as demand calls for.

[Linda108]

@Jack70  Makes more sense that you didn't comment on people only visiting for a few minutes.  As you know, you rate cleanliness separately and you can keep that low.  You can send a private message advising messy the condition of the space is unacceptable in the Air BNB system.  Your review could have the comment that "cleanliness was not as expected and the guest may be better suited for a hotel" which is a signal to other hosts that they might not want to host.  Some hosts might not care depending on the type of space.

[Jack70]

I liked your advise, that is exactly what I am going to write.

Thank you.

[Patrice163]

Thank you, I’m going to use that wording myself!

[Donna240]

You could easily say that "although polite, they did not follow house rules, nor did they clean up after themselves, although (you) provided them with the necessary means to do so." Most people who rent short term stays know that it is expected that they leave the place in the same condition in which they found it. Unfortunately, many people seem to think that if you charge a cleaning fee, they should get their money's worth and not bother cleaning up themselves. for that reason alone, I do not charge a cleaning fee, but keep that cost in mind, when I set my price. Any damage can be claimed through the security deposit, but most companies will not allow cleaning issues to be taken from the security deposit, unless the item could not be cleaned, but needed to be replaced.