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I appreciate all the replies, and my plan is to reduce the quantity of pillows to no more than 4 per bedroom and to have pillow covers for every pillow. The biggest problem I had with the review was the guest saying that none of the pillows had pillowcases; which was completely false. I believe she meant to write that the extras in the closet didn’t have pillowcases. The shams are unnecessary, but I viewed them as backstops for sitting up and reading in bed.
I did decide to respond to the review by saying, “just to be clear, there are 16-17 pillows of various thicknesses for the 3 bedrooms and all that are on the beds have pillowcases. The pots and pans are of sufficient quantity to satisfy most families. My management company is paid well to deal with any issues immediately upon notification.”
I tried to stay “on point” and concise for the benefit of potential guests reading the review.
I wouldn’t say this. It always rubs me the wrong way when hosts respond saying no other guest has ever complained about something before, which is a negation of a guest saying it wasn’t okay for them.
“Sufficient” is a matter of opinion. I would just state the facts. “There is a full set of cookware, with 3 frying pans and 4 sizes of pots, so I’m a bit confused by the cookware comment in the review.”
I’m a bit confused by you saying there are 3-4 frying pans and 3-4 pots. Don’t you know how many pieces of cookware there are?
The quantity of extra pillows is fine- some guests might want more than 2 pillows and there’s nothing wrong with having some extras. I think the issue is guests knowing where to find the extra pillows and having them either in a plastic bag to keep them clean, with the pillow cases for them either in the bag as well, or already on the pillows. There’s something to be said for just having clean cases folded up in a bag with the pillows, as you would be able to tell if they had been used or not.
No, i honestly don’t know exactly how many pieces of pots and pans there are. I also don’t know exactly how many knives, forks, potato pealers, cups, glasses, plates, measuring cups, or bowls there are. Guests leave things and some actually take (small) things mistakenly. I don’t have my cleaners inventory every item in the house, but the “closer” and the cleaners generally notice the bigger things that I’d be concerned about.
Then it sounds like it’s possible that some of the cookware has disappeared and the guest’s comments might be perfectly valid.
I can understand not inventorying every little thing in the house, but making sure there is adequate cookware and utensils is pretty important. If you host for 6 guests and there are only 5 glasses or plates left, a guest would have good reason to be annoyed. If things disappear, you need to replace them.
And if guests leave things, and they just get added to what is already there, it could end up looking like a hodge-podge of kitchen gear, which might make future guests have the impression things aren’t there that actually are. Unfortunately, perceptions are often as important as reality when it comes to hosting.
But sometimes the little things are more important than the big things. I can understand being concerned if the air fryer went missing, as that is probably a listed amenity and an expense, but in fact, more guests would probably be inconvenienced to find there was no vegetable peeler or grater, or that they were in poor condition, than the number of guests who’d find it an inconvenience not to have an air fryer.
Im guessing you have smaller apartments and manage yourself. Mine is a larger house managed by a company who “closes” and cleans. I’m in close touch (remotely) from the time the guest arrives and let them know my management company will respond immediately to any needs … if something is reported (no salad spinner, potato pealer, coffee filters, etc., my management company is directed to buy and deliver immediately. The problem is guests who don’t let you know they need something, or that there is a problem until they’re ready to check out and write a review .
If you leave pillows without pillowcases then there’s a solid chance that some (too many) guests will use the pillows without putting on pillowcases. It’s less onerous to wash pillowcases than it is to wash pillows. If guests are or may possibly be using the pillows without pillowcases then you should be washing those pillows.
Pillows without pillowcases are somehow unsavory. In my opinion. Remove the extra pillows or put pillowcases on them. They’re not being legitimately offered as “extra” if they aren’t dressed and ready to go anyway. It’s an insincere offer on your part and that is so much worse to a guest than not having enough pillows. It feels bad and that will catch you every time. You’ve been caught.
Again, guests aren’t dumb. (And they aren’t the enemy either). I’d absolutely-fnkg-know that the “extra” pillows didn’t have pillowcases on them to deter me from using the “extra” pillows so that you could cheap out on laundry. Raise your cleaning fee by $3 and make your guests feel like guests.
Don’t respond to the review. You’ll only make it a bigger thing than it actually is and look entitled and defensive. I don’t know you at all but hosts who respond to this type of review always look entitled and defensive. It’s not a bad review, it’s an opinion.
Get more info from them if you can so that you can make improvements about the cookware if it makes sense. It may not make sense. They may have $7000 cookware at home and a skewed opinion. You may not want your guests hanging out cooking. Or you might want to add a stock pot and a steamer. Who knows, but do not respond to the review. No good comes from it. Let it go. They said they’d come back. They won’t if you respond to their review.
It’s not “unnecessary” if it anticipates the possibility that some guests may decide they need more pillows to make themselves comfortable, and – in the case of this particular group – it appears it would have been necessary to avoid public criticism on this particular matter.
Yes, good point. The management company has a checklist. It includes the more important things like the bikes, etc. It’s not feasible to have them inventory every plate, glass, etc. … I already pay them $227 for the clean, so I don’t want to give them a reason to take more time (money) .
My takeaway from these welcome comments is to reduce the number of pillows to 2/bed and provide pillowcases for all pillows … even if they are stored in the closet.
The pots/pans will be evaluated and updated (stepping up a notch or 2 in quality) and filling in any deficiencies in type and/or quantity.
Since you don’t feel it’s cost effective to check the inventory on everything with each turnover, you might consider some variation, like every quarter, or twice/year or whatever frequency you think makes sense.
OR checking on those items that cannot be replaced the same day – dishes? silverware? Or have more glasses/dishes/silverware than your maximum occupancy. [This sounds cost effective to me and I might expand that to having two of the most essential kitchen tools: veggie slicer, can opener, wine/bottle opener, measuring spoons and cups. The cost for these extras is minimal and you can tout (if you feel appropriate) as equipped for two to cook in kitchen.]
OR just accept that you might one day not have six plates, etc for six guests. It’s your cost-benefit analysis considering the possibility of a review from a less generous guest than this one.
I wonder what ‘immediately’ means. If it’s a potato peeler I could replace the same day; if it’s a cup or a plate, and I want it to match, I can’t do that the same day.
Plus many guests will not tell you in real time. Despite our requests to tell us of any issues so that we can resolve them immediately many guests just don’t. Instead they choose to leave the issue to the review, and Airbnb will not remove it on the basis that they could have told you sooner.
And if at 8 pm they discover that there is no wine opener, getting one the next day is really not an adequate remedy.
Of course, you can respond to some such reviews that they ‘failed’ to alert you to the problem in real time. But that also reveals to all that your ultimate quality control mechanism is the guest. But that’s part of your cost-benefit analysis too.
This is an excellent point. It’s not the guests job to tell a host when things are missing, nor is it a good plan to wait until it’s gone. I haven’t looked at how the OP describes their rental, particularly if the description says it’s a fully-stocked kitchen. If there’s any element that claims that in the description, then make sure it’s accurate each and every time.
Yes. In this house there are generally 4-5 spatulas, 2-3 potato pealers, 20 plates for a house of 10 people, etc.
I guess the frustration is that I literally communicated with this guest 2-3 times/day over her 3 night stay and nothing was said about cookware or pillows
I get it. Regrettably, this is what guests often do. I often wonder why. Do they sit together and collaborate before the review? Is it just that they don’t want to bother you when it’s just one little thing – but then they hear from fellow guests ("And what about those pillows? And no extra pillowcases? Not two per person? What’s up with that?? ") and then it snowballs with “No stick-free omelet pan? No cast iron?” and so they throw the kitchen sink at you? [If so, in your case it was a tiny toy kitchen sink.]
Anyway, as Hyman Roth said to Michael, “This is the business that we’ve chosen.”
Hahaha … I guess that’s why I said, “maybe only needs”. I’ll take your “should have” for “must have” and get 2 pillows per person per bed. I think I get it now.
) that you aren’t fully aware of what’s going on in your rentals.
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