How to review guest who wanted daily housekeeping like a hotel?

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I had a guest recently for a five-night stay. On the third day, he messaged that he wanted fresh sheets and towels. I had the cleaning crew drop off a fresh set outside the door.

Later that night he sent me an angry message that he did not know he was expected to make his own bed.

I messaged back:

Our listing does not mention daily housekeeping anywhere.

I’m sorry that you were not aware that daily housekeeping service is not provided.

If you would like to check out tomorrow, I can give you a refund for the last two nights of your stay.

He stayed and didn’t say another word after that. He left the place in acceptable condition.

My review goes like this:

Z left the studio in mostly clean condition. He expected daily housekeeping which is not advertised in my listing. He was unhappy about having to make his own bed.

4* overall
4* for cleanliness (acceptable but not great)
4* for communication (because he sent angry message)
4* for following house rules

I feel like giving 5* would not be appropriate but I wouldn’t mind hosting him again.

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It would have been better to explain to him that Airbnbs are not like hotels, and that daily housekeeping is not provided in your listing, nor the vast majority of Airbnbs, rather than simply that you don’t offer it.

As you didn’t hear any more complaints after his initial one, I wouldn’t state it like that in the review. I’d say something like “Guest was unclear on how Airbnbs differ from hotels and expected daily housekeeping, but had no complaints after I explained to him that no one would be coming by to make his bed. XX left the unit in good condition and was otherwise unproblematic.”

You should stay away from phrases like “Guest was not happy”- you can’t state a guest’s feelings, only facts.

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5* Overall and
5* everywhere EXCEPT
4* communication for angry message.

He didn’t break any HR by thinking he was getting daily laundry service. He was a jerk for the angry message and you politely informed him he could leave with a refund if he was that upset. So you did the right thing even though it left a bad taste for both of you.

Leaving a place in acceptable condition on cleanliness isn’t usually a reason for me to give less than 5* on cleanliness, but I don’t know what your version of that is.

Interestingly I’m dealing with something similar. Zero Reviews Long-Stay Guest handed me wet towels their 3rd morning and said “Here, clean these, they’re 2 days old. That’s not a problem for you is it?”

Shocked, I took the towels and put them in the laundry room

The next morning, I decided to chat with the long-term guest and discuss how she presented the towels and the expectation of fresh towels every 2 days. So we had a nice talk over coffee.

Turns out, this is what she does at home and didn’t know that even as a long stay guest that laundry for longer guests was weekly at my place.

We had a really nice chat and I thanked her for explaining her expectations of that much laundry and that I clearly needed a section for guests staying longer than 6 nights, which I’m seeing more of. She said she’d be happy to go longer without fresh towels, but I said no, that I had enough spares that she could just hand over enough for me to wait to do a large load of whites.

We had a good time going over what would help me manage longer stay guests better.

BUT I will state that I’ve had long stay guests before and it’s never been an issue to change towels that often.

Hey - an extra load of laundry per week vs guest happiness.

Extra load of whites it is.

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I didn’t want to speak on behalf of other Airbnbs and then have him send me some anecdotal evidence of another Airbnb he stayed at that offered daily housekeeping.

There have been a small minority of other guests who expected daily cleaning.

I will inform him after the review period ends.

Got it. Would this get the review removed?

yes. I was trying something I read here by another host who recommended a direct approach so the guest knows that you are not going to put up with such stuff.

wow… I would be shocked as well.

meaning she washes them herself or orders someone else to do it for her?

It’s not a problem to provide fresh sheets and towels every other day for me. It’s not ecologically the great thing to do but if it makes guests feel good on their vacation, I’m happy to oblige.

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I honestly can’t understand why anyone needs clean towels every 2 days or even every 4 days. What do they do with towels that they need clean ones that often? I hang my towels up after a shower and they dry and I use the same bath towels for two weeks myself- all I did was dry my clean body off with them, so they are still clean.

And none of my guests have ever complained about the 2 bath towels per week I give them (plus hand towels and washcloths). In fact, when I offer clean ones after a week, several guests have said it wasn’t necessary- that they still had one folded up that they hadn’t even used yet.

But I once read a post from someone who said that using a towel more than once was “unhygenic”. Some people have the most bizarre ideas.

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it’s not something we should be doing in the 21st century. So much water and energy wasted.

I need to make signs like the ones used in this study to persuade people to use fewer towels:

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Yes, many hotels are now posting signs about conserving resources and not throwing wet but otherwise clean towels on the floor and reusing them.

Entitlement to waste and overuse and convenience is what has gotten this planet in the mess it’s in. It isn’t at all sustainable.

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Hotels aren’t like hotels used to be. Courtyard, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, only do on request or at checkout.

Anyone expecting daily service is either living in 2010 or expecting the Ritz Carlton.

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Even hotels nowadays don’t do daily cleaning unless requested: Marriott, Sonesta, Best Western, even Hilton. I find it dissapointing as I see stays in hotel as a break from my home routine of making beds and making sure I keep all in order.
If it was me I wouldn’t give him bad review only because he was upset about not having daily cleaning. He didn’t know, it was obvious. Some people are quick to get upset. The end result is that he treated your house nicely and was a good guest in general.

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Hotels aren’t cutting back because they care about the environment, they are cutting back because of the labor shortage. And no one seems to talk about how political pressure to “secure our borders” is contributing to that labor shortage. Bottom line is hotels are probably dirtier than ever and if someone is really picky about how clean their accommodation is, best bet is probably an owner owned and managed Airbnb (or real family owned B and B or small hotel).

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I would second what @KKC said with this addition. The labor shortage is also influenced by the pitifully low minimum wage most states still have. If minimum wage were indeed a living wage, more people would want those jobs.

I also conjecture that hotel ownership is only too happy NOT to spend the money for housekeeping. More profit at the top!

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That’s DURING the stay or during the pre-stay messages. NOT afterwards in a review.

Address it at the moment and then if the crap keeps up, then review appropriately.

I have enough spares that I won’t do laundry every 2 days, but wait for it to build up and then do large loads. It’s working and she’s happy.

It’s fine if I don’t do little loads of laundry every day. As I stated in my first reply, it’s ONE additional load a week - even less if I factor in that I’m not turning over every night. So it works out even better ecologically.

Exactly. 5* overall, 4* for communication (angry) and that’s it on the dings.

Yup. My home was cleaned better than Covid cleaning regs before Covid. I haven’t slacked off.

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the direct message was during the stay… if you read the OP.

It served me well… it stopped all arguments from the guest.