Help please - How would you rate this stay?

I think I’m a bit picky, but these things do seem small. I agree that, for that price, you should have a microwave, and I think it’s expected in the US.

The breakfast was terrible, and you should mention that in the review. SPEAK UP in the review - otherwise people will see the ding in starts but won’t know what is wrong.

If it was clean, comfortable, quiet, with decent linens, and in a good location - if you enjoyed everything else but these small disappointments - (Well, for me, the breakfast is significant) then give it at least 4 starts for overall, and then ‘ding’ as necessary in communication and accuracy.

Just my thoughts. Though husbands getting confused - that sure does happen. One morning I completely slept through my guest’s breakfast time - maybe it was a one-off

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I don’t think a microwave is expected in a guest room, but this was a whole house rental.

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Therein lies the problem. One person’s basic amenity is another person’s clutter. I never use a microwave, but I use a stand mixer almost daily. That is why if something is important to a guest it’s a good idea to ask the host about it.

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I permit guests full use of the kitchen. Prior to Airbnb, I didn’t have a microwave anywhere in my house. Because of Airbnb there is now one in the kitchen. I don’t keep food preparation tools in the guest room.

I agree. But @MissKris816 clearly didn’t mean to identify the listing originally, otherwise she would have done so.

Microwaves are pretty useful for reheating food. That’s all I use it for, at least. And it’s a natural thing to have around if one has short stay guests.

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Ah, gotcha. For the most part, travelers eat out at restaurants while on vacation rather than cooking meals, so I’d think a microwave would be an essential so they can reheat any leftovers they bring home. At least that’s my perspective. :slight_smile: Glad you ended up adding one. :slight_smile:

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I have the habit (which I know many consider strange) of eating leftovers at room temperature or cold from the refrigerator. This was developed over many years of working in an office where waiting for the microwave to be free could take most of my lunch hour. I learned to drink coffee lukewarm when I worked in a preschool where hot coffee posed a danger to the children. Within reason, I try to get the things that make guests stay more comfortable. I draw the line at an electric kettle or a duvet.

LOL!!! I have two electric tea kettles AND duvets for all! And yes, I have a microwave, but I don’t expect that unless it is specifically mentioned. I only expect a tea kettle in Asia and Europe where it does seem to be standard.

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I have a rice cooker which is appreciated by guests from China, Japan and Korea and appreciated by me when they share the food they cook in it.

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Very good comment @EllenN

We have stayed in many STRs - always entire apartments or houses - and I’ve never expected facecloths, paper towels or more than one key. And I don’t consider a microwave as being a necessary part of a fully-equipped kitchen. But I’d be interested to know if others regard a dishwasher as ‘essential’ in a kitchen. We don’t have one in our rental - there’s simply no space.

Regarding checking in and out, I don’t send any check in instructions until the evening before arrival day. Sometimes guests who are anxious (first-timers usually) contact me before that but mostly they don’t. And we don’t have checkout instructions either. We mention in the house manual that we like them to take out the trash, leave used towels in the tub and so on but that’s all. Again, I message the guests the evening before departure to tell them what to do regarding the key.

So the only things that bothers me about the stay are a) the lack of cable TV and b) the lack of breakfast.

With cable, as it was mentioned on the listing then it should have been available. As a guest, I would contact the host about it at once. (Maybe they just forgot to pay the bill and weren’t aware it was off?)

Our rental is an entire space and we don;t advertise breakfast but we leave a few breakfast items for the guests’ first morning and they are mostly delighted by that because they don’t expect it, I suspect that’s what the host intended but in that case, breakfast shouldn’t be on the listing and I’d mention that in the private feedback.

As you can tell, I think that a three star rating is way too harsh.

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I don’t consider a dishwasher to be essential, but my husband and I are a family of two (unless you count the dogs who don’t care if their dishes are clean as long as they’re full). I would assume that larger families would want a dishwasher.

One thing that I think is essential that hasn’t been mentioned is chopsticks if you have guests from countries where chopsticks are used. I have several sets. Our Chinese, Japanese and Korean guests appreciate that we have them.

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@MissKris816 As you can see, everyone has their own biases and ranking of what is important to them. For me, it makes for interesting reading, especially where there is experience or reasoning involved. When based only on personal preference, not so much.

For some, two or three of the items you listed would be a 3-star experience; for others, even all of the things would not qualify. Bottom line is it really only matters on your perspective of the experience.

If you found those things to be significant negatives, give the rating you believe is applicable to your experience. Other hosts and travelers reading your review/rating will make their own decision on whether it affects them similarly.

Thank you, we’re the same :slight_smile:

I once got private feedback that a dishwasher should be supplied in a ‘fully-equipped kitchen’. But there is no room at all, either in our own apartment or the rental.

Should I mention in our listing ‘no dishwasher’?

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Don’t have much more to add, except to complain about how silly the Airbnb rating system is. As others have noted, they have effectively made it so anything below 5 stars is bad. While that might make business sense (i.e. attract more guests) it does nothing to tell people about the actual quality of the listings.

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It wouldn’t be a bad idea to mention that you don’t have a dishwasher. That way if someone complains in the review about the lack of a dishwasher you can have the review deleted. We don’t have air conditioning. Even though it is not listed as an amenity, we say in our listing, “We have a centralized heating but no air conditioning. On very hot days we open all the windows for cross ventilation. The nights are always cool. There are only a few days per year that the temperature rises above 80F/27C.” We still had one guest who asked if we have air conditioning.

Thank you, good advice. To me, a dishwasher is a total luxury :slight_smile:

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At my price point, I don’t expect a dishwasher - not in a cabin, especially if it’s more rustic than not (which I prefer). But it’s not a deal breaker for me - I bring my own - the kids. ; )

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I have one in the rental and don’t even know how to insert the soap. I need to learn though! - When I was a kid we had one but my mother refused to use it because it supposedly used more water. I have never run a dishwasher in my life, and I think hand washing is much cleaner anyway.

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I had 3 dishwashers but the eldest one moved out. Now I have only two and they alternate days. :slight_smile:

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