This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
I just had the sweetest guest ever. A man who came here for work. He stayed with us a week, and worked long hours, I never saw him. When we had a chance to talk it’s really was a pleasure,as he sounds cheerfull, well mannered and educated person.
He never used my kitchen, thank god:), and when he left he bought me 2 gourmet breakfast cakes.
With that said, 2 things that he did that I would want to adress but considering his sweetness and what a good guest I am not sure. He is also planning to stay with us the whole month of October which is really a nice thing as we really struggling with emptiness of the low season
First: laundry use. I limited laundry use to 2 a week, because this is what I do myself for the 2 of us. I don’t think he read the rules.
He does laundry almost every day. He used the whole container of my detergent . I went today to do my laundry and found empty container in recycling.
I am totally bewildered by this. I open dryer couple times and saw his clothes drying, and it was a lots of them. It’s not like he is washing just a few things every time. The man is a lawyer. He is out all day, wearing 1 short, and dress pants that he can’t even wash. Where is all this clothes coming from???
Second: door slamming. When i say door slamming its not just door slamming with a bit more desired loud sound. It’s a thunderstorm of high volume when heis moving around the House. I see chips of paint on a floor everywhere. Today at 7 am, I woke up with fast heart bit, because he started laundry again and the door slamming was beyond believe.
So, my dilemma is to say or not say something?
I got so mad at his final door slam when he left the house that i riched for my phone to text him, but then got a hold of myself, went down to the kitchen and found his little present.
Say something. He doesn’t have a clue about the door slamming.
I had a guest - ugh, my Australian dearrie here for 9 nights who we love and made us crazy. He was up at 5 a.m. every day. One Sunday he was in his dress shoes, walking in and out of the house - at 5 a.m. - clomp clomp clomp … SLAM!!!..SLAM!!! clomp clomp clomp clomp clomp…SLAM!!! I finally jumped out of bed, threw on my fuzzy blue bathrobe, ran out of the house and out to the street and said “SAM!! Please stop slamming the door!!”.
You’ve never seen a more startled look. He was so sorry. Stopped slamming the door, wrote a glowing review, and we’re still in touch, he even thanked me for being so patient with him.
About the laundry…that’s a puzzle to me, too. Just a sweet, I’m sorry darling guest, we love you so much, but as you may not realize, let me remind you, laundry use is limited because of the high cost of utilities in my town. If you need to do laundry more often, please leave $xx on the washer to compensate me for my costs. Thank you so much.
Hehe , good for you😀
I think I might just tell him as gently as I can.
He just called me from airport and praised my house and me and piece and quiete he had. We negotiated price for za whole month of October which makes me very happy.
Just feels uneasy to tell such a wonderful guest to not do smth. But today it was a drum session in my house.
Oh my gosh Yana…you will go insane if you have to put up with that for an entire month. The fact that you reached for your phone to text him the slamming really was putting you over the edge. The first time he does it when he returns is going to spike your blood pressure.
Do you have other guests in the house at the same time where you can tell him that you have received private feedback about other guests not being quiet? Or can you tell him that you all are very light sleepers, or will he know you are awake anyway?
I have lived with so many roommates and people who are not sensitive to noise are clueless about how much noise they make. I am highly sensitive to noise. I get irritated sometimes when people play music in their car and it is not even loud. I usually ride in silence. I don’t like loud talkers, and I know sometimes it is just they are hard of hearing and there is nothing they can do. The only time I like loud music is when it motivates me during cleaning.
I am really feeling for all of you living with people who make noise. The only way I could tolerate it is if I was always the first person awake. I once had a guest in my own apartment when I had a roommate. I told my guest to be very quiet in the morning so she did not disturb my roommate. She promised she would be very quiet. So what does she do? She puts her high heel shoes on 10 minutes before leaving for work and is walking around on the hard wood floors back and forth. She kept picking up her coffee cup and I could hear it set down on the kitchen counter every time. She would open a cabinet and just couldn’t seem to grasp the concept of closing something quietly. I think people like this most likely sleep like the dead during the night. They might even think they are being quiet as long as they aren’t blasting a radio and not turning the TV on.
For the washer/dryer usage I do not even know how it is possible to address this. I don’t know if I completely understood your rule. Is it that the guest can only begin using it after they stay for 2 weeks? Because this guy is going to be very upset to find out later that he couldn’t use it as before. Yes, he either did not read the house rules, or he just tested you to see if you would say anything. Do you think he was also doing another friend’s laundry? (maybe a co-worker was staying at another airbnb)?
As far as the laundry detergent he should be buying his own for that length of stay. When I have a family staying for an entire week I try to remember to take the laundry detergent with me so they don’t use up all the detergent washing all the family’s clothes before they head back home. If he is likely to be the only guest during that time that is staying for at least two weeks, then can you just remove the bottle? And if he asks where the detergent is then you can remind of the house rules he never read? Or you can label your bottle (not for guest use)?
I wish I could help more but I feel really bad for you.
Thanks, cabin host I am like you don’t like loud music or loud conversations. I get overwhelmed in loud places, and even in my very young years hated clubs.
Good idea to tell him about other guests complains if we have any, October doesn’t look promising though, very slow.
My laundry rule is : free laundry only if staying 5 days or longer, 2 loads a week. I made this rule after one couple booked me for 1 night. They came at 9 pm and did their laundry till 1 am in a morning so I sm assuming it was at least 4 loads. I felt totally taken advantage of.
After that everything went back to normal. I had couple that stayed for 5 days snd did couple loads of laundry,
When he arrived he immediately asked me for laundry, it was an emergency booking for him and he was traveling for a bit before coming to my house. So I thought that’s fine, he will do laundry and may be another one before he leaves.
Then a day later I heard dryer , went to see what’s going on and saw dryer full of his clothes. I thought , well may be he didn’t do all in a beginning. Then couple days later the same story, again full load of clothes. That really puzzles me. It’s just impossible that one person goes through so much clothes in 2 days. Then he did another one today.
I don’t know, ma be you are right that he is doing laundry for someone else.
Also why I was hesitant to tell him is because he is never home. He leaves house at 7:30, and come home at 8 pm. Then goes for dinner. I didn’t see him at all for 5 days. But in s morning until he leaves for half an hour it’s non stop door slamming
Thanks for clarifying on the laundry. You could always send him an email now and just gently remind him of the house rules. You can say this:
"I realized you were making a last minute emergency booking and most likely didn’t get a chance to read the house rules before you booked. My current laundry policy is that guests staying at least 5 days can do 2 loads a week for free. I knew you had already been traveling a bit, so I just didn’t mention it. But since you are making the booking far in advance, I just wanted to let you know ahead of time so that you are not surprised. If you do need to do more than 2 loads a week in October, my policy is to charge $3 per load and I will provide the detergent (or whatever is fair in your area). If you don’t even want to offer that then just leave it at stating the policy.
That’s great that he is gone all day so I understand why you bit your tongue. Are able to leave your house for those 30 minutes to go for a walk…lol. Even if you decide not to mention the extra laundry, just try to find a way to keep yourself peaceful (like reminding yourself he will gone all day and evening). But if you have other guests there it may be an issue
I will monitor his laundry a bit closer this time, I am usually home when he does it. When u said he might be doing for someone else that seems like a logical thought. To go through so much clothes it seems absurd so you may be totally right.
about doors I will tell him nicely that it wakes us up in a morning. Because it does . We don’t wake up usually before 7:30.
Yana, wow. Well, I think I would definitely say something about the laundry to him. Maybe the time to have done it was when you negotiated the monthly rental. You can still find a way to word it diplomatically. Before he arrives for the month long stay perhaps say,
“Hey, XXX, Looking forward to having you stay with us for October. Thanks so much for the high praise about our house. We feel the same about you! Just want to clarify a couple of things with you about our house guidelines (a little nicer sounding than RULES).. Guests may use laundry facilities twice per week max as it begins to affect our utility cost if it is any more than that. For longer stays such as the one you booked, guests must provide their own detergent. Also, you may not have been aware, but we would so appreciate a quiet exit as you leave in the morning, so please remember to tread quietly and to close the doors quietly, as we are still asleep when you are getting ready to leave. Thanks so much!! Let me know if you have any more questions, and again, we look forward to having you stay.”
And Yana, of course, make sure those things are in your rules or guest docs! Also, take a tip from what goes on at my sis vacation rental. Owner was tired of paying for laundry detergent…just had left it out all the time for everyone to use. So she just hid it in the locked closet for the use of the cleaner and herself only and made guests buy their own! HIDE YOUR TIDE!!!
Personally I think he is a clod for doing so much laundry every day. Maybe he is taking in extra laundry for his clients and billing by the hour?
As a lawyer, he should not have a difficult time being reminded what the rules are!
You have to say something. Not saying something is virtually the same thing as saying, PLEASE, WALK ALL OVER US! DO A MILLION LOADS OF LAUNDRY EACH DAY! USE OUR TIDE! SLAM AS MANY DOORS AS YOU WANT EARLY IN THE MORNING!. AS LONG AS YOU BRING US A PASTRY IT’S OK.
Well said Kona. I like your line about pastry.
I actually hid laundry detergent with the cooks when they were doing their laundry like this, but it was 3 of them not 1.
They didn’t ask me where the detergent went but bought their own and took it to their room . So, when it comes to mine it was ok for them to use it, but they didn’t want us to use theirs.
I forget where you are located and what the laundry situation is there . I made a big mistake in Europe. I should have washed all my laundry in Florence and this was down the street from my hostel. But noooo…naive cabinhost decided to wait till she landed in Santander Spain and I believe it cost me 25 Euros for two loads. I was traveling on the seat of my pants. Long story why. I had no cell phone - it was a nightmare - and it was only 6 years ago - I won’t admit to anymore stupidity - but this opportunity was not planned - however, not once did I try to take advantage of someone - some locals may have tried to take advantage of me - will never know - my own fault for not planning
I am in Florida. We have laundromat few min. from the house. Wow 25Euro for 2 loads that’s crazy.
The thing is I don’t mind reasonable use of laundry as well as reasonable cooking. I do mind when it goes over the top. I think to do laundry 4 times out of 7 days is not reasonable. Families with 3 kids do laundries like that but not just one man. The mystery remains for me why he had so much clothes to wash😀 .
He will be coming from Washington dc after a week and I am sure there will be some laundry party again.
I probably cried in hidden tears when I heard the price but paid it - still don’t know if they were taking advantage of me. Many people in Spain tried what I knew as a “trampa” - I stayed in Leon Spain for several months and then on my last night I think a guy from France and his buddies were going to try to rob me before I left (to travel a couple of weeks and go back to America). The guy I knew as the local bartender on my last night had the local cop walk me home. The guy from France was very perturbed that I was speaking in Spanish to him and not English (the bartender did not understand English) - and of course my Spanish is not great but enough to speak. I thank the angels for watching over me. Sorry for going off tangent.
Is he one of those who washes all clothes after only being worn once? Some people wear clothes and wash them after two hours. Hell…I may decide to take a shower after two days…,maybe I belong in Europe…lol
I wow you had quite of adventures!!.
Spain anyway is not one of my favorite countries .
But even so , cabinhost, he washes clothes after once worn. Every couple days he washed a week worth of clothes .
Even if he is one of those rich parents in America who allow their hired housekeeper to wash two sets of clothes everyday for each child…it is ridiculous. You don’t try on a pair of clothes and then take them off to be put in the laundry. But I know some rich parents allow their children to do this I suppose.
I grew up with two pairs of jeans and 5 shirts to wear for the week. I was always embarassed to show up for school wearing the same shirt every Monday. I never thought I was poor, but I suppose my Mom wanted to make me think I was. I still don’t even think we were poor. I think she did this on purpose. When I had a “favorite” shirt out of the five she would say she needed rags and had to cut it up. Same with my favorite running shoes for Track running practice. - they just disappeared- They just took up too much space in my bedroom closet and should be thrown out. Oh my gosh talk about therapy and ughhh… I could vomit right now.
I have gone waayyyy off tangent but hopefully you get a better perspective. Hey - the thing I can contribute is about confronting - always confront if you feel someone is trying to walk all over you. When you don’t confront it will burn you up inside. I had the worst confrontation I mentioned from FlipKey (almost a head on fist fight) - he has not left a review. I think he knew I called him on his lying. I have major issues when someone is trying to get over on me. This comes from many childhood issues…lol. Not funny…but it’s also not funny when they think I am going to just let them take advantage.
Cabin… FlipKey sends terrible guests!!! That’s the guy who thought my place was meh and walked off property with 10 days on his reservation. Good riddance! No review though, thank god.
My FK guest was a General Contractor from FL. Those damn Floridians…what is that book?
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times" - That is the only line I remember from “A Tale of Two Cities” - I remember liking the book a lot in 8th grade but maybe I will really like it if I read it now. I have no idea what the book was about but I could stomach it at the time of being 13.
He is not old. But deffinitely Not young, may be in his early 40s? Exactly my thoughts. He would leave the house dressed in long sleeve shirt with a tie and nice pants. And that’s how he would come home.
I just looked him up again. Though he has a bunch of verifications , he just joined Airbnb in September. So, he is brand new.
I am more convinced now to just tell him about laundry rules, but not until I see it happening again. I hope it was just that time when he Arrived with already collected dirty clothes that had to be washed. He kept ruining to his car the first night to get more. And even on a phone the first things he asked was about laundry.
We will see this time . Hopefully it’s not just his style of washing clothes:).
Your son is funny
I am like you don’t like loud music or loud conversations. I get overwhelmed in loud places, and even in my very young years hated clubs.
