Chinese guests emptying apartment

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Chicagohost, either you are deliberately missing the point of his post or there is a disconnect. The post was made to ridicule, pure and simple. If you and DC find that kind of humor funny and worth ‘liking’ so we can hope for more of the same, I find that a pity. It makes no difference if we are children or adults. Everyone is entitled to a respectful environment without jokes that are meant to ridicule, denigrate, and make a mockery out of real issues and concerns that hosts have been through. It is done out of a spirit of downright meanness.

When I have had guests that have taken advantage of my hospitality I have found it very upsetting, as have many hosts that have come here with different concerns. It is in no way appropriate to make jokes about what people have experienced as if they are idiots. Just because you haven’t been through it yourself, it doesn’t mean it didnt happen. I honestly hope hosting continues to be a joy for you and you don’t require support at some point. Because when you do, it might be unpleasant for you to find those you thought you could trust having a laugh at your expense.

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I’ve never had this sort of experience with any guests, actually, and more of our guests so far have been Chinese than any other group. They tend to be very respectful (one group of college students even asked me if we had a curfew and what time they had to be in by!)

Extra blankets, no hot water, keep the AC off, for most Chinese guests. The language of negotiations is a little different, and I had to google it, to understand the context of behavior that in my background would have been offensive. Once I understood, we had great success negotiating prices, repairs (when one lampshade was broken by a toddler) and that’s the extent of it.

China is a big place. Any generalizations are going to have exceptions and stereotypes are something as hosts we need to guard against and challenge.

I would welcome my Chinese guests before I would want any of the people who on this thread have resorted to nasty stereotypes and insults.

I also find (in general) that establishing good boundaries prevents people from taking advantage of us. If someone is especially pushy or demanding, I’m a lot less inclined to say yes as I am if they ask and offer. For example, someone who puts down 2 guests, when it’s 2 adults and 2 children and then is offended they have to pay for their kids (because having 2 toddlers in the house is no work at all?). If she had asked if I could give her a discount on her kids initially I would have, but when she put down only 2 guest and then insisted, I didn’t give an inch. (She wasn’t Chinese, btw).

Good boundaries are everything. We allow guests to use the kitchen, and in the evening I take my dinner in my room so they can feel comfortable taking care of themselves. This is one reason people BNB over hotels-- so they can save money and cook. We provide a small refrigerator in their room and we have a rule that they not use our food.

We do serve breakfast and we’ve had no problem with any guests eating too much. Everyone has been just wonderful.

I think the reason people think your question might be racist is because you said you have had several Chinese guests that didn’t behave this way, but this one group did, and then you ask if Chinese guests are like that. Why would you even go there if you’re not racist and if the behavior of this group was different from the majority of Chinese people you’ve interacted with? Would you ask the same about a group from your own ethnic background who acted differently than the majority of people from your own background? Why even suggest that most guests would be this way if that’s not remotely your experience? Why not just deal with this group as a group you had this experience with and not ask us to consider it as a cultural or ethnic or racial characteristic of the group as a whole? Why even invite the “all Chinese” discussion if you’re NOT a racist? I’m going to assume that “I’m not a racist” means “I really don’t want to say or do anything racist, so if I do, please let me know, bc that would be horrible and I don’t want to be that way.” I hope it’s not “I really am racist, and I had a girlfriend once which give me a get out of racism free card for life, so leave me alone while I spread racist bile”

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I’m curious. Were your expectations clear on how much food to take was appropriate? I don’t mean that to be condescending, but how would people know that you would be offended if guests ate none of the food you provided or ate/took it all? Did your listing tell guests to help themselves to the food provided, and if it did why would a guest understand that taking it all was not what you intended? I can imagine that some cultures might interpret that NOT using everything provided by the host might be considered rude. I also understand that some individuals might just want to take advantage. Maybe to avoid this in the future you could include clear expectations in your listing and/or guest card, and only provide as much as you are comfortable with being consumed. If you expect that the items be replaced by the end of the stay then make that clear from the beginning. Its easy to assume that everyone knows the rules, but that’s not really the case. I rewrite my listing all the time based on what I’ve learned here, and thought every time, “why did I assume that a stranger would automatically know what I expect of them”.

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My ~single~ experience with Chinese is that they were very pleasant enough, BUT carried out anything that was not nailed down. Is it representative of Chinese in general, probably not, but made me leery for the next time.

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Why would you put out soaps for display?

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If hosting people who cannot speak the same language as you do makes you uncomfortable (as it does me, and I’m Chinese but born in the USA!) decline them because obviously lack of communication is what led to this. The old, “I no understand” is centuries old and no damn excuse.

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It is absolutely NOT representative of the Chinese in general. It’s because at a HOTEL people always steal the soap and matchbooks (well, I did) because there was never any rule saying not to and no repercussion. Maybe they just assumed that your place was a hotel. Maybe it looks like one. Maybe you should learn chinese and write rules in Chinese to prevent it or stop hosting them instead of turning into a racist generalizer.

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Holy moly…@Mearns said [quote=“Mearns, post:65, topic:2176”]
Is it representative of Chinese in general, probably not,
[/quote]

He didn’t say it WAS representative of all Chinese. I think you just mixed his first two words up :grin:

Btw, I had two young girls from California stay with me and cleaned the place out, like no other guests before or since. Such things have nothing to do with race, sex, age - you’re rolling the dice with every booking.

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Yah, you are right I have recently host a young Singapore Chinese couple, she took everything including my toilet papar, toilet cleaner and my luggage and things that I kept in my store. is like a theft. I am hosting a theft. Can you imagine!!

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Unfortunately I can. This has nothing to do with them being ethnically Chinese and everything to do with them being thieves. I do hope you made a police report and claim through Airbnb Host Guarantee.

I do wish a small minority of hosts would stop saying certain races have particular negative attributes such as being lazy, dirty, or thieves because of their ethnic background or nationality.

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Seems like you’re Chinese American, not from Mainland China, huh?

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My thought, too. I’m also wondering what the big deal is with the pizza. Why would the host assume that the guests wouldn’t help themselves to all of it?

Why not just put out a small amount? Enough for a snack for a couple of people for one evening.

If I saw a fridge full of stuff in my private room or apartment I wouldn’t think anything of helping myself to it.

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This topic is over two and half years old, and nothing positive is going to come of it.