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I’m still hoping to figure out what is wrong with the dishwasher at my whole house rental but in the event I can’t get it working before the next guests I’m trying to decide if I should offer a discount and if so how much.
6 guest staying for two nights. More than likely, as is the custom with 99% of my guests, they will be using the kitchen for breakfast and dining in town for dinner. Were it me I’d be fine washing dishes by hand but I’m sure other people expect a working dishwasher if there is indeed one in the kitchen. The kitchen is stocked with everything needed for hand washing dishes.
What do you think? These are my last guests before I close for the season so I have time to deal with it after they leave.
If you can’t I’d be tempted to do nothing. Just say, sorry it isn’t working, here’s the stuff for hand washing. Or say leave the dirty dishes and I’ll wash them. Then if they object or complain, offer a small discount.
Disclaimer: this is a post by someone who is an easy guest and who has a dishwasher but doesn’t use it but about twice a month.
That’s exactly what I’d do. Washing dishes by hand isn’t a tricky thing to do. A dishwasher (to me anyway!) isn’t an essential of life, it’s a pleasant luxury. I certainly wouldn’t offer a discount.
If they complain then deal with it then. Don’t start thinking about a discount before an issue even raises its ugly head.
If the item is in the description offer a small discount.
You’ll have to tape it shut to stop them putting stuff in it.
You could send them a message saying there is a dishwasher in the kitchen but it is not working and therefore is not listed as an amenity on Airbnb.
I love my dishwasher but I can’t imagine one working well in a rental anyway, as most people don’t know how to stack it or don’t empty it and put dirty stuff on top of the clean. I would probably remove it. Maybe people aren’t so clueless in the states.
not clueless in the states. Dishwashers are common in every home. I would either provide paper products, or offer to them to leave the dishes in soapy water ( hoping they wont ) , if they dont want to hand wash.
When we had a dishwasher issue it was during height of season, - 7 night rental - 14 guests and so we just replaced it the next day with a new one.
No refund / solve the problem instead one way or the other.
I would leave everything for hand washing - including plenty of tea towels (don’t just leave one tea towel), and say “sorry it isn’t working- feel free to leave any dirty dishes on departure for me to wash”
Don’t mention any refund- your guests may not find it too inconvenient, especially as you offer to wash up for them- which is even easier for them than rinsing stuff and stacking in dishwasher!
Just to offer another idea, and please discuss as I’m not sure if this is a good one, but what if you don’t mention it at all? Perhaps they won’t use the dishwasher, perhaps I’ll just load it with a few dishes and when I push the button to run it and it doesn’t work, you can act faintly surprised and say in this cabinet are paper materials? Appliances can go down at any time. If they tried to run the dishwasher at all in a 2 night stay and it just does not not work, you could look like a hero by offering solutions .
We have two rentals and one of the apartments has no dishwasher. It never has and it never will. The kitchen is too small. It is the same size as my kitchen and I don’t have a dishwasher either.
Guests always manage to rough it (sigh) and do the dishes. It’s very, very rare that they leave unwashed dishes and then it’s usually a couple of coffee cups that they used directly prior to check out.
Guests are certainly very capable of doing their dishes and I would never offer to do it for them unless they had no arms.
Not every home. I’ve lived in many houses/apartments in the States during the last 25 years, owned or rented, and only in two of them have I had a dishwasher. Furthermore, I don’t quite believe all those articles and advertisements that say that they are eco-friendly. Okay, some dishwashers might be more planet-friendly than others but hand washing is best for me.
You must be related to my housekeeper! She refuses to use our dishwasher despite our requests to do so. She hears the water running around and thinks it is the same thing as the faucet running the whole time and insists hand-washing uses less water. In reality, our dishwasher uses less than 3 gallons of water - and now that we have solar panels, we generate the electricity for it, too.
Haven’t used a dishwasher in 20 years either. Don’t need it, don’t miss it, won’t buy another.
There are a lot of appliances and gadgets and assorted “stuff” that have been marketed so well that we believe they actually are “indispensable”. As for “eco-friendly”, “green” or “sustainable”, well… If the marketers have to tell us…
I have only had a handful (about 5) of guests from the states and none of them knew how to use a dishwasher. Not scraping, not rinsing Weetabix cereal off, not stacking things in obvious order, even putting things upside down or stopping the machine midcycle and leaving it so I come back to unwashed dishes. I know it’s not a big sample of Americans, nonetheless seems indicative. Needless to say I ask people to leave washing up for me to stack in the dishwasher - it’s loads less effort.
Dishwashers are definitely more economical of fuel and water than handwashing dishes. Water is measured and heated and recycled within the machine. In a climate like the UK the dishwasher is usually a pleasant source of warmth.
If I were to do that by hand I would need a bowl/sinkfull or running tap of glove hot water to rinse, wash then rinse. The hot water would have to come down the pipes from my boiler in the bathroom upstairs rather than be heated within the machine. Very wasteful!
Plus the dishwasher is loads more hygeinic. I prefer not to eat/drink from handwashed crockery if I can help it. So many people don’t wash up properly.
I feel your pain about a broken dishwasher. This summer my beloved 13 yr old Bosch dishwasher died. It was a good run for a scratch & ding, 50% off purchase.
I digress…I told my guests it wasn’t working & the replacement would be installled after their visit was over. I asked if it was a problem. To almost copy what was said in a post above, they said they planned on breakfast & lunch in the unit & going out for dinner so hand-washing dishes was acceptable.
I supplied some disposable plates, cups & eating utensils. They didn’t use them.
No discount offered; 5* review received.
@jess1 BTW—none of my US visitors have struggled with using the dishwasher. I don’t monitor how they load it or if they rinse the dishes. Many dishwashers today are built to clean non-rinsed dishes. Any one concerned with germs on the dish drainer can place the drainer in the sink & spray it with Clorox cleaner.
Of course. I am talking about unscraped dishes, not rinsing. Bits clog the drain and stick to the plates. Rinsing is only necessary for things like Weetabix because soluble fibre circulates and sticks to plates (see aforementioned Bosch manual!). Unrinsed items with raw egg make everything smell of egg.
Washing dishes by hand is a pain when you’re accustomed to a dishwasher – and 6 people produce a ton of dishes at breakfast – 6 coffee cups + 6 water/juice/smoothie glasses, 6 plates + large serving plates, 6 bowls for fruit/cereal, 6 spoons, 6 forks, 6 knives, etc. When you include a pot and 2 frying pans, this is more dishes that can even comfortably fit in a standard drying rack at one time.
Personally, I check for a dishwasher whenever I rent a unit and I’d be frustrated if I were not given an apology and some options. A small discount ($20-ish dollars) would be a nice gesture.
Wow - you really do breakfast! Have yet to have any guests go out all like that. At least I’ve not seen evidence of dish use like that. Heck, half the time they don’t even use the coffee or creamers I provide.
I’ve been on the internet watching videos - going to go work on the damn thing now.
