Done hosting children and babies

Actually it’s not bad (if it’s the leather and colour you mean). We have cream-coloured leather sofas in one of our rentals and it’s really easy to clean. Mind you, we’ve never hosted children but it’s quite a few years old now and still looks great. So you didn’t make a bad choice at all. :slight_smile:

+1 for leather! fyi you can change the color if you like. In our case, we did repairs on our black leather sofa and it worked out really well. For a really moderate cost, you can actually use “leather paint” and totally change the look. Just be careful to know all the steps needed (mostly prep), before you start and hopefully also have a test area before going all-in.

1 Like

@Miyima
We have all sorts of fragile antique furniture, original art, a valuable carpet, and such in our guest suite. Our guests are so respectful, we’ve never had any damage. We so not accept children, pets or shoes in the house. I’d say “how wonderful you have such a treat for your guests!” :hearts:

3 Likes

That’s just horrible!! I really hope your next guests will be more considerate of your space.

Being a mom myself, I know I would never allow my boys to do anything like the things people described here. But I’ve hosted some friends with kids with mixed experiences in the past. Most of the time the parents were attentive and looked after their kids and then it’s ok. But I once had friends over that did not respect our home at all. For instance: the kid pooped in our backyard. His even mom helped him and didn’t clean it up… She just laughed and said she thought he had to pee (for which he could have also use the toilet that was just inside and not even too far away). They also threw lots of wet tissues in the toilet even though the ecosystem can’t handle that… And they entered our space (there were two separate spaces in the home) at 6 am in the morning so mom could sleep (we: 2 adults and our 2 boys of 1 and 3 yo were not important apparently). This is one of the reasons why our main audience isn’t focused on families. Because if our friends do this, what will others do? But on the other hand: the bad experiences should not dictate the good ones.

I only just started hosting in our current space and I have only hosted my nieces. They were incredible (even though their parents aren’t very strict). Currently, there are 2 couples with babies staying over and the next few guests have kids as well. All of them are super nice. Fingers crossed… :slight_smile:

2 Likes

I hope that it was all appraised recently and that everything is fully insured. I’m sure that your guests find it charming, but I would never want to take that kind of risk.

2 Likes

@NordlingHouse Thanks for that - our feeling is that these things are finding their best use by being used and appreciated. They never were meant to be in a museum. They all enrich lives on a daily basis, always have, as that was their intention in being created. Our guests all seem to love that they get to experience that. :grinning: :hearts:

7 Likes

I have a no kids policy and have successfully avoided the problems you described. Same with a “No Pets” policy 2022-07-30T01:36:00Z

The problem is that many guests think that an Airbnb is like a hotel and kids don’t count. Many times I have had to decline a booking when I ask to confirm the guest numbers and remind them that we don’t allow children under 12 and discover that they didn’t include the multiple children they wanted to bring.

2 Likes

I have no children under twelve. Occasionally I am asked why by people who want an exception. I just say that my homeshare is unsafe for children. I probably have lead paint, store cleaning supplies in accessible places and have people flying in and out of my shared driveway. I have two exceptions in over a decade. One worked out fine and we actually went to the little girl’s competition in town. The second was a baby that cried all night which was problematic because we had other guests at the time. My husband is a magician and I think that young kids would just follow him around relentlessly.

3 Likes

When I had home share it was easy to say no due to the dog boarding I do here. Even now I will say kids crying, screaming, laughing, any of the unpredictable noises kids can make, will cause the dogs to bark and if it’s at night it will wake me up.

Gosh that all sounds a bit passive aggressive to me! I mean most dogs are allowed on the sofa at home (in the Uk anyway) so it sounds like a dig! And ‘mum probably forgot blankets because she’s been so busy’ haha reminds me of my mother in law!

1 Like

I’m searching back to see what was passive aggressive and I can’t figure out what you’re referencing. Can you maybe use the Quote feature instead of Reply?

1 Like

I have had dogs off and on all my life and none of them were ever allowed on the sofa, the bed, or any other human furniture. They had their own dog beds on the floor. And it never occurs to them to get up on the sofa if you’ve never allowed them up there in the first place. It’s not like some deprivation.

People here in Mexico, other than retired ex-pats with their little weekly-groomed foo-foo dogs would think it bizarre to let their dogs on the sofa.

And although I am a “dog person” I do not allow guest pets at all, because I know that if a dog is accustomed to sleeping in the bed, or the sofa at home, guests will allow it to do that in a rental as well, regardless of any rules against it. It isn’t the dog’s fault- a dog brain can’t understand why something is allowed in one place, but not another.

2 Likes

It’s customary, when using a forum, to read around a lot and ‘get to know’ who you are talking to. Had you done so, you’d know that I am from the UK and, where I’m from anyway, people don’t let dogs onto their sofas, and certainly not in a rental.

So please don’t suggest that the English are a slovenly people who let their dogs slobber on other people’s furniture.

So should I have said “I’m sure you let your dogs mess up your own sofa but you’re not going to do it here. Have this throw and damn well use it.”?

3 Likes

Uh oh. If that’s passive aggressive what am I implying when supplying toothbrushes and shampoo. Geez, now the guests are assuming I feel they are slovenly.

2 Likes

One thing that’s so interesting about hosting forums is that it isn’t just guests that have what we might consider to be bizarre ideas and attitudes- it’s just as common for hosts, because we’re all just a cross-section of humanity. Like putting forth the notion that all dog owners let their dogs on the sofa, or at least all UK dog owners. There are hundreds of millions of dog owners in the world, why would anyone think that just because they or their family or friends do something a certain way, that “everyone” does?

Some dog owners don’t even allow their dogs inside, they are outside dogs only. My dog was allowed inside, but preferred to be outside most of the time and slept outside at night her whole life. The only time she wanted to be inside was during storms or when the weather was really hot, when she’d lay on the cool tile floor under the ceiling fan.

2 Likes

I have a funny story about dogs on a couch.

We’ve had many greyhounds, and we didn’t allow them on any furniture. They were happy with dog beds, like yours.

For years, we vacationed in a little cabin on Whitefish Bay (Lake Superior) in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It was very rustic. Ancient, sunken furniture, sort of prehistoric looking stove, etc… But it was right on the water and exactly what we expected.

They allowed us to bring our three greyhounds. And they didn’t care about dogs on any furniture.

Our dogs somehow knew that. They automatically climbed on the swayback sofa and the little double beds. It was hilarious that they just did that.

When they got back home, they were perfectly back to no dogs on furniture.

8 Likes

That is funny. Some dog owners I know who don’t let dogs on the furniture might have some old ratty couch on the porch that’s the dog’s couch. The dog knows the difference. I wonder if your dogs could smell other dogs on that furniture and perceived that as a sign that it was an allowed place to be.

The only time my dog tried to get in bed with me was during thunderstorms that terrified her. At first I let her, as she was in so much distress, panting and trembling. But she wouldn’t lay down and let me comfort her- she wanted to pace around on the bed and paw at me, as if I could make the thunder and lightening stop.
Ever had a 70 pound dog pace around on your bed when you are trying to sleep, panting her hot, panicked breath in your face? I let her up a couple of times, trying to teach her to just lie still, but she was in primal fear mode, so she just had to pant and pace on the floor.

2 Likes

Love the photo @RebeccaF. Hilarious. They definitely would have left a 5 star rating and a glowing review for that place. “The sofa was perfectly saggy and lumpy in all the right places and I’m so glad they never have it professionally cleaned because we were able to smell the messages all the past guest dogs had left for us. We haven’t slept that well in years. Highly recommended.”

5 Likes

haha, this is what prompted your other thread about animal reviews?
this one is gold.