22 Super Important Airbnb Hosting Rules From A Superhost

Top Airbnb Hosting Rules

1. No parties (or events)

This is a rule that Airbnb has for all guests. No parties at all and if one is caught, it can result in cancellation of the reservation and guests being asked to leave. This is HUGE for hosts because so many were worried about this happening with their listings and preventing new hosts from entering the hosting space.

Events are a little different. Although any event not approved by the host follows the same policy, it can still be an approved activity if the host allows before. If you don’t want any events to be hosted at your listing make sure you include that in your listing description.

I have one property that is stunning and has a beautiful garden area leading up to the courtyard. I get so many inquiries about baby showers or birthday parties. I finally realized I need to just put in my listing description that these types of events are not allowed and listed why.

2. Pets

Are you pet friendly or team no pets? You need to make sure this is up to date on your listing and that guests understand all the guidelines. If pets are allowed, spell out if they’re allowed on the furniture or not and any designated spots for them to relieve themselves. Provide bags for waste and an outdoor trash can.

3. No guests not on the reservation

This is really irritating for hosts and can be a reason to cancel a reservation. If you, as the host, get wind of extra guests not on the reservation make sure to politely confront the guest

4. Visitors

Have these guidelines laid out or ready for your guests. If they’re visiting family or traveling with others that are not staying at the same listing, they will probably want to have visitors. This is something I personally do not care about at all. I appreciate when guests reach out and tell me, but I would urge you to have a similar approach because you want guests to feel comfortable and relaxed during their stay.

5. No smoking

Now that I’m thinking about it, I don’t think I have no smoking signs in any of my Airbnbs. That’s not what I would recommend! Lol! Especially if you cater to a wide demographic or have international travelers, you will definitely want to specify if smoking is allowed and where.

6. Quiet hours

All my listings have designated quiet hours regardless if the area calls for this. My thought is, I want my neighbors to like me and my short term rental so I better keep my guests from keeping them up all night long. I typically go with 10pm to 7am. But you get to choose or your municipality will choose it for you!

7. Neighborhood

Give your guests all the rules of the area. If you’re in a gated community or an HOA and there’s designated days for street sweeping, you’ll want to ensure guests comply. If there’s a community center or pool in the neighborhood, you’ll want to tell guests all about those rules as well.

8. No shoes in the house

Some people are a total stickler for this and I am not one of them. I know, I know it’s super unsanitary but your house, your rules. If you want guests to take their shoes off, make sure you specify this. They will probably not follow your rules if they’re not used to it so keep that in mind. Good news is AirCover will help cover the cost of any extra cleaning needed if guests ruin your furniture or rugs.

9. Do not rearrange the furniture

This one is so wild to me but I have had this happen! I had guests stay for a month in one of my Airbnb properties and we had an issue with the refrigerator. I entered while the guest was staying there to deal with the refrigerator issue and they had completely rearranged the living room furniture! I asked they put it back upon move out and they didn’t so I now have this rule and totally recommend it.

10. Return accessories to their designated spot

And by accessories I mean any amenities you provide that you would like guests to clean up before they check out. This could be anything from board games to pool toys. You want your guests to know the expectations for partaking in these activities.

11. No illegal activity

This one is obvious and authorities should be notified immediately if there’s any illegal activity.

12. Off-limit areas

Just be upfront and put a barrier between the guest and the off-limit area. For example if you don’t want guests getting into a certain closet, but a lock on it. If you want to block off the garage, keep it locked. You understand what I mean but that little barrier will actually keep the guests from using the off-limit area.

13. Hot tub/Swimming pool

Please please have rules for guests around these items! And make sure you have the right insurance coverage here too. You want your guests to feel safe and free to use these amenities but they need to be able to understand the rules of engagement.

Any questions on proper insurance for your Airbnb? I have an article covering all your questions around that here!

14. Check out instructions

Check out instructions need to be clearly laid out for your guests and these should absolutely be in your Welcome Book! You have to have flexibility here as well. If some guests don’t follow these perfectly, you just need to let it go. If you’ve ever been in a rush to get somewhere on time or run late, this could be your guests issue the morning of check out and just be understand whether or not they let you know.

15. Eating areas

If you want guests to keep food in one area of the house, you need to let them know this ahead of the visit. I’d also recommend putting these instructions in your welcome book so they are reinforced on the app and in the house. More communication is better!

16. Garbage/Recycling

If you expect guests to recycle, provide a bin and instructions on where to dispose the recycling versus the trash. This is crucial for guests to understand where they should be disposing of trash during and after their stay if you expect them to take it out of the house.

17. Laundry

This is always a good one to have rules or really just instructions around for your guests. My thoughts here really evolve around user error. You don’t want a guest to accidentally break your washer dryer or forget to clean out a dryer vent. These are the pricy fixes that no one wants to deal with! Spell out instructions and then any incremental steps they should take to care for the machines while using them.

18. Designated parking area

Airbnb has an area that allows hosts to lay out any parking instructions for guests. Make sure to call this out in the listing description as well so guests know exactly where to park. You’ll want to include this in the check in instructions as well. If there’s restrictions on parking, make sure they understand. If the house allows for a lot of guests but not many parking spots, this could pose issues for your guests booking.

One of my listings is on a private easement so there’s no street parking, only driveway parking. The driveway can comfortably fit 4 cars and the house sleeps 6. It’s a perfect match of cars to guests. I have stayed in places where the parking limit was 2 cars but the house slept 10 guests. That was just way too out of balance for 10 guests! Keep this in mind when building out your listing.

19. Decks and balconies

I have no decks or balconies at my properties but in my research for this post I have found that having rules for these areas is crucial for family-friendly listings. Other hosts have mentioned having rules for these areas for children’s safety and to make the adults aware of what could happen if they left children unattended in these areas.

20.  Barbeque

Lay out ground rules for using the grill or barbeque for your guests. If you have a propane tank attached, make sure they know to turn it on and off before and after use. Let me know how you expect the BBQ to be left and if they need to clean it when done or replace a cover over it.

21. Allow for any ongoing maintenance

I always put in my House Manual any ongoing maintenance. I know some hosts try to plan the maintenance around guest stays but I find it easier to schedule these maintenance things on a regular basis and make your teams aware so they can adjust if it’s an inconvenience to the guests. Items like landscapers, pest control, trash service and pool service have to happen on a regular basis. I have never had complaints from guests about these items because they are aware ahead of time.

22. Compliance

Make sure you spell out the ramifications for guests who do not comply with your house rules! This is crucial and something you will learn more about over time once you understand your guest.

What Airbnb hosting rules do you have for your guests? I’d love to know in the comments below!

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