Am I Justified in Being Very Annoyed?

Couple renting two private bedrooms where we live. Woke up to a guest sleeping on our living room sofa wearing a C-PAP. No one in their party mentioned a need for convenient outlet for such. My husband and I went to bed before they did (party of 2 women booking as 3 in order to open up second bedroom. My husband thinks they invited a 3rd person because that’s what they had to do for the second bedroom. I’m thinking they needed an outlet that they couldn’t get to in the bedroom because the outlet is behind something they couldn’t move. If that’s the case I know my husband could have done it for them before we went to bed if the woman mentioned it. I don’t like having a guest sleeping on the sofa (guess I wouldn’t do well with couch-surfers) without informing me about it first because I would have put sheets down and pillow cases. Now I have to wash the bedspread earlier than planned because there is always a top sheet. I was a hotel room maid in my younger years so don’t tell me you always wash the covering every stay because the hoteliers certainly don’t. She’s still there after 9am effectively stopping me using my own living room! What chutzpah in my mind. One of the so-called “entitled ones.” My review won’t be nasty but I’m checking “NO” on would you host this person again. Posting this has allowed me to de-pressurize the steam waiting to leak from my ears. Thanks.

1 Like

As has been posted here dozens of times, accessible outlets, preferably on each side of the bed are highly desirable.

Really? Do what you want but posting your poor hosting practices on a public forum is not a good idea. I’m not going to turn this into a thread about duvets vs quilts vs other bed coverings. There are many threads about that here.

That’s annoying for sure. But then again, as a guest I’d be annoyed that I couldn’t use a common device in sleeping situations in your airbnb room. There seems to be a lack of communication on the guest’s behalf. This situation could have been avoided. The woman probably didn’t realize there was no accessible outlet until after you went to bed and thought she was being courteous by sleeping elsewhere.

Is it too early for a cocktail?

I hope you are able to hide your annoyance from the guest. You probably have a bad review coming but you have a chance to avoid it if you acknowledge your part in the situation.

9 Likes

Why would you provide a bedroom that doesn’t have an outlet that the guests can easily access? Even in the smallest of rooms, it is possible to run an extension cord out from a blocked outlet for the guest to have access to electricity. I need to charge my phone and would have marked you down for not having someplace for me to do that.

6 Likes

I’ve paid extra to have outlets on each side of the bed in my room and in the airbnb room. Extension cord fires are no joke. After a dog boarding friend told me about her home fire that killed 17 personal and foster animals from smoke inhalation, I thought it was worth the expense. It was a faulty extension cord running behind a sofa. The heat ignited the sofa.

I’ve also had outlets added but at the very least OP should have an extension cord. I would only use a heavy-duty cord so that it wouldn’t matter what people plug-in. I think some people put cheap light-duty extension cords and then someone uses a powerful device.
Dishwashers and dryers cause lots of fires too but I’m not getting rid of them either :woman_shrugging:

3 Likes

Make sure no space heater gets plugged into a power strip. I have a space heater and used to have a power strip so I took it out.

I’m not saying don’t ever use extension cords; I’m just suggesting best practice, especially for Airbnb rooms. The risk I take for myself and the opportunities I give guests to take them aren’t the same.

3 Likes

Thanks for your reply. I won’t inflict the wear-and-tear on my home washing machine by putting large bedspreads in it 6x a week. (we have mostly only one-day guests). Also the motels and fancy hotels I worked at as a housekeeper never did that (maybe they do now–I’m talking 30 years ago)) and didn’t have duvets. So I object to having my cleaning skill labeled “poor.” That’s like calling the 5-star resorts (pre-Internet) poor. The outlet is a bit complicated because the end table connects to the outlet and the lamp connects to the end table so the wires could have been confusing, but there are outlets on the walls in the bedroom clearly free of all cords and visible. From now on I will add (C-PAP) to my conversation with each upcoming guest. I’ve cooled down now thankfully as I have just heard morning sounds. Thanks again for “listening.”

3 Likes

Space heater :fire: There are a lot more fires caused by space heaters than extension cords.

But I’m not worried about my kettle or your kettle ,)

Main point: OP should provide electricity to their guests!

3 Likes

Hey, you do you. But when you post on the internet you should expect a variety of responses.

I resent being compared to a hotel. I’m much better and cleaner than most hotels.

8 Likes

Be very careful how you approach this subject. AirBnB does not look kindly on hosts who appear to be discriminating against guests with disabilities.

2 Likes

I completely agree @Oreberry. I also don’t think it’s appropriate to ask guests if they will have a C-PAP. It doesn’t seem like something people necessarily want to reveal to strangers.

1 Like

I have a crazy number of outlets and hardwired light fixtures, multiple usb ports plus charging cords, android and iphone, scattered about my attached suite Airbnb and my little vacay home I’m STRing by word of mouth.
I think it’s a real stress reliever for guests who are trying to settle in a new environment to see very obviously where they can plug their whatevers into, close to bed and desk (many of you sleep with your smart phones – you know who you are!), without having to crawl around, move things, unplug lamps, etc.
I love to see accessible available outlets when traveling. It’s like a feeling of “Ahh, I can charge my phone and plug my depleted Kindle in and read in bed, just like home, even though I may have to struggle to find the subway/event venue/someone who speaks my language tomorrow morning.”

3 Likes

I would only ask in case they needed help plugging it in because we’re not moving outlets but maybe they need to know where a proper extension cord is. A lot of people use C-PAPs these days including my husband and me. But point taken. I won’t ask. Jeez, you guys really come off as arrogant know-it-alls. Last time I post.

1 Like

Bully bully to you. I bet you’re not.

Would something like this help? It has power and USB outlets

to

4 Likes

We bought multiple-slot charger boxes for our guest bedrooms. Each of our rooms contains two boxes—one on a nightstand and one on the laptop desk. This was my husband’s idea, and it’s an easy way to ensure that outlets (as well as charger slots) are easily available to all guests at a comfortable height.

The first picture shows a black charger box on one of the laptop desks (just past the tissues). The second picture is a closeup of a charger box on a nightstand, showing four AC outlets and 4 USB outlets.

5 Likes

Yeah, we do this too! Each nightstand, the desk and also by the dining table!

4 Likes

This really isn’t necessary. Just put some outlets on the nightstands. It’s also not necessary to buy new furniture with built-in outlets. I bought 4 of these when they were on sale for $12 each.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00XHORWES

They just sit on your nightstand. Not the best looking, but functional and guests use and appreciate them. They also have USB ports built in for charging, which is another thing most guests “need” next to their bed. In my reading about guest pet peeves, one of the most common is having no outlets near the bed to plug in their phone chargers.

3 Likes

Great idea…thanks!

2 Likes

@Oreberry Emily, I actually do wash the blankets and light comforters EVERY single time a guest leaves; I make sure I only buy lightweight items that will not be too bulky in the compact washer and drier.

5 Likes