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Some of you were very gracious to help me with advice on the bad guests I had last week. Ken gave me an excellent edit. But some of you convinced me that I should just write off the damaged linens as a cost of doing business. Some of you didn’t think the guests did anything that was that bad. Certainly, I haven’t given other guests who damaged my linens a bad review.
So I decided to rewrite the review so it wouldn’t be so harsh but might give other hosts a clue about their behavior. What do y’all think of this draft of the review?
“Guests were pleasant people; I enjoyed interacting with them. They inspired a new house rule. Fortunately, I didn’t have incoming guests for 24 hours so I had time to turn the lavender bathtub back to boring bisque and wash all the dishes and scrub the stove before the next guests arrived.”
It’s not clear what you are trying to say. I remember your post last week so I understand the dye of the tub but future hosts won’t. Each time a guest does something stupid (or I see it on this forum) I add it to the house rules but I don’t feel like I can penalize a guest for doing something stupid but not against the house rules. Since your post I have added no dying of hair or clothes to my house rules.
Keep is simple. Guests were pleasant but it took a lot more time than usual to cleaning up after them.
There is a difference between wiping down a stove that has been used and having to scrub one down to get rid of burnt on food and a heavy coating of grease. It’s a gas range and oven. I had to partly dismantle the range to clean it, not just do the usual wipe down.
I would be confused if I hadn’t read the back story. I’d be wondering what on earth the guests did to stain the tub and mess up the kitchen so badly; thinking it was all one thing. I think you either be factual or don’t mention things at all. This just sounds passive aggressive without really letting me know exactly what the guest did.
“Kurt and his team were pleasant people; I enjoyed interacting with them. However, one of them caused a lot of damage with purple hair dye that ruined a white towel and new bath mat, and it took lots of extra time to remove the purple stain from the tub. Between replacing items, and the extra time spent cleaning, their visit possibly may have cost us more than we made.”
I didn’t mention everything in the review. I didn’t mention the sheets. I discussed it with the cleaner. She didn’t notice the tear when she was laundering them, so it IS possible they got damaged in the wash. I didn’t mention the wooden spatula they broke— it was cheap and easily replaced. I didn’t mention the mess they left in the kitchen either.
I feel bad though, because they left me a nice review. But I didn’t think I should let it go without attempting to warn other hosts.
I just finished the laundry at another of our AirBnB houses and discovered one of the blankets is badly stained by benzoyl peroxide. Time to draft the new house rule about stained linens, I guess. The damages are adding up; 4 sets of sheets, one blanket, 3 towels and a bathmat in 3 months… the joys of STR!
OMG- I’m up to 15 custom rule besides the ones you can check off. Since most people do not read the rules, I’m not worried about scaring off people. I have the rules to back me up in case I have an issue that I need to report to Airbnb.
For a chuckle, here they are:
Not suitable for children (2-12 years)
Not suitable for infants (under 2 years)
Not suitable for pets
No smoking
No parties or events
Additional rules
*** THIS IS SEPARATE FROM YOUR AIRBNB VERIFICATION. We require a government issued photo id of all guests staying in the suite sent via text within 3 days of the booking. (This is separate from the Airbnb verification process.) Additionally, the AirBnB photo used on your account must be a picture of you (not your pet, landscape, baby, etc). Access to the suite will not be granted until all ids have been provided. The person to whom the reservation is under must be the person who checks in first.
Your reservation includes the number of guest(s) on your reservation. Unless told otherwise, we will assume that only the number of people listed on the reservation is/are staying in the suites. Your reservation includes two people for the king size bed. If three people, it includes the twin bed in the living. If your reservation includes two people but you want to use that 2nd twin size bed, there is a $10 per stay bed make up fee. Please message me when you book so that I can send you a request for the $10 fee. No visitors unless pre-approved. All guests visiting must be pre-approved with Govt. Issued Photo ID. NO EXCEPTIONS. Due to liability, no children under 12 are permitted in the suite.
Children over 12 are considered and are considered to be one of the three guests and will be counted as a person and a fee of $25 per day.
No pets inhabit the suite you will staying in but there is 1 dog and 2 cats that live in the apartment below. If you have severe pet allergies this suite may not be suitable. No pets are permitted in the suite. If you bring in a pet, you will be breaking house rules, your reservation will be cancelled by Airbnb without a refund and your group will be asked to leave immediately and be accessed a deep cleaning fee of $200.
There is one video camera with audio located on the front porch when you enter the porch used for security and verifying. There are no video cameras inside of your suite. Your privacy is important to us. Tampering with the camera is against house rules.
The city of Melrose does not permit on street parking. Parking for 1 car is included with the booking. We can accommodate additional cars when notified in advance.
No smoking of any kind. No e-cigarettes or vaping inside our outside the property. Do not walk up and down driveway. No tobacco or marijuana products. Do not bring in smoked butts inside suite. If you smoke, you will be breaking house rules, your reservation will be cancelled by Airbnb without a refund and your group will be asked to leave immediately and be accessed a deep cleaning fee of $200.
There is someone living downstairs in the home that has a fragrance allergy. It is ok to use whatever products you wish except we ask that you do not use any any air fresheners, burn candles or incense or use cinnamon. If you use these products you will be breaking house rules, your reservation will be cancelled by Airbnb without a refund and your group will be asked to leave immediately and be accessed a deep cleaning fee of $200.
We expect normal wear and tear on towels and bedding BUT make-up stains, tanning lotions, hair dye, shoe polish, etc, will ruin the towels. We provide grey color wash cloths to remove your make up, etc. Please use them. If we have to replace towels and bedding because of these stains you will be charged a replacement fee. Wash cloths - $5, Hand towels $10, Bath Towels - $15. Sheets - $20, blankets – tbd.
Check in is at 4 pm and check out is at 10 am. If you need a guaranteed early check-in or check out, I need to schedule a cleaner with a rush fee so there is an extra fee of $30 for early check-in or late check out. Early check-in starts at 1 pm and late check-out is only available until 12pm. We are unable to provide luggage drop off service.
The suite may not be used for any commercial use (i.e. photo shoots, bridal parties, etc). No parties. Please see rule 2 about guests. All illegal activity is prohibited, including illegal drugs, underage drinking and prostitution.
We would prefer that our guests do not bring guns or other weapons onto the property however if you are required to have a gun, please inform us that there will be one on the property and we will ask for proof of a gun permit.
Quiet time is between 10 pm and 8 am. You are welcome to come in later, listen to the tv, music and talk but we ask that you be mindful that people are sleeping below. (We honestly can’t hear much except heavy walking up the stairs and heavy walking in the living room.
No dying of hair or clothing. No spray tanning applications allowed. If you use these products you will be breaking house rules, your reservation will be cancelled by Airbnb without a refund and your group will be asked to leave immediately and be accessed a deep cleaning fee of $200.
Entire sets? With multiple rooms/STRs I suggest getting all the same sheet set and then matching together when one gets ruined or buying one of those lines where they sell singles. So when a top sheet gets ruined you aren’t buying a whole set. If I ruined a used top sheet and the host said “you owe me $60 for an entirely new set,” I’d be annoyed.
By my calculations you should be able to get good quality replacements for the items above for about $300. Divide by 3 months, $100 a month divide by 2 STRs, $50 a month per rental, divide by # of beds used per rental, $25 a month. Booked 10 days a month add $5 a day to the price to cover your expenses and let all your anger and frustration go.
Using white, I don’t even care if the bottom sheet matches the top sheet. They are all mix and match. I do try and have the pillowcases match each other, but that’s about it.
