Back to Blog

A Guest Smoked in Your Airbnb: Cleaning and Claims

If a guest smoked in your Airbnb, document it before anything is cleaned, remove the smoke smell from soft surfaces, hard surfaces and the air system, and request payment through the Airbnb Resolution Center. Airbnb's Host damage protection lists smoke odor removal among the extra cleaning costs it can reimburse if the guest does not pay, as long as you file within 14 days of their checkout (Airbnb, Host damage protection).

Smoke is hard on a rental. The smell settles into fabric and surfaces and can take more than a normal turnover to remove. Meanwhile the next guest is due in a few hours. Here is how to handle both the cleaning and the claim.

First: set the rule clearly

Claims are easier when the rule was clear before the stay. Airbnb's house rules settings include a specific option for smoking, vaping and e cigarettes (Airbnb, Add house rules), and Airbnb's ground rules for guests say guests are expected to follow the host's house rules, including smoking restrictions (Airbnb, Ground rules for guests).

If you do not allow smoking, make sure:

• The smoking setting in your house rules reflects that
• Your rules say whether that applies to balconies, patios and the yard
• Your house manual and any signs in the home say the same thing
• If you allow smoking outside, you provide a spot and an ashtray away from doors and windows

Clear rules also help you here: many guests who smoke will simply go outside if you tell them where to go. See Airbnb house rules examples for wording.

Step 1: document before cleaning

This is the step that decides whether a claim succeeds. Ask your cleaner to stop and photograph before touching anything.

What to photograph:

1. Cigarette butts, ash, lighters, packaging or vape cartridges, with a wide shot showing which room they are in
2. Ashtrays or improvised ones: cups, plates, soda cans
3. Burn marks on furniture, linens, carpets or counters
4. Yellowing or residue on surfaces, if visible
5. Disabled or covered smoke detectors
6. Open windows and fans left running, which can be a sign someone tried to air it out

What else to record:

• A written note from your cleaner describing the smell, where it was strongest and when they arrived
• Any smart device data you legitimately have, such as a smoke or air quality sensor alert
• Guest messages that mention smoking

Smell does not show up in a photo, which is why the physical evidence matters so much. Keep the originals with dates intact.

Your photos from the turnover before this guest's stay are just as important. They show the home was clean and smoke free when the guest arrived. With Clyn, those photos are part of every turnover automatically: your cleaner takes them in the Clyn app, the AI checks them against your standard and each one is saved with its date, so the before record is already there when you need it.

Step 2: clean the smoke smell

Smoke odor goes into almost everything. A normal turnover will not remove it. Work from soft surfaces to hard surfaces to air.

Soft surfaces

1. Strip and wash all bedding, including mattress protectors, pillow protectors, duvets and blankets.
2. Wash curtains, throws, cushion covers and bath mats.
3. Clean upholstery and carpets following the manufacturer's care codes, or book a professional cleaner if the smell is strong.
4. Check pillows and mattresses. If the smell stays after cleaning, replace the pillows.

Hard surfaces

1. Wipe walls, doors, cabinets, window sills and light switches.
2. Clean the insides of drawers and closets where smoke can settle.
3. Wash hard window treatments like blinds.
4. Clean any ashtray area outside and remove all butts from planters and the yard.

Air

1. Replace the HVAC filter.
2. Ventilate with open windows and fans.
3. Check smoke detectors were not disabled and test them.

Use one cleaning product at a time and follow each label. The CDC warns never to mix bleach or any disinfectant with other cleaners because of the dangerous vapors it can create (CDC, Cleaning and Disinfecting with Bleach).

When to call a professional

If the smell remains after a full clean, call a professional odor remediation or cleaning company. Some odor treatments, such as ozone, are not safe in occupied spaces; the EPA says no federal agency has approved ozone generators for use where people are present (EPA). Leave those decisions to a professional and keep all invoices for your claim.

For general odor prevention, see how to get rid of smells in your Airbnb.

Step 3: protect the next guest

If the home still smells like smoke at check in, the next guest's review will reflect it, and it will not matter that someone else caused it. Your options:

• Delay check in if the smell is close to gone and you can finish in a few hours
• Move the incoming guest to another unit if you have one
• Contact the incoming guest honestly and work with Airbnb if the stay cannot go ahead

Never hope a guest will not notice. They will, and a cleanliness complaint on arrival is harder to handle than an honest message before they arrive. See guest wants a refund for a dirty Airbnb for how those situations play out.

Step 4: request payment and file a claim

Airbnb's process, per its Host damage protection help article:

1. Request payment from the guest first through the Resolution Center.
2. If the guest does not respond within 24 hours, pays only part or declines, you can ask Airbnb to get involved and submit a reimbursement request.
3. File within 14 days of the guest's checkout.

Airbnb's ground rules also say guests are expected to pay reasonable requests for reimbursement if they are responsible for damage, missing items or unexpected cleaning costs (Airbnb).

What to include:

Keep your request to the actual costs, backed by receipts. Policies change, so check the current Airbnb help center article before you file. For more on building a claim, read how to prove guest damage on Airbnb.

The review

You can still leave an honest, factual review of the guest. Stick to what happened and whether rules were followed, without emotional language. Future hosts read it, and Airbnb's review policies apply to you as well.

FAQ

Can I charge an Airbnb guest for smoking?

You can request reimbursement for the extra cleaning needed to remove smoke odor through the Resolution Center. If the guest does not pay, Airbnb's Host damage protection lists smoke odor removal among the costs it can reimburse when you file within 14 days of checkout.

How long do I have to file a smoking claim on Airbnb?

Airbnb's Host damage protection requires the reimbursement request within 14 days of the responsible guest's checkout, after first asking the guest through the Resolution Center.

What proof do I need that a guest smoked?

Dated photos of cigarette butts, ash, burn marks or vape items, a written note from your cleaner, before photos from the previous turnover and receipts for the cleaning.

If you want every turnover checked before check in, you can try Clyn free on one property at clyn.com.