Got a note from my guests that the pool had started turning green the morning before and was now very green and the pump was making noise. The problem (turns out) that the water level went below the skimmer basket, which is bad, as water doesn’t circulate and the (brand new) pump can burn out. I’m super bummed they didn’t mention anything the day before, as it could have been resolved then before it got too bad to fix easily. Now it’s a disaster. Our 200+ year old house is in a very remote location and they know there’s only a caretaker available (5 minutes away) if there’s a problem. They are clearly not responsible for pool maintenance but when there’s a problem with something (anything), prompt reporting seems reasonable. I’m going to give them some $ off but I have no doubt they’ll ding me in their review, which will kill my 5 star rating. Upset by that as much as anything else. Q: Should I mention their poor communication in my review? This could just as easily have been “hey we noticed some water in the basement the other day” or anything else that ought to have prompted immediate communication which ends up causing more problems because of delay.
It strikes me as very unfair to ding your guest for poor communication about a pool maintenance issue, which is the Host’s responsibility.
We have a pool too and I wouldn’t expect a guest to notice the condition of the water, evaluate it as something to report or not, and ‘promptly’ report that to me.
The real takeaway here is for your five-minute-away caretaker to take pool readings twice/week, including noting the water level and replenishing as needed.
I have no idea what you’re talking about, with the skimmer basket and all. It’s likely that your guests didn’t know anything about it either.
Thanks HostAirbnbVRBO and JJD. You are both right. The pool is entirely my responsibility and I shouldn’t expect the guest to have any obligation to report anything out of sorts, especially as they may have no clue regarding what is out of sorts in the first place. I guess I’m just super bummed that they had a bad experience, I’ll get dinged, I sent them a bunch of money, but if they’d just spoken up, it would have been a non issue.
If you were onsite, or had a co-host who visited daily it would be a non-issue. Even though a couple of members have told you it’s not the guest’s responsibility you are stuck on thinking it is. You will never control guests, you can only control what you do.
I’ve never owned a pool but the folks I know who have seem to have daily issues with the equipment and chemistry. It’s hard to imagine offering a pool in a rental without daily checkups.
This is my new hosting mantra! Thanks. 
I have never had a pool, so as echoed by some other hosts here, I would have nothing to contact a host about until the water started to look green, as was the case with your guests. I would have no idea what level the water was supposed to be at, what the skimmer basket is or what it looks like, etc.
Appreciate everyone’s comments. I’m super clear now on pool maintenance etiquette. This was helpful. UPDATE: had some back-n-forth with guest. He appreciated the refund and gave some great feedback as well (having been an owner/renter himself in the past), and though they were disappointed to not have the pool for the last couple of days of their visit, he started off his final email with a very friendly comment about “not leaving bad reviews”, and giving some really helpful pointers/thoughts. So maybe all OK. Definitely going to have the caretaker do several pool-health visits/checks per week when guests are over. In retrospect I must have just gotten lucky that his never happened before.
There are also a lot of smart devices that will help as well. You can get a low water level alarm that alerts you if the water gets too low. There are also devices that automatically add water to the pool if the water level gets too low. You can also get smart devices that monitor power flow that you can attach to the critical pool components (pump) that will alert you to a failure of the equipment. All of these can be connected to Wi-Fi and will send you alerts to any issues.
I’m just wondering if your homeowner’s policy will cover guest’s injuries. I know that you’re concerned about the maintenance issues but I personally would be more concerned about the liability of offering a pool at a vacation rental. I’m hoping your insurance policy covers the pool. Do you have guests sign waivers?
Having a pool is really a big and serious responsibility. I was looking a little into the law awhile ago, and it wasn’t clear to me that the pool made available via an Airbnb wasn’t really a ‘public’ pool that should be inspected by some governmental agency periodically. I say that to emphasize that it’s super important to maintain it. If someone got sick because of the pool, it would be unfortunate.
I don’t know where you’re located but I hope you have commercial insurance, and well documented and displayed pool rules. We were told to have signage, including (I know this seems ridiculous) signage saying ‘No Life Guard,’ signs that say ‘swim at your own risk,’ signs on the deck indicating the pool depth at each different depth (on both sides of pool). We also have a rated life preserver and throw line (actually two, one on each side of pool). Gates to the pool area are locked.
I take pool readings 1-2 times per week and make a note of the readings in calendar entries, with a note on actions taken. I don’t know that this is necessary. It’s helpful to me and I think it’s some evidence of the care taken to maintain the pool.
If there’s ever an accident you know that someone is going to check your procedures, which even if not directly related to the accident might be used as evidence of general carelessness.
As an aside, we bought a pool ionizer this year. It really helps the water stay clear – really sparkles ! – and you use much less chlorine. The target chlorine level is like 1 ppm.
Typically our guests really enjoy that we stay out of sight unless needed. An everyday visit by us would likely not be well received by our guests. The guests really should have said something in the first place. Pools aren’t green and most mature adults know that. We’re invisible unless needed and they really seem to like that.
Remember that the guests might not be outside using the pool or looking at it. They might not even be at the house at all for most of the day. Who knows??
As for being out of sight, go to a Four Seasons hotel and you’ll see people maintaining the pool and gardens. There’s no way to maintain the pool and gardens without maintaining them, which means workers will be on the property from time to time. Plan for that. Communicate that.
You say that the guests should say something about the pool water. [Of course that assumes that they were outside and saw it and noticed it as aberrant. BTW did you see the pool water in ‘Breaking Bad’ – their home – it always looked cloudy to me. Yet, did I write the show about that?? I think the pH was too high, needed muriatic acid, but it could have been the color of the liner or the paint on the concrete.]
Should the guests say something about plants that appear over- or under-watered? That seem to be suffering from some pests? Say something about the rust on the outside light fixtures? Squeaks in the floor? In the hinges? Where does it end?
Think about it. Does the House Guide say – or should it – that if the guests notice that the pool water is not clear, and especially if it’s greenish, and also if the water level is not high enough for the skimmer (see Fig 1) that the guest should notify the Host immediately? Communication is a two-way street.
So that the Host could call its caretaker who lives five minutes away to come take a look-see? Because otherwise if the Guest does not exhibit this ‘common sense’ communication courtesy this maintenance stuff just doesn’t get done?? Because we think you don’t want to see our caretaker around? And we hang our do-nothing hat on that. [Though even if that is a concern there is some time between check-out and check-in for the caretaker to come over, at least once a week if not twice for the pool.]
That doesn’t mean that it’s okay for your pool to start turning green. That’s your responsibility not your guests’.
We are truly invisible (I have tenants that have been here for 9 months that I haven’t met). But if a single leaf falls on an outdoor table, neither a guest nor tenant ever sees it.
As another poster said, it is normal for maintenance people to sometimes show up on a rental property, although it is usually on a schedule that guests are advised of. I live in a touristy little town with hundreds of whole house rentals and they all have pool cleaners, gardeners and house cleaners who show up on a regular basis when guests are in residence.
And, as others have pointed out, expecting the guests to “have said something in the first place” assumes they are aware that something isn’t as it should be, which isn’t a valid assumption.
My valid assumption was based on the guest reporting that the pool was green the day before. Clearly they realized something was amiss.
I have a pool as a home share host and I always tell guests to tell me if they notice anything at all immediately so I can fix it and keep them comfortable. Pools turning green even slightly need to be reported. Put that in your next notice, HR, etc.
I just replaced a pool motor because #FloridaHeat kills them every 4-5 years. $$$$$$$
Don’t give them any money off and tell the truth in your review. “Guests were great but wish they’d reported an issue immediately so our caretaker who is 5 minutes away could have addressed it immediately. We pride ourselves on our prompt actions to keep our guests happy.”
Take the hit if you get one. It won’t affect your rating.
Maybe they saw that it looked a bit green the morning before but didn’t think anything of it, that it might clear itself. When it didn’t, they reported it. The bottom line is, a host can’t always expect that guests have an understanding of something, or at what point they should report it.
My guest room toilet had been having a problem with the flapper getting stuck open. I had messed around with it, doing some adjustments before my guest arrived and it seemed to be working okay. But I told her just to be aware of the issue, to jiggle the handle a bit after flushing, which always solved the problem even if it wasn’t actually “fixed”, and to let me know if it was constantly running. (as a homeshare host, who sees my guests several times a day, it’s easy for me to address something right away)
2 mornings after she arrived, she and I woke up to no water coming out of my faucets. Her toilet had been running all night and drained the 2500 liter water tank on the roof. She said she didn’t hear it running. Not her fault, - my point is that guests don’t always know how to notice when something isn’t as it should be.
Appreciate the different points of view. Our rental is definitely not the kind of place where guests expect or want anything more than the bare minimum of intrusive services. It’s remote and quiet and daily visits by a pool guy would ruin the solitude and privacy that guests expect from this particular property. I totally appreciate the perspective from hosts who have more high-touch properties… that’s great for those kinds of rentals. In fact I don’t approve any bookings until I’ve had some back-n-forth with prospective guests making sure they’re the kinds of folks who like and want the “very old house on 120 very private acres experience” and that they are familiar with old homes and are going to be OK with all the quirks a very old home entails. I want them to enjoy themselves, which they won’t if they’re expecting a modern, trail-side condo. And in general, it’s worked great. People love the property and the 1770’s home experience. They know in advance that they’re a bit more on their own than perhaps some other kinds of rentals and that I live hours away but that there’s a “caretaker nearby”. I don’t think the example of plants needing watering is equivalent. Bad smells, green pools, water where it shouldn’t be, suspicious sounds, are all things we’d really hope a guest reports ASAP; weeds in the garden, not so much. I agree with all the commenters above that they guests are under no obligation to report those things. I like casailinglady’s formulation about letting guests know to report anything out of the ordinary immediately so it can be fixed and keep them comfortable. I’ll be using that… Thanks! Just to clarify a point for posters above, this particular guest has owned homes, rented homes, etc., and is not a naive homeowner, and did in fact notice a problem with the pool (turning green) more 24 hours before he reported it.
That’s cool. I do think it’s rather ironic, though, that a place with a pool is a “1770’s home experience”. 