We have a one week stay. I was thinking of sending my older son over to mow, water the vegetables and take out recycling bins.
Can I just inform them it will be happening and when, or do I need to ask permission?
He can do all the jobs without entering the house.
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I would just ask them when would be a good time for your son to do the chores.
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I do the landscaping myself at my listing. If I need to do any work during a reservation (which is rare), I tell the guest at check-in during the house tour exactly when I plan to do the work (usually Saturday morning around 8am). I also ask them to let me know if they would prefer a different time. So far, no guest has cared.
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Make it part of your house rules and reiterate at checkin. A diff time may be more convenient but they are jobs that need to be done so don’t ASK for permission.
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It’s YOUR listing. You tell folks; or ask them when would be convenient. But you never ask Guest permission to do things at YOUR place!
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I would send them a message informing them about the chores so that they’re not startle.
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no, let them know when the lawn is getting mowed.
RR
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I am allergic to grass. Would appreciate negotiating a time.
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Do you ask hotels to only mow when you are gone? With the heads up that the lawn will be done on X day at X time then you should arrange not to be there.
RR
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We have a service mow and weed-wack our acre property. Typically they do it Thursday but if rained out they do it Saturday. They can show up at any time during the day. I’ve never said anything to my guests and I’ve never been dinged on my reviews for maintaining the lawns but I have had many positive comments on how well kept the grounds are maintained.
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I inform them “Just to let you know my gardener C will be around Tuesday at 2pm ish to mow the lawns and a bit of gardening. 1-2 hours total. He may be around the back near the bathroom window so keep the blinds closed for privacy. Sorry for the inconvenience.” By not picking too early or late a time they don’t really have an excuse to say no.
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To be fair most hotels don’t have any grass. At least the ones I stay in. 
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Last I looked, I was either hosting or staying at an Airbnb. (That IS the topic at hand, n’est ce pas?) Given the immediate and forthcoming reaction, and assuming that I have some degree of input, the courtesy of mowing the lawn might be delayed a few minutes until I vacate for a few hours.
There now! That was easy.
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Some people, me for example, find the noise of yard work very annoying. So definitely give your guests warning. They won’t mind as they know that these things have to go on.
One thing though, I had our HOA add a clause in our rules that said no noisy work at all (leaf blowers, lawnmowers, electric drills, electric saws etc). other than Monday to Friday between 9 am and 5 pm.
I think that guests (and residents) have a reasonable expectation of no noisy work at weekends, before 9 in the morning and after 5 in the afternoon.
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We’re staying at an AirBnB here in Phoenix. The landscaping crew just scared the bejeezus out of my 14-year-old daughter, who was alone in the backyard sunning herself and didn’t hear them let themselves in.
DEFINITELY let your guests know ahead of time when maintenance people will be at the property.
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RRR, I agree that what we have to deal with as hosts, like mowing the lawn, is beyond the pale.
No, hotels don’t ask permission. I suppose that’s because they are generally vertical villages. But in Airbnbland, there’s always somebody asleep at 3 PM. And they will complain.
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[shakes head] city folk. 
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Thank you for adding this to the thread. I do need to do add it to the listing in description. This was my first year of doing a summer rental with pool and yard so found it was awkward trying to mow etc between guests. Plus fruit MUST be picked in certain time frames.
This summer I had a request for booking and I messaged back that yes I had availability but I would have to access the yard during their stay for watering and we could do it at a time of their choosing. She did not book with me… THANK GOODNESS… The person she booked with in a nearby city got slammed in her review for watering yard plants while they were in the AirBnB !!
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A coworker overheard me talking to a guest about lawn maintenance. Condo—have no notice or control over lawn maintenance. In general it occurs on Tuesday but rain or other circumstances can cause it to differ.
In the summer due to extreme heat it is common for outdoor work to start at 7 am. Also the timed sprinkler system activates early in the day.
Coworker butts in and informs me that if she rented a place for a week and lawnmowers disturbed her relaxing vacation she would demand her money back. So 15 minutes of maintenance (speedy commercial mowers) is a reason to declare her vacation ruined and want a refund. I asked if she had been reading blogs on how to stay at Airbnb rentals for free…she was not happy with me
To have decent looking grounds means maintenance. Perhaps a specific date /time maintenance notice for a rental in a private home is possible.
At best in a condo neighborhood general information is possible but it is unrealistic for everything to be scheduled for guests at one condo.
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This topic is yet another item those folks who think renting their property is Airbnb is easy. I will always be amazed at what it takes and needs to be considered for guests.
If one more person tells me how nice it must be to have passive income, I will pop. PASSIVE my a@@s. I work hard to keep property clean & maintained.
I wish the image of just sitting back and collecting money was true…
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