Should I make up all beds?

1

Hi,
We’re fairly new hosts and are still trying to find our way through this.

Our house has two bedrooms each with a double bed. If the booking is for a couple, should we still make up both double beds, or are we OK to leave the smaller room unmade (ie neat and tidy, but with no covers).

I suspect most people would only use the one bed anyway, but we’re prefer to deter anyone from trying them both out and doubling the clean /wash load BUT neither do we want to look ‘cheap’.

All advice welcome!

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We have couples that have used both beds, but also had guests who we thought were a couple but weren’t, and wanted both rooms of course!

So now we always make both beds, just to be safe.

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Thanks. Probably the safest option.
We’ve just made the one bed up for a couple arriving today but I’ve text them to let them know so they can tell us if this is a problem. In future we’ll make sure all beds are sorted.

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Do you charge extra for more than 2 people?

If you do, then i would lock the second bedroom because it encourages folks to bring a friend or two along - hey, there’s a spare bed, join us!

You could also ask the guests. Probably not “are you going to share a bed” but “Were you planning on using the second bedroom?”

Though if i were a guest renting a whole house (if that’s what you have?) in which the listing said “2 bedrooms” i would assume i had access to both, no matter the size of my party.

Does that help?

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It sounds like you’re renting the whole house rather than individual rooms. We rent individual rooms and always have the rooms ready to go in case of a last minute booking. For a whole house rental I agree with @Alia_Gee . Find out ahead of time what their needs are and perhaps close off the other bedroom if they don’t need it. Either way,I’d have the beds made but this way you know they are not used.

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Thanks all.
We are renting out the whole house, so it probably wouldn’t be appropriate to lock the downstairs room. I guess we’ll just have to go with making up all beds and hope this isn’t abused.

To be fair, the guests we’ve had up to now have been lovely, I guess reading this forum just reminds you they’re not all like that!

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Please don’t rely on hope as a strategy. Plan for the worst, not hope for the best. You asked about mistakes in another thread…hoping a whole house listing doesn’t get abused is going to be your biggest mistake.

For a whole house 2 people included in the fee is probably appropriate with extra fees for additional guests. It has been pointed out that Airbnb doesn’t have a fee for additional beds, only for additional people so you will have to make do.

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8

Bed sizes can differ depending on location.

What size do you mean by double bed? A USA double full mattress: 54 inches X 75 Inches
or Queen 60 inches x 80 inches?

54X75 may not be comfortable for two adults, especially if one is a “big or tall”

I can understand where 2 adults/couple would want to use the separate beds.

Also there is thread on this forum about a whole house listing meaning access to the whole house (e.g. 2 BR 2 BA–guest expects access to 2BR/2BA). Some contributors had a different opinion. You must decide what is best for your market.whole house rental lock unused bedrooms

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I would feel odd asking if people need the second bedroom. Maybe leave the linens for that bed available if it’s a couple and you don’t think they’ll use it? On the closet shelf or something. That way they have the option. I agree that if I were renting a whole house I would assume I had access to both bedrooms.

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Had an enquirer ask if they rented the whole house, would they have access to all the 5 bedrooms. My response was yes… but why do you ask? They sleep in seperate beds due to him snoring…they had rented whole houses in the past and found the extra bedrooms locked off. Very unhappy.

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In out check out procedures we ask guests to NOT make beds that were slept in. This allows you to not have to wash the sheets for a bed not used. I don’t think it is appropriate to market a 2 bedroom house and then only have 1 room available.

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It depends on your location.
In our country we do not have twin size duvets, so on a large bed there are always 2 singles.

We make 1 bed with 2 single duvets, and only put a sheet on the second bed.
We take away the pillows and duvet for the extra beds.

For us this works very well. We regularly have guests asking for an extra set of pillows and duvet, because they have an extra guest they “forgot” to book.

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13

If you dont make up the bed, and they decide to use it,
50% of them will flop into an unmade bed…it is easier than making up the bed.
Especially if they shift beds in middle of night.
If bed is available…be sure it has the sheets on it.
I like chris’s suggestion above too.

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14

I have 2 bedrooms, one with UK kingsize bed and one with twin beds. On several occasions with bookings for 3 the Mum and Dad have taken the twin room and the third person(child or grandparent) has had the kingsize bed. I always make up all beds but it does tick me off when this happens.

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For those of us who suffer from insomnia, a snoring or duvet stealing partner or, in my case, a thunderstorm phobia, a second bedroom is a godsend! We’re usually too cheap to book a 2-bedroom place but are always delighted to find a second bedroom available for the aforementioned emergencies! I will always mention to the host that we have used the second bed, but I guess that non-host guests might not think of that. @Brandt’s suggestion seems a good way to get round this.

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