Setting Airbnb house rules is something all hosts must do when first setting up their listings. But once the rules have been set, how often are they revisited? Unless you encounter a situation that specifically required a change-up or addition, our guess is not very often.
While most house rules are applicable year-round, there are a few things that may be more season-specific that went forgotten. Below, we’ve detailed two small-but-powerful season-related situations that could make all the difference in your turnovers.
Outdoor Sport Rules
Depending on where you’re located, you may want to implement seasonal rules that pertain to outdoor activities.
For example, if you’re in California and close to a beach, you may request during the spring and summer months that guests make an effort to remove their shoes after visiting the beach and before entering the house so as not to track sand into the house. (This is a good rule in general but especially important during the high-beach season.)
Alternatively, if your Airbnb is in an area that appeals to winter sports enthusiasts like skiers or snowboarders, you may ask your guests who have been out in the snow to remove their wet outerwear in a specific area of the house to avoid tracking any dirty water inside.
Some things you might consider to be “common sense” may be less evident to out-of-towners when it comes to keeping things clean. It’s not a bad idea to blatantly mention the removal of shoes or clothes in the entryway in your house rules.
Temperature Consistency
To avoid astronomically high utility bills during the hottest or coldest parts of the year, you may choose to implement a rule (or rather, a request) that guests don’t change the thermostat temperatures too drastically during the hottest parts of the summer or coldest parts of the winter. This may seem off-putting to some, but most guests will be understanding (assuming your temperature settings are reasonable).
One way to keep tabs on this – or better yet, control it – is to install a smart thermostat system like the Honeywell T9 Smart Thermostat. With a wifi-enabled thermostat system, you can set up alerts on your phone to notify you when threshold temperatures have been exceeded. Depending on the model you choose, you may even be able to “lock” the thermostat settings so guests can’t go past certain temperatures.
If you choose to enact this rule, whether you install a smart system or hope for the best from your guests, be sure to specifically state where you’d like the temperature to sit in your listing rules. This is especially true if you go with a smart system as guests may be perturbed to discover they can’t do much to change the temperature after they’ve already checked in.
Overall, setting Airbnb house rules isn’t all that difficult. Like most things, though, it’s never a bad idea to revisit what you have and consider making changes or additions. By implementing a few extra rules during the height of the summer and winter seasons, you may save yourself some headaches in the long run.
