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The values, character, and level of respect of individuals has nothing whatsoever to do with whether they can afford to, and are attracted to stay in a “luxury” home in an upscale neighborhood or are quite satisfied with an inexpensive, simple, clean and comfortable room in a “lower grade” area.
I have read plenty of host accounts of their “upscale professional” guests- doctors, lawyers, etc. being entitled, demanding guests who had endless complaints, treated and spoke to staff as if they were their personal servants, and left a pigsty behind them. While the backpacking hippies were sweet, respectful, appreciative and left the place spotless.
Offhanded racism; “inner city” is often used as code for minorities. Why do we need to tell this troll that income, skin color, etc has nothing to do with manners and breeding?
It’s actually nothing particularly different - more just ‘renting rooms’, but doing so where two groups may rent a room or rooms each. As you see from the many positive comments, guests seem to actually really like this arrangement. I was surprised to see more positive comments from when guests ‘share with others’ than when they are the only one booked - but there you have it. All in the reviews, and a lot of them - I could post many more, but all are shown in my reviews on Airbnb to check yourself. I don’t think you will see any negative ones about guests sharing with others - they are all quite positive.
The ‘gain’ is giving guests a happier experience. I host a bit more for enjoyment than income to be honest, so I like giving guests more. I use messaging to specifically encourage guest interactions if they are sharing (and manage issues - like don’t block the garage door with your car as other guests may need access etc), so that probably helps.
But apart from what I see the main gain or benefit (giving guests more / a better stay experience) - it does increase revenue as well. Some nights I earn more from renting rooms than I do whole house - so it’s a win-win I guess, and really quite easy to set up… but does take a bit of learning for sure in calendars, and messaging and other aspects related to offering shared spaces.
I know! So simple an idea - but works pretty well.
Wish I’d learned about it earlier in my hosting journey.
Still can’t believe guests actually seem to ‘want’ this lol.
With our two rooms in our home, we had “shared guest experiences” all the time. With only one bathroom to share! We actually had two other bathrooms in the house which could be used if the guest found it necessary, but only one conveniently located near the bedrooms. All of this was disclosed in our listings. It was always so nice to have a full house, especially on weekends when my husband would make a full breakfast and we’d all sit around the table together and exchange conversation. I miss those days. We are still in touch with several of our past guests.
The “self-clean” option, I would have a hard time with however. And I just had a guest suggest that to me last weekend, with the exception that she’d be cleaning the place after her stay. I politely declined (twice!), but she really wanted to do it since we were giving them a late checkout. I don’t understand that - you shouldn’t have to clean on your vacation. I gave a later checkout so they could enjoy the pool, ocean or anything else on their last day.
Great to hear of your positive experiences sharing with other guests, yes - I love it too, and as you see from numerous reviews - guests do seem to ‘like’ sharing with others as well. Almost a benefit to offer, though it seems more ‘discover’ it’s rewarding when they try it, more than actively ‘seeking’ it I guess.
Regards guest cleaning - I feel a bit sorry for your poor guest, who was practically begging you to let her clean. Asking you twice and clearly insistently - I am curious why you didn’t let her have what she wanted?
I think professional hosting is catering to guest needs in many different ways, and here - she obviously wanted to contribute, wanted to leave the place clean and tidy, and wanted to ‘give back’ for a late check-out.
Would I be right that you denied her this request (which she was even pushing for) because you thought she should not be ‘wanting’ to clean?
I often go over and above cleaning when I leave a place, because I like to. I don’t usually ask, but if I did - I would feel quite frustrated if a host said ‘No, you are not allowed to clean’.
I honestly think she would have been a happier guest with a better experience if you allowed her to do what she wanted, instead of blocking her lol.
May sound odd, but I’ve discovered many guests REALLY enjoy cleaning. I would never require this, but if they want to book Self-Cleaning, you can be sure they really want this, and not just for the lower rates either.
I thought of your comment today, when I was arranging a guest in the UK to clean and remake her bed on departure. All we asked was for her to strip her bed for a 2pm Check-out (which is super late).
She seemed so eager to do ALL the cleaning & bed making, so it would be sad to deny her this I feel. Honestly I see this all the time. So many guests seem positively delighted when you ALLOW them to help out with cleaning - if they want to - and especially if they want a late check-out. It seems to make them feel good, so I see it as part of good hosting to let them do it, if they seem to want to - as she certainly does!
Thank you! Yes, I think it’s good to have diversity in views. I certainly thought some of these ideas were weird before I began trying some different approaches, though to be fair - in part due to guests pushing for things.
But as for renting rooms, AirDNA and others have data. Ask Grok or ChatGPT, you find there are over half a million listings that have multiple rooms rented as separate listings. So it could be weird, but with over half a million Airbnb hosts listing multiple room listings for the one property - I think it could be seen as pretty normal by now. But yes, when I began, I just assumed it WOULD be weird to have more than one guest staying in my house at once - however now it would be weird not to. Like everything - it’s all relative.
Can I ask though - in say the last screenshot, would you deny the guest their request? Would you say no, they are not allowed to strip their bed or take the garbage out - if they were asking for this? Would it not be weird to say ‘no’ to them? I like to make guests happy, so I don’t want to say no to them when it’s no trouble (or even a help) to me. Is this approach what you mean as weird, or is it something else perhaps? Twenty years ago it would be weird to let ANY stranger come sleep in your spare room, but now it’s normal and literally millions of hosts do it, so having two couples in two rooms isn’t much different is it? What’s your view?
Personally, I am absolutely fine with a guest taking out their garbage or stripping the bed - in fact I prefer they strip the bed (that way we are 100% sure that they used that bed and those linens) and put the towels in the shower stall. What I DON’T want them to do is to put the towels and linens in the laundry and start the laundry. Nearly every time I clean, there is some sort of stain on my linens or towels that will take extra time to make sure they are treated and the stains actually come out. I cannot trust that a guest who has very little experience in vacation rental turn overs will take the time to #1 check for stains and #2 treat the stains.
Other reasons I wouldn’t want to do this at my units. I have things such as remote controls, lights, ceiling fans - these are the #1 issues that guests contact us about after we’ve had another cleaner do the turn over. Remotes seem to disappear, lights that should turn on at the switch are not set up to do that any longer, ceiling fans are shut off at the switch, even though we have a switch cover that says “Do not remove”…when I do the clean, I check all of these things after each guest.
These are only a couple of reasons why I would rather not take on what you’re suggesting.
Anyway, you don’t have to respond to me - you’ve already responded plenty.
I actually do not like when a guest strips the linen off the bed…it is usually a red flag that their are stains. I can see the stains much better when the sheet are still on the bed. In addition, I also do not want guests to do dishes either. I like to ensure that they are cleaned properly in our dishwasher not just swished and stuck back on the shelf with the clean dishes. How do guest push for the things that you suggest. Do guests contact you and request to clean the suite themselves for a lower cost. I find it weird that guests contact you with suggestions on how you should list your Airbnb???
I find most stains come out in the wash naturally, but occasionally those that do not are easily picked up at the folding stage and spray treated and re-washed. It is very rare indeed I have had to discard towels or linen due to stains that don’t come out, and if so it could well be time to replace anyway. I agree with you there may be some (marginal) benefit spray treating stains first (before wash& dry) as running an item again may be slightly harder to get out - but really, it’s just never been an issue I find.
The majority of our washing is done professionally - so it’s a pretty small issue to worry about I think, as we spray any stains when we first wash.
I have never had a guest suggest how I should list my Airbnb, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a guest ask for a discount to clean themselves - though I see this occasionally in other forum posts yes.
No, my Self-Clean guests have actively booked this arrangement. They WANT it, though more for the benefit of early check-in, than any financial savings.
As an example - this is literally who is staying in my house right now. A celebrity singer. She booked my professionally cleaned listing, but must have also seen my Self-Clean one. She likely isn’t short of cash - yet writes that the Self-Clean option is ‘Tempting!’. I could not make this stuff up lol.
I thought she was coming to attend a wedding, but no, she is the talent singer(!) at a posh wedding here. Her set started 2pm so she was wanting Self-Clean to get in much earlier before performing. I find most guests want the early check-in more than for any discount - but many seem to just like it. Only when I began to advertise it as an option did I realise how many seemed to want this. Certainly interesting.
You seem to be characterizing this “self clean” thing as an “experience”. Like, say, feeding the horses. They book your place so they can have that authentic Airbnb hosting experience (?) How much extra do you charge for this privilege?
If that’s what the guests you attract really want, then ok.
But I’d strongly recommend sending in the cleaning crew afterwards. Because if your “self clean” guests were seasoned professionals, they sure as hell wouldn’t be seeking the “experience” of being a host.
To ensure clarity, the guests are only ever allowed to clean On-Arrival. Because like you seem to suggest, guests will just never clean as well as professionals when they leave. This is the only way it does seem to work well - we always clean professionally AFTER the guests. I want my house sparkling for new guests, and most are still normal professionally cleaned guests.
I did try the clean on departure, but guests would usually fail our inspection lol. So now, I offer late check-out if they put their used towels on to wash, and sometimes strip beds (or guests sometimes offer this as I posted an example recently). But I do not want guests doing any deep cleaning and especially making beds. Just can’t trust they will put on the top sheet (I prefer for hygiene) or roll the fresh towels so the rough edge is facing away from the door so it looks nicer(!), and the toilet paper in a diamond(!) etc. The little things. As for arrival though - for Self-Clean guests, it’s up to them how much they do. Most do a great job though.
It is a bit of an Airbnb ‘experience’ I guess - but really most seem to like being able to check-in as early as 10am!!. Which is just unheard of in other listings to offer this early.
We have a completely different views on Airbnb’s. I mentioned to my grand daughter who is twelve, that you have Airbnb’s, where the guest clean the suite themselves. She immediately made a creepy face, and said, NOPE." Airbnb is not our main income atm, could be in the future when we fully retire. The $ is not our only goal and I am not always trying to squeeze more bucks or more people into our Airbnb. As far as the laundry goes…I try to do it right the first time…not go back and try and get stains out after.
Oh ok, it’s clean when your “self cleaning” enthusiasts arrive. Your cleaning crew did it after the last guests left (because you know, you can’t rely on those self cleaning types).
So do you then give them a PowerPoint presentation followed by a hands-on cleaning seminar or something like that? The real Airbnb hosting “experience”?
Self-Clean bookings are almost always after a professional clean, yes.
So it’s never very bad. Mostly the self-clean guests are making beds and light laundry. Given the house was professionally cleaned the day prior to their arrival, or maybe two days - it’s usually in pretty good state. Most guests come for weddings so barely spend much time there other than sleeping anyway - but it’s less common to have back-to-back self-cleans and I slightly discourage this, as I like to be in there frequently with professional cleaning.
I like your idea of the cleaning seminar though lol - but oddly, it’s almost the reverse. Guests seem proud of their work, and like to help - as if offering their ‘talent’ and energy. Trying to ‘teach’ cleaning might make it feel too much like work - where they seem to enjoy it as is, so I just let them get on with it - and do as much or as little as they want, given it’s only ‘for them’ really.
Very cute though, when some elderly lady wants to send me pictures of her ‘work’ on making the bed. Like it’s her own bed and I don’t mind how well she made it for her stay, but nice to feel the positive energy. I love complimenting guests on how well they did in these areas, or how much we appreciate it. Feels closer to collaborate ‘with’ guests than to be a more just a faceless ‘service provider’. Many guests seem to like being involved.
