Hi. I am a new host. I was wondering, if you have someone who stays longer, say 3 weeks or more, how do you clean. I mean I don’t want to enter the room and vacuum but this need to be done. the same with the bed sheets. thanks.
If the stay is more than 10 days or so, I usually tell them I will clean once a week. I prefer to see the unit. It discourages guests from trashing the place or breaking rules. I use the excuse of changing sheets and washing towels. I wipe everything down, sweep, and mop.
I don’t like being in there with their stuff, but it’s part of protecting my property.
7 Likes
Yes, you do. You want to vacuum and clean, so you do want access. For longer term guests [still less than 25 days], I negotiate this as part of their initial inquiry/reservation. So, we all agree that on Fridays, for example, I will “freshen” the room, re-make the bed with clean linens, and provide fresh towels.
In my case, this is an easy negotiation since I am in the suite daily to set up their breakfast for the next day. I offer clean towels every three days, which most people decline.
7 Likes
I agree you need to enter the room to protect your property. Arrange a freshen up day once a week at least. Remember in hotels and many b & bs beds are made every day, there’s not the expectation of privacy like a long term rental. Obviously we’re not snooping, but we need to check things are not being trashed or rules broken.
2 Likes
It’ in my “Other things to Note” section like this:
- Sheets & Towels: Host will change sheets and towels weekly (or at the host’s discretion)
- Trash bins in Guest’s room will be emptied on Saturday or Sunday.
and in my House Rules:
- Long term guests note: Sheets and towels will be changed weekly or at the hosts discretion.
For example: If someone is staying 10 days, I might change the sheets and towels at day 5 or 6 - that’s the "host’s discretion part. Sometimes long term guests sleep somewhere else for a night or two, so I only count the days that they are actually sleeping in the bed. (Yes, I have many long term guests - summer interns, nurses, people relocating to the area in need of temporary housing, etc.) “Weekly” is defined by the day of week that they arrive, e.g. if they arrive on Tuesday, I change and clean the following Tuesday (except for trash which I do on the weekend, because trash pickup is on Monday)
I also have the info about changing and cleaning printed, framed and hung on the wall in the room, along with the WiFi code and other important info about the room. Ever since I did this last step, I haven’t had any weirdness around room cleaning.
1 Like
For guests who stay for more than a week, I message them via the Airbnb system and tell them that I will be changing their bedding and towels. I give them the option of having this done while they are in or, if they prefer, when they are out and about. Almost always they want it when they are out.
This gives me the opportunity to clean a bit, wipe up any food spills, put foods away or address any issues — ‘Hey Michael, I noticed when I was changing your bedding today that you’d left the window open. No problem - I understand if you want fresh air - but be aware that mosquitos might get in…’ Or whatever.
This way, if it’s in the Airbnb message system, the guest cannot argue about anything I have warned them about. ‘Mosquitos in the apartment? You must have left the windows open’ etc…
3 Likes
I provide a washer and dryer in the suite. So, the expectation is that they will wash the linens and towels as needed and reuse. I never
enter the suite during the guests’ entire booking (to respect their privacy)— unless they’re having an issue with something. But I also
don’t accept bookings longer than 30 days.
All part of the deal when you book with us, we clean every 3 or 4 days change the towels twice a week and change the bedding once a week, We also make sure they have enough TP, tissues and kitchen roll,
Make sure there is no trash lying around We tell the guest when the cleaner will come.
Most of the guests love it, they don’t have to do any cleaning.
We also tell them the washing machine is for guest use, do not wash our towels or bedding, which we take to the laundry, We had a few problems in the past, with one guest, we ended up with pink towels,
We also have some pool villas that we only do LTR but part of the contract is that my cleaner goes in there once a week so she can keep an eye on the place,
I don’t supply any bedding or towels; the tenant supply their own, To be honest, after one year, it needs throwing out,
1 Like
Most hosts definitely don’t want guests washing the bedding and towels, because they won’t check for any stains that need pre-treating and just throw it all in a hot wash, setting the stains in so they never come out.
Letting guests wash that stuff usually means you end up having to replace sheets and towels way more often.