So I have 5 beds in my house sleeping a total of 7. I have at least 2 sets of white cotton sheets and pillowcases for each bed. I have ample white towels and washcloths.
For stays longer than a week, do guests usually want to have their sheets changed weekly?
Do hosts allow guests to wash their sheets and towels? Or do hosts generally just have guests change their own bedding and wash all the sheets when they leave.
I have a one-month stay last year and they never said anything about washing my sheets and towels.
What I am concerned about is improper washing, probably by adding bleach, and causing yellowing of the sheets.
I am addressing this in my “New and Improved House Rules” but just wondering how others handle this.
I was thinking of saying “Please do not launder the sheets and towels, we have a cleaning service for that purpose. Just notify the host if you need laundry service for longer stays.”
What do you think?
If you want to monitor your home you should offer a weekly linen change and light cleaning. Don’t allow or ask guests to do laundry but on the other hand you can’t prevent them from doing so. Don’t make it a “rule” per se. Just have it in your house manual and deal with problems on an individual basis.
Okay so does the weekly linen change and light cleaning apply to stays longer than a week. I am comfortable with that.
So where do I put that in the AirBNB site and how do I charge through AirBnb for the Weekly Linen and light cleaning?
We do a lot of longer stays. We go in every 4th or 5th day to replace towels and change sheets. I would recommend 3 sets minimum for each bed. We leave a clean set in a draw, one on the bed and then take the old ones with us to wash and replace the ones in the draw we use the next time when changing the sheets.
I have it built into my cost. It’s a safety option for me to make sure my places are not getting trashed.
Build it into the price.
I offer a change of linens to guests if it fits into my schedule. I find many guests want privacy and turn down the offer for new linens. There is a washer dryer so they may be doing a wash on their own. Buy linens that are economical, most guests know how to do a wash.
I like the idea of taking the sheets back with me and laundering them in my home. That way I am not impacting the guests while I do the laundry there.
So, do I just raise the cleaning fee across the board or is there a way to have a cleaning fee for 3-night stay and a higher fee for a 2 week stay with an added Weekly Linen and Light Cleaning fee?
I guess my fear is that the guests will try to get stains out of my white sheets and just set the stains in. I have a HE ( high efficiency washer) in the house that requires a specific type of detergent and I am providing the correct detergent. I guess I could just post a sign that says, Please so not try to remove stains from Linens. We have stain removers and we will try to remove the stains.
I offer it, but no guest so far has taking me up on it. My max stay is 14 days and I’ve only had 3 stays over 7 days, so it just hasn’t been too much of an issue.
I allow it. A few guests have washed sheets and towels. Just like you, I am concerned about guests improperly washing, but it hasn’t been a huge problem.
How long is your max stay? Your average stay? Maybe this just won’t come up often.
We have a framed sign in English and Spanish over the washer that states “Please do not wash our towels or linens, if you need more just ask.” It works for the most part.
I am thinking of making my max stay 2 weeks. We have a beach location in Florida and it is seasonal with the highest rates being in the winter months. In the summer we depend on summer vacationers and the rates are lower. I wish there was a way to make the max stay for the high season 1 month and the max stay for the low season 2 weeks.
There is a way to have different stay lengths for different periods of time. They are called rules sets.
Whether they want it or not they get it if they stay with me. It’s a nice thing to offer the guests but it also lets me see that they are keeping the place in good nick. Changing the beds, the towels and a light clean takes about an hour at the most and I do it every week or, for guests staying for shorter periods but over eight days, mid-stay.
I feel that it would be nickel-and-diming guests to a) charge for this or b) expect them to do it themselves. After all, it’s for my benefit as much as theirs.
There are plenty of threads here about this so you might want to look at the older ones - not all members will want to answer this one again.
I only do stays longer than 7 days in the winter as a lease, and I don’t ask, I simply REQUIRE a weekly clean and linen change. This requires slobs to at least pick up their dirty clothes and trash once a week so the room can be vacuumed.
I don’t want anyone sleeping in my sheets for longer than a week. After that, they often start to stink.
I tell the guests that if they want new sheets or towels they can toss theirs into a laundry basket that is outside their door and I will provide new ones. That way I have control over the laundry, I don’t have to enter their area and I don’t have to do the work of making up the bed.