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It’s been a rough winter so far. Out of the last 6 guests, 5 had issues, attitude or both.
Guest who stayed on my birthday in December puked in the bathroom. They told me about it, but I nearly puked myself cleaning it up.
Guest right before Christmas cancelled a week long stay. Not their fault and I got a 50% payout, but had to take a last minute guest to make up the difference.
Our Christmas guest booked for her boyfriend and didn’t tell me or give any instructions for the guy staying. When I asked if his girlfriend would be staying, he said no. The next night she came and stayed the night, when I asked them to add a second guest they said sure, then never did. They wrecked an entire sheet set.
The next couple got some sort of red makeup over the entire shower that took 2 hours to clean out of the grout, along with 2 weeks worth of garbage.
The guest after that checked out late without any notice, when I texted and asked him about it, I got no response and he left 15 minutes later, Then later that day, I got all kinds of threats that he was going to leave a bad review because the drain was slow. When I told him our house rules stated that any clogs or other damage had to be reported, he changed his tune and was worried I’d charge him for checking out late. I didn’t charge him, but it ended up being days of text drama.
The guy who is staying here now texted me a super long text telling me how annoyed he is that I am wasting electricity because of poor insulation (we mention poor insulation on our listing) and how he is terrified bugs will get in because of a 1" gap in the window insulation foam. I asked him if he was warm enough and if he experienced bugs and he didn’t answer back. He’s still got 3 more nights left. Should be a great time.
I know these kinds of streaks are rare, but man am I feeling burnt out.
Seems like you’re bringing most of this woe on yourself…
Accepting 3rd party bookings at all, let alone girlfriend for boyfriend
Doing ANY texting, ANY communication off-platform
Having clogged drains in the first place – why?
Allowing guests to accumulate trash for two weeks without a place to put it.
Getting into off-platform texting duels over clogged drains.
Poor insulation and gaps in window foam in the first place – why?
More texting off-platform duel over insulation
Why have you let simple weekly/monthly maintenance items go without fixing them? There’s no excuse for that sort of thing. Drain cleaner is cheap, and you should have noticed the drain was slow when cleaning after guests. Insulation saves you both money and negative comments from guests, and is a tax deductible expense.
@NE10 - I’m not sure what your question is here but maybe it’s to see how these things could be avoided in future?
Horrible guest. Everyone gets ill at some time (even if the cause is holiday merriment) but they told you, you presumably told them that there were cleaning materials under the sink or wherever, they ignored you. Bad review. Over and done with. Unfortunately, it happens/
That’s good then. When you say ‘had to take a last minute guest’ is that a problem for you?
If they really ruined an entire sheet set and it was expensive, does your deductible allow for you claiming on your insurance? I hope you got a great review because they must have had an exceptional time to ruin all the bedding. So that’s good.
In future, you might consider cleaning the rental once or twice during two week stays. You shouldn’t let the garbage build up like that. Extra cleaning is required from time to time and all you can do is adjust your mindset so that you expect it occasionally.
If your guests stay after checkout time, read posts here. There are many ways to ensure that guests leave on time. If the drain wasn’t slow when he arrived, tell him so. End of story.
Fix the insulation - it sounds as though you’ll often get complaints otherwise so it’s for your own benefit.
As for feeling burnt out, this can probably be improved by looking at your systems and practices and seeing where they can be altered for the better. Alternatively, there’s always wine.
Somebody in my most recent guest group puked in the master bathroom. They mostly cleaned it up, but my wife had to finish the job. I found a large stainless steel bowl from the kitchen lined with trash bags in one of the other bedrooms, too. There was no vomit in it, thank goodness, but I gave it an extra cleaning anyway.
This was also a 3rd party booking that I didn’t know until after checkout, although I probably would have accepted it anyway. She simply told me the group was coming for a wedding, but it turns out she was the bride and booked for her bride’s maids and their boyfriends. I think she was there for a few hours on morning of the 2nd day, but I don’t even know that for sure.
I’m not sure there’s any evidence that the drain was actually slow, just that the guest said he would leave a bad review for that.
BTW, my Christmas guest decided to shave his full beard of about 2" long and clogged up the drain in one of the sinks in the master bath, so even a real clog can happen nearly instantaneously.
I am curious about this. I don’t know anything about the your listing’s construction, but insulation generally isn’t even visible. How does a guest even know there is a gap?
If you’re feeling burned out and your property is in need of some attention, maybe you should make a plan (a list of things to fix/update, each with a priority) and block some days to make some repairs/updates. It’ll take your mind off of the problem guests and improve future guest impressions at the same time.
Oh man, this sounds rough. I’m so sorry! I always find that the great guests make that last horrible one fade from memory faster, but you haven’t been able to catch a break. These guests range from careless/rude (guys, add an extra guest please!! And ruined a sheet set…lovely) to just bizarre - texting you with his “annoyances”?? Come on now.
A little random, but I recently encountered some sort of red makeup in the tub that was really difficult to clean - what is this and how do we keep it from becoming an epidemic?!
Haha, actually same! I’d like to think they’re just an awesome couple I should take notes from, and not deciding to only get to the ~good stuff~ when they’re not accountable for the cleanup.
@JohnF Please clear your schedule for this. The time is today.
Sounds like you need to increase your cleaning fee or possibly charge a deposit for any new or non-reviewed guests. Have you requested reimbursement for additional cleaning from your guests? You can send a request for additional cleaning fee (include pictures if needed)…
