Had to replace carpet from previous crappy long term tenant. No wood underneath. More cost effective.
Carpets are dark gray.
Not if you have to spend $500 every time some guest’s dog pisses on it. And you say guests have mentioned stains on the carpet. You say no wood underneath- what’s the floor under the carpet, then?
I hate staying anywhere where there is carpeting- it’s filthy no matter how often you vacuum it- harbors all sorts of nastiness.
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The cleaning bill was for large rugs- not carpet.
No wood under- concrete and some kind if cheap floor covering. I wasn’t there- cohost told me.
The carpet is there- no going back. They’re clean. You could just wear slippers.
No, I have to disagree, carpets are never clean. If you can’t wash something, it isn’t clean. All you have to do is look at the color of the wash water when you wash a kitchen or bathroom floor to realize how any carpets are. And I’ve never worn slippers in my life 
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Well, not worth debating. I have carpets. I said that I just had them cleaned- professionally, that is.
We own a carpet cleaner. I think it’s a Bissel. It works beautifully. Takes maybe 10-20 minutes and 2 or 3 water changes to get a bad stain out. For a whole lot less than $500.
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No, carpet is not cost effective, and it is gross. I used to own a carpet cleaning business and the one thing I learned is carpet is gross. It really cannot be cleaned well.
RR
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Sorry but I agree with others that carpets tend to be gross. They are not cost-effective when they need to be professionally cleaned and when guests comment about carpet stains.
I don’t have rugs at all in the rentals. Sure, they’d look nice and they’d be cosy, but they are a headache to keep clean, especially if a host accepts dogs. (The only ‘rugs’ I allow are towelling bathmats washed after every guest of course).
Like @muddy I wouldn’t stay anywhere that I knew had carpets so if a host is reducing their potential customer base that too is not cost-effective.
Just think of all that dead skin and toe jam ground in…
Boak.
JF
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On-site steam cleaning is usually $90 - 99 for us, for up to 2 rooms. We do it between every tenant and they have serious professional sprays for stains. Works like magic.
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I have throw rugs that I got after I had the wall to wall carpet taken out. They can be vacuumed between guests and frequently washed with the power nozzle on my hose in the back yard. I throw them over an iron fence, spray with an disinfectant and then power wash them. In the summer they will be dry the same day. In the winter it takes longer but I have duplicates to rotate in. If a guest has a dog or cat they don’t get rugs. If a guest is grossed out by the rug they can easily shove it under the bed and not use it.
That said I’m no longer a fan of carpet and agree that it’s gross. But lots of people think carpet is fine and it’s still used in every hotel I’ve been in and most homes have some, particularly in bedrooms.
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Thanks for all of the feedback…even the “toe jam” one…yuk! The carpet is only in the bedrooms (3). The rest of the place has wood floors which need to be treated for scuffs, scratches (minor) or just flat out replaced. That’s my dream- new scratch-proof floors…engineered hardwood.
My poor, mangy, disgusting, toe jam carpet is about 3-4 trs old, so I’M KEEPIN’ IT, Y’ALL! LOL!
Reality is that I’m disabled and not working anymore, so once my personal and rental expenses are paid, I’m skint. Can’t even win the damn lottery.
If you know where I can get free floors, I’m all ears. The suggestions about rug cleaners, etc are much appreciated. Thanks!
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Ewww…better yet, don’t think about it! I bought a great vacuum( Consumer Reports helped), so the carpets do get vacuumed…just for "the jam, man)…
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Well, I guess that you’ll never stay at my home…soooo picky! It must take you forever to review the homes for carpet…lol!
I have discovered through this thread that there are quite a few folks with "rug phobias "!. Who knew? Is there a technical term for this? I could put it in my listing description…or heck, I could add it to my title to help all of you crazy, carpet haters! Hahahaha…I’m enjoying the hell out of this thread. 
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Don’t take it personally.
I didn’t become a carpet hater until recently. I started boarding dogs in the last 7 years and because of dog accidents I decided to get rid of my carpet. The clincher was pulling it up myself. Once I saw what was in it, on it and under it…once I saw the old stains on the backing…I said never again. LOL.
However, carpet isn’t going to keep from staying in a place.
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I had this request earlier today
- Joined AirBNB in Dec 2020
- No reviews
- No information in profile other than city of residence
The request is for all of February. I’ve never hosted anyone longer than 12 days. And while the idea of bypassing all the buffer days and between guest cleaning, the risk, as outlined in this topic, causes me pause
This was my reply (so far no response back):
Any other advice should they reply back?
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The advice is for you. Make sure you know what constitutes “tenancy” in your jurisdiction. And then make sure this reservation doesn’t risk giving the guests tenancy rights.
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Your reply seems to pretty much cover the bases- you’ll have to see what kind of response you get. As far as asking the guest to make sure to have a photo on their profile, I think it’s a good idea to specify “clear face photo”, so they don’t think some photo of their cat is sufficient. (well, let’s hope they don’t have a cat). And just so they don’t take that to mean you would decline them based on what they look like, I like to say that it’s to ensure that the person who books is the person who arrives.
And if they don’t give a indication in their initial message which makes it clear they’ve read through the whole listing description, I like to ask some specific things that make it clear that they did, rather than just ask if they’ve read the info. Things that are important but that they’d have to click “read more” to see. In my case it’s “So are you aware that a dog and cat are on the premises?” and “You’re aware that it’s a 20 minute walk to town and the beach from my place?”
Since you don’t normally do month-long bookings, you should figure out whether you are going to provide things like TP, soap, shampoo, paper towels, dish soap, etc, whatever you provide for your regular stays, for the full time, or just give them a starter pack and then they’re responsible for buying their own after, say a week, or whenever it runs out. (and make that a clear understanding before they actually book).
And while you won’t have the expense of turn overs, they’ll likely use more utilities, heat, Wifi and so on than folks who are on holiday and out and about a lot, so keep that in mind, too. Also make it clear what "cleaning " entails, as well as the cleaning chores you expect them to do at the end of their time.
But definitely don’t let them do their own bedding and towel washing- you should give them clean stuff each week and take care of that laundry yourself, so you don’t end up with stained stuff they’ve washed in hot water so the stains never come out.
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UPDATE on my 28 day inquiry
I did get a detailed reply to my message: A couple in their late 70’s needing to get out of cold Minnesota winter. Confirmed that he read the house rules and understands the cancellation policy.
It seemed like an easy Acceptance for me.
As I’ve said before some of my best guests have been those who were new to AirBNB, while some of my worst guests have been those who had 5 star ratings.
Thanks @muddy @RebeccaF for your advice. I plan to work with the guests to see what works best for them, once they are here. Since they are paying seasonal high rates for the full month (w/o buffer days) I have a lot of flexibility in affording them certain amenities and services.
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Congratulations on a long and hopefully peaceful booking. 
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