This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Hi, all. I searched for an answer to this one but couldn’t find one.
We have professional cleaners come in once a month, on a Wednesday. Occasionally, we have guests on a Wednesday. Do you think we should block every Wednesday out so guests don’t have to listen to vacuuming etc., or do you think it’s OK to have cleaners in but tell them to steer clear of the guests?
Normally, our guests are out doing things and this hasn’t been a problem yet. I hate to lose a day of income. You can probably tell what answer I’m hoping for…
It’s a room in our home, with an adjacent private bathroom. Normally I do all the cleaning but once a month we get a serious cleaning from a company. If a guest were already checked in to the room, I would ask the cleaner not to go in there. But if they happened to be out, I’d ask her to do the guest bathroom. If that makes sense.
Thanks. I’ll be interested in hearing what others do. Cleaning costs us $125 and if we miss a day of guests, that’s another $62. But I understand why you recommended that.
I would not block off the day if it is just a room rental. Maybe ask the guest if they prefer their room not to be cleaned. If it is a whole house rental, I would not want guests around when cleaners are present.
When you receive a booking for that particular Wednesday, I would inform the guest that you have a once-a-month deep housecleaning service on that day and that unless they prefer otherwise, their room and bathroom will be included in the general cleaning.
I would tell them the cleaners will be there for about 2 hrs. (or whatever) and that it’s not be necessary to be there or move their things because the cleaners will just work around them.
The guests will know they have the option to have their quarters cleaned or not and to be there or not. I am not really asking anything of them other than about 45 min. of vacuum sounds if they choose to stay.
Actually, this is what I do when I have my housecleaner do a mid-stay cleaning for 8 nights or longer. I don’t ask the guests if it’s okay, I tell them is this how it is. In every case, they take off for a nice lunch or excursion during the cleaning time.
Any guest staying in a hotel can expect cleaners to come in every day. If it isn’t wanted, they can opt out.
Assuming cleaning is done during normal work hours (9-5) I would think the guest would be out n’ about anyway most of the time. If they choose to stay put they’ll have to put up with cleaners being there, then they can enjoy a freshly cleaned environment.
To be honest as a guest I would worry about my belongings if my host told me that an external cleaning firm (with possibly rotating cleaners (???)) comes in just once a month and they will be cleaning my room.
Unless you have very good reasons to fully trust the cleaners, I would also worry as a host. A review mentioning anything getting stolen would totally ruin your business.
Why would a guest who is paranoid about theft stay in a shared house? Seemingly, every time something is missing; cleaners are blamed. In my experience, it’s never the cleaners who took the missing object. Most of the time the object was misplaced. If a cleaner is caught stealing he/she will never be able to work again. I think most of the are smart enough to calculate that risk.
I host two private bedrooms in my shared home, and I have a cleaning lady that comes every second Friday. What I do is notify my guests the day before that the cleaning lady will be in the house from noon until 3PM, and that she will vacuum and dust in their room and clean their bathroom.
I also give them the option of not having their room cleaned (although the bathroom cleaning is non negotiable). I’ve never had anyone turn the offer down. In most cases they’re not in the house anyway, and if they are, they’re happy to have their room professionally cleaned during their stay.
I have cleaners in every two weeks. I try to schedule these cleanings on a turnover day, but that isn’t always possible. The cleaner, at a minimum will clean the AirBNB bath, hallways and stairs. If I think the floors in the two other rooms need a touchup, they will get done too. I of course, warn the guests and plan the cleaning time to coordinate with their schedule, but the idea that they should be worried about theft is offensive. This is someone that I trust to clean my own house, filled with everything that I own.
Last summer, when I was first getting started, the cleaners were doing all three rooms. Their first visit while a guest was in the space was the three bro’s who were slobs. She neatly folded the copious amounts of dirty socks, underwear, and shirts that were strewn on to the floor, and placed them in stacks by type on the open shelves. They thought this was hysterical! I was mortified that their things had been touched. It never happened again.
As usual, I am getting excellent feedback from other house and I just wanted to say thank you. I am going to do with several people suggested and let the guests know there will be a cleaner and give them the option of having the cleaner stay out of their room and bathroom. Having a cleaner once a month isn’t enough really, but it does provide a deep cleaning that I don’t often get to. I think it provides a better atmosphere for gas. I also have known this company for a while and I’m in good communication. I feel secure having them come to this house when I and working or doing errands and nothing bad has ever happened. Again thanks, everyone.
@ellenn I am paranoid enough and I would stay in a shared home. I don’t see why one would exclude another. (I am actually more paranoid about staying in a non-shared place .) And yes, I have an experience of a cleaner (in a small hotel) skimming off some of my money. And no, that boy did not lose his job.
@anon67190644 I have no idea why worrying about theft is offensive. Why do so many hotels have a safety box in the room for guests to use? It doesn’t matter if the worry is justified or not, what matters is a happy guest that doesn’t have worries.
@GutHend. I don’t think this is a valid comparison– my personal home with a cleaner that comes to my house regularly and an anonymous hotel with a large and ever changing cleaning staff making minimum wage with a whole staff, hundreds of people, with access to the key to my room. What I find a bit offensive is the idea that my guests’ stuff is any more at risk than mine, or that I would risk my guests’ possessions while they are living in my house. As it happens, my “clients” are happy. Very happy. So, I guess I will just continue to do what I have been doing.
How do you know the cleaner took your money? How do you know that the cleaner didn’t lose his job? It’s disrespectful to call a grown man a boy or a grown woman a girl.
Of course it matters if the worry is justified or not. None of us have the time or money to cater to guests unjustified fears.
Do I really have to explain everything to you? Answers are: I know / I know / It was a BOY regardless of his age.
(Always calling people disrespectful because of selfproclaimed moral high ground is also disrespectful.)
A worry is a worry regardless, and countries and their respective tourist industries spend millions to counter the worries, also the unjustified. For example Colombia: “The only risk is wanting to stay.”
I don’t accept, “I know, I know.” as proof of anything and neither do the police which is probably why the cleaner didn’t lose his job if in fact that is the case.
As my husband was mugged in Columbia, I’m not really with you on worries of crime there being unfounded.
However, there are negative consequences to catering to unfounded worry. In the U.S., fundamentalist Christians worry that same sex marriage will undermine heterosexual marriage. Thankfully, the Supreme Court decided to stop catering to this unfounded worry. These same fundamentalist Christians claim to worry that if transgender women are permitted to use women’s restrooms; rapists will dress as women to pursue their goal of committing sexual assault. Thankfully, logical people don’t cater to this unfounded worry.
Oh girl, before you put everything on one pile: The fact of the matter is that sometimes things do disappear from hotel rooms. And yes, sometimes it is definitely the cleaning staff. So if guests worry about their belongings that worry is founded.
You are probably right to say that it should be a small worry and not a big one. But who are we to judge? How many people are scared senseless of flying but don’t mind crossing busy streets everyday? What is more likely to get them killed, the cars or the airplane? Fears (or worries) are not always rational.
As for my own experience, there is nothing I could write here that you would accept as proof, so why waste my time on it? I know who I am and what happened.
And to add: Trying to solve a worry for a guest isn’t catering to that worry.
I am a woman, not a girl. The people who have big and founded worries in the endless (usually unfounded) accusations of cleaning people stealing is the cleaning people. They are usually people of color and poor. They have much to lose if they are accused of stealing. As a general rule when things “disappear” from hotel rooms or offices they have in fact been misplaced. In the case of cash, it’s usually that the owner of the cash spent more than he/she remembered.
Yes, trying to solve an unfounded worry for a guest usually involves catering to that worry. I’ve had guests suggest that I supply Clorox wipes because they are worried about germs. My current guest is worried about break ins because we leave our windows and back doors open. If this is a real problem for her; she is free to relocate. If I buy Clorox wipes or close the windows and doors I am verifying that they are correct in their worries when clearly I believe these worries to be unfounded.
.) And yes, I have an experience of a cleaner (in a small hotel) skimming off some of my money. And no, that boy did not lose his job.