Weddings? I would feel less comfortable asking them to self clean.
Re stop accommodating back to back? I don’t. I can’t. My settings DO NOT allow it. Because I can’t get a cleaner. I know a lot of text, but maybe you missed the whole point here. I am not asking for self cleaning, not advertising it, and do not have bookings that force it. I am not offering any free night. Only, if they want to come a day early and I can’t accommodate them otherwise, then I am not charging them. Think of it as well, you can come, but only if I can hire you as the cleaner, for the same price as your first night stay! It’s not currently an ‘incentive’ - get a free night if you do the cleaning I mean. There is no advertising here.
HOWEVER in a few cases, and seems slightly more (though still uncommon), guests have requested a day arrival early (Covid changes everything / topsy turvey world it seems). Now it is blocked by the calendar as I can’t clean back to back. However, given such a request, I am sure most would say bad luck, you can’t come a day early. I used to do this, till I tried it one day and the guest was delighted… so I’ve offered it a few other times as it came up, and always it seems positively received.
You said you don’t want to clean 8 hrs on the first day of your holiday. Sure. I can’t imagine cleaning 8hrs, that seems excessive, but if your flights changed (as happened to my guest), and you needed to arrive a day early… I assume you would rather be told you can’t be accommodated and need to find other accommodation. Where others may feel open to an alternative, if it’s presented to them clearly, and is the only option that allows them to arrive as needed due to a change in flights (or other). Totally get you would prefer to not self-clean. But I do hope you would not be horrified to be told ‘No, you can’t come a day early, well, there is one option…’
I want if I may ever so politely and gently suggest that words like A thousand times no and Unprofessional and ick seem very emotive. I get it’s not your thing. That’s totally fine. But those words were said about Airbnb when it began, and Uber. I used to drive for Uber before regulation even. Then, I would hear some folk say I would NEVER get into a random person’s car… Ick. Except then, after some years, I heard young women say ‘A taxi? Ick. I would never trust a taxi’. Total change in mindset.
So here it seems some are worried this is being forced on guests, pushed on them, surprised, incentivised. Yet it’s completely not, it’s only a ‘I can’t accommodate you, well unless’, and secondly, I am wondering if there should be something in this.
It sounds so weird to self clean, but only as weird as it was 20yrs ago to stay in a random home or drive in a random persons car. Now that’s normal.
And as for cleaning protocols, that’s the whole point here. That’s the point. I can’t clean, I can’t follow, so unless you take the responsibility FOR this, in entirety, without any coercion, and with consent… then you are responsible for the cleaning!
Cleaning policies are for guests who arrive at a home that has been cleaned. The cleaning policy is not designed for guests doing the cleaning themselves.
I hope this is seen not as some renegade mischief, but a valuable solution to a problem, and it seems to work, and seems to be with consent, and not cause any problems or break any laws. I accept it’s not for everyone. But I was surprised when I dared offer it as a solution years ago, and have continued since, and so far, it seems surprisingly positive… to the (admittedly few) guests which have asked for a change I could not otherwise accommodate.
In life, if given an option to our request, we can of course be offended (if we don’t like the sound of the option), or we can say politely no. I’d prefer to at least be given the option.
Remember, millions of people said ‘ick’ at the idea of Airbnb and Uber… before it became mainstream, even though some still say Ick.
Maybe ick can be a relative concept is all I am saying. But thank you so much for all who have responded.