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 don't think they are that bad to be honest but I think they should have been communicated prior to the booking being accepted. I would have thrown a strop if they had sent it to me post booking, as one family member is a pescatarian!

I think I would pass comment on leaving feedback that you feel its fairer to be upfront with the rules before they accept a booking and not the day before you arrive!

I make a lot of curries and not once has my house ‘smelt’ because of it, and certainly not the next day. The owners sound very uptight.

@BunnyLake please tell me your method because despite having windows and doors open I can always smell mine and I hate it

Wow. Nice and relaxing for your holiday!

They dont want any sign of people staying there. It would make me terrified to do anything.

Rules weren't made available prior to booking, only the day before arrival. A customer can hardly write off the cost of a non cancellable booking because they don't like random rules the owner decides to email the day before the booking. Price is neither here nor there

I know! Crazy.

All of them seem fine tbf. Only one that bugged me was no eating on the sofa. I like to have snacks on the couch. Nothing outrageous or super messy but still. Quite enjoy a snack on the couch/sofa 😅

Takeaways smell as much as when it’s cooked fresh so no takeaway curry allowed! No glass of wine on the sofa. Miserable.

The food restrictions are a bit ott but the rest are perfectly reasonable. They have clearly had issues with previous guests.

The toilet one would lead me to believe they are on a septic tank system as opposed to main drains. Although if that was the case I would also expect that there would be rules around not using bleach, biological washing powders and not pouring grease etc down the sink.

I see that 'Pets Allowed', but later, it states Only Dogs allowed...'.
So that means I would have to leave my crocodile in the car and tether my giraffe in the garden.
Well, that's a big NO from me on both counts. 🤬

Some of those rules are just silly. 'Wash dishes in a timely manner' indeed! As long as you leave the place as you found it, it really shouldn't matter what you do while you're there.

Was expecting the rules to be absolutely awful but they all just seem like common courtesy when staying in a holiday let.

Well most of them should be just normal people behaving normally, but working somewhere where people stay, both hotel and self catering I can assure you they're not.

Not eating or drinking on the sofa or in bed, well I don't think you can expect that anywhere really, cup of tea in bed or glass of wine and crisps on the sofa is normal and I guess it's so if there is a stain or mess they can charge you for the cleaning of it because it's not permitted, and likely to affect the next guests who of course will want to be compensated.

As long as you don't throw a glass of red wine over the sofa or spread a 3 course meal around the bedroom I think you'd be fine.

And as for the strong smelling food, that comes down to how happy you'd be checking into somewhere that smells of the previous occupants fish and chips or curry, and if you'd complain if it did smell, and expect to be compensated for that.

Or complain because the previous occupants left food/drink stains or muddy paw/footprints prints on the carpets and furniture and it took longer than expected to clean it so you couldn't check in when you arrived. And expect compensation which can then be taken from any fee charged to the people that caused the issue.

This is why I love hotels - the daily miracle of leaving behind a messy room and coming back to a beautifully clean and tidy fresh one

I think it’s pretty poor behaviour to cook something strong smelling, such that the smell would linger after you’re gone, in a temporary holiday home, though I dislike the way that rule is worded - it’s not just curries and fish!

I would find the whole thing very off putting though. To send it after you’ve entered the contract and just before you arrive is out of order, starts the holiday off with a feeling that you’re being told off before you even got there. If the rules were posted with the listing it would have me second guessing whether to book - it sets a really fussy, nit-picky attitude, rather than a relaxed one, even though I would naturally do everything except the not eating on the sofa anyway.

I wouldn’t be paying attention to 5. If the sofa was light coloured I might put a blanket or something on it first, but would do that anyway not because of the rules! And I’d leave a star or two off and call out the rules and how they were presented in my review.

I was just about to say the same thing! OK a hotel might be a bit more expensive than sharing an ABB, but a stay in one is rule free, and there's nothing I love more than a great hotel buffet/breakfast, and of course the servicing of the rooms, and the only rule being no smoking. Perfect.

They sound a bit anxious and controlling, as lot of the house rules are common sense that most people would naturally do anyway.
I think they want the money from renting holiday property but none of the hassle.
I think asking people not to have curries or fish is a bit much, as is don't eat whilst in the bedrooms or sitting on the sofa.
And the bit about being pest free is unnecessary.
Maybe they've had complaints about the house smelling on changeover day or had a pest problem?
As pp said the people who behave responsibly will do (most) of this anyway and the people who don't care won't even read it.
Honestly as long as you leave it tidy, clean ish (not your job to properly clean ) and everything back in place then I would not worry.

YANBU - The last time I was in an airbnb I spent a significant portion of it eating Pringles in bed. Bliss.

I think most of the rules are just common sense and don’t need spelling out, but no cooking fish or curries is oddly specific and no eating in bed or on the sofa is stupid and unenforceable so serves only to make you uncomfortable.

And if I was running a dog friendly let I would expect the guest dogs would perhaps go on the sofa (and bed) whether it was ‘allowed’ or not and provide a suitable furniture and bedding to be able to clean after that eventuality.

How would they know you had eaten on the sofa, we eat our evening meal on the sofa off trays, and obviously chocolate or biscuits etc. I always eat breakfast in bed too, have never ever spilt it either. Rules are made to be broken in certain situations!

Most of them are reasonable apart from the cooking one.
I do think that's ott.
And they should also list these rules on airbnb before you've booked not just tell you after. As there may be families who regularly cook curries and or fish wo wouldn't book this place if they knew before hand the owners had an issue with it.
Therefore I do not think yabu

All perfectly reasonable, though the rules should be available before booking.

I mean just be reasonable. I don’t see how they’d know if you did or didn’t use a mat on the table. I’d probably just be careful as you would anywhere; and then I’d mention this in my review and wouldn’t stay there again x

The one that gets me is washing up should be done in good time! What possible difference can it make to them if you use every pan in the place, then wash it all up before you leave? They do sound excessive.

I think it's all very reasonable. I read the fish thing as 'strong-smelling fish'.

To be honest, this reflects the state of respect that our younger people have for everyone else. Folk of my generation would not have a problem with any of these rules, but there is a large tranche of people in our society today who need to be told.

Actually I think if you allow dogs the rest of the rules are irrelevant. Your precious house is already ruined. I’d have a faint curry smell over the entrenched taint of stinky dogs any day.