All Forum Posts by: Nathan W.

@Bruce Woodruff  I will be leaving them a review. I use OwnerRez so it posts right before their time expires to review me.

I don't allow pets or service animals. The problem is how do you filter these people out without getting yourself in trouble. You're not allowed to ask for documentation and when they state they have "a service dog that aids me medically" it's pretty hard to push back. 

Either way, what concerned me the most about this experience was how Airbnb had photographs and videos of the guests violating my house rules and their own service animal rules and that wasn't enough to get them removed. This idea that they have to be warned first and given time to comply was new to me. Still trying to figure out how to avoid that speed bump in the future.

Yup, I'm trying to get all the damages documented but it's hard to get estimates. You have to go to the guest and ask them for reimbursement before you can file for AIrcover. You also have 14 days. I have guests in the cabin and contractors are booked out. I had one glass company say it would be months before they could even provide an estimate. I'll get it done but it's frustrating. 

I'm just hopeful there's some way around this "Warning" requirement in the future. For example, if I put in my house rules that these rules constitute a warning and if you violate them you'll be removed? Seems really stupid but I'm searching for answers so this doesn't happen again. 

I didn't task for documentation. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to and she used some key words that made it sounds like it was medical. Here exact words were "Hi Nathan I forgot to let you know I do have a service dog that aids me medically that will be on the property"

I collect a deposit for guests that book direct and through vrbo using OwnerRez but not when a guest uses Airbnb. I just haven't had any major issues until now. 

Consequences on my end. We have several 8' glass doors with scratches on the wood and glass. Sectional couch with several cushions saturated with dog urine. Floor has dog urine soaked into it in several locations. Rugs ruined. They also just treated the place like a frat house. For example, we have a duvet and a duvet cover with a 1' hole in the middle of it. Not sure how they did that. 
I'm hopeful we can get the stains and urine smells out of the sectional, floors and rug but at the very least I'll have a large cleaning bill, some glass and staining repairs, and have to replace some linens. 

I know you have to take the bad with the good and it all evens out to a net positive. I was just surprised that I had such clear violations and photographic evidence and Airbnb wouldn't act. If I see a problem I want to act, not give warnings.  

We had a really bad guest this past weekend. We are still cleaning up the mess. 

The summary is this: The guest claimed to have a service animal to aid her medically. We told her that she is allowed under ADA and Airbnb guidelines to bring a dog as long as the animal is not out of control, never left alone at the property, and that it must be housebroken (copied and pasted from Airbnb's website). 
Guest shows up without a dog but her friend brings a dog. Dog is off leash and they leave it alone several times in the cabin. They ask for a plumber because the "Toilets have been clogged since they arrived" (one of many lies) and I send out my plumber. Plumber finds the dog left alone, scratching my door and peeing all over the place. According to my plumber there is also a pile of drugs on the table but unfortunately he didn't take pictures of that. 

We call Airbnb and show them video and pictures of the dog alone in the cabin and the damage it's doing. First two reps say I can kick them out immediately and they escalate the ticket to "someone who can help me do that". Then I get a department that tells me I cannot kick them out unless they are given an official warning first. They leave the guests in the cabin for 3 more days and now I'm left with the cleanup which is extensive. The only "help" I could get from the Airbnb reps was to tell me how to make a claim after the damage was done instead of helping me to prevent damage. 

Sorry for the long post but my question is this. Has anyone else heard that we must give a guest a warning before we can kick them out? I have very clear house rules as well as consequences listed if they violate the house rules. We provided evidence that they were breaking my house rules and AIrbnb's service animal rules. I'm just trying to figure out how to protect myself next time. 

Thank for any wisdom that you may have on this. 
 

Every property and market is different but to me that's a bad idea. Most people go on vacation to enjoy themselves. Having a sticker or sign that states that you will give them at bad rating if they don't act the way you want them to creates a hostile relationship between you and your guest. 
I'd be worried that they would in turn start looking for reasons not to give you a 5 star review.

We have encasements on all of our mattresses. They never come off unless there is some obvious problem. We've had good luck with these (Not an affiliate link) https://www.amazon.com/Utopia-Bedding-Zippered-Mattress-Enca...

We also have mattress pads that go over the encasements. They get cycled out and cleaned so we have extras. 

This may be overkill but we also have encasements on our pillows. I don't have a link for those but it took a while to find a pillow encasement that wouldn't trap air and make the pillow into a balloon. 

I didn't know the first thing about hot tubs when I started. It can seem a little daunting but it's actually a pretty easy process. 

Your hot tub should have a breaker / shut off near it. Flip the breaker to turn it off. Never have the power turned on when the hot tub is empty or you can burn up your pumps.

There's a drain on the bottom of the hot tub. This is the slow method of draining your hot tub. Most cleaners will have a pump that drains the water quickly.
With that in mind it's a good idea to have a drain or some way to control where the water is going. Quickly draining 500 gallons of water on your yard can cause issues. 

Fill the hot tub up with a hose so all the jets are covered.

Turn the breaker back on.

Finally, the chemicals for a Hot Tub are fairly easy. You can buy Bromine Tablets and a Floating Tablet Dispenser at any local pool/spa supply shop. 

I'm sure I've gotten something wrong so be sure to consult a professional. 

If you want something like a slide at a rental property, you have to install commercial grade equipment. 

I spoke to the owner of this rental and asked about the process. They STARTED by contacting an insurance company and finding out what they would require in order to insure a property with a slide. Once they had those requirements they then went out and found a company that installs commercial slides for malls and other public places and had them do the installation. That's the only way you're going to get something like that insured properly. 

+1 for Smoky Metal Works, They often have grills ready to go if you stop in. A 30" grill is currently $450. 

Most guests have no idea how to operate a charcoal grill though. Make Sure you install it far away from tress, houses, cars, or anything else that can catch on fire. Guests constantly spray lighter fluid into them and create huge fire balls. 

@David Zimmer Some deals are obvious and some deals feel forced. This one feels forced. If you really want to buy this house then I think your best bet would be to house hack it and rent out four of the bedrooms. That's going to be difficult with the parking situation but that would be an issue with an STR as well.