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Hey all: I can’t say for 100% sure, but I’m 99.9% sure I had 4 mugs, 4 juice glasses & 2 vintage type pop glasses. Now I have 3 mugs, 3 juice glasses and only 1 vintage pop glass- I discovered as I cleaned- so making my set of 4 now incomplete (I only rent to 2 guests for my cottage) max- but it’s irritating me that they felt free to take them.
I went and gave a great 5 star review- too quickly as the place looked very tidy- then when mopping found nicks (prob from luggage wheels in the flooring), and then got a 4 star review from them- 3 in value- they said beautiful surroundings, clean but basic! Basic! They get a cottage overlooking the ocean next to a lighthouse- I got 4 on location… You can’t get much more unique than that!
Should I say under their review- did you happen to accidentally take a mug with you or a vintage pop glass as I can’t seem to find them… So other hosts get the idea? Or Should I just blow it off?
You can’t please everyone. Clean but basic will suit plenty of people, especially if priced accordingly. If you’re on the higher end for price, this review might be important information for you— maybe you’ll want to add some upgrades.
As for the glasses, I buy a quantity and tuck the extras away to cover loss and breakage. Even if I was 100% sure that a particular guest was responsible, I would not give it a second thought. I expect wear and tear in this business.
Reviews aren’t for addressing the guest and asking them if they took something- if you want to indicate to other hosts that there were missing items, you should state it like “There was some xx that seemed to be missing after the guest left.”
If they live locally and could return things they might have accidentally had in their car, you could ask them about it in a private message, but really, missing dishware, like glasses, is the cost of doing business. It’s petty.
And if you aren’t 100% sure what was there before they checked in, you should never assume or accuse anyone.
Sets of things you can’t replace aren’t really the best idea for a rental anyway.
And missing dishware doesn’t mean guests took things on purpose- sometimes they get broken, you might end up finding them in some weird place or out in the yard, or guests take some dishware with them on a day trip and it accidentally gets left in their car.
And “basic” has nothing to do with whether a place is unique or in a beautiful location. I would consider basic to refer to amenities provided. Nothing at all wrong with a place that has basic amenities- plenty of guests are perfectly happy with a simply furnished place that is clean and comfortable.
All my kitchen items are already written off, and I have back ups for everything- cutlery/ crockery/ glassware/ cookware…. Even a back up microwave and Nespresso machine
I think it’s most likely that they were broken. Maybe by your recent guest but also by other guests and you didn’t notice. I wouldn’t ask them, if they were already missing and they didn’t break any of them, they might feel insulted and give you a bad review. I buy all my glasses at the Dollar Store and buy in bulk so that I can easily replace broken ones. It’s amazing how many folks break them. I was actually considering buying plastic ones.
Ya probably right… broken…now that I’ve settled down, lol… I guess I just find it kinda underhanded that people break stuff and not say sorry -but turn around and give ME a so/so review… of 4… And there are some good points suggested—that it’s not wise to buy a set as now I have a chipped dinner plate from a set of 4 and now they broke my 4th mug and juice glass which was a very unique black ceramic glass- can’t be replaced easily… Good idea- dollar store here we come for next round!
I don’t think its petty as one suggested as allowing people into your private special retreats is a huge matter of trust… on a host’s end… that’s my point- not the cost- but the fact you have people in your place that are kinda underhanded…
Oh well , you live and learn…
@Letsgo
Do you use Airbnb as a guest when you travel? I find it helps me detach a little, and better understand how guests feel when they walk into my place.
I get the plastic tumblers with the pebbled exterior from a restaurant supply store. They cost about $2 each and are pretty sturdy and are dishwasher-safe. I get them in multiple colors so guests don’t have to keep asking each other “Is this your glass or mine?” Be careful of some of the ones on Amazon - they aren’t as sturdy as the ones in the restaurant supply store. Carlisle Foodservice makes the ones I buy.
I go through around a dozen a year (three bedroom house, booked over 70% of the time), but most of that is because our guests put on sunscreen then handle the glasses. Like all plastic items, they get ugly (foggy) when exposed to sunscreen so I replace them with new ones and then use the old ones myself or for maintenance work.
@Letsgo I didn’t mean that guests walking off with stuff is petty, and I agree that if a guest breaks something, it’s just good manners to leave a note to the effect “We accidentally broke a couple of glasses- sorry about that.” (Good manners seem to be in short supply these days). But there are, of course, responsible guests who might leave a $5 or $10 bill with that note.
I meant that a couple of missing glasses, a washcloth, small things like that, are to be expected when you do str, and it’s too petty to mention in a review or to accuse or admonish the guests over.
Agree that minor missing supplies are not review-worthy. I have had guests “disappear” things – a spoon that they probably accidentally took with them or a towel they may have stained and tossed rather than fess up – but I’ve also found items in unusual places after I thought they were missing. If you are inclined to interrogate the guests by private message, look everywhere first!
You can query them without it being accusatory. “Hi, Suzie, I can’t find a, b and c in the cupboard where they belong. Do you remember where you put them?”
After a guest checked out and I was stripping the bed, I found a thick, jet-black spot on the fitted sheet, up near the top, that had soaked through to the brand new mattress pad. It looked like either leaked pen ink or maybe liquid eyeliner. (Although I hadn’t seen her wearing any make-up)
I messaged the guest similarly- “Hi XX, do you happen to know what might have made the black spot on the bottom sheet? It looks like ink or makeup. It’s not a big deal, I just want to know so I know what sort of stain remover would be best to use on it.”
She answered that she really didn’t have a clue- that she didn’t have a black pen or any black make-up with her. I believed her, as she had been a very nice guest and I hadn’t indicated that I would charge her for it, so it’s still a mystery.
Exactly what I did when I noticed that a coaster…yes a coaster, was missing. I do the cleaning and I know where everything is. I inquired where they may have left it and as it turns out they “mistakenly” packed it and took it home with them. They shipped it back and they didn’t leave us a review. Better (IMO) to have no review than a mediocre review.
It is a Detroit-themed coaster with a Detroit soda-pop sign on it. I’m on Maui and I like to have some things scattered around the unit that remind me of home.
They probably didn’t “mistakenly” pack it- they probably considered it a souvenier that would never be missed. Although why they’d want a coaster from Detroit from their visit to Maui is a mystery, unless they collect coasters.
I had been looking for a set of coasters for awhile and couldn’t find any I liked, except expensive ones. Then on my annual trip to Canada, I was in my favorite second-hand store there, and found these, which perfectly suit my Mexican house, for 50 cents. Score!
I had a guest “accidentally” pack six beach towels. She said she was shipping them back, when I didn’t receive them I assumed she would just bring them back since she had booked another stay. I never did get the towels back and on the second go around I did click on “would not host again.”
That really takes a lot of nerve, to abscond with 6 towels, say you’ll ship them back and not do so, then dare to come back again without bringing them.
Yes- it doesn’t say where they are from- and they are obviously handmade- the design is the same on all of them, but each is a little different- each hand-painted. They look Mexican, but I’ve never seen any like that here. Maybe from somewhere else in Central America or who knows where.
