I will be so happy when you take it off! You seem to really attract cooks! 
Hehe, Kona, not really. I just make a big deal out of every incident:)
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Me too!! That is so true of me also. but I do think you seem to attract a special kind of kook. I mean COOK!!! LOL. Well, kooky cooks.
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I took of kitchen amenity with Thanksgiving coming. I really donât want to see any dead turkey on my kitchen.
I will see how it goes.
I wrote: though there is no kitchen listed under house amenities, I do allow very light use of kitchen including warming up your food, storing in refrigerator, coffee, tea is always complimentary. You are welcome to use our toaster for bread or waffles.
Whatâs do you girls think?
Why I was writing AGAIN my kitchen rules, I thought how many kinds of food you can have without cooking it.
For years I have yogurt with fruits and honey for breakfast. If there is no time power bar is good enough, or a whole fruit. Sometimes, itâs cereal. Here, already 3 varieties for breakfast only.
When I travel, I buy sometimes canned soups or just something to make sandwiches with. Often i donât even touch it and take with me on a next destination only to throw it away eventually as is I never get to it.
I remember this guy from Brazil with his girlfriend. He was frying potatoes every morning for him and her.
I was surprised at the consistency of the same food every single morning.
When they left, I discovered that he used my potatoes, because the whole bag was gone, and my olive oil.
Kona, you a re actually right, i do attract special kinds of cooks:). Well, no more of that, I hope.
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Thatâs just bloody rude. I hope you gave them a bad review.
They were among my first guests, so no, I just did not write anything at all.
Majority of guests are so nice, that I disregard these things as a minor unpleasantness. Yes, they costed me extra 5-7$, but I made on them 250$:).
When we are in business things happen. If they happen rarely and nothing major then I an say I have an easy business to run.
Most people work so hard for their money, out on a burning sun all day making 100$ a day or even less. Here I am spending 40 min.of my time changing bed and little cleaning and make the same money.
With that said, once i encountered someone really difficult like my mad cooks , I started questioning if this whole hosting business is for me. Guests like that bring the worst in me, really, and I want to be at my best at all times:). I still remember that sad feeling at the end of the day when I had to go home after work and here they were, my guests all over my house cooking it away.
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Yana, I think that sounds perfect. Light use of the kitchen, including examples of what you mean. Also mention in your listing if you have not done it how close you are to great cheap food options such as the Chinese place etc. You could also restrict kitchen use to the morning hours where toast, coffee, etc are allowed. That might encourage them to eat out the rest of the day. Then tell them about the different places, all within walking distance.
Honestly you have had some really rude people! Are you sure your rules are as firm as they can be? Have another look at them!
Itâs not the price of the potatoes⌠Itâs the principle of the matter. Someone who would steal your food says something about their character. And you donât want people of questionable character inside your personal home sharing your space!
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You know, I was just thinking about this - I think along with the poster (sorry I donât remember who) who found a guest snooping through his office - if a guest were staying in a hotel, they understand, there are some places that are off-limits to guests. Also, even public areas like the gym or pool have limited hours. So thatâs one option, too, is to set a limit to how late someone can be cooking - especially, Yana - since you have guests that sleep close to the kitchen âAll cooking must be finished by 8 pm to allow for cleaning to be done by 9:00â or something like that
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Iâve had to make a rule about BBQing times because Iâve had guests start it up at 11PM when we are all trying to sleep. Just rude!
I did mention the 8 restaurants, but sometimes I get guests who are traveling super cheap like the last girl and want to save every penny. Usually these guests ask about how much trirail costs, bus to the beach, etc.
kona, I agree itâs not about few $, but I am trying to blame flaws on cultural differences too. By the way the " potato guests" ordered shampoos to my house in huge quantity and left before order arrived. They never even told me.
. All together I received 30 shampoosđ. They were among my first guests from March. I never heard from them again, but i think I am supplied with shampoos for a decade
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My first guest was an older couple with the man recovering from surgery. And the wife cooked or baked all the time. The space is a seperate apt but strong cooking smells do come through. Worse, people who cook a lot of fish will leave a terrible lingering odor for the future.
I have changed my rules to light cooking onlyâŚfry an egg, make a saladâŚheat up take out.
These are meant to be vacation homes not residences.
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OMG!!! I remember the shampoo people!!! I didnât realize they were the same as the potato people. My god but you have had some nutty guests Yana.
Regarding the cheap travelers, if someone doesnât even have train fare, I have a feeling thatâs probably another red flag for you to look out for. Cheap travelers. I have had some travelers tell me they canât afford a rental car and so I discourage them from coming at all. The bus is available but itâs a terribly inconvenient option. And only stops out here in the country once per day. I have had guests get stranded at the airport but itâs not my responsibility to go pick them up. That is another perk Yana, you might consider eliminating. Let them find their own way to your place I say!
I honestly donât understand how someone thinks they are going to save money cooking unless they are planning to bring a jar of tomato sauce and then use your pantry (onions, garlic, parmesan, pasta, etc.) to make it into a spaghetti dinner.
Iâm just curious⌠for the Florida winter season (which should start getting booked heavily right about now) if you eliminated the kitchen privileges off your listing⌠will you still see the same or more bookings? I bet the same!
You know me, I would love to see you kick them all out of your kitchen for good!!!
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Hehe, yes, itâs the same people, but itâs always the same people doing few things a bit off.
I already took kitchen off as amenity. Majority of guests donât use kitchen , itâs a few that do. I had a very nice couple 2 weeks ago. They did use kitchen: breakfast in a morning, then she was always having lunch warming up some bought food like chicken, then at dinner they were always out with friends. At night they always had tea. And that was it. The lady swept floor every day, and cleaned thoroughly. This kind of kitchen users I donât mind at all. She kept on raving how convenient it is for them to have kitchen for use.
I also donât think me taking it off as amenity will influence somehow my bookings.
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how big are the 30 bottles of shampoo? what brand?
Aussie. Average bottles:)
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Did you really?!! Not even light use!!! Finally!!! congratulations!!!
I really think you will have the same amount of bookings and have to do less work. Thatâs the idea, right?
Attract a better caliber guest for less work.
I used this idea for my peak times. I was strict about my Christmas and New Years block rule. I also priced it really high to attract the ones who appreciate it enough to pay more for the best time to be here. I held out and constantly turned down bookings that were not quite right. Finally someone really nice booked the holiday week and I was very happy with the booking.
Aussie! thats amazing. so expensive over here. Funnily enough you cant buy it in Australia or New Zealand lol
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well⌠i took kitchen of amenitiesâŚbut⌠i wrote that if they want to warm up their food, or make a toast, they can do it.
I do not want to limit people to the point that they will feel deprived of basic hot drink in a morning or before bed. for me not to have camomile tea before bed would be a big thing. its sort of a ritual that signifies the end of the day . I know that my guests that do use kitchen a bit always have tea at night. it does not bother me at all. also i make coffee for them in a morning.
i bought a box of individual greek yougurt to try out what Dcmooney is doing for breakfast. 2 people out of 10 eat my yougurt. i have fresh apples in a big vase ina middle of a countertop with a sign âplease help yourselfâ. again 2 out of 10 take any fruits. For the season, i will try bagels with butter and jam. For the money i charge i started to feel bad not to provide any food at all.
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Yana, donât feel bad! I donât think you should feel obligated to provide food. Or is this what most hosts sharing homes do?
The local motel 6 charges more per night than you do and they donât have breakfast. Well, maybe some bad coffee in the lobby.
If itâs growing on your property, yes, leave some in a bowl (Here itâs bananas, papayas and mango) but if you have to go to the market and get it? No.
I just think itâs an extra expense that does not pay off in terms of good reviews and bookings. And for me, that is the bottom line.
Actually, our generous continental breakfast has garnered quite a number of good mentions in our reviews. Itâs impossible to say whether this has improved our bookings much. We were motivated by the sad offerings at Days Inn - DIY coffee, tea, and UHT âwhitenerâ. But we have a somewhat unusual set-up that includes a bedroom and a separate sitting room, with a bar fridge, toaster, table, tea kettle and coffee maker, and a variety of coffees and teas, including herbal. We also have cereal, fruit, butter, milk, yogurts, etc. Anything easy that lets the guest have breakfast at their leisure without needing to get dressed. Itâs all based simply on what I would like. I didnât want to go âfull Irishâ, where the host cooks bacon, eggs, white & black pudding, sausage, beans, etc. As a tourist it was nice, but you had to be dressed and up fairly early.