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What makes this one particularly bad is that he is a fellow host! He pushed and pushed me for a check out past 11am - I really don’t understand why you would go away on holidays to a beach area and want to still be in the unit past 11am.
I would have thought a fellow host would understand that you need to treat housekeepers with respect. They have lives and appointment too, you can’t expect them to be constantly altering their plans as their working hours are changed to accommodate guests anymore than they already do.
I have a new message hopefully this will make guests see the bigger picture:
I am sorry we cannot offer late check outs or early check ins. The housekeeper has her little one in daycare for the hours she is contracted to work. We require this small window of time between 11am -3pm to turn the villa around. We have to clean, wash the linen etc, complete maintenance and make sure it is up to standard for the next guests.
I like that: your co-operation is appreciated, I am going to add that. I learn it also from one of the owners when we needed access while a guest was there. He said don’t ask just say: we need to come in at 2pm to …, thanks for understanding. Or something similar.
I wouldn’t list all the things you have to do to prep.
Something like
We do our best to prepare xyz for your upcoming stay. Our window is a to B and your Co-operation is etc
They don’t read - but it is there in your rules
Ha, ha, but I had already sent the message, minus the bit about the housekeeper and the kid and he still asked me twice more and had a go in capital letters in the review. So I thought trying to get them to understand that there other people involved here might stop the retaliatory review when they don’t get their own way. That’s twice I have had it mentioned in a review in the past few months. Like a late check out is a right. However, you wouldn’t think you would need to explain that to another host.
Well, he might be hosting more like I do … with a flexible Check Out Time. I have done that in the city and I am still doing it here at the beach. With a later Check Out time, one can actually still go to the beach on the last day, get lunch, go back, get showered and get on their way.
Have you looked at his listing and what does it say about Check In/Out times?
His listing isn’t on his profile but his guests reviews mention that he accommodates late check outs and early check ins. So yes he expected me to host like him.
Cut to the chase – first screen of your listing description should say:
NO EARLY CHECK_IN OR LATE CHECK_OUT
As a guest, I can understand asking for a late check-out, if possible, IF I have a flight or other transportation that does not leave until late in the afternoon. BUT, I would never bad-mouth or bad-review someone who said “sorry, I have guests arriving this afternoon, and need the time to clean up and re-set the space.”
I’m afraid that as a host, I would query that too. That’s mainly because guests (sadly) don’t care at all about the host’s problems - or the cleaner’s child care situation. I’d also expect hosts to have spare linens and towels (I like to wash them on the same day as they are fresher for the guests but that’s not always possible for same day turnovers. Usual though).
Why not change check in time to 4pm?
So you see, although the guest was a host, his hosting style might have been completely different. We’ve often discussed early check ins and late check outs here before. The consensus seems to be that most hosts will be happy to allow both if possible. A five hour turnover window instead of four usually allows for this.
And that’s the issue. I stopped offering it when I was hosting from the other side of the world for 3 months earlier this year as it was too hard to co-ordinate. When I got back I decided not to offer it anymore as it worked out to be half my work, all the toing and froing with the cleaners, and most of the time it was never acknowledged. I also believe that the housekeepers need to be treated respectfully and know what hours they have to work so they can plan their lives around it. I work very hard to support my cleaners, unlike the way my owners treat them.
I wash and dry the sheets while I am cleaning the place but it still takes 2 hours. I put it out to 3 hours so I am not totally flustered if something else comes up I have to deal with as well. There is cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming, cleaning the fridge/kitchenette and wiping all the surfaces. And then making the bed/s. Especially in Summer when dust and flies get in. I imagine if you live near the beach guests bring in sand on their shoes or thongs (not what you think) as well.
With Xmas/Summer coming up my cleaner also cleans schools. We both try and be flexible but I am glad she is just here to do a deeper clean than i can every two weeks fitting in with the occasional day I have free. In the past I’ve had cleaners with children who I’ve let come and play here (no I dont want to hear about insurance issues thanks) while they clean or in one case when they got too old paid her for 5 weeks and told her to take a “holiday”.
Interesting you say that as I have this I send my cleaners:
Childcare : We are also mothers and we know how difficult it is to juggle work and home life. We are also aware that the hours that we offer suit mother’s of school aged children. Ideally we would prefer that your children were not on site while you are working so that you can clean quickly and efficiently. However we know that this is also not practical in the real world so we understand that there are times when you will need to bring your children with you.
I write that I can offer an early check in or late check out for a fee of $30 because I have to pay the cleaners a rush fee. I also state that I need to be notified by 6 pm the day before and I can not always accommodate. (I’m the cleaner but that usually stops them from asking.)
Too ambiguous for me, what if I can’t offer it? I tell the cleaners their job is from 11.15am - 3pm, but they don’t have to start at 11.15, they just have to have it completed by 3.
I shortened my reply. What I offer is late checkout 12 pm - $30. Normal check out is 10 am.
Early checkin - 1 pm - $30. Normal check in is 4 pm.
Still gives me 1 hour if both requested. (Never happened) and for my suite unless I’m doing a deep cleaning with a hired cleaner, I can clean the space in 45 minutes tops and I’ve made an extra $60.
But I also state that it’s when available. If I have something I have to do, they I just decline.
Also, if I have nice guests and an extra hour won’t stress me out, I tell them that I can only guarantee a late check with payment but if they are flexible, I’ll let them know the night before for a late check out or check in early. Only money guarantees (when available).
Talking about thongs, I’ve had guests who’ve left them behind - the sort you mean and not the other kind - so no problem there
Sand gets everywhere and what I particularly don’t like is getting half the beach (or so it seems!) out of the bathtubs.
Our washer is one of those primitive American ones that has hardly any settings - I can choose warm or cold, and large or small and that’s all. So the washing takes 20 minutes and the drying about 40. So if the first job is putting the laundry in, then it doesn’t take up much time, especially because there’s so much cleaning can be done during the washing process. And I like to make the beds as soon as the bedding is dry - it saves ironing.
This being said, I only wash the bedding during the turnover window. I have spares of everything else - cushion covers, pillow case protectors, shower curtain, robes, bath & beach towels, mats, teatowels etc. etc. - it’s just the bedding (the stuff that’s going to be right next to the guests’ skin for hours) that I like to have that ‘just washed freshness’ thing. If the other stuff has been laundered the day before, that’s fine.
