How often you change linens, bed sheets etc while guests are staying

Research
1

I do believe airbnb is not like hotel, as hotel changes daily.
How often do you as a host provide such service during staying, especially longer stay, such as more than one week.
I travelled with airbnb /stayz a few times, none of the hosts provided such service.

2

I leave two sets of sheets per bed, and two sets of towels per max number of persons. My homes also have oversized washer and dryers, so they can wash them as often as they like.

When traveling I tend to look for places to stay with a washer and preferably a dryer, so I tend to wash my sheets and towels myself.

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3

Mid-stay for guests who are staying for more than eight days. The longest stay I allow is 21 days, in which case I change the beds three times. (Rare to have long stays like that).

Additional towels are available on request and guests have access to a washer and dryer if they wish.

@Nick2008 - what do you do? Why do you ask?

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4

we would go up to four nights’ use for a short stay, but we change after 3 nights’ use for longer stays

5

My longest stay has only been 5-6 days so I have never had to worry about it. The cabins have washer/dryers although the small cabin the W/D is in a locked closet. If I had a longer stay in that one I could let them have access, or do a mid stay clean myself which is more likely

RR

6

The longest stay I had was 17 days. I washed the sheets once but the guest left them on the porch in a basket. His dog damaged several things and that’s probably why he didn’t want me to go in the room during his stay. I just had another 6 night guest, no linen change but they do have access to the closet with spare towels. They only used 3 towels between the two of them for those nights. I don’t prefer stays over a week so linen service would have to be negotiated. I’m not inclined to let someone be in the room longer than that without me going in for a look and a tidying up.

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7

I don’t at all but there is a washer and dryer available in the listing. If I did do it I would probably charge something nominal for it, especially if they were requesting for a time that was inconvenient for me. However, if it was a guest that gave me a weird feeling I might offer to do it just to check up on the inside of the listing.

Luckily I have only had one fitted sheet that got ruined by a guest who I don’t think washed the sheet for his month long stay. It was body oil stained so I don’t think it would have made a difference. There is still a possibility I could get it out with a separate soaking but I haven’t done that yet as I have plenty of other sheets and could use it to line the dog beds if it doesn’t come out. I was upset about it at first but that wore off and if I get upset again I will move it up in my priorities to tend to it.

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8

If I did longer bookings I would want to get in once a week to clean and change the beds. I would not ask, just state that the place will get cleaned and bed changed on Wednesdays or whatever. I would not charge for it because it would be to my benefit to not have a big mess in the end.

I have my max set at 2 weeks and no weekly discount, so far no takers though. Fine with me.

RR

9

I offer to change the linens for guests that stay 7 days or more, but those stays are rare and I’ve only hosted 3 in a year. So far, none have taken me up on the offer. There is a washer/dryer in the listing and guests can wash the linens themselves.

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10

Yes but unfortunately with my whole house listing the ones that I would be most inclined he tree e would be the ones who would not only refuse the cleanings but would give bad/worse reviews and probably report me to Airbnb as invading their privacy…

Honestly, when I stay somewhere I prefer no one else accessing my space even to clean becuase I would then feel like I had to clean/pick up after myself each day instead of when I got ready to leave…not that I am a slob but when traveling I am living out of bags and suitcases rather than having everything in the drawers so it would be on all the furniture and even the floor…and even in one side of the bed when I have a king.

Lastly, I am discounting 5-20% for longer term bookings so also not super likely to make it even more with free cleanings.

11

That’s exactly what I do. But I give the guests two choices: “Would Wednesday or Thursday morning suit you?” and “Would you prefer me to do it when you’re there or when you’re out and about?”

99% of the time., they prefer it when they’re out.

It’s as much for my benefit as the guests’. It keeps the bedding and towels fresh. It gives me the opportunity to clean so that I won’t have a mega clean on my hands when they’ve checked out.

I can make sure that they are storing food properly, for example. (Florida + food left out = bugs.) I can check that they’re not leaving the AC on freezing when they go out. I throw away dead flowers and clean the vases so they don’t get pongy. Wipe up any spills in the fridge, give the stovetop a fettle, wash any pots… In all, it’s a great preventative thing for hosts to do and it shows guests what level of cleanliness you require from them.

It also almost always guarantees great reviews. :slight_smile:

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12

I wonder if this also is based on price point. One might think that a budget listing that also gets free regular cleanings would be a super value but I wonder if those same people are the ones who more often would decline both options for not wanting their privacy invaded (either with them there or not and either because they are not following the house rules or not)…

I may consider for the future but not sure how to gingerly go about it when the guest denies both options, because THAT is exactly when I DO want to get in there and inspect!

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13

I’m sure it is.

I have a lot of first-timers who have previously stayed in hotels. They are accustomed to having housekeeping going in every morning to make the beds and so on. My prices are more like a hotel than a budget rental so maybe guests at my price point expect a little more in the way of housekeeping than they would in a cheaper listing?

Believe it or not, I have never had a guest refuse the service.

When I had the B & B, I used to clean the rooms and make the beds in all rooms (including our own two, of course) every morning. Mid-stay cleaning is a walk in the park compared. :slight_smile:

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14

I don’t typically have stays longer than 7 days but when I do, I do exactly as Jaquo has described and for the same reasons. I also put in fresh flowers and a little treat too. It gives me an additonal opportunity to show off my hospitality.

This fall, I had someone that stayed 21 days (originally 18 but some added days) that I mentioned the mid-stay clean when he booked and he offered to pay for additional cleans. We went in 3 times total but he paid our cleaning fee for each one, so that was particularly awesome :slight_smile:

I will say that we did not change the duvet covers because they were still clean and the guests weren’t changing. We did clean the kettle though :wink:

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15

F that

You: I will be cleaning and changing the sheets on X day or Y, which would you prefer?

Guest: Oh don’t worry we don’t need that.

You: Which day works better for you?

RR

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16

Perfect. It’s a very old sales thing from the days when there were door-to-door salesmen. ‘Never ask a closed question’, a closed question being one that could be answered with yes or no.

Instead say 'which day would be good for delivery for you? ’ or ‘would you prefer it in the green or the blue?’

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17

I want to agree with you. And then those guests like the ones with extra people and extra pets and an unsecured handgun and unsecured ammo who still refuse?

I actually did have one guy w unsecured ammo who informed me when I let him know when I would be there with the pest service. I was fine with it and the guest never accused me of taking or touching it (I didn’t but just feared being accused) but it was weird because it was several days advanced notice. I imagine most guests would have either declined or secured it.

Which I guess shows me that no one has ever had any issue with me bringing pest control in (I assure them I will accompany the technician, and I do, but I trust her as I have had her for a couple years now and wish she could service my farm in the next county as well). But this only happens about once every month or two so is not like a mandatory cleaning where I would actually be picking up their things and moving them quite often.

I guess I’ll just have to give it a try and see…

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18

We do exactly that—provide cleaning based on price point.

For our regular Airbnb customers who stay more than a week (and who pay what I’d consider to be “full price”), we tell them we’ll change their bedding once a week and provide them with clean towels once a week. We also dust, vacuum, empty trash, and clean bathroom fixtures once a week. If they want clean towels or clean sheets more often, we tell them to ask, and we accommodate.

But we also do some direct booking (she said, proudly, as she has her first longer-term direct-booked guest now). Our direct-booked guest is for a longer time and at a lower rate, during our slowest time of the year. We provide clean bedding and towels once a week for the guest to do the changing. We also say we’ll go in once a week to vacuum. We provide supplies for her to dust/clean the bathroom.

19

Same here.
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20

We don’t change linens mid stay. The house has a washer / dryer if they want to do a wash.