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Hello everyone!
New host here. We are having our first live guest on Friday! This is the apartment we live in, we have been working really hard to get it ready and finally the day is almost here. We want to keep our price and costs low, and therefore the cleaning fee is pretty small because it will cover mostly the basics. Does anyone here do a guest check out checklist? This is ours so far - would love feedback and suggestions.
Bring Any Recycling down to shed (See Trash and Recycling Info in Packet)
Place dirty linens in hamper in laundry room
Place all used towels hamper in laundry room
Replace all toys and blankets to their original homes. Toys in the toy boxes, and blankets folded on the couch
Place all used dishes and glasses into dishwasher, add dish soap and run on Normal cycle before you leave
Wipe down stove if used
Wash out Coffee machine and dispose of grounds if used
I would not have guests strip beds or put towels in bins, I prefer to strip the bed myself, lint roller for hair and pre spot stains while on the bed. If they are bunched up somewhere stuff will get missed. Same with towels, leave hanging on towel rack so I can pre treat.
Good luck with your first guests.
Why? Don’t let Airs race to the bottom price tips affect you, I would prefer fewer bookings at higher prices. Often the people who pay the least have been my worst guests.
That’s really great advice! Yeah the price driving down more and more was really starting to make me question everything… I think you’re right about the linens too. Thank you!
I ask guests to put all of their towels in a hamper, but I specifically ask them not to strip the beds. As mentioned above, this makes it easier for me to spot treat bedding before washing.
I also ask guests to take out the trash to the bin. I don’t ask for any other cleaning and every guest so far has done their dishes, wiped up the stove/counters, and cleaned up toys, etc. Some have even cleaned the tub and swept up. I still have to clean after them of course but they put in the effort.
I am sure I will eventually have a group that will not tidy up because I didn’t ask them to, but I balance that against all of my good guests that don’t need to be treated like children and told to clean up after themselves.
I 100% agree with RiverRockRetreat on the beds. I prefer guests leave sheets on the bed so it’s easy for me to check for stains before washing. I also prefer towels hung rather than put in a bin – if I don’t get to them immediately, they’re drying rather than developing a funk in a damp pile.
Here are my checkout instructions. They’re also in my house rules:
Before leaving put trash & dishes in their bins, hang towels, and lock the door. It isn’t necessary to strip or make beds. Cleaning in excess of 3 hours (it typically takes 2) is charged at $35/hour.
Stating my cleanup fee means I don’t have 1,000 rules about shoes off, no eating in rooms, no glitter, etc. If someone leaves a mess from doing one of those things, we’ll charge for setting things right.
#5, I’d modify your wording to be clear “dishwashing detergent”. Some idiot will read this and put the bubbly dish soap in the dispenser rather than the detergent you meant.
I’d skip items 6-7. You’ll need to check the coffee maker and wipe down the stove in your own cleaning.
I have eliminated my cleaning fee and have it in the house rules that I expect the house to be left as they found it. I still clean, just not as much here are my check out instructions:
When Leaving
Turn off A/C , Heat
In order for us to continue to offer the cabin without a cleaning fee you have agreed to leave the cabin as clean as you found it. IF YOU USE IT CLEAN IT, Dishes, stove, BBQ, Keurig machine, coffee pot, toaster and anything else you use.
Cleaning supplies can be found in closet of laundry room.
Should you choose to cook bacon or greasy foods please turn on the vent fan and plan on cleaning the stove, backsplash, tea pot and kettle. Do not put the grates from the stove in kitchen sink to clean, use sink in laundry room. There is a cafe 200 feet to the North that makes a great breakfast.
Please wipe down the tile and chrome in the showers with the colored towel and throw out the used soaps. We will give the bathroom a good scrubbing between guests of course:)
No need to strip the beds, leave used towels on towel racks.
We appreciate that you are on vacation, and that you may not have read the house rules you agreed to which include leaving the place as clean as you found it. If you cannot leave the cabin as you found it please do the right thing and leave some cash to offset the extra work.
I did this once, when I was a teenager and had just moved out on my own. It was… memorable. Lots of frantic running around trying to stop the dishwasher.
If you have never done this you just would not believe the bubbles.
Congrats on your first guests! I hope Airbnb is as much of a dream-come-true for you as it has been for my husband and me.
Like you, we are resident hosts. We rent out two separate bedrooms (each with a bath) in our home.
We take a different approach: We don’t ask—or want—guests to do any of the tasks you’ve listed. We do all those things.
During guests’ stays with us, we treat them like our personal guests. We offer them beverages and snacks, refill their cups, collect cups and dishes when they’re done, and do the dishes (mainly the dishwasher) ourselves. My husband often bakes, and we offer baked goods to our guests, in addition to the breakfasts we provide. When we’ve had guests who have arrived late, we’ve often given them a simple dinner from our leftovers.
We make them feel like our houseguests as much as we can. A few of our guests choose to spend their time in their rooms, but most of them choose to be with us in the common rooms, talking and getting to know us and each other. I play the piano, and guests come into the living room to listen and to sing. Almost all our guests like to interact with us and our greyhounds.
It’s very much like having friends stay here, and our guests love it. They come back over and over and over.
We end up with new friends from almost every guest stay.
Your approach certainly works, too. For my husband and me, our approach works.
Great advice thank you! I really like the clause that you put in the house rules. Maybe I will just add that and take out everything else except for the trash/recycling, which is my biggest concern
Thanks for the tip Rebecca! I should clarify, it is our apartment with all of our stuff, but we aren’t going to be living there. In fact we are going to be doing almost all of this remotely, we have someone who lives in another apartment in our building who will be taking care of the Airbnb while we spend the winter in Tahoe (my husband is a ski instructor). We will change the checkout list to “House Rules” which I like much better. And your place does sound amazing and you sound like amazing people!! If people stayed here while I was here they would just have to put up with a lot of The Office re-runs
I once woke up to water all over the kitchen floor leaking from the dishwasher. I was overjoyed! I hated that dishwasher. I mopped up the floor and was happily researching new dishwashers on the internet when my husband wandered in and opened the dishwasher. Suds everywhere. Apparently, in an ambian haze, he put the wrong soap in and started it before he went to bed. Sadly, the dishwasher was just fine.
Do you use this approach for logistical reasons such as Not having turnover staff? Or do you find your guests prefer this approach? Maybe not everyone’s opinion, but I would gladly pay a cleaning fee compared to having to do all this after my stay.
[quote=“Brandt, post:19, topic:36280”]
Do you use this approach for logistical reasons such as Not having turnover staff? Or do you find your guests prefer this approach?
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I am the cleaning staff for the most part, I did it to be competitive it lowered my price by $75 and its resulted in more bookings and less mess, I still clean but I am not dealing with a big mess.
I did this once, when I was a teenager and had just moved out on my own. It was… memorable. Lots of frantic running around trying to stop the dishwasher.