Guests Smoking...Boot Them?

OH NO!!! This was the patio smoking couple!!!
What kind of deposit have you got on the house? I am so sorry, this is awful. Your personal house just reeking of smoke. These JERKS!!! So angry for you!!!

Because you opened a case early with Air there is lots of back up. Just who do these nasties think they are???

What will you do?

2 Likes

I hope so…

@azreala. so sorry this happened. What a nightmare. Keep us posted.

Well so much for my optimism and that of your husband. Another thing about smokers is they seem to be unaware of how much it makes them stink and how much it smells up everything. They thought you wouldn’t be able to tell? Now in retrospect it appears they should have been removed from the property immediately. I’m looking forward to seeing if ABB backs you up.

3 Likes

I wonder if, since they knew they were going to have to pay the HOA fine, they decided to get their money’s worth so to speak.

When you write the review, NO MERCY!

4 Likes

Wow! Total disregard for the same rule…broken twice during the same stay, can’t get more disrespectful than that! I am interested to see if AIR will even allow them to continue renting on their platform. Regardless, I’m sure once you write the review there is no way any host would allow them into their home. Sorry you had to experience this awful family.

I am beyond furious, and also just stunned, that they would lie so intently to me and ABB, about ot was an accident, etc.

At first we thought that the smoke smell was just from them being in the flat. Then it wouldn’t go away and my house keeper found it coming from 1) all the unused towels in the bathroom 2) shower curtain 3) my bathroom extractor fan. So, it’s obvious they smoked in the bathroom.

It was a family with two older kids, 25ish, from Singapore. They blamed the dad when I first confronted them about the patio smoking.

I will let everyone know what ABB does. Im going to message the case manager, inwas assigned for the patio incident, to see if she can move things along.

Does anyone just flat out say non smokers only?

4 Likes

What were they like when you checked them out, or was it your housekeeper who was there?
Also, I really think Air needs to do a better job educating guests, particularly those from parts of the world where it’s a new concept, about what the expectations are.

2 Likes

So the check out was a disaster! We let people check in and check out at their leisure, anytime after 3pm for check in and anytime before 12pm for check out. We arrived at the property at 12.30/45ish and they were just hanging out! My very nice husband, asked them what they were doing and they said waiting for a rental car, and they did not know check out was at 12! Luckily, I arrived a few minutes later and said this unacceptable and you have to leave. They once again said they didn’t know, and I respond with ‘No, you are just choosing to ignore the rules’. I also said under Airs term of service I can charge you for overstaying. That lit the fire and they were quickly gone.

Hanging out inside or like the front?

Good question- sorry I wasn’t clear. They were hanging out inside our condo and on the patio.

We have sliding doors that fully open to create an indoor/outdoor living space from our living room to our front patio. They had the doors completely open and were just hanging out.

If they were hanging out in front of our complex or on the sidewalk, I would have cared less. I guess I should say in my house rules that you must vacate the property at 12, so we don’t have people lingering in the common areas (this has never been a problem with 30+ guests).

2 Likes

I’ve only had 1 out of my 13 completed trips where the guy left an hour after checkout. I told him it was 11am to be gone by. He was my one and only and last 3rd party booking too. Most people are gone by 8am.

We get a lot of late check out requests in Barcelona, and I have a firm 1 hr extra or 150Euro fee, bc we were getting way too many people ‘leaving bags’ all day etc. Had these people asked, I would have said no, bc of the smoking issue, but typically I usually give 1 hour +/-

Leaving bags is something people are used to doing at a hotel, but frankly, at someone’s house it just pushes the boundaries. We don’t have bell desks or security. When people have asked to do it here, I tell them I can leave it covered in the carport, but I don’t take any responsibility. If they have have a late late flight, some have opted to book another night so they can enjoy another full day in Hawaii with a shower and everything. That is the smart thing to do. Otherwise, take a chance with luggage in your car all day.

2 Likes

Rebecca - I am not sure if Air tries to collect through their collection dept. if a guests does not accept the charges. I am only guessing that Air will take the money out of their pocket to reimburse host (if host wins). The reason I say this is because it is against VISA’s terms and conditions for a merchant to charge a card for damages without cardholder consent. The cardholder must agree to it, or the cardholder can just do a chargeback. It does kind of make sense from VISA’s standpoint. They only want their card to be used for purchases.

I imagine that may be one reason as to why the card is no longer authorized for the damage deposit. And guest is asked to accept the charges.

This is the same even when I receive bookings outside of Airbnb. I can take the guest to court if they agreed to pay damages in my signed contract. But because I am accepting VISA, then as a merchant I must abide their rules, and go by their contract.

Sorry to hear that azreala. Do you know what you plan to charge them? Can you have your housekeeper create a receipt for having to wash clean towels/linens?

I agree with Gnome. They likely figured if they were going to get charged then may as well go ahead and smoke indoors. BTW - how far would a person have to walk to the street or an area to smoke (that wouldn’t be in violation of HOA rules)?

I hope they accept the charges quickly so you can move forward with slamming then in a review.

I have wondered this as well. Has anyone ever looked up the TOS you accept as a guest? In the example of my table-breaking barfly, she put down a $150 deposit, but damage exceeded her deposit, bringing claim to $300. She denied, I won. Does that mean they pulled the deposit money out of her account and then debited her Air account for the rest and/or sent the rest to collections? Or do you, as a guest, authorize them to charge your credit card in the case of a claim? This would be in the guest TOS.

I spoke to the charge back dept. of Yapstone (Homeaway’s) payment processor. And I did ask the rep. that if it’s stated in my contract that guest agrees to pay for damage - can I go ahead and charge? She explained that the cardholder must accept the charges for damages after they have occured. But it was okay to charge for things like using items out of a stocked fridge that you would find in a hotel, etc.

I just did a quick google search and found this article. Here is an excerpt:

"Chargebacks and return situations are not uncommon in business transactions. Occasionally, goods or services are not delivered as promised or are damaged, and clients who have used credit cards for these purchases are afforded recourse through the banks issuing their cards to recoup their money.

Rental companies are in a unique situation as merchants because their goods are loaned, not sold. Occasionally, rental stores are in a position where goods are not returned as promised or are damaged. Rental customers are expected to return rented items in the same condition. When this does not happen, however, what recourse does the merchant have?

One of the best ways to protect your merchandise is full disclosure with a potential customer. Make sure you explain your policies on damaged equipment and what will be required of the customer if there is an issue with the rental items upon their return — whether it be repair, replacement or a portion of either. A mutual agreement is usually sufficient to address any problems that may arise.

However, not all customers uphold their end of the agreement, regardless of what has been discussed or signed. When credit cards are involved, there are very specific rules on what a merchant can and cannot do in an attempt to recover funds for damaged goods or losses.

Visa and MasterCard regulations will allow merchants to charge a client’s card for loss or damages only when the client has been informed of the charges and agrees to them. A merchant is not allowed to charge a customer’s card without the cardholder’s consent, regardless of the agreement made previously, verbal or written.

Any delayed or amended charges to the customer’s card also must be completed in a separate transaction and may not be added to the original. This also requires an authorized signature from the cardholder.

While merchant/client contracts typically hold up — particularly when there is full disclosure on the merchant’s part about what will be charged in the case of damaged or lost items — they do not supersede the rules and regulations of credit card companies.

The rules and regulations are part and parcel of the privilege of accepting their cards at any merchant’s business. If a customer disputes additional loss or damage charges from a merchant via chargeback, the merchant would not prevail without a signed, printed receipt for the delayed or amended transactions."

We do the same thing in regards having guests book another night. We offer a discounted rate if the guests want to book another ‘night’, so they can enjoy their last day of vacation.