Best language to say, "Take off shoes in apt"?

I’m adding a pic of a basket of new, complimentary spa slippers to my listing since people study pics and little else. I want to caption the picture, “Complimentary slippers: Shoe-free apt” but I’m afraid that’s not clear enough. I’m thinking of “No shoes inside,” instead of “shoe-free apt” but it doesn’t sound very friendly. There are some pretty great wordsmiths on this forum - help on this one, please?

Relax in our shoe-free apartment with our complimentary slippers.

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Do you think it will register with people as they’re clicking through pics what “shoe-free” means? I get a lot of older (55+) midwestern guests who I think might be unfamiliar with this. Is shoe-free more common now in American households?

I’d say something along the lines of:

We kindly ask you remove your shoes when in the apartment, and supply complimentary slippers for your comfort.

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I don’t know I live in England :slight_smile:

Here I would say yes…you could use outdoor footwear.

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@chicagohost:

Why not transpose your sentences for your listing pic: “Shoe-free apartment; complimentary spa slippers provided.”

Then in your apt., have a sign inside the entrance, “Please remove your shoes” and a sign above your slipper basket, “Sanitized slippers for your use.” …or similar.

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The only concern I have with “complimentary slippers” is that people will probably bring them home. Maybe: “Shoe free home. Feel free to use the provided sanitized slippers.”

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They’re actually “disposable” spa slippers (they cost around $1/pair) so I actually prefer if they take them as I feel terrible throwing them away. Majority of guests don’t open them at all but it seems to be a visual cue for people to take their shoes off. I want to make sure people don’t think I’m requiring them to wear slippers, lol! So I’m going to use Sarah’s feel free phrasing and transpose as Sandy suggested.

thank you!

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And if they’re disposable, go with complimentary!

“Shoe Free” does no translate well into most other languages.

“No shoes in house, please. Use complimentary slippers.”

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My feeling is Sarah is trying to avoid using the word no but I agree not everyone will get shoe free.

I’m so confused by this. What do you mean? (you’re talking about me, right?) :slight_smile:

OK – this was my concern too. And if I were to combine “shoe-free” with the phrase, “complimentary slippers,” I could imagine some international guests might think I’m giving away shoes for free or something like that.

“No shoes in the apt, please. Feel free to take a pair of new, complimentary slippers.”

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I like it! It could still lead to some interesting translations though, haha.

I’d assumed you didn’t want to use the phrase ‘no shoes’ because some think saying no isn’t postive communication. ‘No shoes’ seemed to be the most obvious way to communicate that you don’t want people to wear outdoor footwear in your place, and yet you seemed to be going to great pains to find another way to say ‘no shoes’. (Hence shoe free which tbh sounds incredibly awkward/ unclear)

I agree with Zandra. If you don’t want guests to wear shoes in your house say it clearly and succinctly. Also, make sure that it is in your house rules. I would not stay anyplace where I wasn’t permitted to wear shoes in the house (unless it’s in a country where that is the norm) so I would be upset if I didn’t know until I arrived.

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Yes, this is the ONLY house rule that I added after the standard AirBNB check boxes:

No smoking.
Not suitable for pets.
No parties or events.
Check-in after 3 pm.

No shoes in the apt, please. This keeps your cleaning fee as low as possible and the floors are incredibly clean.

I also have it in the “Other things to note” section as I advertise it as a plus to families with crawling babies and young children. I’m adding the slippers photo and caption in the hopes that it gets across to those who don’t read. Before people arrive at the apt, I also always text a reminder, “Please remember to take off your shoes, thanks!” Amazingly, most people have complied (it’s very obvious when we’re cleaning if they haven’t). But as you say, I’d like to avoid guests who are averse or resistant to this practice.

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‘Please leave shoes and boots in the entrance’. That’s what i have in the house rules. No problems so far. In this country it is customary not to step over the treshold with outdoors shoes. Also helps that when we meet guests at check-in we take off our shoes ourselves before entering the flat. So, everybody else does excactly what we do.

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Ah, gotcha. Nope, not using “no” specifically hadn’t crossed my mind. But I do try to use positive language when communicating with guests so it was probably unconsciously done. I just wasn’t sure what you meant in your statement.