My most recent Asian guests just checked out leaving behind open bags of rice and other open containers of grains and other food items. I’m so fearful that their lackadaisical behavior during their 2-week stay has possible attracted “insects” to the apartment.
The guests brought pretty much all they needed from their country, from toilet paper to a partially broken rice cooker to every imaginable condiment.
One would think that experiencing local things, including local toiler paper, would have been part of the family’s vacation experience in the U.S.
Time for a thorough “ant check” methinks then.
JF
You see some British guests do that when going to Europe - bringing food, sauces, tea and other items that are familiar to them to cook/drink with @MissMiami
How is the guests’ ethnicity or the source of the food items relevant? Couldn’t any guests have done the same after buying food at a local store?
8 Likes
If they were on a two week stay then presumably the host or co-host went into the apartment at least once to change the bedding and clean, right?
So at that time, he or she would have noticed if the guests were keeping foodstuffs in ways that could attract insects. After all, although we say to guests that the weekly cleaning is for their benefit, it’s largely for ours too.
So if the host or co-host saw nothing untoward during the stay, then presumably the stuff was left in that condition when the guest checked out and had been properly stored during the stay. After all, who wants to eat food that is open to insects?
And most hosts or co-hosts have to go into the rental as soon as the guests check out to get the place ready for the next people so the food could only have been exposed for a few minutes.
And, I agree with Brian. Please explain what the nationality of the guests has to do with this. I’ve missed something I think.
2 Likes
I had guests recently who came from Vancouver. They brought their own dishes and utensils. (The reusable kind, not disposables.) Apparently they did a HUGE amount of shopping here. I can tell because the mountain of bags from the local mall, which wouldn’t even fit in the 3 recycling bins.
I guess they didn’t have room in the suitcases for their dinnerware to go back home. It was left here. It looked kind of old, so I don’t think they bought it here.
They were new Airbnb members and it was their first stay. Maybe they didn’t know that an entire house would come with dishes.
5 Likes
@jaquo, @Brian_R170 Brian and Jackie, you are absolutely right, the guests could have been from any part of the world, however, I wanted to describe how far they have traveled with a dozen toilet paper rolls, etc. I would not have found it odd if the guests drove from a nearby town with their trunk stocked with household goods but to fly from Asia with a suitcase full of household goods seems rather interesting. And no, the reference to “Asian” was not meant to be discriminatory, divisive, offensive or anything meant to be a negative comment on an entire continent. Chastising me was really unnecessary, although I know you mean well, and I appreciate that you care.
As for mid-stay cleaning, I do not offer it and my guests don’t request it. I’d think most of my guests would deem it intrusive (after all, if they wanted cleaning services they would have stayed at a hotel).
3 Likes
@jaquo Jackie, is it really standard practice to clean the listing after the first week? I understand your perspective as to the reason it would make sense to do it, but I’m wondering if most hosts who have guests for periods longer than one week actually clean and change sheets/towels on a weekly basis.
I didn’t realize that it was a prevalent practice and I would really appreciate your guidance, and that of other hosts, on this issue. Since there is a washer/drier in the apartment, I’d think that guests who want fresh sheets would simply wash the sheets or ask me to leave an extra set. I look forward to your valuable insights. Thank you.
I don’t get a lot of long term bookings. I don’t particularly like or want them but I recently had someone book for 22 days. It included time that I would be out of town and was counting as a loss so I accepted. I mentioned doing a weekly clean but he didn’t seem interested and I wasn’t going to force it and as I was going to be out of town during the middle of the stay it wasn’t practical. I did wash the sheets which he set outside the room for me after 5 days, right before I left. I came back and he had checked out early. I went in to clean and found that the room was in pretty good condition for a single guy with a dog who had been in there 13 nights. Still, given the condition of the sheets and towels, I’d prefer to clean weekly.
1 Like
I can’t speak for other hosts, of course, but it’s standard practise for me if guests are staying for more than about 8 - 10 days.
As I said above, part of the reason is for my own benefit. I can see how they are taking care of the place and given a situation where they are not putting food away, for example, I put it in the fridge and leave a friendly note that I’ve done do because of the heat and the bugs in South Florida.
I also find that sheets and towels are easier to launder when they’ve just been used for, for example five days, rather than ten.
It only takes about an hour or so (our apartments are small one -bedroom places) as I have a floor cleaning robot doing the tiled floors while I do the bed, the bathroom and the kitchen. I also replenish supplies if needed. I always put fresh flowers in the apartments for when guests arrive (overkill, I know) so I throw out any that are dead and get rid of the stinky water.
If there are dishes in the sink I either wash them and leave them to drain or (in the larger apartment) put them in the dishwasher.
All these things sort of give the guests the subliminal message ’ this is how things ought to be’. 
I find that I get great reviews every time and whether this mid-stay cleaning has anything to do with it or not, I don’t know. But imagine that you’re a guest and you’ve been out all day then you come back to a clean and tidy place, smelling fresh and with crisp new sheets and towels. (I might even add fresh cut leaves from the garden in a vase). I know that there are hosts who bake muffins or whatever for guests when they arrive but I think the mid-stay cleaning is appreciated more.
Of course, I imagine a lot depends on your price point. We aren’t the cheapest by any means and so I think that our guests deserve a mid stay clean and refresh, I tend to think ‘what would I like as a guest?’ and the mid stay clean would make me feel a little pampered 
3 Likes
P.S. I got so carried away there that I forgot to say that I usually mention this mid-stay cleaning during the house tour when guests arrive.
To start the conversation, I ‘assume’ …
“Oh, by the way, during your stay you’ll be wanting fresh towels and so on so next week - maybe Thursday or Friday - I’ll bring you lovely clean towels and at the same time change the bed for fresh linens and have a bit of a clean. Which day would suit you?”
Note that I don’t really give them the choice of declining! I’m almost forcing them to specify either Thursday or Friday.
Then I say “I can come into the apartment when you’re here or when you’re out and about - which would you prefer?”
Guests like the choice of either keeping their beady eyes on you or leaving you to it. I can’t remember a guest ever saying that they wanted to be there but it’s a good thing to give them the option.
1 Like
Why did we need to know that?
How is it relevant?
RR
Never mind, I see this has been asked and answered.
RR
Like Dusty, as a host I rarely have people stay longer then 4-5 days, but I’ve travelled a lot over the years, usually staying in apartments or houses in seaside locations. I have always expected a mid stay clean and change of linen after 5/7 days, depending on our length of stay.
I think it is the norm Miss Miami. Even if I have access to a washing machine, I wouldn’t be washing bedding, unless there’d been morning tea spillage or some such.
Years ago I had a wonderful colleague who travelled with her own sheets etc. She simply didn’t believe that anyone else’s would be as clean as hers. We teased her endlessly, but I think luggage weight restrictions finally got to her.
We once went to France on a day trip shopping. She spotted the speed limit sign as soon as we emerged from the Channel Tunnel, gleefully exclaiming ''What!? 110 per hour!", and put her foot down. I had to explain he miles ph versus kilometres ph conundrum.
She bought washing powder in bulk, I bought cases of wine in bulk… She’s still a great friend, one of the best.
1 Like
Some guests wouldn’t care if the sheets weren’t changed for 3 months, but as a host I would!
I only do long term in the winter, almost always hospital temp folks who are here for 2 or 3 months. I would never think of doing it without a weekly linen change. I require that all food be consumed in the kitchen (Air space has its own) but I want to make sure that if they do the room is vacuumed, so I tell them that the room will be cleaned and bed changed while they are at work. I change the bed and let the robovac do its job on the wood floor & area rug.
I don’t want my linens to be used for more than 7 days at a time, and I don’t trust guests to wash them, or to notice stains.
A weekly cleaning saves time when I do the early spring deep clean.
1 Like
How do you know they didn’t stop off at an Asian supermarket on route rather than bringing them in a suitcase @MissMiami
Quite honestly I think it is more common than you think for people to bring their favourites with them when self-catering. I do agree the toilet paper is extreme 
Personally I do a full clean, bedding and towel change on a weekly basis.
1 Like
Neither would my husband, in fact, I doubt he’d even notice!
2 Likes
Some guests do like their home comforts - and this extends to bringing along all of their own “favourites and goodies!” Leaving food bags open was a bit of an oversight though - hoping you haven’t had to hoover up insects as well as grains??!!
You could mention not leaving food open or left out on worktops? Writing rules for everything can be mind-numbing for your and your guests, but I guess you could add that one in if it’s something that’s happened once or twice before.
This would be meaningless if you don’t provide sealed containers for guests to store their foods.
We have tag ties - plastic clips that seal bags. I have a big supply in the cupboard!