How far would you go to cater to a lucrative demanding repeat guest?

if she came to my house her first visit would have been the last. I’d have given her 3* for cleanliness and have mentioned the messy kitchen and impractical suggestions in the review. she would have not dared to book a second time.
Life is short. Spend it with good guests.

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I think you misunderstood. Replacing means buying a new one. You don’t require that every guest get new towels, correct?

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I was referring to Brian’s “sharpen ze knives” post :slight_smile:

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I would cater to her a bit since she’s a repeat customer and always gives you 5 stars. I would buy a comforter and keep it just for her. You can buy them on clearance for $20 USD and that would make her stay. You can also buy kitchen dollars at the dollar store. If she stains it you only wasted a dollar and can donate stained towels to the animal shelter. Start charging a cleaning fee since she’s messy.

Or their own knives. (I’ve been known to to that.)

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I’m not sure she could do that since she flies in…

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Have you started booking her direct? You could save on booking fee’s. If you think you could fill the space without her. It is up to you if you want to ban her and rely on other guests.

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Ah, carry-on. Understood.

Here’s my solution: put out the laundered, stained (by her) dish towels. If she dares to comment on it, you can say that you tried your best but were unable to remove the stains.

Also, consider buying a set (2-3) of inexpensive knives (I can find them for approximately $10-$12 locally) and just put them out for her use. Way less expensive than either having them sharpened or buying an electric sharpener. I replace the ones in my rental units every season, and donate the old ones to the local thrift shop.

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We already charge a cleaning fee. It doesn’t come close to covering the cost of cleaning after her. Since an agency is booking and paying for her, idk that they’d approve an extra cleaning charge. We charge $40 cleaning fee for every stay (this is a whole house we are talking about with 2 bedrooms and 1.5 baths) and my cleaner usually ends up getting paid 3 to 4 times that amount after one of her stays because of the extra work and time involved, even with me helping. Also, I generally have to make sure no one books the day of her departure because of the extra cleaning.

I do buy dish towels that aren’t expensive for her. It just annoys the hell out of me that brand new towels (albeit inexpensive ones) get ruined every time she stays.

As to the $20 comforter…I’m guessing that would not satisfy her either. After all, she did not deign to use the inexpensive knife sharpener.

Hmmm. I wonder if providing a knife sharpener lays me open to some liability if a guest cuts themself while sharpening a knife?

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Guests are more likely to cut themselves using a dull knife… :wink:

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$5 to have a knife sharpened and one less knife wasted and sitting in a landfill.

Mine go to Goodwill or Maine Needs, not the landfill.

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@CeeBee Sorry, I wasn’t eco-shaming! It just seems odd to me because I use a lot of tools and knives and they’re made to be re-sharpened.

However, I’ve definitely picked up some decent knives at Salvation Army and had them sharpened for $5, so carry-on :slight_smile:

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See how much I know about knives? :smile: I did not know that. I also did not realize that the knife block set in another house has a knife sharpener tool as part of the set!

These are the knives she’s complaining about…just an ordinary inexpensive set of Farberware.

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Oh, I absolutely agree! But I’m not going to outfit my Airbnb listings with the Wüsthof and Henckels knives I use at home…that’s just a lot of temptation to leave lying about. Maybe if I find some nice ones at Goodwill…

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That would be nice but it’s not possible. An agency books for and pays for her stay as she’s a contract doctor who comes in every month or so to see specialized cases. She doesn’t pay the cost of her stay herself.

Where are you in the states? To me it seems like $40 is too little for a whole house rental. I’m at the Jersey Shore and I charge $125 for the cleaning fee. It’s a 3 bedroom house with 2 bathrooms (five beds). Maybe you can increase the fee a bit.

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I’m in a small town in West Virginia. In general, people only come here to visit family or to work. Forgot to say, the most I’ve seen charged for a cleaning fee here, for a whole house, is $75.

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All 3 of my houses have Wusthof Classic’s and plenty of them. I also have a huge Le Creuset and All Clad collection in each. I state a gourmet kitchen and I deliver on that.

If you have a Sur La Table close to you they sharpen knives once a month. Williams Sonoma does maybe once or twice in a six month window. It’s only $5 per knife at either. I bring them all in once a year, but have non electric sharpening options available for the guests use.

Ummm…where are your listings located again? :grin::grin::grin:

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