AIBU to be a bit taken aback by some of these ‘House Rules’?

[Speckly]

So I’ve booked an Air bnb for a long weekend. Going on this break will be myself (F54) DH (58) and our two DS (29 and 27). Neither of them live with us any longer but will each be meeting us there. In case it’s relevant the price for 3 nights was £346, which I think is a good price. There was no mention of particular rules in their listing (the first image is the list of rules on the actual Air bnb listing) but today (the day before we leave), we were emailed another list of very specific house rules (the second image is the list received from the owner today).
Now obviously we’re going to respect their property and be careful (we always do when we go away), but I do feel like some of these rules are a little bit over the top: Rules 5 and 6 particularly. Out of interest, do you think it’s ok to tell people what they can and can’t cook in the property when they’ve paid to stay there? To not let people cook fish seems unacceptable to me. Personally, I also don’t think it’s acceptable to tell me where in the property I can and can’t eat. Surely as long as I look after the property and it’s left in a good clean condition, I’ve fulfilled my part of the hire contract? I understand the owners want to keep their property in the best condition possible and I will respect their space, but I just feel like I’m not going to relax now and will be overthinking everything we do while we’re there. So AIBU or are these very specific rules a step too far, especially as they weren’t stated upfront?

I run an Airbnb from my home. I don’t post a list of rules but, honestly some people do need them. The person who used a sharp knife on the worktops despite me providing a chopping board. The people who go out leaving the lights on all day. The person that took a pillowcase from a matching set. The people who take cutlery. The majority of my guests are wonderful and I appreciate the care they take of my home but there is a minority who couldn’t care less.

I like their confidence that someone who has chosen to ignore the actual law will be deterred by their funny list.

I think the curry and fish thing is fine. The smell really lingers and gets into the soft furnishings. The smell of fish makes me gag

No you're right, it doesn't mean I can't go without fish but is it reasonable to have to change both my diet and the expectations of a normal weekend away completely, because the rules of the Air bnb weren't stated up front and were only sent the day before arrival? Yes I want to sit on the sofa watching TV with a glass of wine and a bag of nuts or a bar of chocolate.

It's not changing your diet completely to not have fish for a few days is it? Do you really eat it every day? Can't you have a change? Or like I said, eat some non-smelly fish?

As for the sofa, if you're careful the Air BNB owners will be none the wiser...

I obviously dont think guests should wreck the property. I’m not saying that once you pay for a room you have. The right to create havok…
. I leave every rental in the state I found it. The problem with a ridiculous list of rules like that is you make people wince inside once you read them. I would t be able to relax if the first thing I saw upon arrival was 20 rules of what NOT to do on my holiday…
I mean yeah, I don’t need you to tell me not to bring rats into the house 😂

my husband has a small chalet that he rents out and he wouldn’t dream of putting a list like that for guests!!!

Not a chance would anyone be dictating to me what I can and can't cook.
Cook the fish, open the windows! Fair enough they don't want food on the sofa, to my mind though meals are one thing & I wouldn't think twice about snacking on there! Put a towel down on the sofa on case you drop any chocolate, I also don't understand why they wouldn't have a leather sofa that they can wipe clean!

Lol - why? It’s not as if smelly curries or smelly fish are the only foods in the world. It’s not that or nothing is it 😅

Not all fish when cooked creates lingering smells or even has to be cooked to be eaten.

Dictating what you can cook because of cooking smells whilst allowing stinking rancid dogs 😆 🤣 OK then 😆

this reads like a list of rules that would be left for someone who's never lived in a house before

did they also leave instructions on how to have a bath and a work book to learn your ABCs???

Just wanted to add, running an Airbnb can be a horror show. My friend rents his city flat out when he’s away, he had people clog the loo then let it flood pee and other stuff everywhere and then throw down bath towels and leave them to soak when they checkout ( and not tell him) , break the shower screen and an interior door and not report the damage.. someone broke the latch on a window… someone else broke the dishwasher.. unfortunately part and parcel of short lets, some people just don’t treat others’ property with any respect…
no list of rules would prevent any of that from happening… the only way is trying to vet guests the best you can

I went to a house like that with friends. No eating ir drinking allowed in the living room.

We ignored that. Had it been on the ad we wouldnt have booked it and there was no way we were spending the weekend perched on the island stools

Leather sofas are cold so maybe they're thinking about their guests' comfort.

Apart from telling you what you can cook they're all perfectly reasonable requests and just common sense. The thing is people who don't have respect for other people's property won't take any notice anyway.

@Alwaystheplusone Apart from telling you what you can cook
It's only no strong-smelling curries or fish.

I'm amazed by how many people eat in bed.

I sometimes wonder if these holiday house owners actually want guests. Can’t abide these kind of rules and aggressive notices hung up around the place.

Out of interest, How do you know they leave the lights on all day

@garlictwist that list isn’t aggressive !

Agressive would be like ‘Parky the Park Keeper With A Problem’ in Viz i.e

‘No fucking ball games, no fucking sitting on benches, no fucking nowt’

ETA but I understand you may have seen such notices in holiday lets !

Yep about to say the same… I’ve never stayed in an air B&B because this sort of thing plus cleaning and other hidden charges just make it seem not worth it!

Telling people what they can & cannot cook is NOT reasonable! Nor is reasonable to tell them they can’t eat on the sofa! If you’re paying to rent somewhere then you can do both of these things. Ludicrous

I beg your pardon?! The dog owners you know may have “stinking rancid dogs” but mine certainly isn’t! He’s spotless and 100% odour free as many breeds are. He’s groomed, bathed and also cleans himself. 🙄 You sound just lovely

Most are fine but some are stupid and unreasonable.

yep. I think it’s all normal stuff but could all be summarised by “please treat the house with respect”

Tbh, I'd probably just ignore any rules I thought were unreasonable, since they've only told you after you've booked. If you leave everything as clean as you found it, they'll never know. 💁

I’m not sure the owners were very wise in their choice of expensive furnishings considering their intended use of the house: beside which, as we all know, the fewer rules we’re given the more trusted we feel and the better we behave. Most adults have got the hang of life after all and very few people want to cause damage (or lose their deposit). A better way to work things would be to create rapport by providing basics in the fridge, fresh flowers, an ‘enjoy your stay’ card. A reminder about pets on beds or whatever if there’s been an issue at any point. It sounds like these guys have either had massive problems or just aren’t cut out to be ‘hosts’.