Post by High Priestess on Sept 25, 2015 1:50:23 GMT
Bad Guests
Hi, I had two new guests arrive from USA yesterday. Two young men. Last night they had girls over and partied till 4am. When they finally went to sleep they didn't lock up my house and left all the doors wide open. I live in South Africa, so it's not particularly safe. I'm heart broken and absolutely gutted. What can I do in this situation? They are only here for two more nights, but I'm not sure what to do. Do any of you have any advice? I'm a new host, and all my other experiences to date have been positive ones.
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P, contact Airbnb immediately and have these guests re-homed. They violated your no parties rules as clearly stated in your listing, so Airbnb needs to support you. After that, re-post this on Hosting 911 so that you get more responses. This group isn't for emergencies and you have an emergency.
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Thanks C. I added those 'no party' and 'no stay over' rules at 3am this morning when I was tossing and turning listening to what was going on upstairs, so I feel I didn't adequately inform them of the house rules. I guess I had just assumed that was a given. I will be more clear in future. The security thing is a biggie though. Thanks for your advice. I'm mulling everything over and trying to decide whether to have an honest conversation with them, or whether to get in touch with AirBnB and kick them out.
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I didn't know about Hosting 911, I'll go look for that. thanks.
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Hi Carolyn, where do I find Hosting 911?
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Expect no common sense and unfortunately, hosts think guests would have the common sense to realize it is someone's home vs party pad, so strong rules are a must. Talk to them too
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Oh too bad the rules weren't in place - how terrible you had to lose sleep in your own house. I hope Airbnb can still help you. Good luck!
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Oh C, what a disaster, these guys have broken my front door, when inside found condom packaging everywhere, they've drunk my booze, and worn my bathrobes. Such a rude violation. I no longer want them staying in my home. it's a massive learning curve for me.
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Oh no! Did you call Airbnb? You must call them.
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Paige, go to the Airbnb "groups" page, and scroll to the bottom where cities are listed. You'll see the last one is "Worldwide," so click on that and you'll find Hosting 911 listed there.
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Thanks so much C. I guess lesson learnt.
grateful for your support, advice and assistance.Reply
If the guests seem nice just unclear about what is ok and your house rules I would start by having a sit down chat with them. But if they are rude and disrespectful I would contact airbnb and have the guests rehomed. Leaving the doors unlocked while partying with people they just met in your home can be a real danger for you. Your safety is piority. I don't allow guests to bring guests over that are not registered with airbnb. You are welcome to look through my house rules and borrow any you like.
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Thank you K, I will absolutely do that. I really appreciate your advice.
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Wow I just looked at your place. It's beautiful!
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Thanks K, i just updated my house rules, and added in this line from your rules: All guests must be staying at the ____ and checked in through airbnb. No visitors.
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Okay Phew! I spoke with them, they were very decent and understanding. They didn't realise how dangerous it is here. And were very apologetic and promised to lock up carefully and be more careful from now on. I have learnt a valuable lesson, I need to be very clear upfront about the house rules and not just assume people will understand the country we live in. Thanks for your advice.
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Great job handling this, P! It can be hard to confront guests with an issue.
I looked at your rules and would like to suggest that you remove the word "request" and state your rules directly. E.g. "No parties. No guests." Seems like a minor difference but it's important to leave no room for misinterpretation.
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Good Idea thanks, i'll do that.
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No I have since discovered that these guys have broken my front door, and disrespected my home and my possessions. I am asking them to move out tonight. It's unacceptable behaviour.
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Paige: call Airbnb now. Make sure they understand everything you've told us, so that you won't be penalized in any way. You don't want your stats affected, and you don't want those guests to be able to retaliate with a negative review, plus you should be paid for the entire stay.
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I've done that thanks, good idea. and the Air BnB team were absolutely great on the phone.
REpl.y
I have called Air BnB - they say they will call me back but they haven't yet.
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Be sure to take photos of the damage and the mess. You need to make a claim on the security deposit, and that has to be done within 48 hours of their departure. What a nightmare for you! Keep calling Airbnb if they don't call back soon. Hang in there!
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Hi C, I'm on the line with Air BnB now, they seem very understanding and will hopefully help me sort this out. Thank you for being here for me and helping out. i really wouldn't have known what to do.
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That's great, P, make sure you resolve this to your satisfaction. Remember, to put it frankly, Airbnb makes money from us! If you're ever in LA, I'll give you a discount (:!
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So sorry you're going through this but yes, it will help/force you to firm up the house rules and reiterate them again upon arrival. After my one and only nightmare sh*t got serious. I'm still laid back and myself AFTER house rules are read, explained verbally, provided in writing upon arrival and understood. Once that's done, then we relax and enjoy the experience. Communicate everything through Airbnb system if possible so there is written record.
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Thanks C and LA and everyone else who has supported me through today. What a learning curve.
Yes you are so right, I wasn't taking the house rules seriously and assumed everyone would be like me and my previous guests. But now i know. Am going to firm up my rules, and ensure my guests have a hard copy and we go through them verbally on their arrival. every time. I will also go back to my initial strict screening process. No young guys like this ever again.
I have put everything in writing to the tenant and Airbnb (who were great on the phone). I also photographed all the damage - a broken door, and flooded bathroom, wet carpet etc etc. And have left a note for the tenants who are off somewhere (partying i'm sure) and have been uncontactable this evening, to tell them to pack their things and leave before I leave for work in the morning. And that if they throw another party tonight I'll call the police. Which will hopefully put them off. Hoping it all goes smoothly. Thanks again.
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You have a great house. This is an interesting position. I look at this way. If I was paying that rate should I be allowed to bring people home and party till 4 am?
How would you answer this question ?
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M, I know you are not asking me, but if I put myself in P's shoes, the answer is NO. Perhaps there are hosts who would permit noise and breakage til all hours, but that would be each host's prerogative. That's how Airbnb works. Hosts have the ability to decide what their expectations are of guests, because guests are staying on their property. Maybe these guests should have booked a hotel that tolerates such behavior, although I don't know one that would. And, the rate has nothing to do with it. Guests pay to stay in a beautiful home in this case. Does paying a certain rate give them the right to disrespect someone else's home and safety?
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100% agree with C
And in an update: My guests returned late last night, packed their things, cleaned the house and left by about 3 or 4am. (I had given them the option of leaving first thing this morning, but they chose to leave very late last night) We had no contact while they packed up and left. He has sent an angry letter denying everything, saying he has a walkthrough video of the house as proof he did nothing wrong. Which is fine by me. I also have photographs, a statement from my neighbour and a statement from the locksmith. And I have reported all the happenings to AirBnB as they've happened over the last 40 hours or so. I'm not out to have a mud slinging match or an argument, I simply want my home returned to the condition it was in when I first rented it to him just two days ago. (feels like a lot longer)
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Excellent news that they're gone, Paige. You handled it well, and you have the right attitude. Deep breath and back to normal soon!
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Thanks C, absolutely. Your advice to report things as they've happened has been invaluable. As AirBnB have a log of everything now. Very valuable lessons learnt here. 1) House Rules are super important, and equally important that everyone involved agrees to them and understands them. and 2) keep everything in writing on the AirBnB platform so there is record of all communication. I feel comfortable that this situation will be managed and resolved.
All the best and thanks
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And one important point you may want to note is that when the house rules are broken, it must be immediately addressed. For instance, that party should have been shut down in the first hour and that may have minimized the damage to your beautiful home. So sorry you had to go thru this.
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What an awful experience. Glad it's over for you