Got a four star rating with a few complains

All hotels.provide tissues? May be in US but for sure not in other countries.

Where do hosts put the tissue boxes?

Is one in each bedroom overkill?

Good point.

All hotels don’t have all amenities of any kind. Each guest should be responsible for picking the accomdation that suits them. All places cannot be all things to all people. So if I’m older or injured with big heavy luggage I’ll have to pay up for a place with a luggage valet. Maybe I want 24/7 front desk and English speaking staff. That costs money.

I should not choose inexpensive Airbnbs and then complain about all the things they don’t have. :wink:

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One in each bedroom, one in the bathroom, one in the living room.

I am not sure I am following you. You said that the OP should provide tissues as all hotels have them. Now you are saying that guests shouldn’t be complaining for lack of them because of inexpensive accomodation.

I don’t know why people are creating so much rubbish they want a bin in every room. I have a bin in the bathroom and a recycling basket on the landing. I would expect a guest who had done a massive clothes etc. shop to put the waste in the household recycling boxes.

Yes! That post is a reply to the topic. I am in the guest accomodation business. If you re-read that post you will see that I said when I started I thought of what I want as a guest and what hotels provide. That was my baseline so things like a dark room for sleeping and tissues have always been provided. And other than a more powerful extractor fan in the bathroom I have provided every single thing guests have asked for. That includes the queen size bed I finally upgraded to.

One post is advice to a host, the other post is advice I would give to a guest.

That post is referring to the guest side of the equation. Ideally guests would read the descriptions and choose places that provide what they need. I don’t expect to drop off my luggage at all hours at someone’s home. If I need that I will look for a listing that provides it. I won’t choose whatever place I want and then complain that it doesn’t have the amenities I want.

I do not think guests should stay in budget places and demand luxury amenities. People stay in Airbnbs to save money but then complain if they don’t have 5 star amenities? They shouldn’t do that. BUT, they might. So if the host wants 5 star ratings they should be aware of this. I have posted many times agreeing that it’s unfair but guests get to leave the ratings they want and hosts who are going to be bothered by a few three and four star ratings should take steps to prevent them. So when guests ask me for things I don’t provide they usually get them (parking in the garage or use of kitchen for example) so I can keep my guests happy but I don’t think the guests were right to ask for them.

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That’s not why they ask for a bin in each room. It’s for convenience. Obviously there needs to be one in the bathroom. The one in the bedroom is for things like used kleenex because people don’t want to put the snotty kleenex on the furniture or throw them on the floor because they are already in bed for the night. In my home I have a bin in each room for myself so I would provide the same for a guest.

Also, though it’s gross to think of it…if someone gets sick during the night they sometimes use the bin by the bedside. If there isn’t one to use, you know what happens.

Can’t remember the last time I was sick and in 3 and a half years only one guest thought they were sick so they asked for a bucket. I think both my guests and myself leave a tissue on the nightstand and take it to the bathroom in the morning. I don’t see the issue with the tissues lol.

It’s just another case of are you in the guest accomodation business or is the guest supposed to conform to your needs. There is an argument on both sides and I see both sides, (this apparently confused Yana, see post above.) As for barfing in the bin, I’ve never done it nor has is happened with my guests. But it’s only going to take once for you to wish you’d put a bin in their room.

Any tips on getting the guests to actually use the white noise machine? I got one in the spring after some guests mentioned they had to use their white noise app to sleep. However, I don’t think anyone has ever touched it. It is next to the bed but on the lower shelf of the night stand.

We just received our first four star rating (for this particular property) and it really hurts- especially given this lady left foot prints (of horse manure) on our lovely rugs!!
Here were her complaints:

  • “light bulb went out in laundry”- these things happen and we have plenty of spare globes easily available. In fact, had she told me during her stay, I could have even sent someone over to change it (but of course I only found out during her review)
  • “door in ensuite and sunroom are hard to open” - well she broke one of them and the other one it’s very slightly not smooth (old house) but on a scale of 1 being broken and 10 being perfect, i’d put it at about a 9
  • “bath towels a bit small”- they are high quality sheridan towels which are a normal size and in over 200 guests, we’ve never had a complaint. She also went through 12 of them for her 4 person family
  • “couldn’t find a strainer for pasta”- there actually are two which are easily found and once again, had she contacted me, I could have told her where it was.
    She gave us good public feedback and this was all private and I started to write back but I soon realised you can’t beat petty with petty. So I had a rant to my husband and then left it :slight_smile:
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I think it’s worth messaging me guest so they don’t do it again. Are you going to bill them for the breakages and carpet cleaning?

“Any tips on getting the guests to actually use the white noise machine? I got one in the spring after some guests mentioned they had to use their white noise app to sleep. However, I don’t think anyone has ever touched it. It is next to the bed but on the lower shelf of the night stand.”

How about a nicely printed sign on the night stand: “We recognize that random ‘night noise’ bothers some of our guests. To ensure a good night’s sleep, we have provided a white-noise machine which produces a soothing murmur of sound to help you sleep soundly and waken refreshed. Simple press the button on the box below.”

Just make sure they know it’s there. I bought white noise machines for our home, too. I don’t think anyone has used them. That’s OK - I hope it means they don’t need them, or they use the app on their phone.

A related question:

What level of noise needs to be disclosed in the part of the listing where the host can check the box “Potential for noise”?

Every kind of environment has some sort noise.

Leaf blowers :frowning: and lawn mowers in the suburbs and small towns. Taxi horns and sirens in the city
Roosters on farms. Howling coyotes and who knows what else in the wilderness.

I had a relative here one time who was getting irritated by the noise certain birds were making.

At which point does it become something that needs to be disclosed?

A reasonable person should know what kinds of noises to expect in different locations, but not everyone is reasonable.

I disclose the noise you can expect staying in my basement: family and pets overhead, floorboards squeaking, toilets flushing. I’ve always noted these things and it has mitigated the negative reviews. Two different guests have given me five star reviews and publicly mentioned they appreciated the earplugs in the medicine cabinet (which are harder to find than the white noise machine by the bed).

I suppose if I lived above a loud bar or on a farm with roosters I’d disclose that as well. However, I find it irritating when I read reviews in urban settings complaining about city noises like ambulance sirens, or rural stays with complaints about the noises of nature and farm animals. What do people expect?

Disclosure is always good. I live in the city but my position is very quiet relative to the convenience.
Still the location category is a bummer!