Being an Airbnb host isn’t easy.
This article discusses 6 essential and common questions about Airbnb guests that every Airbnb host should know.
Airbnb Guest Is Not The One Who Booked
There are two types of Airbnb booking.
- Airbnb business trips
- Airbnb personal bookings
Big businesses typically make Airbnb business bookings for their employees. But it’s usually rare.
Most of the Airbnb bookings are personal.
On Airbnb, one person can’t book for another person. The guest who is booking must stay at the rental property. They can’t book for another person. It’s a breach of Airbnb policy.
A guest can’t book for family members or friends. Period.
If the person who checks into your Airbnb rental isn’t the same person who booked, immediately contact Airbnb and notify them.
Also, contact the guest through the Airbnb app and tell them that it’s an Airbnb policy violation to book a rental property for someone else unless the guest who booked the property also stays.
Contact Airbnb support and ask them to cancel the reservation. Don’t cancel the reservation yourself. Airbnb will penalize you by blocking those reserved dates.
You should immediately ask Airbnb to cancel the reservation because if the guest is different than the person who booked, it clearly shows the guest who came into your rental property is using fake identification, which is a huge red flag.
Moreover, if the guest (fake guest) damages anything at your rental, Airbnb will not cover you through their insurance because the person who caused the damage isn’t the person who booked your Airbnb rentals. Thus, if the guest damages something, you are on your own.
Related: What to do if your Airbnb guest steals something from your rental property? This article discusses everything you need to know about a thieving Airbnb guest.
Airbnb Guest Is Not Verified
As an Airbnb host, it’s vital to vet upcoming guests. It will give you peace of mind and remove many potential headaches.
Please always ensure that the guest has a profile picture and verified government ID, phone number, and email address. The verified government ID is critical to weed out potential scammers and squatters.
If you don’t accept a request from an unverified guest, you may lose some money, but it will sometimes save you from lots of trouble.
If someone has a verified ID, it proves that that person has never been banned from the Airbnb platform for violating Airbnb rules. It’s the first line of defense for you.
The profile picture will allow you to make sure the guest is the person who booked your rental property.
If the potential guest doesn’t have a verified ID or picture, ask them to upload those to the Airbnb profile.
Ask them why they are coming to this area and whom they are visiting. A simple conversation will reveal many things.
And always trust your gut.
If something feels abnormal, don’t accept the guest’s requests.
Are Airbnb Guests Tenants?
Under most state laws, when a guest stays at an Airbnb for more than 30 days, he becomes a tenant, and tenant laws apply to them. However, if the stay period is less than 30 days, the Airbnb guest isn’t a tenant.
If an Airbnb guest overstays their reservation at your Airbnb rental, but if the stay is less than 30 days, the guest is basically trespassing the host’s rental property at this point.
Tenants’ rights don’t apply to these guests, and police will be able to remove them.
However, in these scenarios, always call the non-emergency police line.
Can Police Evict Airbnb Guests?
Police can evict Airbnb guests. However, it doesn’t mean a host can call the police whenever they want to evict the guest without any reason.
As Airbnb is a hospitality business, eviction through police must have a few valid reasons.
A few of the reasons are —
- The Airbnb guest isn’t paying rent or doesn’t have the ability to pay.
- The guest overstays beyond the dates specified in the contract when the guest reserved your Airbnb.
- Disorderly conduct at your property.
- The guest is violating local or state law.
You can call the police to evict your Airbnb guest for any of the reasons outlined above.
However, before you call the police, you can take another step to protect your property.
Contact Airbnb and ask them to cancel the reservation. Show them your proof as to why Airbnb should cancel the reservation. In this scenario, you may lose some money; however, the next step will make your life easier.
When Airbnb cancels the reservation, contact your guest and tell them that their reservation has been canceled, and ask them to leave your Airbnb rental property immediately.
Those Airbnb guests have no reservation and are trespassing your property at this point.
If the guest refuses to leave, call the police and tell them that these guests are trespassing your property and they don’t have any reservations.
In this scenario, police have enough authority to remove the guests from your Airbnb rental.
The reason is very simple.
When the Airbnb guest booked your place, they agreed to follow the Airbnb terms and service and your house rules.
However, if the guest breaks the house rules, it makes the contract void because the Airbnb guest is in breach of the contract. Thus, the guest becomes a trespasser on your property, and you can ask law enforcement to remove the guest from your property.
Are Airbnb Guests Liable For Damage?
If an Airbnb guest damages something at your property, they are liable for the damage.
When the guest leaves your Airbnb, take pictures of everything the guest caused damage. Contact a professional and ask for a written quote.
After getting all the proof, contact the guest for the damage charge.
If the guest refuses to pay, involve Airbnb support. At this stage, Airbnb first will ask the guest to pay for the damage.
If the guest still refuses to pay, Airbnb will pay you the damage cost through Airbnb insurance.
However, the guest is still liable even though Airbnb insurance will pay you for the damage. In some situations, Airbnb will send the damage charges to collection agencies against the guest.
Airbnb Guest Not Following House Rules
Airbnb will never remove a guest for breaking house rules.
As a host, you have to take the necessary steps to protect your rental property from a guest who breaks house rules.
The first thing you can do is contact Airbnb and ask them to cancel the reservation if you don’t feel comfortable with the current guest.
However, if you don’t want to cancel, follow the steps outlined below.
If the guest comes with extra friends or family members, charge the guest extra for each additional person they bring.
If the guest throws a party where it’s clearly stated in your house rule that “No Party,” ask Airbnb for extra compensation from the guest through the resolution center for additional cleaning costs.
If a guest smokes in your non-smoking house, charge the guest an extra fine for cleaning.
If the guest damages something, take pictures, and gather proof. Later, contact Airbnb to collect damage insurance money.
When the guest checks out, always give them an appropriate review and outline everything they did at your Airbnb so that future hosts can become aware of the situation.
