Same here. I share my home so I prefer short stays. I set a maximum stay of FIVE DAYS for exactly that reason. Today, a nice girl checked in for a one-night stay. Which is perfect, since she will be gone tomorrow morning, and I’ll have my flat to myself, again.
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5 days is a good limit; that’s what I have. I get people arriving on Sunday for the week, as they may be in town for work for the week or doing a course. I prefer getting the same guests Friday and Saturday nights; which are mostly booked out.
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AJ… Even that is too much. Extra frills take off from the bottom line and don’t get you better reviews. Unless you are made of money (and if you are renting on Air I’m thinking probably not) giving guests wine and such is really going overboard. In my opinion. 
Even when I stayed at the five -star Wailea 4 Seasons Resort in Maui, they didn’t give us wine with the room. So think about it…you are spending extra money to do things they don’t even do at the world’s best hotels.
I stopped giving any kind of frills when people would not only not acknowledge it, they would leave a backhanded review about something else they found lacking. You get jaded after a while!
Strangely enough, only one couple drank the two bottles of wine and they were there for a month. One guy who will be a repeat drank 4 beers. The coffee I drink is Kona estate…40 bucks a pound and when no one seemed to want to make coffee, I substituted 8 oclock, the old A&P brand…a very sound coffee. Of course the very next guest made coffee and liked it.
I stock seltzer water and that gets drunk.
I leave bananas and grapes and decent chocolate and again, very little gets consumed…a couple of Dove small wrapped dark chocolates. My 7th guest ate a couple of biscotti and another ate a few Moon Pies - a southern tradition. 6 for a dollar.
I eat or drink everything I stock so there is no waste and the cost is from a dollar to about $5 a stay.
Since I have traveled a lot and I mean a lot, I try to thinke about what I have wanted late at night in a hotel room. If you are in NY, no problem…coffee and cake on every corner at whatever hour, but off in a neighborhood, not so easy.
So for minimal expense, I try to make travel easier and think the good will way worth it.
By the way, it would be nice if everyone posing questions would identify their location and what type of accomodation they offer.
I am in Nashville,TN and have a 1 bedroom cottage.
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Sorry, I really cannot type.
its been 9 months since I added a 45 cleaning fee. Has not really affected my business.I am sold out every weekend, even in the slow time. I am so glad I added it.Believe it or not I get a lot of 1 day stays which surprises me!I think its cuz so many other hosts have 2 day minimums.Its been profitable and the cleaning fee now makes both my car payments.
NOW you’re talking! That is what I came to realize as well. I work to get that flat ready. Why give away your work?
I can never understand why guests want one night. Not a good value. They could have stayed at the Marriott for what it ends up costing. Even two nights is no good.
We’re more expensive than a nice-ish hotel if guests are booking for two nights but they still do. (No one-nighters though, although we allow it). Maybe they just like to experience something other than a boring chain hotel - a place that has a kitchen so they don’t have to eat out? I don’t know but the two night bookings keep coming in