Eggs. I hate the smell so much! Wakens me from a dead sleep.
Mothballs.
Cigarette smoke.
…but if it’s curry, best be making room for one more!
6 Likes
Fried eggs are even worse. As for broccoli…
Me too 
3 Likes
Table for 3 more please
4 Likes
Yes to the advice here. And not just for curry but also general cooking smells - broccoli, eggs, hamburger and fish are just as potent. The vinegar works for sure, make sure to do the windows too. And we put an air cleaner in while we’re cleaning in between guests as well. BioKleen makes a lot of good enzyme cleaners in their Bac-Out line that are excellent for odors. We have wood floors and use their floor cleaner and also use it on the large butcher block because it seems to readily absorb odors as well. Just doing the wood in the room helps a ton. What worries me is that it seems the smells can linger back after the guests have checked-in and I don’t have access anymore. I buy those “Bad Air Sponges” which is really more like a blue clay and cut off a piece, put it in a little ramekin and stash it somewhere in the kitchen. It keeps working long after they check-in . I label it “air freshener” just in case someone finds it so they don’t have to wonder what the heck it is. It really cleans the air well but doesn’t have a perfume or scent to it.
7 Likes
-
I am 110% behind you in your support of Warren, heck, I might even make a donation to her campaign in your name. This will help insure me about 5 years of Trump tax cuts…lol.
Politics aside. Seriously, thank you for the recommendation. -
I’m curious how you and other STR owners are sorting out their insurance in case a guest slips on snow and breaks their neck (or worse.) The way my insurance works in that my personal insurance is in effect when the home is not rented out, but when I have Airbnb or VRBO guests, it falls under their insurance. Of course, I have to pay extra for this. I’m wondering how people are working out their insurance when they rent out their homes privately on a site like “Houfy” ? I would LOVE to get out from under Airbnb’s thumb. Not only do I hate their politics, but I hate “begging” them for damaged items. 50% of the time they deny. For example, if a guest puts something on our 2-year-old, $1500 Washer and scathes it down to the metal, I want to be able to access their security deposit to get it repaired. This is just one example of something destroyed in our rentals that Airbnb wouldn’t agree to pay for.
-
Reviews. The review process on Airbnb is incredibly unfair to the Host. For example, last month, we had a group that refused to leave the home until "after they were finished with their meal and had packed up. This started 30 mins after their already extended check out time of 2 hours. They wouldn’t agree to START packing up until we raised our voices and then finally threatened to call the police. (After our crew started taking time-stamped pictures of them in the house, still cooking and eating 30 mins AFTER they were supposed to be gone.) They then wrote in their review “Great house and owner, but terrible check-out and crew member yelling at us.”… And they gave us a 1 Star review. The first we’ve ever received in 5 years. I contacted Air, but they refuse it remove it. If a Host has to threaten to call the Police to get a guest to leave, the guest shouldn’t be allowed to give the Host a bad review for being forced to do so.
-
Back to the Curry smell, as I mentioned, Weed is our biggest issue in terms of smells. Airbnb doesn’t care that we have to spend $100 of dollars to get comforters dry cleaned and furniture professionally cleaned.
-
I’m sure who/what @cabinhost is, so I really have nothing to reply about that.
Lastly, have you used “Houfy” @KKC? (Or anyone else). If so, what has been your experience?
Thanks again for the suggestion.
Have a good day.
1 Like
I currently don’t have additional insurance. I’ve explained the reasons why a couple of times here but to say briefly, I don’t feel I need it at my rental and in my financial condition. You can’t get blood from a turnip.
Hopefully others will chime in. @LoneStar made some good recommendations lately.
I don’t get unfair reviews. Again I think it’s mostly because I have a tiny place not a large home.
Not as a host and my one attempt as a guest didn’t go well.
1 Like
Thanks @KKC We have a lot to lose and one of our rentals is 7 bedrooms and 5000 s/f, so there are a lot of “moving pieces” involved and I worry about someone getting hurt all the time. So we upped our insurance to $10 million.
I’ll give cabinhost and Lonestar a shout.
Thanks for the quick reply.
2 Likes
Actually, no need for @KKC to tag me here at all. You see, @KKC keeps tagging me on Houfy posts…but then complains when I answer questions in the form of “Stories” I have written about Houfy as my blog posts on the free Houfy platform.
She thinks me recommending a solution to others who are looking for alternatives is me promoting myself, etc.
I have written many explanations about Houfy because I am not going to re-write 5 minutes worth of typing each time someone asks for my advice about Houfy.
KKC has mentioned those “articles” (stories) aren’t to be reposted here. It’s just too much for everyone.
Just join the Say Yes to Houfy facebook group if you would like more info about Houfy. No need to discuss the site here as there are a few out on this forum who don’t want the site mentioned. They want to stick to the same old posts.
See you on the other side! If you’re not on Facebook, then you will need to wait until Houfy is moved onto their own forum later this year.
Cheers!
No need for you to be ugly about my very reasonable request with regard to Houfy posts.
I love how you put words in people’s mouths. Actually, just doing what you wish. You should be happy.
That first part doesn’t make any sense but anyway, yes I’m happy.
Houfy: A plush throw cushion website. The name of hybrid pigeons with Mae West chests. A very bad sneeze.
6 Likes
Thanks I’ll get some bad air sponges and the vinegar seems to be a constant thread
4 Likes
We’re just a mile from the beach so I often have guests who go fishing. Then they bring their catch home, planning to cook it presumably but leave it in the fridge when they go. It’s stinky but the local stray cats love it
3 Likes
On your point about reviews: Tell the story yourself. Review each guest honestly right away. For the guests who wouldn’t leave, even after an extended check-out time, say just that in the review. Say that telling them it was time to leave wasn’t enough. Say that you eventually had to raise your voice, as they continued cooking and eating.
Also, the one time we had a guest who wouldn’t leave two hours past his check-out time, I called Airbnb. They called the guest and told him to get out. They also told him that we could call the police to have him removed and that we could throw his belongings outside on our front lawn. He left. Airbnb has allowed us to ban him from returning (our only bad guest).
Re the smells issue: I wouldn’t have anything in the Airbnb bedroom that has to be dry-cleaned. Every bit of linen in our bedrooms and baths is washable. Upholstered furniture is another issue, although I suppose washable slipcovers could help.
1 Like
Hi @RebeccaF Thank you for your comments. I’ll address them one by one.
- Reviewing a cr*p guest doesn’t change the unfair 1 Star review they gave me, does it?
- I did contact Airbnb, I was on put on hold. They were also contacted via email during the nonsense that was going on. They ignored us when we told them we were on the phone with Airbnb.
- It wasn’t until we threatened to call the Police, did they begin to take us seriously.
- RE: Smell Issues. I’m guessing my listings are a tad different than yours. The listing I have been referring to is a 7 Bedroom, 5000 s/f luxury home. We can’t have 100% washable items. Polysterer is not a fan favorite in our sort of listings. Fabric sofas and luxury linens, etc., are expected. We don’t have a “slip cover” type of listing. Even if we did, you do understand that the rest of the sofa is fabric also, right? How do you think the rest of the sofas (the back and sides, etc.) get rid of the smell? Even leather gets the smell in it.
Bottom line, Airbnb should not allow guests to break the rules (and the laws in our state) and then allow that same guest to leave a bad review in retaliation for our crew forcing them out, should they? Airbnb should look at each contested review on a case by case basis. Airbnb’s Review Policy doesn’t address the issue of unjust retaliation in their policy. They also shouldn’t allow a review when a guest has done damage. I can’t tell you how many $1000s of dollars we’ve had to “eat” out of fear of a bad review if we make a claim for a $50 vase, etc… This is a MAJOR problem.
These are just a few of the reasons I’m trying to shift away from Airbnb and towards other sites and alternatives.
3 Likes
I see you edited your earlier post to make it even more racist than it already sounded. I’m mystified about why one would want to make that extra explicit.
I’m under no illusions about the fact that this will continue to be an issue in hosting but this is a public forum. It may even be monitored by Airbnb employees and there are thousands of lurkers here.
2 Likes
Seriously? I’m struggling to work out your motivation for that remark without labelling you as racist.
Maybe you’d like to expand on it?
Actually, don’t bother.
JF
3 Likes
What lot is that then?
JF
3 Likes
I was wondering that too.
1 Like