As a vacation rental host you may sometimes have problems with noisy guests. Travelers can be too loud and disturb the neighbors or other guests, especially on vacation when they want to relax. In this blog post, you will find tips on how to deal with noisy guests as a host and what you can do to avoid disturbances.
Legal quiet periods and night-time rest
In general, everyone should try to be considerate of their neighbors and avoid unnecessary noise. This is especially true at night and at weekends.
The statutory quiet periods and night-time rest should ensure that all residents can rest and do not disturb each other. The exact times vary from region to region. It is therefore best to check with the authorities responsible for the location of your vacation accommodation.
What can you do about noise in your vacation rental?
Neighbors in particular sometimes feel disturbed by travelers who stay in an Airbnb or other vacation rentals nearby. This is especially true for private vacation accommodation located in quiet residential areas.
Unfortunately, those guests often forget that even if they are on vacation, their neighbors still have to get up early the next day. Furthermore,within larger groups even harmless conversations quickly become loud.
So what can you do to politely but firmly persuade your guests to avoid unnecessary noise in your vacation rental?
1. Define quiet times in your house rules
The first step to avoiding disturbances and other problems with noisy vacation guests is clear communication. So make sure that every guest knows your house rules and specifies quiet times, behavior in the garden or on the balcony or in the hallway when you come home in the evening.
If you don’t live in the area where your property is located, it’s best to find out the exact local regulations from the authorities and include this information in your house rules. If your apartment or house has an outdoor area such as a balcony, garden or terrace, please mention this separately.
Add these house rules to your digital guest guide and possibly also print and display them in the accommodation. You can also be creative here and give examples for an appropriate noise level and remind guests that the neighbors have to work or get up early or have small children.
2. Team up with the neighbors
Especially if you don’t live near the vacation rental, it’s helpful to have a good relationship with the neighbors. Ask the neighbors to get in touch with you if there are any problems and, if necessary, to speak to the guests themselves. If you have a good relationship with the neighbors, they will be more likely to contact you if there are problems and not immediately call the police. This will make it easier for you to find a solution together and avoid conflicts or even charges of disturbing the peace.
-> Tip: In some cases, it can even be useful to have a neighbor near your accommodation who can help you with tasks that you can’t do remotely. You can find more information on this in our host guide to co-hosting on Airbnb.
3. Pay attention to noise protection when setting up
How loud conversations and noises can be heard in an apartment also depends on the furnishings. While sound-absorbing carpets and wood paneling used to be installed in many apartments, the Scandinavian-style, minimalist furnishing style has prevailed in recent years. Less furniture and more of it made of wood, with just a few shelves and small rugs. This may be more practical when cleaning and may also appeal to people with house dust allergies, but unfortunately this style of furnishing is not soundproof.
When furnishing your property, you should therefore think carefully about how soundproof the walls are and where a larger shelf or a heavy rug might be worthwhile. There are many options: sound-absorbing curtains and plants, special windows that block out street noise. Think for yourself about what makes the most sense in your vacation accommodation and is financially worthwhile. Perhaps there are even subsidies available? Find out more!
4. Adjust listings and booking settings
Another way to avoid problems with noisy guests in your vacation rental is to adjust your listing and booking settings.
- Target group: It should be clear from the description of your vacation accommodation that party vacationers are not welcome. If the property is located in a quiet residential area, you should also mention this.
- Minimum stay: There are of course exceptions, but in general, guests who stay in a vacation rental for a week or longer are quieter than other guests who only stay one or two nights at a time. If you often have problems with noisy guests, you could try increasing the minimum length of stay. Try it out and find out what works best for your rental concept.
- Maximum number of people: If larger groups often stay in your accommodation and neighbors complain about noise, you could reduce the maximum number of people allowed. Weigh up whether it is more important to you to make full use of the size of the apartment and also rent out the sofa bed, or whether you would rather reduce the risk of complaints about disturbing and noisy guests.
- Guest reviews: On many booking platforms, not only are guests asked to rate their accommodation, but hosts can also leave a review about their guests. If a guest who has a lot of negative reviews wants to book with you, you should take a look at the points of criticism before booking.
-> Tip: You can find more tips on how to avoid problems with guests in our guide on problematic guests.
Special scenario: guests suffer from noise themselves
However, the opposite can also happen and your guests themselves have a problem with noise in the vacation accommodation. This may be due to other guests in other apartments or to a building site, road noise, a nearby disco or a railroad line.
If the noise is caused by a busy road, a restaurant in the same building, major renovation work in the building or similar, it depends on what you promised in the advertisement. As a host, you must also point out such sources of noise, otherwise your guests are entitled to compensation and, in the worst case, can even demand reimbursement of their travel costs.
For example, if your accommodation is located in the city center or nightlife district, you cannot promise a “relaxing weekend”, but rather a “stay in the beating heart of the city”. With the right description of your accommodation, you can also ensure that you appeal to the right target group. A group of students, for example, will expect something different from a successful city break than an older couple or a guest with two dogs.
If the noise is caused by neighbors or other guests in the vacation accommodation, you can ask your co-host or a neighbor to help your guests.
You can also keep some packaged foam earplugs in case of an emergency.
Conclusion: How to prevent unnecessary noise in your vacation rental
For many people, vacations are the best time of the year and they want to enjoy these days or weeks to the fullest. And if they have booked your vacation accommodation to do so, all the better!
With clearly communicated house rules, well thought-out furnishings and, if necessary, a few adjustments to your listing or booking settings, you can ensure that your guests have a great vacation, but also that the neighbors and you as the host can sleep peacefully.
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