Airbnb Neighbor Complaints: What to Do about Them

Although running an Airbnb can be rewarding, hosts may encounter several challenges, one of which is dealing with unhappy neighbors. Airbnb neighbor complaints can be tricky to handle and pose serious obstacles to your business, so the best strategy is to prevent them from happening.

Read on to find out how to avoid neighbor complaints and what to do if your neighbors are upset with your guests’ behavior.

You may also want to check out our article to learn about common Airbnb complaints from guests and find practical tips on avoiding them and ensuring good reviews.

Common Reasons for Airbnb Neighbor Complaints

While each situation is unique, most people aren’t enthusiastic about having strangers in their homes, so they may not be happy if any issues arise. Therefore, if your guests are rude, unpleasant, or aggressive, your neighbors may be concerned about their safety and feel uncomfortable in their own homes.

Suppose your vacation rental home is regularly used as a venue for parties and events. In that case, your neighbors are likely to become frustrated with the excessive noise, especially if your property is located in a quiet neighborhood.

Parking problems can also cause conflicts between your neighbor and your guests. If your guests park on your neighbor’s property or their cars block driveways, your neighbors will be annoyed, and you can expect a visit from your local authorities.

Parking issues typically occur when you don’t provide guests with clear instructions about where and how they can park their cars. You should include this information, as well as check-in instructions, in your message and send it to your guests before they arrive at your property, so they won’t have to make assumptions.

You’ll never forget to do it if you automate your guest messaging using short-term rental software like Hospitable. Our STR super app will automate 90% of guest communication with the help of AI, saving you time and effort.

This way, you can ensure your guests receive the information they need at the right time. You’ll also be able to take advantage of the Suggest with AI and Improve with AI tools in your Inbox to quickly draft and correct detailed responses when you want to message your guests manually.

What Could Happen if Hosts Ignore Neighbor Complaints?

If your neighbors are unhappy with something happening at your rental, they may begin to complain to you directly. This is probably the best scenario, and if you respond appropriately and resolve the issue, you can avoid involving law enforcement and Airbnb support in the situation.

However, if you don’t take action, your neighbors may feel that they can no longer trust you and will take further steps. They can report you and your property to Airbnb through the Neighborhood Support process, which allows concerned neighbors to submit a complaint online.

Airbnb will review the issue and contact you as a host. They will also conduct a follow-up investigation and report back to the neighbor. The good news is that Airbnb is unlikely to suspend or remove your listing, but having multiple complaints won’t be beneficial for your business.

The neighbor could also decide to take legal action. If your guests break specific municipal or community laws and regulations, such as noise codes, your neighbors may contact local police, code enforcement, or building management. They could also file a lawsuit against you in small claims court, although this is generally considered a last resort, as lawsuits are risky and require time and money.

How to Prevent Neighbor Complaints about Your Short-Term Rental

Being proactive and taking common-sense measures can help you avoid issues and ensure that your Airbnb runs smoothly. Here’s what you can do to prevent conflicts with your neighbors.

Build relationships with neighbors

Get to know your neighbors, communicate with them, and let them know about your Airbnb. Show them that you care about the comfort of the people who live near your rental. Ask them if they have any boundaries that you should be aware of and respect them. Also, let them know that they can always contact you if they have any concerns. It's a good idea to keep them informed about upcoming guests.

Screen your guests

Thoroughly screen potential guests before accepting bookings. Check their Airbnb profile and review their short-term rental history. Read reviews of potential guests left by previous hosts and ensure they’re consistently positive.

Accept bookings if previous hosts describe potential guests as friendly, quiet, and good communicators. However, if other hosts complain about a potential guest, especially regarding noise or rude behavior, it’s a red flag. It’s just common sense to avoid taking on this guest.

Hospitable users can reduce the risk of bad guests by requesting additional verification for any accepted reservation made on any platform for a small fee. This verification is powered by our partner Autohost.

Your guest will be required to upload a photo of their government-issued ID and take a selfie. Additionally, you can run your guest’s name through a sex offender registry for enhanced security. As your guest completes the verification process, Hospitable will pause all scheduled messages and will not share smart lock codes with the guest until they are approved.

You may want to check out our help article for a complete overview of the additional guest verification process.

Invest in noise management tools

Install a privacy-safe noise measurement system, such as Alertify and Minut, that will help you prevent issues before they even happen and avoid Airbnb noise complaints and hefty fines. Noise monitoring devices measure decibel levels and duration of the noise, but they don’t identify specific sounds or record them, so guests can still keep their privacy. You’ll be able to monitor the noise level online via a mobile app or website and contact your guests if things become too loud.

Learn more in our recent Masterclass.

Set clear house rules

Clearly communicate your house rules in a dedicated section of your listing and include them in your Airbnb house manual. Limit the number of guests allowed on your property and refrain from hosting parties and events that may attract large crowds and misbehaving guests. Inform your guests about community rules, such as the music cut-off time and parking restrictions, and ensure they respect these rules during their stay.

If you decide to apply penalties for breaking the house rules, ensure that you communicate this clearly to your guests. It’s essential to include information about your rules and penalties in personal conversations with your guests before their stay and provide them with prompt answers to all their questions.

Of course, Airbnb messaging takes time, and busy short-term rental hosts have a lot of other responsibilities and routine tasks on their to-do lists. But it’s possible to make your life easier using vacation rental software like Hospitable.com. Our platform provides all the tools you need to forget about 90% of routine operations.

Ask your guests to sign a legal contract

Airbnb allows hosts to require their guests to sign a formal rental agreement before staying at their properties. This formal document outlines the terms of the stay, including the responsibilities of both the host and the guests. The Airbnb rental agreement helps set clear expectations, prevent disputes, and provides additional legal protection.

Unfortunately, the Airbnb website does not provide a specific place to add this document, which would allow your guests to review and sign it. However, with Hospitable, you can create an agreement template, and our system will automatically populate it with guest and booking data for each reservation, sending it to your guests for signature. This functionality also works for extra services, such as equipment rentals that you can offer guests to increase your revenue.

Your guests will view their rental agreements in their guest portals as the required task before check-in and will be able to sign their contracts digitally. The system will then record the timestamp and generate a unique document ID, creating a locked PDF for your records.

Provide clear parking instructions

To prevent parking issues, provide your guests with clear parking instructions in their check-in information. Share this information in your messages and digital guidebook, specifying where they can park, which areas to avoid, and any relevant local regulations. Consider adding a map or photo to help guests locate the parking area.

How to Handle Airbnb Neighbor Complaints

If despite all your efforts, problems do occur, it’s crucial to listen to your neighbor’s concerns when they reach out to you and do everything to resolve the issue and improve the experience for everyone.

For example, if your neighbor suspects a party is happening on your property, thank them for calling to let you know. Make it clear that if the neighbor is correct, you will cancel the guest reservation immediately and contact the police. You should also apologize for any disturbance caused to your neighbor.

Final Thought

When you rent out your property, it’s crucial to maintain good relationships with your neighbors. After all, as a host, you need a supportive community, so don’t forget about your neighbors’ rights.

A few people would be thrilled to live near an STR property, but they would also be constantly disrupted by strangers. That’s why you need to take preventative measures that allow you to address problems before they occur and avoid Airbnb neighbor complaints.

Set clear house rules for guests and penalties for breaking them. Regularly communicate with your neighbors and take their complaints seriously. This way, you can create a pleasant experience for both guests and neighbors, ensuring your Airbnb business thrives.

Responsible Airbnb hosts always plan for the unexpected, so you may want to check out our blog article to learn more about common Airbnb problems that you may face as a host.