My script that has never failed me
[QUOTE=Kazeu;2895774]Respectfully, I did ask the host if guests were permitted. And he replied yes. He failed to mention that I would have to write him a message to get an approval for him beforehand. We obviously had 2 different ideas of what it means when one says "permitted". I ended up telling him that I did not agree with his interpretation and to give him credit, he gave me a refund for the days I had left on the reservation and I moved out of the airbnb early. But I still believe that my interpretation is the more accepted general one. You can decide for yourself. It was a pretty big inconvenience for me though when I had a chica come over only to get denied entry at reception.
You(general you, as in air bnb hosts in general, not you as in Zeos1) can make whatever rules you want from your experiences as a host. That is your right. But there is an argument to be made that if a host does not explicitly say that guests are not allowed in the reservation, one could reasonably presume that they are allowed. Prostitution is legal in Colombia as far as I know. Sex is legal in Colombia. If you do not want prostitution in your Airbnb, then say it. Otherwise, get your nose out of peoples business.[/QUOTE]Not really directing this to you, but trying to help people out that have had trouble. What you (and even I) would generally assume to be true in our home country is not automatically the same in a different country. I mean, to be honest even inside my home country I generally do not assume so that I can ensure I get the personal or business result that I want. You add in the fact that English likely is not their first language and / or the message is going through a translator. And you have even more room for misunderstandings.
When I interact with people from other countries (even other English speaking ones), I take care to phrase things maybe a bit differently to avoid unexpected results. For example in this situation with messaging the hosts, here is my script that I have used to avoid all issues with these questions. Even if all the things are not true, I word things in a specific way for my own reasons.
Hello! I am super excited about your airbnb. I am traveling for work and I am exploring different parts of Bogota to consider a longer term rental. I had a few questions. To help me make my booking decision.
1) is xyz available in the kitchen? I like to cook and wanted to know.
2) what type of work chair and power is available at the desk? I can't really understand from the pictures, and I typically work from the Airbnb 2 days per week.
3) What are the rules about guests? I have work friends in Bogota that sometimes will come over for a meeting or I will make dinner for after work. I also have a few friends that will travel from outside Bogota to stay over during the weekend and want to understand any policies.
4) some other random question from the listing.
Here is what it accomplishes:
1) it shows you are not here mongering / a regular nice guy. A lot of people don't like sex tourists. Specificly women hosts.
2) it shows you are respectful and understand how things often work in Colombia, or at least with buildings in the city.
3) it gives them more information about the different scenarios with guests so that they can better respond with information to help make my decision. Some people also respond to detailed questions with detailed answers.
4) the host MIGHT interpret this as an opportunity for a longer term foreigner rental, and might change their rules or put more thought into their response. I definitely have had this last one happen.
A good amount of the time, the host responds with specifics beyond just yes or no. I book the ones that give the specifics that I want to hear. Never had a problem. If I used a simpler script would I get the same results. I dunno, maybe. But I've never had an issue and it takes me essentially no effort to message the hosts, so I do it.