AIBU to ask you to read a host’s description before you book on Airbnb?

[Frannyhy]

We’re not hoteliers. If we say check in is until 9pm, it’s because we work outside the home in the day. Planning to arrive after midnight is not acceptable. I won’t get up and come to the door. If you know you have a late flight arrival get a hotel for the night. (Transport does get delayed, I know that and will suck it up. But if possible let me know.)

If you book a room in someone’s house, kitchen use is a concession not a right. Despite me saying my kitchen is to be used to make a hot drink only in my house rules, every other person wants to cook.

I have cats. I have pictures of them on my description with photos. I still get people coming here and whining that they are allergic to them.

Don’t bring extra people or children if the accommodation is for a single person. Hosts will turn you away.

Yet again a guest has asked to move because of my cats. Yet again she has lost her money (over a hundred quid) because I clearly say I have them. Airbnb sided with me and wouldn’t allow them their money back.

Read the whole listing and house rules please. I say won’t tolerate smoking or a stranger in my house and I mean it. If you pick up a fucking partner and bring him or her back here and I wake up, I will kick you out no matter what time it is.

On the whole airbnb has been a positive experience. Thanks to the lovely people who do read the details before booking, you’d be welcome back anytime.

Sounds like being an Airbnb host is not for you OP. If hosting someone in your home they should be able to feel comfortable, use your kitchen etc. if that doesn't suit you, you need have a room with external access with a key box and tea/ coffee making facilities inside the room. Maybe even a microwave.

Anyone thinki ng about using airbnb be aware that when it says you can cancel for a full refund it actually means a full refund minus the absolutely outrageous 20% fee for using their webpage to book. We had extenuating circumstances for cancelling, but the way the site is set up they don't let you explain them, just immediately issue you a partial refund so you can't claim the rest back later on paypal. We cancelled a month before the stay with comllete understanding of the host who could easily rebook that week, but we still lost $115.

I will jever use airbnb again because that is the steepest booking fee I ever heard of. Nobody would use ebay or etsy if they charged so much.

Sorry missed your update about the facilities in the room. That part sounds reasonable. I do think they need to be able to make food though. Microwave and toaster, similar to a motel room.

"Aus84

Sorry missed your update about the facilities in the room. That part sounds reasonable."

See urban, that's how it's done :)

Been thinking about some of the minging places I have stayed at over the years.

The hotel on the south coast with a lift straight out of The Rocky Horror Show, people bringing randoms home all night and fighting in the corridors, milk cartons where the milk was so old it was solid.

The B&B on Jersey with a microwave in the room that had a dirty plate in it (found on the third day when the smell in the room got overpowering), ceiling coming down in the breakfast room above the cereal display, five different appliances plugged into one extension lead.

The OP’s arrangement for £25 sounds a complete bargain and safe to boot.

Can we have some pictures of the cats OP?

I considered doing Airbnb, briefly, until I read up on it and realised it was probably more trouble than it's worth, income isn't guaranteed and there's a lot of faff involved.

I got a lodger instead - it works well. I interviewed him before he moved in, he viewed the property before he moved in (no surprises on either side), he contributes to the cleaning, and if he was awful (he's not) I could evict with relative ease.

If you enjoy the short term visitor from other countries aspect, and don't mind cooking for them, then depending on where you live you could take in students from a local language school on a homestay basis.

I've only had good experiences so far as an airbnb host

I've never been to a premier Inn with a gym or pool! Where have you found those?

I really can’t understand the negative comments Frannyhy. I think £25 for a room with a king sized bed and mini fridge sounds fine, especially as ‘busy seaside location’ suggests that accommodation anywhere else nearby is likely to be fairly expensive.

If people read your listing and think it’s restrictive, then they can choose somewhere else.

I’m linking you to this to cheer you up after some of the posts (which do prove that no matter how much info you provide, some people won’t read it):

www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/news/Self-catering-holiday-flops-One-landladys-top-10-tricky-guests/

It’s not the one I remember reading about a very successful host who still had extra guests trying to sneak in and cook huge meals which I can’t find but you will see you are not alone!

I used to stay at a lot of Airbnbs for work. The OP’s Airbnb sounds exactly like the ones I stayed at. You pay a low price and you get what you pay for - a room to sleep in and access to bathroom facilities + coffee/tea. It was exactly what I needed while I was working away from home.

Airbnbs can be many things and the most important thing for users to do is read the listing carefully before booking. Generally it is all there if you read it, but I think too many people book a really cheap room and expect a hotel.

especially as ‘busy seaside location’ suggests that accommodation anywhere else nearby is likely to be fairly expensive
No a lot of British seaside locations are dirt cheap to stay in.
But OPs place sounds like the kind of place I used to stay in for work. I used to eat at a pub, then go back, make a cup of tea, and get into bed with a book or phone. Absolutely fine when you just need a place to sleep.

It’s perfectly possible to dislike the OP’s rules AND agree that she’s right to set rules and expect people to read them.

The OP’s place absolutely wouldn’t be for me - but I’d only know that if I’d read her description properly. I owe it to myself as well as the host to do so. I found what looked like a great room recently but it wasn’t available for single women. Had I ignored or not noticed that I would have been wasting my time in requesting to book; in the time it took to receive a ‘No’, other suitable places could have been booked up. A host also turned me down once because I needed late check-in; much better that I checked first and they said no than me assuming and inconveniencing is both.

Personally I would pay closer attention to an Airbnb listing than a hotel one because there are more likely to be ‘unexpected’ conditions. Unfortunately not everyone does the same.

Yanbu op

After reading the thread about the lodger wanting to have his wife and kids to stay, I know I am right not to have one. It’s not reasonable to tell a long term stayer that they can’t have visitors - I do know that. They are entitled to be in their accommodation as much as they want, and work at home if they wish.

However, I only allow guests to stay for a week max. I don’t give discounts for longer stays. Not being allowed to use the kitchen also keeps the home workers away.

Just come back to this to remind you all to read the insurance details when you book. I have a moderate policy which means you can cancel up to five days before, and only lose the airbnb fee. Sooner than that and you will lose most of your money.

Like a lady who booked for the weekend yesterday morning because her daughter had gone into labour. It was a false alarm. Granny wanted to keep the booking, but get her money back if the baby didn’t come by Friday.

I said no so she cancelled and demanded a refund - Airbnb cheeky fuckery at its most blatant. Airbnb said giving her her money back is at my discretion. As is normal, I will give a refund if I get another booking. If I don’t she loses the money.

As ever OP, ime you come across as technically correct but totally inhospitable.

Ahh, but technically correct is the best kind.

Seems fair enough. You wouldn't expect a hotel to ignore its terms and conditions in those circumstances, and AirBnB's Ts and Cs make the situation perfectly clear. It wouldn't be fair to dump a late cancellation on OP on Friday when she has potentially turned away other takers for the weekend due to Granny's booking.

I stayed at my first air b n b last friday. I loved it! The nearest premier inn was £80 (no food). Air b nb room £40. Use of fridge, kettle in kitchen. Our room was opposite the bathroom, had a kettle/ tea/ milk .

It was perfect for what we needed....and the hosts were lovely!

I wouldnt have expected free reign of their kitchen at all. We read the description etc before we booked. We treated it as their home and as "guests". We called them on our way with arrival time as we appreciate they work and didn`t want them waiting in for us or anything.

I love Air B&B. Mainly rooms in peoples houses. I do read the hosts descriptions and adhere to them. Some people are quite ignorant I guess. Are the people taking the piss from this country OP? Just out of interest?

Re the waiting up to let people in - (forgive me if already suggested) - could you not just put the key in an outdoor key safe and give the code out?

Haven't read the full thing but surprised people think OP seems so strict - not using the kitchen, bringing randoms back with you, and turning up after booking hours are... pretty standard for single-room airbnb.

And complaining about cats or extra people when it's in the description is just silly fuckery.

YANBU, OP.

I love air bnb but only if exclusive use places I don't think the cozy feeling of living In someone else's home.

I don't blame you being frustrated on any of those issues though op your house your rules

Weird people on this thread. I think that a lot of people don't understand that Airbnb originated as a room-in-a-house operation, not as self-catering holiday lets.

It also strikes me that the biggest CFs and complainers are the ones who want to pay the least.