Unreasonable guest, advice needed

22

Is it unreasonable to expect rented lodgings are spotless?
I know what I am about to write will be against the grain for most commenting here but:

I’m sorry to say that a dirty oven, chipped crockery & dirty looking cutting boards, in my opinion are a reflection of the overall cleanliness of the suite, in my mind if this is acceptable practice for the host “I” would definitely have the feeling that the overall cleaning standards of the suite are perhaps inadequate for the areas that are not visible to the naked eye.
Receiving a bad report card can be a good time for reflection of your processes and standards.
I don’t feel that "good value’ translates into mediocre standards for cleanliness, when I’m a guest I feel that I pay the cleaning fee to ensure it is clean upon arrival.

I don’t understand your comment, if was not your responsibility that the suite is up to standard, then who’s fault is it?
Yea the guy sounds like a hard nose, with high standards…perhaps cheap…perhaps looking for a refund…I can’t speak to that as I don’t know what your place is like & the interaction with your guest is uniquely yours, but I will bet that these area’s will be address in the future.
I had a guest once comment that there were cob webs noted in the ceiling corners and the fan blades appeared dusty… I felt a stabbed by her comments & subsequently a low mark for cleanliness …I take a great deal of pride to ensure perfection with what I have to work with…but on reflection in the early morning sun you could certainly see the cob webs (it is a 12 ceiling) and the fuzzy fan blades, I am rarely in the suite early am and rarely looked up, but it will never happen again.
Although you did mitigate the issues, in this business it’s the first impression upon arrival is the one that really counts for your review and ratings.

It is our responsibility to review guests honestly…the same goes for guests.

4 Likes
23

I don’t think so at all. I have been really surprised at some of the things some hosts consider to be acceptable. But hey, it’s their rental, not mine. I do think it reflects poorly overall on the Airbnb brand and that could hurt all of us.

I also have a “budget” place and work hard to ensure 5 star cleanliness and maintenance. I’ve said many times it can’t just be clean it has to look clean. I touch up the nicked paint and tops of baseboards several times a year. I defrost the freezer part of the mini fridge. I wash the glass light fixtures. I replace things that rattle, are chipped or are stained. I think it’s fine if someone doesn’t but as a consequence expect some poor reviews and some refund requests.

1 Like
24

I think the guests standards are also varying. I have stayed in places that reviews have said immaculate but I can’t imagine they had been immaculate in months based on the grime. And these were for reviews days before mine.

25

But some of this seems to be over-the-top. We rented a whole apartment in Stuttgart a couple of years ago, and the host almost groveled in asking us to not give him a negative review because there was a little dust on top of the refrigerator (7 feet high - he reached up to to check with his finger as he showed us the kitchen).

I expect a good standard of cleanliness, but I wouldn’t dream of doing the “white glove test” everywhere - a little dust can accumulate in a day or two.

26

I might suggest it to her actually, she has just moved up to Chiltern so lots of B&Bs in that area for the snow.