A host who travels lists their Airbnb hates - now modified to be called "My Pet Peeves"

[Chloe]

@AFineHouse, you must be staying in Portland? Come on over to Old Orchard Beach. 15 min outside of the city, and the parking is plentiful and free.

[Chloe]

What is “long life” milk?

[Jane_Graham]

@Chloe Do they not have UHT milk in America? It doesn’t taste great but it’s okay if you’ve got nothing else.

[AFineHouse]

Haha yes! We are! My now husband (we got married yesterday), is from Freeport. We got hitched in Freeport town hall. I will ask him about Old Orchard Beach. We love our Airbnb loft other than that. Maine is so beautiful and Portland has fantastic food and drink.

[Jane_Graham]

@AFineHouse congratulations on your marriage.

[Chloe]

Yes! Congrats on your marriage!

You’re absolutely correct that Portland is a Foodie’s Paradise. I’ve read that Portland, ME has more restaurants per capita than any other city in the country, LOL!

We have a shared home accommodation, but people seem pretty pleased. I will PM you a link to our listings.

[Chloe]

If we do, it’s something I’ve never heard of. Interesting though!

[AFineHouse]

I’ve never heard of long life milk but what are your thoughts on powdered creamer? It has a relatively long shelf life and I would consider adding to our pantry per this thread.

I drink black coffee but my husband does not. It actually reminds me that when we do our maintenance at our Airbnb house he never drinks coffee because we don’t provide any creamer.

[Chloe]

I provide powdered creamer if people want it. But our rooms also have small refrigerators, so there I provide fresh half n half too.

When staying away from home, I’ll use the powdered creamer if I have to. It’s better than nothing, as I have not yet mastered drinking my coffee black.

[Jess1]

I buy filtered milk for my guest fridge. It lasts about 3 weeks and tastes exactly the same as fresh. So, if I get someone who doesn’t drink milk, as I did recently, it’s still well within date for the next guest.

[AlexSJ]

It is the milk that you buy of the shelf …which is not refrigerated in the store. You can store it forever …more or less.

Also in thise little small tetrapacks …to give to the kids for school. Also is just enough for a bowl cereal in the morning.

[AlexSJ]

And perhaps a good addition to the list …what about the 1 ply toilet paper?

[Barns]

such a good idea for a post, seeing as you are a host. Imagine the replies if you’d written this as a guest!
Shame you got jumped on by the usual suspects, but delighted to see the negative posts have been harvested and binned.
One from my list as a guest: enough teabags for one person to have one cup a day.

[SandyToes]

As an aside, earlier my post was caught up in the scoop-net of posts being deleted. Apparently it was deleted in error and later reinstated…except for the 6 or so “likes” it received so I just wanted to thank those of you who found favor at the time in what I had to say.

Sign me sensitive.

[JaneB]

I was in the middle of reading your post when the deletions occurred. I thought I was going crazy, ha!

[georgygirlofairbnb]

shame on you ! I leave Organic Grass Fed produced Half and Half. -

[Yana]

I agree with many things, especially calling and check in. Check-in " on time " for me is the worst. I understand they are planning but what about me a traveler . I can’t plan delays or the fact that I can get lost .

[georgygirlofairbnb]

ALL ANSWERS AND RESPONSES ARE BELOW AFTER YOUR COMMENT. HAVE FUN!

@Poppy

Having to meet for check in or even worse for check out – damned inconvenient, set up a lock box, security box or keyless entry.

• We Meet and Greet every single group. With large houses, it puts the kabosh on bad behavior.

Doing the tour, here is the kitchen, here is the bathroom, here is the cutlery – I can find my way around a home – what I really want is some privacy so I can go to the toilet.
*Some people need to be shown the trash compactor, and how to filter the water. Also the houses, being large, have either 2 or 3 HVAC’S and really the guests have got to be shown the zones. The house was built for me, and not guests, so it is not all intuitive.

A lack of instructions and parking information – Have everything pre-written in the itinerary, if it is difficult or complicated provide detailed photos beforehand.
*Oh yea…but you have no idea how many times I have had to ask a guest to move the car because they blocked the garage and I am now stuck. That includes pre instructions, verbal instructions, and we even tried signs. We can park about 7 cars easily in our driveway plus gravel pad. Do you know that I had a review that mentioned we had a lack of parking? I wanted to slam my head against the wall.

Saying you have a kitchen when it is only a kitchenette – how can you cook a meal with one hot plate and a microwave.

• I can not relate to this one, but I do suspect it is common. Yes.

Distance, 10 minutes walk from town – rubbish, whatever the distance is given, double it.
*Some of my guests say it is longer…I guess they got stuck in traffic, and some say it is shorter. Maybe actual distance would help, or a map.

Location – too difficult to find where is it on the map?
*Not sure what you mean here. For a long time Google Maps did not find my house because roads which were not really roads dead ended into the marsh. I would send directions, and they would not read them.

Booking – waiting for host, instant book only!
*Oh this is a touchy subject. So I am instant during slower times, but again it is risky for big houses. I have had to ask people to cancel … like bachelor parties. Or guests who did not read carefully and miss my details. I think IB is a negative. Not everyone is a good guest.

Meeting people in general – I just want to get in.
*I hate all people too and wish I never had to see the face of a guest. But, I want them to know that the owner is around and they had better behave. Also, the unique history of my neighborhood really must be told in order to appreciate it. Did you know that Count
Basie, Louis Armstrong, BB King, and the very first time James Brown performed “papa’s got a brand new bag” was right in my neighborhood at a speakeasy !

Lack of information on working appliances – maybe this type of washing machine etc is normal in your country, but I have never seen one before.
*I leave out the owners guide but otherwise they can look it up on the internet.

A lack of extras – I shouldn’t have to buy salt, pepper, cooking oil.

• Cooking oil is a maybe. I think you should buy it.

Towels on the bed – I want to get into bed, why aren’t the towels in the bathroom where they belong?

• This is a non issue and much too picky and critical.

Lack of vanity/bench space – where am I meant to put my toilet bag?
*This could be a space issue. Again a bit fussy. Hotel focused.

Lack of information – where is the supermarket and when do they close?
*Oh my. I dont really think owners should post the hours of the grocery. A bit critical.

No milk – seriously you supply coffee and sugar but no milk, same goes for butter.

• Butter ? No …no butter. Buy it at the grocery.

No toilet spray – really??
*Again no. A Guest should pack and Carry Poo Poo Potpouri but no.

No fly spray – always needed.

• Absolutely not.

Lack of pillows – a least 2 per person, and spare pillows in the cupboard should have pillow cases on them.

• Yes. I agree. But again, it is a value issue. You earlier mentioned that you paid an average of $60 - $70 a night if I recollect. That is a very low price. Sometimes you get what you pay for. Buy cheap / get cheap.

Rubbish – being made to take the rubbish to some receptacle in town. I am already struggling with luggage, often steps and a strange neighbourhood and I have to carry my garbage as well?
*I expect the garbage to be placed in the bin. In my opinion everyone should be willing to chuck their own trash.

Asking me to phone to confirm check in time – what is wrong with the Airbnb app? I am in a foreign country, I don’t have the ability to phone and you can’t understand me anyway. A google maps ETA is good enough, refer back to lock box.
*Refer back to hosts who prefer to meet and greet. We can plan our day better with an ETA. Yup we like a confirmation.

Beds where one side is against the wall – great bathroom exit in the middle of night, not!
*Not everyone has decorative taste. You should see this ahead of time in photos.

No bedside table -
*You should see this ahead of time in photos. Dont book the place.

Blunt knives.
*A pet peeve, but we simply stick a knife sharpener in the drawer in case we forget.

No wine glasses.
*That would destroy me. No can do.

Liquid soap in shower (a personal quirk).
*I already wrote about this. Personally I like bar soap

Nowhere to put my suitcase.
*We provide both luggage rack and also a bed scarf like hotels do. But the suitcases on the luggage rack gouge and mar the wall. It is an issue.

Washing machine but no powder or no way of drying clothes e.g. a clothes horse would be good.
*Guests really should bring their own washing powder. My opinion.

Poor photos.
*Easy solution. Dont book the place.

Multiple photos of the same thing.
*Picky, picky.

The bathroom is shown before the living and bedroom. S
*See comment above.

Too dark.
*See comment above.

The toilet – I don’t need to see that.
*See comment above.

The toilet seat up – really? I know you don’t understand about styling but…
*See comment above.

Irrelevant photos.
*See comment above.

No clear photos of beds.
*Once more, I would not book if I could not see the bed. Pass.

[Joan]

Congratulations! Have a very fine rest of your trip in Portland/Maine.

[crowntown]

YAY FOR YOU AND YOUR HUBBY! Enjoy this very special time together. I mean, what the heck are you doing here with us, anyway?? Just kidding–CONGRATS!