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I’ve left food in my house, and imagined it would have felt like “not for free” or “not for guests” since it was in a kitchen cabinet (while oil, salt, etc. are outside the kitchen cabinet.).
Guests arrive and:
ate some of the food
went in the cellar, got a new box of 3 liters of wine and drunk a few glasses out of it
took a full pack of biscuits, ate 2 and threw the rest of the box in the garbage
never left a note and obviously did not re-buy or pay the items
My reaction: no words.
Am i crazy thinking that they took advantage of the fact they were alone in the house and they felt like they could do whatever they wanted with whatever they found?
The woman is now telling me that “hosts always leave something to eat”, but to me it was obvious that the cellar and that cabinet actually looked “private”.
Where does the privacy ends in this case? Did i left too much freedom?
Should i better “hide” the items next time or simply double check the guests?
No words. This is why I would never host an Air rental unless they had their own, lockable private space. Your guests were pigs. Leave them a bad review, it’s your only recourse.
You probably should communicate with your guests better.
One of my guests gave me a great suggestion (he had used AirBnB regularly around the world) and that was to put sticky notes up around the house and especially the kitchen. They pointed out what you could use and what you couldn’t. Which cupboards were yours and which cupboards were occupied. Etc Etc. It actually works.
You make an assumption that they wont touch things you don’t want touched. They make an assumption that they are available to be touched. We all come from different cultures. Some of the things I have read on this forum hosts complain about, I have been staggered by. Ditto some of the things I have read about from guests on AirBnB.
Maybe I’m a little more positive about it because I am in restaurants. In my line of work, only the customers get to complain. The hosts have no right of reply. I have also had 40 odd mostly positive experiences.
Regarding signs around the house you have to make sure you are not going overboard with them. I realized I was doing just that myself and walked around a culled a few of them. (By the way, mine is a separate and lockable studio apartment under my house.) I do have a sign that I put on my studio fridge and it is FRONT and center, and reiterates the main house rules I have had problems with. I think Post-it Notes are a little tacky and will eventually fall off. I put my sign in one of those page protectors and pinned it with magnets on the fridge. Also I think a sign that is worded more positively works better than negative. For instance, 'ABSOULTELY NO FISH BONES, MEAT OR PINEAPPLE PIECES IN THE DISPOSAL" is certainly a lot less friendly than: “Liquids only down the drain, please.” So I changed it when I started noticing all my signs taking a negative slant, LOL. Oh, here is the sign I put on my fridge. Tell me if you think it sounds friendly but firm. I also have this same list on my Air page, as well as in the document I send them when they book. AND I remind them in person about the few main ones, so they know. If I don’t do it, they will just assume they can light candles or invite strangers over. NO. I make sure these rules are CLEAR.
To me your sign is friendly and informative. Your Remove trash line could use a little work. “Take it with you”? Maybe, take it out every day? Also, I assume you have somewhere you want them to take it? And how about recycling? Otherwise I think it is very good.
Thanks… these are just the main points. I don’t want to go overboard with stating TOO much on the sign… and recycles are covered in my other documents.
Yes… they have to remove it from the kitchen in the rental and drop it at what we call transfer stations which are made available at various locations along the highway to those of us in rural Hawaii. There is not rubbish service out here so trash is carry away!
Yes, recycle bins are available in my carport and at the transfer stations should they wish to recycle. This is covered in more detail in my guest instructions. (Not mandatory but suggested as it helps the planet)
I had once managed a beach house for a friend here. Guests were allowed to leave their trash… and let me tell you just one day rotting in tropical Hawaii wherever they want to leave it or in the big cans led to…well, you know, white creepie crawlies instantly… within hours. I mean, if someone did not get down there in a day or two to check on the rental, guess what kind of lovely surprises you would find! Horrible, and the last straw was when one guest left several loads of dirty diapers. Just NO. I decided i was not getting paid enough to haul this sh*t away for people andI put my foot down there and left instructions for guests to take their own trash and most all did without a complaint. (By the way, we could not get our housecleaners to take it either, without being paid extra and I don’t blame them.)
PS… If I don’t say “Take it,” then they leave it in my carport… and that is not what I mean! LOL.
It is possible to train guests to do things, and honestly, 99.9 percent follow instructions. If I didn’t ask them to take their trash they would leave it and I’d have a bigger mess to clean… and haul it for them, and no thanks.
Again, it’s our homes these people are staying in… and they shouldn’t expect HOTEL SERVICE for hostel rates.
I don’t care about being a SuperHost anymore. I have raised my rates and now have a note in my bathroom requesting guests clean out their own hair from the haircatcher in the shower drain and wipe up excess water with the foot towel since it is a shared bathroom. I also put in my profile that they should set their expectations to “realistic” and not expect hotel service freedom, privacy, convenience or luxury (which fortunately, my prices reflect). I tell them how I expect them to behave and to imagine it will be like a visit to a friend or relative’s house. Will see if any guests actually read this stuff and still book here. If not I guess I’ll have to remove those phrases.
I think these are all fair and reasonable. I have even thought that myself… if they have long hair, I charge $10 more per night. Grosssss… my least favorite part of hosting is cleaning up their hair, toilet stripes, etc.
Here’s my theory: Do not be afraid to tell them CLEARLY what you expect. If you don’t, then you will get behavior that is below expectations. Believe it or not I learned this as a substitute teacher who frequently subs for K and 1st, 2ns and 3rd grade rooms. ( But works with any grade level…) Set your expectations at the beginning of the day with them… If you don’t they will have no idea what you want and things will get quickly chaotic. You will have the day from hell! Trust me, 4-5 year olds already know all the tricks and will take advantage of even the smallest hole you leave open.
Same exact theory applies to guests. Write down the specific behaviors you expect, and most people are reasonable. They readily comply.
I decided to be bold and post the following note in the shared bathroom (which I share with up to 2 other guests). It says: “Please clean your hair out of the hair catcher in the drain after taking a shower and wipe up excess water on the tile with the foot towel”
To my amazement, my guests obeyed. I don’t think they were very HAPPY but they did it. Next, maybe I’ll leave the vacuum cleaner and mop out…but who would book then…
I totally agree with Cyr. But this month I made $4k (not deducting expenses) whereas if I were to sanely just rent out half my house to a long term guest I’d make at most $1200. Obviously greed is driving everyone to risk these things.
Learn from this, lock you stuff up. We both know the guest is taking the piss and the guest does too, she stole those things.
I had a guest drink loads of stuff out of my bar, learned my lesson and put it in a box in my room.
Had another guest go into a hallway closet pick around in boxes and take a red candle and light it on the oak dresser without anything under it, letting it burn down to nothing leaving wax all over the top.
Once caught a guest trying to steal my wife’s fur coat out of my hallway closet, and then try to act like they were “confused” like you can confuse fur with denim.
Unless it is nailed down they wil use it or take it
Hey, I did the same thing. It doesn’t matter they don’t read it anyway. You could tell guests they owe you their first born child in the House Rules and they will book anyway.
People are inconsiderate and rude, but in the upside I GOT THEIR MONEY. I make $10k a month profit. I don’t work in an office anymore. I have a cleaner clean and check in guests.
Most guests are rude, inconsiderate, filthy and have no respect for your home, but they do have money.
I wish there was a way to get their money without having to host them :-p
I wish there was a way to get their money without having to host them :-p
Now that made me laugh out loud! Damned true!
I don’t make the kind of money you do but I could I suppose if I rented out rooms in my main house. Just can’t let myself get that greedy!
no words.