How do you deal with Guests smoking inside the House when there is non-smoking policy

Question

Our short term rentals have non-smoking policy. However some guests are smoking inside the house. When we discuss with guests or Airbnb or VRBO , there is no photo to prove as it is smell. It is only the strong smell and we can tell it is smoking or Weed. Also many times it is just our cleaners cleaning the house and they may not pay attention to these smells. How do you deal with these ?

Is there any device do you use to detect automatically

Michael Baum · Answer

So we have had this happen twice in the last 9 years. One was people smoking on the deck, not inside. They put all the butts in a can and left it on the deck. I did nothing with that.

The second time was in the house. I charge the guest $250 for deodorizing.

Now I can do this because we have a $500 deposit that is required from all guests. We do this because I believe that guests need some skin in the game. They were angry but there was nothing they could do. Plus they knew they screwed up.

JD Martin · Answer

We generally do like the dark ages and leave the skulls on pikes in front of the house as a warning to the next guests 😅

Seriously, it's pretty much as @John Underwood said; beyond trying to pursue a claim against them, which you would have to prove, not a whole lot that can be done after the fact. Try to screen your bookings harder on the front end and put policies in place that will discourage those types of guests.

Jules Aton · Answer

Thankfully I’ve never had that experience either and believe my housekeepers would alert me. My rules include no smoking inside or outside the property which I hope is a deterrent to smokers who can actually have a fair amount of odor just on their clothes, hair etc.

Sri S. · Answer

Hi Bill, I googled up, it showed some device. But I never heard of that device before. That is why asking here to get some experts opinion on how to deal with it.

Bill B. · Answer

I was too lazy to google it. But…There has to be some kind of device similar to a smoke detector that can either sound an alarm and/or send you a digital message when smoke/weed is detected.

If there’s not. That might be a $1M idea I give to you with only a 1 time $10k royalty.

Sri S. · Answer

We added enough warnings and house rules . We see that still happening now & then. These smells are sometimes hard to get rid of . That lingering smell gives unpleasant experience to next guests.

Michael Tempel · Answer

I used to manage 1450 units and this came up all the time in many different forms.

The best way to explain how to handle it is of course make sure your lease states that "residents are responsible for their guest" in one form or another. Is usually standard language.

Keep in mind this goes from anything to domestic issues (don't personally get involved, visiting pets, smoking, drugs.....really anything that is a lease violation.

A lot of residents don't like to be accountable and will make that statement, so just have that language ready...I used to even highlight it on the lease while going through it before everything went to PDF digital online :-).

I would adopt a non-smoking policy and place signs and some states, cities will provide this for free with specific language for your area.

I would also have exact and legal fees for infractions that are detailed on lease as well. If you don't have a way to change the behavior, it will continue if there is only a verbal warning each time.

I would say issues like this, especially when you have a lot of units is about 10% of the issues that come up, so once you or your leasing staff is trained on how to answer, it become almost as easy as saying hello :-).

James Lester · Answer

As I was recently looking for smoke detectors to update my cabin (not AirBnB) I found WIFI smoke detectors at Home Depot. They cost slightly more than regular detectors. Maybe could replace other bedroom and hall detectors with these? They will alert you by the APP if the detector goes off. Initially there is free 30 day monitoring but this expires after 30 days then has a monthly fee. Consider a check list of some kind distributed to guest after they submit payment to inform then that there is a no smoking rule and a charge of $____ if they smoke inside. I see no reason to punish them if the smoke outside? At least this way you have an alert on the smoke detector if it picks up smoke inside? Also suggest maybe signs at entries saying No Smoking inside. Hope this helps

Ken Boone · Answer

So there are like 3 different companies that sell devices that detect smoke - some of them can specifically detect weed. They produce graphs that show the detection levels. My biggest pain is when a guest smokes weed in the house. It happens probably 10 times a year in my Smokies properties. Most of the time, my cleaners can get the smell out but it is infuriating. The last thing you want is a family with small kids checking in and walking into what smells like a pot fest.

I have researched these products but have not pulled the trigger. There are a couple of issues - it really only works per room, so now if they are smoking downstairs instead of upstairs - how many do you really need - and that affects the cost issue.

My question is - IF you have this product and you can produce a graph showing THC or smoking was detected, AND you have a policy that says you fine the guest X amount if this happens - will the platforms back this up? Do they accept this graph from these devices as proof. If not, then it is pointless and you just have to hope that a fine for smoking (although not enforceable) in your rental agreement is enough of a deterrent.

Dan H. · Answer

Minut can detect smoke. I use Minut for noise monitoring only.

We have collected for smoking. It was an easy proof as they left their paraphernalia by accident (not planted). In this case it was a good collection as we charge $300 for smoking n the property and in this case it seems it was only outside so less than 1 hour clean up. The noise monitor also triggered repeatedly in spite of the co-host trying to contact them about the noise. We also collected a couple hundred for the condition they left the spa which was near actual cost. We needed a filter clean and water recycle due to crud in the spa. One pillow was somehow destroyed (they are meant to detach yet somehow they tore the pillow). I suspect they were quite high to leave their items and may not even remember the evening. They simply paid when presented the photo evidence of both items.

How do you deal with Guests smoking inside the House when there is non-smoking policy

How do you deal with Guests smoking inside the House when there is non-smoking policy

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