Tariffa antifumo Airbnb: prevenire il fumo nel tuo affitto a breve termine

See how to collect an Airbnb smoking fee, plus other strategies for preventing and detecting cigarette smoke in your units

Guests might not think they’re causing any harm when they smoke on your vacation rental properties, but the smell of smoke can cause bad reviews, the extra cleaning costs can run into the hundreds, and your homeowner clients have likely stipulated that they don’t want any smoking on their property.

So, it’s not only bad for the guest experience—smoking can be a major problem for your client relations and short-term rental (STR) business as a whole. An Airbnb smoking fee is one way to combat smoking, but that’s a solution that requires an explanation. 

We provide that explanation here with nine (yes nine!) steps, the preventative measures you should take, and insights into the STR technology that can save your business thousands.

Step-by-step process for collecting your Airbnb smoking fee

Airbnb doesn’t have a specific smoking fee feature, and you can only charge a security deposit via API-connected software. However, guests are expected to comply with your house rules and smoking policy. 

So, as long as your smoking policy is clearly communicated and you can prove that a guest has violated it, you can use Airbnb’s Resolution Center to request the resulting cleaning fee, which you should also provide proof of.

Here’s what we recommend:

1. List your property without allowing smoking. Now guests who wish to smoke at the property will have to filter for “Smoking allowed” when searching for their stay.
2. Include no smoking in your house rules, adding these to your Airbnb listing. See below for how to do this.
3. Provide reminders on your no smoking policy. You can do this with signage and in your general guest messaging.
4. Install the Minut sensor to detect cigarette smoke. The sensor includes noise and occupancy monitoring, as well as scheduled messaging and various STR home protection features. See below for how to do this.
5. If cigarette smoke is detected, send a message to your guest to elicit an admission. For example, “Hi there! Hope you’re having a great stay. Just to say that our sensor picked up on your smoking, was that just an oversight or weren’t you aware of our no smoking policy?”
6. Ask the guest to pay for the extra cleaning costs. If they refuse, ignore, or delay, keep following these steps.
7. Collect any other evidence of smoking. This includes photographs of cigarette butts and ash.
8. Make a copy of the cleaning invoice. Include extra cleaning time and service charges, ozone generator rental and associated costs, and any other related charges.
9. Visit the Airbnb Resolution Center within 14 days of checkout. Request money to begin the AirCover for Hosts reimbursement process, providing all your supporting documentation, like communications, photos, and the Minut historical log.
   

Note: As per this Airbnb Help Center article, Host damage protection, which is part of Airbnb’s AirCover for Hosts, includes cover for:

• Damage to your home, furnishings, valuables, or belongings caused by guests (or their invitees)
• Unexpected or extra cleaning costs needed due to the behavior of a guest (or their invitees) during an Airbnb stay—for example, professional carpet cleaning
• Income lost if you need to cancel confirmed Airbnb bookings due to damage caused by a guest (or their invitees)

How to add house rules to your listings

As per Airbnb’s Help Center on adding rules, follow the steps below:

For desktop/mobile browser:

• Go to Listings and select the listing you want
• Click/tap Arrival guide, and go to House rules
• Make your changes and click/tap Save

For iOS/Android:

• Tap Profile and then tap Switch to hosting 
• Go to Menu, tap Listings and select the listing you want
• Under Your space of the listing editor, go to House rule
• Make your changes and tap Save

How to implement cigarette detection by Minut

Follow these steps to know as soon as someone is smoking on one of your STR properties, monitor noise, and track occupancy. Note that the installation process normally takes 5-15 minutes.

1. Charge your sensor. Remove the magnetic mounting plate from the back of the Generation 3 sensor. Remove the cover from the charging port. Use the attached USB-C cable to charge Minut.
2. Download the Minut app on your smartphone. Open the app and create your account.‍
3. Install Minut. Peel off the sticker from the back of the mounting plate, and mount it to the ceiling or the wall. Attach Minut to the magnetic mounting plate.

Tactics for preventing smoking in your Airbnb

Unauthorized smoking on your Airbnb properties can cause you a multitude of problems, so use these strategies to keep your vacation rental portfolio smoke-free.

Set a clear no smoking policy

A clear and unequivocal no smoking policy is essential to filtering out smokers from your Airbnb guests. If you list outside of Airbnb, for example on OTAs like Booking.com or Vrbo, or on your own direct booking site, be sure to include your no smoking policy there, too.

Explain how your smoke detection system works

Knowing that you have an easy way to detect cigarette smoke is a strong deterrent to guests, so explain what the Minut sensor is and how it works. You can say this in your listing, in a digital welcome book, and in your messages.

For example, you could say:

“To ensure home protection and the safety of our guests, we use a Minut sensor to detect smoke, monitor noise levels, and track occupancy. But don’t worry! The device is completely privacy-safe. It simply lets us know that our house rules aren’t being broken, that the temperature and humidity is comfortable, and that there are no security concerns.”

Includi le spese di pulizia extra nelle regole e nei messaggi della tua casa

Come ulteriore deterrente, fornisci agli ospiti un esempio dei costi aggiuntivi derivanti dal fumo. Puoi includerlo nelle tue regole domestiche e nei messaggi programmati, che puoi configurare facilmente usando Minut. *

Ad esempio, potresti dire:

«Si prega di notare che se si fuma all'interno della proprietà, potrebbe essere necessario pagare un costo aggiuntivo per la pulizia, che include i costi di servizio e il noleggio del generatore di ozono, e in genere è di circa 300$.»

*La messaggistica programmata di Minut è una funzione automatica che ti evita di inviare messaggi manualmente per ogni soggiorno, ma non è compatibile con l'integrazione di Airbnb a causa delle restrizioni sui numeri di telefono stabilite da Airbnb.

Segnaletica chiara in tutta la proprietà

I promemoria fisici all'interno delle tue unità possono aiutare a dissuadere gli ospiti dal violare le tue regole, ma evita di mettere troppi cartelli per non fumare in casa perché potrebbero apparire invadenti o poco accoglienti. Una semplice nota sulla porta del frigorifero e nello spazio abitativo condiviso dovrebbe essere sufficiente.

Crea un'area fumatori designata

Nonostante le regole sul fumo chiaramente comunicate, i costi aggiuntivi e la tecnologia di rilevamento del fumo, potresti comunque avere alcuni fumatori ospiti nelle tue proprietà STR, soprattutto se le tue case vacanza ospitano gruppi numerosi.

Per fare in modo che i tuoi ospiti non fumino mai in casa, crea uno spazio esterno accogliente dove le persone possano sedersi e socializzare senza creare problemi ai processi di pulizia o agli ospiti imminenti.

Ecco tutto quello che devi fare:

• Fornire un tavolo e almeno due sedie o sgabelli
• Posiziona un posacenere sul tavolo
• Aggiungi una piccola e attraente pianta in vaso
• Assicurati che l'area fumatori sia il più lontano possibile dalla proprietà
• Indica dove si trova l'area fumatori designata nelle tue comunicazioni

Proteggi le tue case, i tuoi ospiti e la tua attività STR

Il fumo di sigaretta turba i proprietari di casa e gli ospiti, crea lavoro extra per te e i tuoi domestici e, senza un piano solido, probabilmente finirai per pagare anche il conto.

Fortunatamente, puoi prevenire i danni causati dal fumo seguendo alcuni semplici passaggi e, con Minut's tecnologia per le case vacanza, rilevalo facilmente non appena si verifica il problema.

Ecco un utile riepilogo dei nostri consigli:

• Comunica chiaramente la tua politica contro il fumo negli elenchi, nei libri di benvenuto digitali e nelle regole della casa.
• Utilizzate Minut sia come deterrente che come soluzione contro il fumo nelle vostre case vacanza.
• Ove possibile, richiedi l'ammissione di colpa del tuo ospite e fornisci un caso completo a Airbnb tramite il Centro risoluzioni della piattaforma.

Con soluzioni semplici e scalabili come Minut, puoi ottenere visibilità su tutto il tuo portafoglio STR, mantenere le tue case libere da fumo e rumori eccessivi e tenere a bada le costose operazioni di pulizia.