I live in a cess pit! The two rentals are immaculate. You could eat your dinner off the floor. Truly. Everything that can sparkle, sparkles. My own apartment on the other hand is disgusting in comparison 
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I understand washing machines in the US do much shorter cycles than the ones we are using over here in Germany. And I don’t think 2.5 hour washes cost a hell of a lot more than the shorter ones. This is simply the standard time my washing machine takes, with lots of breaks built in. About 2 hours 10 minutes for a 60C wash and 2 hours 30 minutes for a 95C one. There is no way for me to influence the time it takes, and I don’t see any need to do so. I usually go out shopping and when I am back, the washing is ready to be hung up.
Electricity use is about 1 kwh per cycle, which works out at 25 cents and that doesn’t break the bank. Airbnb host fees are much more than that.
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Then I am so very glad that guests get to see most of the house, apart from our kipping quarters. I HAVE to keep it up to scratch, no option, not even the kitchen. We don’t have a central hall as such, being two cottages slung together. Just an unimpressive lobby/boot room, and straight into the kitchen, farmhouse style.
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But my washing machine is German; Bosch to be precise! Not that old, and the best we’ve ever had. Short cycles, energy efficient, low temps. Even my filthiest gardening,scruffle-muddy-dirt covered clothes go in for 1/2 hour at 40C and come out perfect.
Chicago, when Trump announced the tariffs on washing machines, I went right down to Lowe’s and picked out a new one. I got the work horse GE top loader and love it. It was NOT expensive. $399 plus 36 for deluxe hoses. Free delivery and installation. It’s got a setting for speed wash and settings for bulky items, such as blankets and such. Works like a charm. I just love it!
If you have the chance to hang your washing outside to dry that kills germs anyway. Or perhaps use an in wash sanitiser like Napisan or Dettol laundry sanitiser. I use them on a 30 degree wash when I have teenagers’ socks/dishcloths etc…
Ha! Yes, the Air suite is spotless and the main house looks, I’ll say “lived in” to be kind. Unless the dog has brought in a tree branch to munch into bits, then I’d say it looks “mulched.” I had one of those friendly, interactive guests who asked to drop by to say hello, and like some Victorian grande dame I replied “I’m afraid I’m not currently receiving visitors due to the state of the household. I do hope we run into each other.”
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My house is dirty compared to the rental but due to a bit of OCD ness when it comes to tidyness, it’s always uncluttered. And if a guest comes in or through it’s usually due to having a dog or wanting to visit with dogs so I have my built in excuse for drifts of dog hair in corners and a spotted tile floor.
OMG I can’t believe washing machines in Germany take so long 
. We see Germans as being highly efficient and advanced when it comes to technology. I would definitely investigate getting a different model with shorter cycles and eco options.
I put short stay guest washing on a quick wash takes 35 mins and 30c for the linens, another wash for the towels and another for the dressing gowns. So I do three washes in much less than it takes you to do one. I have four changes of linens and three of towels, so always end up with a huge ironing pile.
Nowadays there is rarely a need to do a more than 30C wash.
Unless your are doing cottons which are stained and then you need a longer cycle and maybe a stain remover too.
LOL - Must be why there are fewer “free” washers on Craigslist these days…
Well I am sure Bosch know how to adapt to tastes in foreign markets, so they will provide washing machines with shorter cycles to you, and other models with longer cycles to me. (I only hope they behave differently regarding cheat devices in diesel cars, i.e. removing all the cheating software in all the countries, but that’s another topic, I guess).
I was terrible in chemistry back in school, but I understand that longer cycles means more time for the detergents to do their work, even while the machine sits still for a minute or two before turning again.
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I cannot believe it either.
We have 3 machines, 2 consumer models and one professional model.
All 3 of them Miele.
The consumer models shortest program are 30 minutes, and due to the size the Pro model needs 47 minutes (when the warm water feed is used).
We run all our bedding on short program purely for time saving.
When possible we hang everything to dry outside, this not only saves a lot of energy, but also a lot of time.
Because when it is hung to dry, it needs very little ironing.
The long washing times on some German machines are pure marketing and ease of mind. Some people still think that laundry gets cleaner when washed long and hot, so manufacturers build programs for that, with pauses they call soak time, but are nothing more that waiting times to extend the programs lenght. 
Marketng is a funny thing.
For towels we use the 60C program which takes a bit longer due to heating time. (but not 2,5 hours.)
After that the towels go in the the dryer for about 10 minutes to make them soft, and then we hang them outside to dry. Towels that have been only hung to dry outside feel rough.
And once a month we run the 90C program just to clean the machine itself.
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I have made the bed in my AirBnb rental more times than I’ve made my own bed IN MY ENTIRE LIFE.
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Yes, that’s true. And I am one of those people. Being a responsible Airbnb host, I am glad to own a machine that takes more than 2 hours to complete the washing, and I will certainly never ever wash bedding at 30C. I usually use 60C for coloured items, and 90C for the white ones.
When possible, I hang everything to dry outside, but if it is cold or wet weather, I use the Airbnb room (when I don’t have a booking) to hang bedding there.
Oh noes, I’m an irresponsible host! 
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This is not something that people think, it is true. If I wash my laundry on short program 30/45 min, it never comes out clean. Only if it’s already clean before washing, just little smell. But it doesn’t remove stains or dirt. That’s why I usually wash everything with 2h program. What I also do is soak laundry in water over night, which dissolves most of the dirt and I can run shorter program then.
So yes it takes time to remove the dirt, it doesn’t happened 30min, unless you use some very aggressive detergent or your washing machine is super powerful, even more then few commercial washing machine I’ve seen. Or washing machine in Europe are so bad, even professional ones, compared to US?
Actually, my new German washing machine (I’m from Europe) has an ecological, energy saving mode which actually takes longer than the regular wash, which is also rather long, as Eberhard mentioned. The very duration of the cycle does not really say much about the energy efficiency of the device. Plus, I’m also sure that German producers adjust to different markets and that the machines sold in the US are not the same as the ones sold in Europe, even if the brand is the same.
My dish washer, also Bosch, has one of those eco modes that takes 2.45 hours to run. I’ve only ever used it by accident, by pressing the wrong button, and boy does it drive me nuts! Even worse, it has a gizmo that shines how long the cycle is taking on the floor, I swear it’s no cheaper to run, and definitely no cleaner.
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Well, if your washing cycles are generally shorter, then 2.45 h must drive you nuts! However, the shortest cycle on my machine is 45 min, and that’s for sensitive clothes, so I cannot really use it for the linen as it does not include enough tumbling nor spinning. I guess we are just used to our long washing cycles. 
My machine, besides the eco mode, also weighs the content and adjust the expenditure of water and detergent accordingly, so I have been very happy with it, as well as with its eco mode. I’m not sure how it is in the US, but in the EU there are levels of energy efficiency clearly stated on every appliance, so one can easily choose the best energy saving option.
I can imagine that is exactly why those washing machines (or dish washers) in the US are made to perform shorter circles: who wants customers to be driven nuts …
However, I try to do everything in a slower, less stressful way. This does not mean I get less done; on the contrary. For example, my rooms aren’t just listed on Airbnb, but on two or three other sites as well. So I don’t have to do any aggressive marketing, I just sit and wait for people to do a booking on any of these sites.
Which actually happened just now, as I was writing this message. It was on Airbnb, by the way. Most bookings are these days.