I visited my daughter in Japan and while there we went to Kyoto. I love gardens, so she took me to some stunning ones. At one I needed to use the public bathroom. The toilet was set into the floor, no sitting, hovering, and I could not work out how to use it as nothing’ lined ‘ up.
I called her and asked - I had to face the wall’
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I second that emotion! I turn on the coffee maker before I feed the cat!
Welcome to the 21st century! It’s fun! (when the tech works)
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@PitonView
I love that QR code idea. I have one to log into the Wi-Fi, but your idea has opened a whole new panorama for me.
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As a writer, and a father who was an inventor- I see that most manuals are written poorly- assuming you know certain things- and most appliances could be simpler but I think aren’t partly because the creator couldn’t give a rat’s ass about the person on the other end. There’s an arrogance -there that certainly is frustrating and needless.
That’s one of my frusrations with the hosting pages on Airbnb. The programmers hide things where it is totally non-intuitive for the average person to find. I do think it’s a kind of arrogance among techies. Sometimes I picture programmers standing around the coffee machine saying, “Hey Dexter, I just switched the Log Out button from the upper right hand corner to the lower left hand corner. I give Grandma two weeks til she figures it out, snork, snork”.
It’s astounding to me that they think it’s okay to suddenly revamp everything without any warning or instructions as to where it has been moved to, or suddenly change what used to be called “Stats” to “Performance”.
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I was in construction for a bunch of years. Manuals for putting things together were often written in another language then translated. Manuals used to and still do drive me crazy. I look at them, get frustrated then figure it out myself.
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Thank god for your patience! I’m always amazed at my handimen pulling out the manuals as I would want to throw the thing in the sea. Recently opened my new ironing board- can’t figure out how to CLOSE the dam thing so it’s taking up 1/4 of my room!! Bought some expensive handsoap for the airbnb- can’t figure out how to get the top to open to emit soap- my friend broke it trying… the list goes on of things I want to kill, lol…
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Pictures of countertop appliances in Airbnb listing?
I list them (text) and show major, but that’s it.
Your comment about the blinds struck a nerve. I have very long windows in my old Victorian and like the scalloped, fringed pull shade look. Unfortunately guest have broken every shade that I have put up within fairly short order despite little signs and personal demonstrations of how they work. They are pricey custom orders so I gave up. I now have somewhat ugly thick curtain that just open and close with simple tiebacks. Guests tied the curtains up in so many weird ways that I had to make a sign with pictures to solve that problem.
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It may not go with your Victorian home and decor style, but clip rings on a rod are the easiest type of curtain hanging treatment for anyone to deal with.
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True, I use these for several other applications. Will need to rework my rod hardware at some point. I have found some magnetic tiebacks that offer promise.
Your point is simple, valid and appreciated. Sometimes we overlook things that seem obvious to us. The simple suggestion to leave instructions can make someone’s stay easy and enjoyable, making sure they can take advantage of amenities they counted on and the host provided. Why leave them with potential frustration when the solution is so simple? If someone lists amenities, I plan around them.
As a guest, why would I order coffee if I knew there was a coffee maker and had planned on using it? I was at a $600/night Airbnb and it took us quite a while to figure out how to boil water using the unfamiliar, high end electric kettle. Sure, you could message the host but then you have to wait for a response and as a host, do you want to be messaged frequently for things you could have easily anticipated and gotten ahead of?
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There was no host, it wasn’t an Airbnb, it was a relative’s house.
I have those in a few rooms but have tried to avoid screwing into the 200 year old window molding. Also when I set up I was trying to do so on a shoestring. Perhaps I’ll just do a couple windows at a time.
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Yup, seems like we all know that! Advice based on @muddy 's experience. Theirs was a great observation and appreciated!
Just want to add, we added these little laminated instructions in these clear displays around the house for things that guests may not be familiar with. This one is for the television. We also have ones with the wifi info on them. Not too many. But I do believe it is helpful without being an eyesore.
I bought mine as a safety feature. An elderly acquaintance died of burns after her robe sleeve caught fire on a gas burner. Her home health aide came to her rescue immediately but she didn’t survive. Fear of dying of burns is nothing I even gave thought to when I was young. Now, given my increasing slippage of the mental transmission, every choice I make in remodeling and purchases is meant to protect me from myself.
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My next stove will be induction. “Clean natural gas” is a fabrication of energy companies, just as cigarettes ads used to feature doctors telling you that smoking was good for you.
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I’ve had induction for almost 10 years now. I never did like gas much, too easy to burn yourself, burn pans and i’ve singed way too many tea towels! plus i like how easy it is to clean, and you have a useful surface that you can still use when not cooking. I also have a (possibly irrational) fear of gas. Gas goes boom and i think I should listen to that fear/instinct.
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