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Hi, all. We are Superhosts and have many return guests and usually get all 5s. But if we get a 4 rating, it is for cleanliness. We have a shared space and we live in this house the way folks live in houses. We are retired and can afford to have a cleaner come every other week and we do the cleaning in between but I admit it’s not immaculate. We have busy, happy lives and our house is cozy, not pristine. Can we warn people of this to head off some of these 4s?
Examples of what we do before a guest comes: clean the bathroom well, put fresh linens on the bed and vacuum the room, check our basket of toothpaste, conditioner, etc. Sweep up the kitchen (they can use microwave and fridge but not cook), wipe off counters, wipe dining room table.
But: we have a wood stove and there will always be a few wood chips near it, the floors don’t get mopped every day, my husband tends to leave a little mail around, a few end tables might have a tiny bit of dust.
We don’t want to say guests have to stick to the bedroom but if we get marked down for our living room and dining room, I just don’t know. I don’t want to spend hours cleaning every day for $45 a night, which includes breakfast.
Why would you clean every day? It sounds like you don’t have that many guests. Just put in an extra 20 minutes tidying up (not deep cleaning) those areas you mentioned, on the day that new guests arrive…
I don’t think there is anything you can do in terms of warning them. Ken’s advice is good but I suspect people think of the rating system as an absolute system, not one that is relative to the listing. So if your not pristine place deserves a 5 and then I go to a place that is pristine it also gets a 5? That doesn’t make sense.
Are these occasional 4’s hurting your ability to get reservations? Are you getting warned by Airbnb. If they are hurting your business in a concrete sense then I’d let it go.
I’m not a cleaning freak, honest, but I think most people do some sort of cleaning in their homes every day, don’t they? Most of us (I hope I’m right) have systems for making the bed, loading the dishwasher (if not doing the dishes by hand) and generally making sure that the place is neat (-ish) and hygienic.
As you’re in business here, then it would probably only take a few minutes to zap through the house making sure that everything is okay - unless you live in a huge mansion. It’s good for the soul to live in a place that’s clean and reasonably tidy and great for exercising the body too,. Then as a bonus, it’s good for business.
Just get a few simple systems going - plus one to train your husband not to leave mail lying around - which isn’t a good idea anyway when there are strangers in the house.
I do doubt though that guests only give four stars for cleanliness over a few wood chips, a little dust and a couple of household bills lying around. Are you sure that those things are the problem?
$45 per night with breakfast and full house access sounds to be very cheap.
I used to think that too until I saw the inside of people’s homes on social media. Someone snapping a picture of their dog with the floor of their living area absoultely covered in junk made me realize why people have been telling me my house is so clean. (Meanwhile I’m mortified because I haven’t mopped in weeks.)
I support you 100%. And there is a group of us who favour a lived in home. I found that everybody breathes a little easier.
Right now I have 3 houseguests in a small place and most of us are weatherbound. In the middle of this I started renovating and it’s taking forever so it’s chaos. No, they aren’t Air guests, but I still stay up till 2AM fixing a fridge.
It’s true that there is housework to do every day, and when this infernal project gets completed there will be an overhaul. They are not expected to walk on eggshells and they know i would do anything for them.,
I was astounded that so many people responded with some really interesting ideas. I want to thank all of you. What I have decided to do is to slightly modify the text of our listing to stress cozy and shared space and that we are active seniors, and when we do the tour with people we will play up their room, bathroom, our yard and deck and downplay our living room. We aren’t going to walk on egg shells in our own use of our home. We will continue to work hard to make people stay here very enjoyable and relaxing. As I said, we are superhosts, and I’m going to work hard at letting the occasional four star rating not bother me so much. I’m also going to try to clean a little bit more. Thanks again, friends.
I think you have to accept it. I used to get an average of 4 and stated that 4 for Cleanliness is what I aimed for, in the listing. Some kind people still gave me a 5 and some fussier ones a 3. Most gave me a 4. Since then, about 3 years ago, I have upped the standards quite a bit and get 5s 90% of the time. But my overall rating for Cleanliness was 4.5 stars for a long time even though it was averaging 4.9 based on the previous year alone It only just went up to 5 stars about a month ago, though is still averaging 4.7 in my overall stats. Maybe they throw you a bone if you get 4.9 for a year. The point is if you are happy with that then stick with it but if you decide later to get it higher it will take quite along time to average out all the earlier lower ratings. Also one thing I did was get someone else to come in and look and write down a list of things they would improve. Often when you live in a home you miss obvious things which are a little smudged but fussier guests will notice. For example cleaning the plug in the shower or bath of hair even if it is just one. I know, crazy huh?
@Rachael52 I’m a bit late to this discussion but it really resonates with me. I have a very similar set-up (minus the wood stove and the husband…lol) and I too have managed to remain a superhost for the past couple of years. It still surprises me because my home is really old and quite rough around the edges. But the guest room is nice and comfortable and cleaning is heavily focussed on the bathroom and kitchen. I don’t get full 5* for cleanliness and I stopped caring a long time ago. In fact, I’m GLAD that it’s at 4.5. Anyone who is a clean freak won’t like my place so I don’t want them booking with me.
I really love @justMandi 's description of “everybody breathes a little easier” because “they’re not expected to walk on eggshells” in a relaxed home environment. That’s what I’ve found too. People like the fact that it’s homely and welcoming and, as long as they have a clean room with nice fresh linens, a comfy bed and a helpful host, they will overlook a bit of clutter in the dining room or the fact that you haven’t washed down the staircase this week.
I also agree with @JamJerrupSunset that the perception of cleanliness is often in the detail. I do keep my bathroom clean but it’s a bit shabby so I make it look better by rubbing away watermarks on the taps and fittings before guests arrive. It only takes a few moments but makes even the oldest shabbiest things look shiny. Also, dust in the corners of a bathroom and toothpaste splatters on mirrors are things that often get missed.
Anyway, it sounds like you are successful in what you offer and as long as you keep getting 5* for overall experience I wouldn’t worry
edit I meant to say that in my listing description I say things like 'nothing fancy ’ and ‘a basic comfortable and welcoming place to stay’. Then when they book/enquire, I remind them ‘Please note that, as per the listing description, my house is not perfect! But it’s comfortable and friendly and you will be very welcome here’. I’m slowly renovating so I will add any pertinent details. They seem to like the honesty. You could try something similar. Be open and do it with a bit of humour and NEVER with an apology!! That’s really important - your place is what it is. If they don’t like the sound of it then you don’t want them there.
we have a self contained listing beneath our house - that’s always immaculate. We are a little like yourselves however - some days I get up and am utterly thankful my guests are completely segregated - the house looks like a cross between a gas explosion and a crime scene.
