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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

277 replies

Frannyhy · 13/07/2019 09:09

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.

OP posts:
MsTSwift · 13/07/2019 10:18

Ha I host foreign students and my list of house rules after experience has to include
Please turn the shower off after use
Please shut the front door
Please do not scream and shout after 11pm

Isatis · 13/07/2019 10:20

your rules sound very inhospitable

How? The only rules OP has referred to are adhering to arrival times, not using the kitchen other than for hot drinks, and not bringing extra people in. They're all perfectly reasonable, sensible rules.

MsTSwift · 13/07/2019 10:22

I like clear up front rules then everyone knows where they stand. If you don’t like the rules you can book somewhere that suits your needs better

Isatis · 13/07/2019 10:22

A travel lodge would be cheaper and less hassle

How many travel lodges allow people to use their kitchens or smoke indoors?

GrabbyGertie · 13/07/2019 10:22

I don't think your rules sound the least bit inhospitable! Not arriving after 9 is reasonable as is not cooking in your kitchen and not allowing extra guests.

All very reasonable.

rainbowunicorn · 13/07/2019 10:23

Again, what the OP has put on this thread is not her actual listing wording. She is not asking advice on that. She is asking if she is being unreasonable to ask people booking with her to read and understand the rules of her accommodation before they book.
She does not want opinions on how she can be a better host.

EssentialHummus · 13/07/2019 10:24

Well no YANBU in that if you have stated these things as your rules then it's reasonable to expect people to abide by them. But I agree with a PP that you sound inhospitable.

BlueSkiesLies · 13/07/2019 10:26

TBH you would be better off either stating NO kitchen access at all (and proving a kettle in the room) or actually letting them use the kitchen.

I have frequently stayed in airbnb rooms in people houses (much cheaper if a solo traveler) and kitchen use is something I look for.

Also no check in after 9 is very restrictive.

Not entirely sure hosting is for you.

givemesteel · 13/07/2019 10:28

I agree that I don't think that air bnb is for you OP.

Most of your rules are OK but a post 9pm check in is really really late (I would be irritated to pay the going rate for one night if I could only check in that late, when 2-4pm is normal) and not being able to cook in the kitchen is also a really crap experience.

Unless it is dirt cheap to stay with you (in which case you're likely to attract some not particularly nice characters) it sounds like a horrible experience.

I read the air bnb descriptions when I book but they're often long and wordy, and English might not be people's first language. These details might be missed.

If you really want to carry this on (but my advice would be not to) then I'd create a graphic with all your rules and put it as your second image so people can't miss as well as listing them out upfront in the description, then reiterating once you have a booking.

You'll get fewer bookings but at least it is fairer on the people booking your room to not feel quite as unwelcome as they must do in your home, and you will undoubtedly have less hassle also.

givemesteel · 13/07/2019 10:29

*apologies, no check in after 9 not before 9, but I think the point still stands.

JacquesHammer · 13/07/2019 10:30

If you really want to carry this on (but my advice would be not to) then I'd create a graphic with all your rules and put it as your second image so people can't miss as well as listing them out upfront in the description, then reiterating once you have a booking

Do people really need to be so spoon fed?

I mean who doesn’t fully read the rules of the accommodation before booking!

OrchidInTheSun · 13/07/2019 10:30

But it's clear in the listing. If you want full kitchen access, to arrive after 9pm and don't like cats, then the OP's Airbnb isn't for you.

The OP isn't asking what you think of her rules, she's asking if it's unreasonable for people to whine about things she's stated clearly in the listing. Which is obviously is

YoThePussy · 13/07/2019 10:32

Interesting that OP says AirBNB sided with her and refused a refund to the guest. Looks like despite what the vipers of MN think she INBU.

Would imagine this is a vent and not how the room is described. A clear description helps expectations, everyone knows where they stand. I for one would be thrilled to see cats in the property and would book just on that basis.

Herocomplex · 13/07/2019 10:33

I think the OP’s point is being proved.

Isatis · 13/07/2019 10:33

I stayed in an airbnb last year which was essentially someone's spare room - it wasn't ideal but it was incredibly cheap and I reckoned that, as all I wanted was somewhere to sleep for a couple of nights I'd cope. They included breakfast in the price. It never once occurred to me that I could have free use of their kitchen, could smoke indoors, or sneak in an extra guest; they were very flexible about arrival times and, if I'd wanted to turn up late, surely it's a no-brainer that you'd check that with the hosts first?

As it turned out, it worked out very well. In practical terms I had exclusive use of the bathroom next to my room as they had another downstairs, I had a kettle in my room plus fresh milk, and they were happy for me to use their wifi. They were extremely nice and helpful, and in fact when I came in during the day offered tea and biscuits; in the evening, when I was sitting outside with a book admiring the fantastic sea view, they offered wine. They also had a dog which they mentioned in the listing so I was fully pre-warned and wasn't bothered, though I'm not really a dog person.

If you're in someone's property, you comply with their rules. If you don't like them, don't book.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 13/07/2019 10:34

It doesn’t matter whether people think the OP’s rules are unreasonable or inhospitable
If she’s clearly put them in the description and people book anyway, they can’t then complain the rules are unreasonable

This ^^ Unfortunately, what OP's got there are folk who didn't take any care in reading the info and are now looking for someone else to blame

Original poster
Frannyhy · 13/07/2019 10:34

Sorry I meant check in before 9pm - that was a typo. My check in is from 4-9pm.

I have had hundreds of guests, many of whom return time and time again. One person has just stayed for the fifth time and it was good to see her again. I do enjoy having people here and talking to them. Unfortunately like all the other hosts in the very popular seaside town I live in, I get wankers who can’t bothered to read my listing, or think my household rules don’t apply to them.

I do supply a kettle with tea and coffee, and a mini fridge in their room. Some of them like to come down and use the garden or watch TV, and I don’t mind them using the kitchen to make a drink rather than go back up to the room to do it.

OP posts:
WiseUpJanetWeiss · 13/07/2019 10:34

Your rules sound perfectly fine to me, and you say they are clear in your listing, so YANBU to be annoyed by guests who flout them.

However, given that several posters have clearly not read and understood your perfectly clear OP, it’s easy to understand why you find yourself in this position with some guests.

rainbowunicorn · 13/07/2019 10:35

@Herocomplex couldn't agree more. It really is quite incredible.

Isatis · 13/07/2019 10:35

I read the air bnb descriptions when I book but they're often long and wordy, and English might not be people's first language. These details might be missed

If you can't be bothered to read the rules and query them if you have any difficulty understanding them, you really don't have a right to expect them to be waived in your favour.

Isatis · 13/07/2019 10:37

However, given that several posters have clearly not read and understood your perfectly clear OP, it’s easy to understand why you find yourself in this position with some guests.

This!

mydogisthebest · 13/07/2019 10:38

Me and DH have been using Airbnb for quite a few years in the UK and abroad. We normally use them at least once a month. We think they are great.

We have always chosen entire places except once (just for a night near a ferry terminal) but DH uses them if he works away from home and just has a room in someone's property.

I read the descriptions thoroughly and also look through the photos and study them.

Sounds like you are unfortunate enough to get mainly idiots staying with you. Of course you don't expect to be able to use the kitchen if you are only staying in a room. Some hosts may let you but, as you say, it is always written in the description.

I would put a kettle, a couple of mugs, tea bags etc in the room.

We find entire flats or houses to be cheaper than Travelodge so I don't know how any posters can say they are cheaper than just a room.

We visit family at least once a month and stay in Airbnb's each time. I always check the Travelodge site and their rooms are usually around £70 a night (often more though especially at weekends). We get a flat or house for around £50 a night. Means we get a kitchen so we can cook if we want, a proper sofa instead of having to make do with sitting on the bed, often dvd player, stereo, Netflix etc. We can come and go as we please and not having to go out so our room can be cleaned or stuck with whatever breakfast time the hotel dictates.

Isatis · 13/07/2019 10:39

I have frequently stayed in airbnb rooms in people houses (much cheaper if a solo traveler) and kitchen use is something I look for.

So presumably you wouldn't book OP's room. I take it that, if you did, you wouldn't complain that you couldn't use the kitchen?

DarklyDreamingDexter · 13/07/2019 10:40

YANBU in expecting people to read the description and abide by your rules. Personally I can't understand why anyone would want to stay in a stranger's spare room, or for someone to want to rent out their spare room in the first place, for that matter. There are such huge risks on both sides. Premier Inn or Travel Lodges cost from £30 a night. So much less hassle and risk. I think I'd be looking to get out of the AirBnB game, OP, as it doesn't seem to suit you. (Defo wouldn't suit me.)

IsadoraQuagmire · 13/07/2019 10:49

Your rules are completely fair and it all sounds very civilized to me.

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