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?

Even better a fish vindaloo lol

No cooking of curries or fish?? hmmm...They don't want any Asians or Africans.

This was my first thought. Does seem strange that someone with so many rules would allow a couple of shaggy dogs over the threshold!

I would interpret the cooking as no strong smelling fish, not no to fish that doesn't stink.

After you leave, maybe post the full restrictions in your feedback so others are aware in advance.

This is why I cannot be arsed with Air BnB

I think you’re right. It’s not the rules, it’s the tone. Chat has re-written them - feel free to leave for the hosts :-)

Welcome to Telephone Exchange – House Guidelines

We’re so pleased to have you staying here. To help keep everything comfortable and enjoyable for all our guests, we kindly ask that you follow these simple guidelines during your stay:

1. Please treat Telephone Exchange with the same care as you would your own home. A lot of love has gone into restoring and furnishing it, and we hope you enjoy the comfort and style.
2. We ask that shoes are removed when going upstairs, and also downstairs if they’re muddy.
3. Pets are very welcome – please just give their paws a quick clean before they come inside if they’re wet or muddy. There’s an outside tap and hose in the back garden near the boiler to make this easier.
4. To keep everything fresh, pets are not allowed upstairs or on the beds and furniture.
5. Please avoid eating on the sofa or in the bedrooms.
6. We’d appreciate it if strong-smelling foods such as curries or fish aren’t cooked indoors.
7. Kindly use place mats on the table to protect surfaces.
8. Please don’t leave food out overnight as we want to keep the cottage pest-free.
9. Keep the fridge clean and ensure the freezer door is fully closed.
10. Please wash up dishes and wipe down counters to keep the kitchen clean and tidy.
11. Additional overnight guests or parties aren’t possible unless agreed with us in advance.
12. Shoes off the sofa and beds, please.
13. If anything gets broken or damaged, let us know as soon as possible. We understand accidents happen – we’ll just need to arrange a replacement, and significant damage may need to come out of the deposit.
14. Please take care with drinks such as red wine which can stain soft furnishings and counters.
15. For stays longer than a week, spare towels and linen are provided. We use recycled and natural materials where possible for an eco-friendly touch.
16. Remember to switch off lights when not needed and turn off taps after use.
17. No illegal activities are permitted on the property.
18. The house is non-smoking indoors, but you’re welcome to smoke outside using the ashtray (under the kitchen sink). Please give it a quick wash before leaving.
19. Only toilet paper should be flushed down the loo – please use bins for all other items such as cotton buds or sanitary products.
20. Thank you so much for your understanding. We hope you have a happy, relaxing stay and feel at home here.

That is a long list! It sounds like a generic list given to all visitors. Now read it again and imagine that your 2 children are under 6 years of age – it might make more sense 😀
You know that you are going to leave the house as you found it. Not everyone does, unfortunately, hence the need to spell out the obvious so that the property doesn't suffer.
You go and enjoy your precious time with your family and do what you always do. It will be a lovely time to catch up together and the place sounds great. xx

No -the fire risk assessments don't allow candles. I personally would love to allow them but my insurer says no.

And yes, people do dye their hair on holiday. I have a pile of ruined towels to donate to the local dog rescue every year.

I don't think the rules are too bad really. They would make me laugh a bit but i would have no problem with these rules as they are generally how I would behave.

My guess is that host has seen it all and feels it is best to spell it out to the guests. Really surprised they allow dogs though.

The not eating on sofa is too much. I think it’s pretty normal to have something like chocolate or crisps whilst relaxing on the sofa and the telling you what not tinfoil isn’t on.

Yeah these sound much better, but I'd die on this hill, I still disagree that 5 and 6 should be house rules if I respect the property and leave it clean and tidy.

Actually I once dyed my hair on holiday after running out of time to do it before I left 😄 - but I did take my own towel with me for the purpose and was very careful about making sure no dye got on anything.

You can guarantee that every single rule on that list will be there because some idiot failed to treat the property with respect. Most of it is common sense. I'm a bit "meh" about the not cooking curries thing, but I do kind of understand it.

Egads, reading those rules was as if my dear departed mammy had come back to life.

She dragged me up proper, so I wouldn't any of the list terribly onerous, except maybe the one about not cooking fish.

You do realise that you have disclosed the property name!

These people shouldn't be renting out their property.

You (and everyone else) should stop using AirBnB.

No sympathy for any of you.

I’d expect to be able to cook what I like and might want to eat the odd thing on the sofa while I watch a movie. The rest seems mostly common sense but the way the owners have worded it all into 20 separate strict rules comes across very dictatorial and gives a bad impression of their attitude. I reckon people are either the conscientious type that will naturally take good care of the property (in which case they don’t need an A4 document outlining exactly where they may or may not wear shoes) or they are not (and will happily ignore any nonsense rules anyway). Presumably the security deposit is there to offer some protection.

white furnishings in a holiday rental is someone who lacks basic common sense

Dictating where you can eat food and what you can cook isn’t. We cook fish and curry all the time. The smell is gone within a very short space of time. And if I want to eat snacks on the sofa while watching tv I should be able to.

Also telling people on holiday how quickly they should be washing up.

Turning lights off is also a ridiculous request. New bulbs cost pennies to run and hardly use any electricity. I’m not turning lights off as I move from room to room although I do of course if leaving the house or going to bed.

I wouldn’t like this OP. I think this styles should be made clear before booking so you can decide whether to go. One thing about such rules is they generally make you feel uneasy, as if the “hosts” are nit pickers and will cause problems for you either when you are staying or after you leave. I wouldn’t want to stay there as I’d feel uncomfortable.

Some people shouldn’t be running “guest houses” as they don’t seem to actually want guests living normally.

I actually stayed in a rental that did tell you how to have a bath and a shower! You were supposed to put the bath mat in a certain place and make sure the shower (which was over the bath) didn't spray on the floor. The shower had a fixed head and it was impossible to avoid splashes. I suggested that the owner tried using the shower herself so she could see that it wasn't practical but she preferred to stick another notice on the wall.

well if they send in cleaner which we all pay for as part of our bookings then there shouldn't be any smells or food left behind for the next guests

I stay in same airbnb every year which is gorgeous and top spec. the only rule is to make sure we empty the bins and put the recycling in the right bin.

Most of these are common sense. The strong smelling food is weird and dictating where you can eat is weird.

We have and airbnb and we send an email with local info etc and there are a couple of requests in the text (like please use the right bins for recycling and please remove healed shoes as they dint the floor) but a list of largely unnecessary rules like this is not welcoming at all.

Some are reasonable, some are not. I would comment in your review. And I would make an exceptionally strong curry the night before leaving! People this fussy shouldn’t put their place on Air BnB imo

@Masmavi why would you do that after they have requested you not to though ?

Agree. Couple of specific requests is fine but this long list is ridiculous. Stuff like ‘please be very careful with red wine…’ well duh. Like a pp said, it reads like a set of rules made for someone who has never lived in a house before. Or a child.