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Based on the feedback, it is clear that dirty dishes triggers some hosts & makes them angry. It helps me understand why my host was so pissed and lashed out.
There is also unspoken expectations that guest should wash dishes that is clear here.
I lived in hotels for years for work and never had to wash for dishes. You just pile them up in your room or outside. Hotel do not want them to try to clean them.
Same for my guests, I host 10 people and I do NOT want them to try to clean anything. That is how i end up with dishes poorly cleaned and the next guests are pissed. I hire a professional cleaning crew that has 6 hours in between guests to clean the villa. They are done in 90 minutes on average. Some day are 30 min, some are 3h but that is what they are paid for.
Now being angry as a host doesnât entitle you to lash out at guests and even being passive aggressive in the reviews. My basic philosophy as a host is friendly hospitality and great service. The only reason i have a business is thanked to the guests. I always treat them with respect no matter how strange some behave.
I use air as a guest to pick up ideas, understand how guest see things. As @Yana mentioned, I also really donât like places where I feel like the host is doing me a favor to host me and I have to spend vacation time cleaning up the place. All my guests are more like @yana and donât expect to have to clean up. They pay for a cleaning service and we deliver it. That is part of our deal.
I have also noticed a trend in guests being less and less tolerant to have too many rules and have to worry about keeping the host happy. In the last 2 years I started getting negative reviews sometimes just because some guest felt unwelcomed due to too many rules posted in the villa. I simplified things a lot and I have noticed satisfaction went up. I put less burden on the guest and they really appreciated this. I wouldnât be surprised if Airbnb will start putting pressure on hosts to be more flexible with guests. I have noticed for example that Airbnb pushes back on small claims like a broken glass or a plate (I donât charge the guest for them anymore). I have noticed by being more tolerant of guest that my booking are up. I am booked between 80%-100% every month year round now ( I host next to Disney world)
I know about Germany for sure. But also I know how much money people make in European countries and there is no comparison to US. 100Euro itâs what, 120$? Thatâs a very big amount even in US for a small place as it was described. I charge 150$ for cleaning of a 4 bedroom/ 2 bedroom house in Miami
As the original poster said that he, his wife and his three children stayed; I assume the house had at least three bedrooms. I donât think that $120.00 is a high cleaning fee for a whole house that can accommodate five guests.
I was just slammed by a guest because I am not a hotel. Yes, I did. Mad because I didnât give him clean linens every day and provide âtourism service.â
For the local market I was in (Antibes FR), $123 (105 euros) for a cleaning fee is outrageous for the 2bd/60square meters I rented (one kid slept on a pull out couch), + considering that I was also supposed to clean part of it. I charge $105 for 4bd pool villa that sleeps 10 by Disney world and the guest donât have to lift a finger.
I know the Antibes FR area well, I vacationed there for 20 years when I was younger (I grew up in France). Seems to me the host was just trying to pocket extra $$ off my back and was pissed when i didnât do half the work. Or it could be the hostâs property management company who exaggerated how the condition of the apartment was to pocket extra cost off the host back. The property management of the host was pretty lazy (pretty common of the area). At check in, we were stranded in front of the building after a 20h trip for one hour with 3 kids waiting for the property manager to show up and give us the keys. He âforgotâ the time we had agreed to meet. We had a great vacation none the less.
If I had a guest stranded for 1 hour in front of my villa due to my fault, I would bend over backward to make sure the rest his stay is confortable.
@yana good luck with Irma! My Orlando guests checked-out early to avoid the hurricane.
Iâm just thinking thereâs responsibility on both sides here.
That you checked in and found it dirty and didnât notify the management at that time. Thatâs what you paid the cleaning for. Why didnât you call someone at Air? Document it with photos?
That she didnât leave you check out instructions; She called you names in the review. Thatâs never okay, and always unnecessary.
That you left the dirties, as discussed endlessly above.
That you booked the place knowing the fee and accepting the fee and assuming the fee is for cleaning after your visit and not ahead of.
That they were not available to give you the keys properly (assuming you were checking in on time.)
These are the things that occur to me with this situation.
Interesting. My aunt lived in Antibes for 65 years and found the cost of hiring people to help her with housework as she aged to be quite high. At 60 square metres, including a kitchen and bath would take around 3.5-4 person-hrs for a standard cleaning. So that is about 26 euros per hour, yes? I guess I donât think that is outrageous for a reliable management/cleaning company.
I agree dirty dishes are a trigger. I donât require dishes to be washed ( my check out is no more than âset the thermostat at x, turn off the lights, shut the door behind you, and safe travelsâ) but almost all my guests do the dishes, to the point that I am now irrationally annoyed at the few who donât! That never affects their review as I do not require it. My last guest actually refolded the point on the toilet paper roll!! Really I have been quite lucky and rather spoiled by some of my guests playing housekeeper.
Thanks! I need it. My original guests ran but now I get last minute bookings. 300+ flights were cancelled and I am near airport So trying to rent pool house by room
The review could have totally been left by the property manager when to think of it. The host was really nice and only spoke English to my wife (she didnt know I was french). The property manager only spoke french and the review was written in french. I cannot picture the host actually doing any cleaning. It was an older 'bourgeoise" lady that didnât live there and was actually looking to sell her vacation appartment. I met her once because she was in town to sign papers and stopped by to say hi.
@anon67190644 Even if was 26 euros an hour for cleaning, I paid for 4 hours of professional cleaning for such a small place. Whether I paid for my cleaning for my stay as a post cleaning fee or paid for the next guest as a pre-cleaning, it doesnât make a difference. I do expect professional service to be delivered since I paid for it. We are not talking about a 15 euros cleaning fee at a mom & pop B&B.
When I hire a cleaner to clean my own house where I live, I donât do dishes, bathrooms, nor vaccum before the cleaner shows up. It takes the cleaner 4 hours to clean 200 sq meters. If your cleaner takes 4h to clean 60 sq meters, then you are getting ripped off.
he agreed to the cleaning fee when he booked. After the fact opinions do not make it ok for the guest to complain.
Many times, guests will book a place that clearly states rules and prices, and then complains about those same rules and prices. letâs not try to encourage this behavior.
I am sorry that your host was rude that was unacceptable.
If you are using a cleaning company in south of France the cost you mentioned would be fairly standard. @Rav I donât know why you keep comparing what you pay in the Florida with what people would pay in an expensive area in the South of France.
And I am not sure why you keep comparing staying in a hotel with staying in what is often someoneâs home. For me itâs about common decency. If I am in a hotel I will do what most ask and leave used towels in the bath. I will put my rubbish in the bin not throw it in the floor.
If I am staying in an apartment I will wash dirty dishes before I leave, throw away perishable food and put rubbish tied up in the bins. Not doing so particularly in a hot country can attract insects and make a place smell. This is not being asked to clean. Do you really expect to have to be told to do this in someoneâs house rules?
As a seasoned host you know that if things arenât as described you should speak to the host to try and resolve. Did you do this?
You were in a villa with your familyâŠnot a hotel with daily maid service and room service.
Yes, of course, with room service the guest places dishes outside the door, and they are picked up and cleaned in the hotel kitchen.
It is not as though you and your family could stack your dishes outside the rental for the daily service to come along.
And pots and pans, as I mentioned, are an entirely different story, and must be scrubbed each time used.
The review may have been inappropriate and mean; but it was provoked by behavior and disrespect of the property.
