Feedback…in over 155 guests this is a first…didn’t really upset me at this point in my experience, I’ve gotten pretty thick skinned…just like to hear other’s impression…these guests were uncommunicative and’odd’, but I got the feeling they were in some kind of emotional pain so I was extra extra accomodating, even offering they could stay past check out time. They didn’t respond. Although they did tell me that they enjoy their stay, spoke to them in person as they checked out. This is what I found when I checked the cabin after they left. very very stuck on food…2 bowls used, then instead of washing, two more just added to the pile. odd…the rest of the cabin is ok. Thought I might text them and ask if they intended to get this done and forgot…as I said I got the sense they were ‘escaping’ something painful. but still…
That tub of dishes doesn’t look so bad to me. If you don’t ask guests to wash the dishes in the house rules, you shouldn’t even mention it. Just my opinion, of course.
OF COURSE YOU LEAVE FEEDBACK/REVIEW!! It doesn’t matter what they were going through – death in the family, marriage issues, anything. I’ve been through all that and a heck of a lot more, and never, ever left a sink full of dirty dishes!!
Is it in your House Rules that guests are supposed to wash and put away all dishes and cookware? If not? Why Not? It should be.
“Guests were nice enough, but very withdrawn for some reason. Everything was fine except a sink full of dishes with stuck on food was left for us to clean up.”
would rather find this and wash up myself than find them put back dirty - which is often!
Well I do mention it in the house rules.I just find it interesting that in a over a hundred fifty guests no one has ever done this. That’s all. Additionally I do not charge a cleaning fee.
Thanks Ken, pretty much where I was thinking. I love your concise to the point and non-judgmental review. I will use it word for word…I guess I’ve been incredibly fortunate I’ve had lovely lovely people. Minor issues that mean absolutely nothing overall. This just struck me as rather gross. Cheers all! Thanks for your input.
Even if it’s in your house rules, it doesn’t look like the end of the world. You can deduct 1 star for house rules and mention it in your review, but keep it short and factual.
It would not particularly bother me especially if I thought they were having some problems so I would not mention it but that’s just me. Maybe give some private feedback?
Your intuition was telling you that something painful happened to them. Perhaps you can just mention the dirty dishes to them in the private feedback and not in a public review.
Well I thought of that also. And that’s what I may end up doing. I just always think about other hosts being aware when or if these people try to book elsewhere in the future. To me it is sometimes helpful to read reviews on prospective guests before you decide to accept a reservation request. but I often accept them even when these guests are new members with no prior reviews. So I’m going to sit on it for a little bit and think about it. And no I didn’t think it was the end of the world either, LOL!
Occasionally I get the sink full of dirty dishes myself. Which is better that having the whole hose full of dirty dishes and me having to run to gather them from all over. And I don’t like people running the dishwasher for 1 glass and a spoon.
SO if my guests leave the sink full of dishes it’s acceptable to me. Of course if they leave everything clean is even better, but I wont say anything in the review about dishes in the sink. Dirty stove, yes. Broken stuff yes, missing stuff yes. But dishes? No.
I’d mention it in the review because I myself wouldn’t want to find this from my guests so I’d appreciate if other hosts addressed it. It seems to be the norm that you clean up your dishes. I wouldn’t charge them an extra cleaning fee and risk a bad review though.
well I don’t charge a cleaning fee to start with and I wouldn’t think of charging them over this. But I agree with you, I have never had anybody leave so much as a dirty fork after they checked out. Sure I’ve had an empty pizza box on the floor by the garbage can, crumbs on the counter, and the cooktop not as clean as I would like to have seen it, and I’ve never made any kind of an issue over those kinds of things. I’ve never given a bad review because of them nor have I mentioned it to them in private communication. but I’ve never had every one of the dishes stacked up in the sink with dried dirty food on them. It was pretty obvious that some of the dishes had been there since they got there two days before. They just kept adding to it. This is a tiny cabin so there is no dishwasher, and unless you’re terribly lazy there isn’t any reason why you can’t wash as you use. I think what I’m going to do is reduce the cleanliness star down by one, and then tell them in the private communication why I did that.
Extra credit points if someone can recommend guest dishes that are easier to clean and don’t get food stuck on!
I’m the odd one out here but I don’t really see much of a problem. It looks like four bowls, one plate, one pan and two glasses. It would have only taken the guests a few minutes to clean them yes, but by the same token, it only takes the host/cleaner a few minutes too.
I’m guessing here but I estimate that about 10% of our guests leave a few items that haven’t been washed - usually from their pre-checkout breakfast. I don’t mind. That’s especially the case if everything else is left in good shape.
I agree with @Debthecat that it’s actually easier to wash them than it is to take everything out of the cupboards at every turnover to make sure that they’re properly clean.
By all means mention it in the review and then hosts can decide whether or not this is something that would bother them.
I agree with you so you’re not completely the odd one out.
If the rest of the place was left messy and in disarray - stained towels, manky toilet etc etc. then that would be a different matter. But the OP says everything else was fine. So… meh?
Mark them down a star for cleanliness and be done with it, no?
I wouldn’t consider this a big deal at all, it’s a 5 min wash…as someone else mentioned, I rather not have poorly washed dishes in the cupboard.
I just look at it differently. It’s not the matter of how much work it is it’s nothing. and I see no different than having to wash them if they’re piled up in the sink with dried on food or put away with less-than-perfect cleaning done. Left in the sink with a bunch of dried on food to me is far more disrespectful than not getting them quite clean enough and trying to put them away. At least the effort was made.It’s a matter of respect… more than a hundred fifty guests have treated the property with respect for both it and for me. Especially since I did not charge a cleaning fee, for the most part they have all left it in the condition they found it. Clean and tidy…It’s not a big deal to me, I love what I do, I don’t have to do it, and I enjoyed bringing something special to people who might never get to experience it, I’ve already done what I’m going to do. But I am interested in all the different concepts and opinions that have come in.
cheers!
Do you mind sharing your review? I am struggling with a review right now from a guest who left a far worse mess I would be interested in how you review this guest.
RR
If I were you, I would charge a cleaning fee.
The sloppy guests that are the reason I have one.