Complaints/suggestions for improvement for our rentals

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I’m in a travel group and someone posted asking what everyone’s number one peeve about their accomodation was. People posted about Airbnb, VR homes, inns and hotels. Here’s the list:

Airbnb owner asked me to sweep the sand out of the beach house every day so it doesn’t accumulate into the cracks of the floorboards. I asked about a vacuum.

Airbnb sheets smell like some hideous overly-floral laundry detergent.

Showers that you have to get all the way into in order to set the water temperature

Night light or low light in bathroom for night use/Not enough light in the bathroom for day use.

Stayed in a beautiful inn that had absolutely sheer curtains. There was not a privacy issue, but the sun was shining in at 5:30. I did write to them and suggested complementary sleeping masks.

Hangers. Can we get some hangers in this closet, please?

Not enough hooks and counter space in the bathroom.

Noisy heat/air conditioning in the bedroom.

Not enough hard space to put bags. One place we stayed had a large decorative urn on the counter cutting into the usable space!

This house has notes in the rooms reminding us to put the pillow shams on a chair and not the floor. A lot of pillows had plastic wrappings under the fabric cover. The sofas were draped with fabric protector blankets. Also strong scent of moth balls on the lower level. Wasn’t very welcoming.

No floral scents, potpourris, etc. Please stop buying the cheapest firm mattresses and pillows.

Have a hair dryer

When the “free wifi” is complicated and not strong.

When there is no channel guide

Bathrooms. Please have a shelf or enough counter space to put the toiletries!

For the love of god have outlets where we can get to them. I’ve had to dig behind the bed to find an outlet. That’s why I always bring an extension cord.

No tissue box drives me crazy.

Terrible lighting, poorly placed electrical outlets, illogically positioned toilet paper holders, shower curtains that encourage floods, sticky remote controls, drapes that don’t meet in the middle or gap on the edges, temperamental key card pads, teeny nightstands or no nightstands

Do my fellow hosts have suggestions? I know @CatskillsGrrl and I are put off by hosts who don’t send any acknowledgement of our reservation within the first 24 hours or so.

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Listing that have house rules of a similar length to War and Peace, with the relevant fines/additional fees listed for every micro infringement. No thank you, binned and onto the next one.

JF

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The builder of our house was the former owner’s father and was a well known builder in the area before retiring. They were obsessed with outlets. Any possible place you think an outlet might, maybe, possibly be needed one day… there is one.

Even around the eaves and porches for their Christmas lights. About 6 or 8 of them around the sun deck. Multiple sources on both porches. This will never be a ding we take and I kind of giggle about that when I see this type of complaint.

But then came the day I had to buy outlet plug covers. I stood in the store, mentally trying to tally the count of them. I kept tossing them into the cart until there were four, then six, then eight packages of them (6 plugs per pack), my dad’s wife looking at me like … really?? I laughed back … you haven’t noticed all the outlets in the place?

So get home, start plugging and plugging and… I said to my hypothetical future guest: “If your toddler climbs the wall and ceilings to get to all the uncovered outlets, you are a terrible parent. I am not going back to town for 8 more packages.” Decided only the ones at toddler height need plugs. Left about 4 spare ones in a kitchen drawer as that was all that remained after doing just the low ones.

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These are really helpful, thanks for sharing!

Acknowledgement of the reservation, for sure.

A too-tight check-in window, or arranging an appointment to get keys. When I’m traveling, especially with air or traffic delays, it’s stressful to have the host’s time constraint hanging over my head. I know not everyone can do a keypad, but it’s preferred.

Hosts with poor security. I stayed with a host in a somewhat sketchy area of San Francisco that doesn’t change his door code…perhaps in years. What prevents a future or prior guest from walking in?

Along those same lines, when there are multiple Air rooms in a shared house, I want a door that locks from the inside. I was the only woman in a house full of guys, host not present (not clear in the listing), and that made me uncomfortable.

A bedside light suitable for reading and easy access to outlets.

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Keys you get from a lockbox that are worn and you have to stand there like a inept burglar jiggling and wiggling them to get them to catch – in a neighborhood you don’t know – on a dark street – (cue twilight zone music).

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You’re welcome. It’s nice to get a list that’s not compiled by someone trying to sell you on their blog, or because they are trying to get revenge on a hotel or host. It’s not a bunch of hosts in their congratulatory echo chamber convincing themselves the guest is always wrong…it’s well traveled and rather diverse group saying what they don’t like in their accommodations.

Of course many of these things we’ve discussed here like outlets and fragrances.

Yes, I search for self check in and have never had an Airbnb where I had to schedule my check in.

At my house it’s the ironwork security/screen door. It has to be locked to be effective of course. The guests are never given the keys for that one. The inner door I confess I haven’t changed the code in a while. But given the security door, the security cameras, the dogs and me working from home this isn’t a great place to return to without a booked stay.

Do you think it’s always that way or it was just your stay?

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Great ideas, when you’re chasing those rave reviews it’s really useful to get an insight from others as to what guests love AND hate! An under-equipped kitchen can be a bone of contention, a few ideas:

Dull kitchen knives and no chopping board.
A lack of basic seasoning - who wants to pack salt and pepper?
Can’t find the wine /can/bottle opener.
No oven mitts, burnt fingers anyone?
Lack of utensils - tongs, ladle, whisk, spatula.
Not enough dinnerware and cutlery - guests really want to eat at all at the same time.

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Towel Hoarders. Hosts that leave one towel per. That means guests may need to use laundry every day. Pennywise and pound foolish. Be generous.

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Power points and other fixtures are often inherited along with the property. I put in some power points in the kitchenette so they were at the level of appliances on the benches rather than all the chords hanging down the back to a power board with a chord at ground level. It cost about $500 (USD300). It was definitely worth it but I can see why some people are reluctant to move power points, put in extra shelves or toilet holders etc. I’d love to put in a new bathroom with roll in shower and get rid of the bath but it would cost at least $10,000.
Some of the rest of the list (no tissue box, no channel guide, no view of the Sydney Opera House) goes under “maybe you’d be better off staying in a hotel and paying twice as much”. But the one about needing more hooks for towels I keep putting off and do need to address.

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That’s what it is for me. Those synthetic smells are revolting. I’m not allergic or anything, it’s just that those really strong air freshener thingies usually have an underlying smell that the host is trying to hide - often damp or mould or something.

And I hate it when fabrics smell less than fresh. If I’m going to have a pillowcase right next to my face I want it to have a fresh smell (if any) and not that horrible smell of linens that have been stored. Storage for even a week takes away that lovely just-laundered smell.

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For better hotels I wonder if “just laundered smell” like “new car smell” comes out of a can? I launder everything between guests so I don’t end up with a pile of dirty laundry. No fragrance washing liquid. But I do provide air freshener for guests to use themselves. A bit suspicious if I come down after they’ve just left and they’ve sprayed it everywhere. What are they trying to hide?

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Parking and driving instructions.

We once stayed somewhere that had very outdated parking instructions. Included directions to a parking lot that no longer exists. Rates were about double what was said.

We also stayed somewhere that did not mention the roads were all dirt roads. On the particular day we checked in there had been a wash out. Had we had known we would have taken a car with 4 wheel drive.

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I’m not sure I agree with this. I kinda think that guests that need a clean towel (or clean sheets) every single day probably should be in a hotel.

That said, I hang up 8 bath towels, regardless of number of guests (8 max), and there are 12 more bath towels available to guests in the linen closet. I have had 3 groups of guests that left all 20 bath towels for me to wash and it makes me want to reconsider making more than one per guest available.

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THIS is a major thing. A great list and great topic but this one really stands out for me. In my own place I have extension cords so it’s easy to plug in a couple of things right next to the bed.

In the two properties I’ve managed, I’ve had to rearrange things and the owners have griped about paying for extension cords. Apparently decorative cushions are more important…!

I’ve also stayed in places where I’ve had to hunt for somewhere to plug my phone in without switching off the bedside lamp.
It’s really annoying.

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I have not even been in my house since we started listing it, my local family does the cleaning and mowing and we have a handyman. I was so pleased the other day when I was told “the house smells so clean, like a brand new house. It smells like… like… nothing.”

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It’s actually a really good idea to stay a night in your listed place/room once in a while. It’s only then you realise what improvements could be made and/or what has gone wrong or broken. They might be just little things but can make all the difference to a good stay.

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it is our 2nd home, so we did that for 2 years over vacations as we were preparing it. I even cooked a totally different kind of meal than usual the last time I stayed there and identified shortcomings in the kitchen that a last minute haul to Family Dollar took care of.

Always cook in the kitchen if you offer one! I had been keeping it simple and eating dinners with family up to that point, but I made a point to prepare a multi course meal from scratch just to find what I missed. And I found it!

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Yes. One of the biggest pains with the turnovers is waiting for the laundry so I can put the same stuff back on the bed. My dryer has a setting called steam refresh that I’ve never had to use but wonder if it would take the funk off the shelved linens.

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Only one person used all of them in +140 visits. I tend to use two at a time. But it’s the thought that counts :slight_smile:

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Inexcusable. We have our cleaner set it to the incoming guest’s last 4 digits of the phone number on the booking at every setup.

Yes she sets up before every guest in addition to turning over immediately after the previous checkout. Whole house listing in a weekend destination, the deck and porches have to have oak leaves blown off and the outdoor cushions set out and sweep up the dead scorpions. Can’t have guests seeing those on arrival.

Currently flipping out a little because evidence of a field mouse was found by the cleaner after the last checkout. Exterminator comes tomorrow. Next guest checks in on the 4th. I cannot even imagine having a field mouse indoors mentioned in a review. Annnnd on that note I am out to yoga class, breathing calmly lol … sigh.

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