To create a comfortable and reliable stay for guests, Airbnb has a few basic requirements for every listing. If you are planning to list a unit on Airbnb, you have to meet those requirements. The platform expects you to have a high response rate on reservation requests and booking inquiries. The expected time is 24 hours. Whenever you’re available, Airbnb wants you to accept reservation requests unless the guests have a bad review from a previous stay.
Avoiding cancellations is very important to the company because they strongly believe each guest’s reservation is critical to their travel plan. As in every other area, guests expect a consistent level of quality that’s why maintaining a high overall rating is essential. If you follow these fundamentals, you will not only make bank but also become a Superhost which will increase the number of bookings. In today’s article, we’ll give you 10 suggestions for Airbnb house rules and tips on how to apply them because when appropriately enforced they will help you maintain your property.
So What Are The Most Common AirBnB House Rules?
1. No Parties
If you’re a new host and you want a fast response, you might consider allowing parties on your property. However, that can cause a lot of damage and can get out of hand real quick. We aren’t saying guests shouldn’t have fun on your estate but think of a way to entertain them with losing control.
You can have cards and some board games to keep them entertained but don’t allow parties. The reason for that is that where alcohol is involved trouble can occur, which means your property can be damaged and the maintenance costs can be out of control. Make your guests happy but don’t forget to protect your listing as well.
2. No Smoking
Even if you are a smoker, you should still imply this rule and save yourself a headache. You can never be sure if a smoker will be respectful and careful when smoking, that’s why they shouldn’t have an option about it. With Airbnb growing by the second rules are becoming stricter for each unit and a cigarette butt won’t do you any good because you’ll get a low rating and bad reviews.
Cigarettes have a strong odour that’s incredibly difficult to get rid of, and their smoke can damage you newly painted walls and fresh sheets. Having a smoke detector can be a reasonable precaution to make sure they won’t light one up. Put a non-smoking rule in your listing and forget about your worries.
3. No Drugs or Anything Illegal
Even if you think that’s an obvious thing some guests might try to play dumb and do it anyway. That’s why you shouldn’t make any assumptions and prevent all illegal substances from coming to your home.
In the time we live in, drugs are distributed without much difficulty, so don’t just assume that because something is illegal, it won’t be used on your property. The best advice we can give you about this rule is to add it to your local book since it will decrease your liability in case things take a turn for the worst.
4. No Unregistered Guests
This is one of the musts when we’re talking about listing on Airbnb. Even if this might not look like a necessary rule, it can cause a lot of trouble. We’ll give a simple example: what happens if an accident occurs on your property and the person in it isn’t even registered?
There is a huge downside to an unknown number of guests on your estate. The number of occupants being much higher than the capacity of your unit will cause more expenses and supplies being used. Plus no one wants an unregistered stranger in their house. Avoid this situation and always register every single guest.
5. No Pets
This is one of the rules that when implied, will save you a lot of headaches. Even if you are a pet owner, this regulation should be a part of your house rules rather than a personal preference. Nowadays people have a lot of allergies, and if they see that pets are allowed on your property, they will avoid booking it.
That’s not all, most animals aren’t properly trained, which means they can chew and tear your property. What happens if it’s a dog that barks loudly? Do you know how many complaints you’ll get? Don’t increase the wear and tear of your property and apply this rule.
6. No Property Damage
This is the one thing every host is afraid of. The best way to go about it is to find a way to tell your guests that’s there will be a fee if they damage your property because that will make them think twice before doing so. When a guest pays a deposit, they will be more mindful about the things they do since they’ll want their money back.
What happens if the damages exceed the deposit? In some situations, you might be able to recover the excess amount, but in some, you won’t. That’s why your best option is to simply put it down in your house rules because this will make them a lot more careful, knowing that they’ll have to pay.
7. Fine for a Lost Key
Losing a key might not seem like a big deal to guests, but to a host, that means they have to replace the key quickly, get a reliable locksmith and possibly delay the next the check-in. Spending money on key replacement is not as cheap as you think, especially if it needs to be done right away.
The fee for the lost key is simply a precaution that makes sure guests will be careful and considerate with your rules. Our advice is to make the fine high enough that guests won’t take these keys for granted.
8. Check-In & Check-Out on Time
Some guests might take owners hospitality and try to take advantage of it. If your reviews are good and your ratings are high, you most likely are booked full, especially when in season, that’s why you can’t afford to have guests check-in and out whenever they please.
This is a rule that you have to go by, and the only way you can allow early check-ins or late checkouts is if you were told in advance. The best tip we can give you for this rule is to specifically mention how many days in advance guests have to convey their request.
9. Keep it Clean
Even though you might think that isn’t a rule but more of a social norm, you should never assume anything when it comes down to guests on your property. Most people will be more considerate with your property if they’ve seen your request. You have to think about your properties cleaning time, and it can be significantly increased if customers think they can do what they want.
In the long run maintenance cost can increase rapidly and that’s why its way easier and cheaper to add this rule to your listing. Save yourself time and money, and don’t let people think your property is a playground!
10. Be Respectful
The last one is not really a rule but a request that you can add at the end of your rule book just so that every guest can think about it. Most guests will follow the rules and maintain proper hygienic conditions in your unit, but there’re some that won’t.
That’s why our advice is to ask people to be respectful of your property and the belongings in it since you’ve put a lot of hard work into satisfying all their wants and needs.
Final Thoughts
As a host, rules are made to help you control the living environment you offer while that you do not face any untoward situation concerning your guests. In the absence of rules, it is easy to lose control over your unit, which can mean damaged property and very bad ratings.
Your best option is to have a proper set of rules suitable for guests and neighbours. If you have a question or you want to share your version of the rules book, drop them in the comments below.