Weird guests but nice people?

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The last couple I had were, well, weird …

I form an opinion within the first 30 seconds of meeting someone for the first time - and with these people it was actually an uncomfortable warning to be vigilant of their behaviour.

The reasoning for my opinion was:

My house has a double garage with double parking in the driveway as well. I advise guests they can park their car in the driveway just over to one side so I can access mine from the garage. 98% park in the driveway - the others park outside on the road.
This couple parked across the road, 3 houses away & across a T intersection - every night for the 3 nights they stayed.

& I thought why? do you not want me to see your car or registration ? are you going to steal things? I tend to think these things when people park so far away…

Upon first greeting they were extremely timid, almost scared - I could sense the quiver in their voice when they spoke, the were so nervous it was a little bit odd I thought. However by the last day they initiated conversations although I could still sense a nervousness.

They rearranged the furniture for the 3 days they were here. Their accommodation is separate from my residence…When I heard all the moving upstairs I went up to see what they were doing, they wanted to move the bed which is a queen bed fixed to the wall with shelving to the roof… I told them to not move anything & leave it where it was.They did move the end shelving at the foot of the bed & put it against another wall. I supply bathroom towel sets with face washer, hand towel etc… THey didn’t like the face washers & hid them behind the bathroom sink drain pipe within the cupboard??? And finally they rearranged all the crockery in the cupboards putting it underneath the sink where the cleaning products are kept.

They did state several times how lovely they thought the unit was & recommended it to their friends on social media. They did a huge shop at the supermarket & stated they thought I could use it - milk, eggs, bread, cereals, condiments - a lot for 3 days. I was grateful but after they left I disposed of it in the bin, only due to their odd behiaviours during their stay - I became a bit wary…

So, weird, socially awkward is how I would describe them but they were quite nice people…

I don’t know how to rate them or what I should say - I think I might just not say anything at all, which will be the first guests I don’t comment on - I really don’t know what I would say ??? Any ideas…

2

Bizarre!!! Especially the furniture moving!

I’ve had guests do that and felt put off by it. In the case of my fold out table, if the leaf is not dropped down first the table WILL break. (And it did, I received reimbursement through resolution)

If you are going to move EVERYTHING… please, move it back! Actually don’t move anything. I’ve had to put that one in my house rules, crazy as it sounds.

I might just look at your guests and wonder if it was a one off? Cultural??? Are they older???

You could say something like

XX were nice people, but they felt compelled to move all the furniture during their stay and I finally had to ask them to stop. They also rearranged and hid other items in the room and I’m not sure why. If you do rent to XX make sure they understand your rules because they would be good guests if given clear expectations.

Or you could leave a neutral review and mention in the private feedback that the furniture moving was not appreciated.

I don’t know! I wouldn’t want these furniture movers coming to stay at my house!

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3

they were 30 -ish years old. no cultural differences from myself. When I was cleaning the apartment today I thought they moved things like the foot shelving which then exposed dust underneath. They did this to ornaments as well, like really small ones up high - just moved them an inch to expose a dust line & possibly same for the crockery… maybe they were neat freaks - but they left the dust lines for the 3 days they stayed — so I have absolutely no idea…I think actually I might be bold & ask them in a message after reviews and see if they respond :slight_smile:

I now have amended my house rules to no furniture moving - which I think is bizarre, to me its obvious I remember when I first listed & I did read other peoples house rules and thought … ‘Why do you have so many picky little rules’ I thought it was a bit unsettling, almost treating the guest as stupid to write these specific rules ----- but now I am starting to comprehend why you have to be so specific…

Glad you have your table reimbursed, I actually have a similar one too, which is permanently set up outside, I’m glad they didn’t attempt to change that…

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4

I have had several who have moved the furniture for goodness knows whatever reason. Some have totally rearranged ornaments. One couple put all the books in alphabetical order but the weirdest ones were the people who completely reorganised the cutlery drawer.

Don’t people have better things to do when they are on vacation in Florida???

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I personally recommend avoiding making rules in response to weird guests. Of course, “don’t move furniture,” is reasonable, as "respect our home."
You shouldn’t need weird ones like “no socks in the pool” or “no moscito coils burned indoors” because you won’t think of everything and chances are you won’t get two guests rearranging ornaments or doing some other odd thing.

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Maybe they were OCD neat freaks and were trying to show that there was dust???!

I have moved stuff from the cutlery drawer (knives and utensils) in an effort to “toddler-proof” a unit. I have also moved furniture and breakable things (vases, knick knacks, etc) so they were out of reach. I try to put them back before we leave but it’s possible that I forgot about some things when I first started doing this. My husband and I now photograph the unit as soon as we arrive so that we remember where all the vases and glass art pieces belong…

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Yes, please mention the furniture moving in your review. And especially mention that they continued to move furniture even after you asked them to stop. I don’t want to host them! So please let other hosts know.

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8

I think they were filming and wanted to get the right composition of furniture and accessories.

One summer I was working at a state park in northern California. I had a guy and 4 young women show up with a huge 4 poster bed with a canopy, mattress, tons of velvety looking pillows and sheets, etc. and hauled all of it to one of the “environmental” camp sites (remote, no running water). I was dying to sneak a peek but I didn’t.

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Haha, that one would be mine!

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Mine would be, “no cooking on the space heater!”

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11

These guests sound like meth head tweakers. The nervous - like interactions with them, parking blocks down the road - tweakers do odd things like move furniture around continuously.

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12

Maybe they were Hotel Inspectors checking for dust!

I have to admit to my bad guest habit … we have stayed a few times in a gorgeous aparment in Cape Town whose hosts are a lovely gay couple, one of whom is a very high-class floral decorator. The apartment is beautifully furnished and decorated but it is completely full of expensive ornaments on every surface, leaving us no room to put our mundane things like guide books, tablets, binoculars, etc. so as soon as I get there I put 50% of the ornaments away in the storage cupboard. I was very nearly caught out when we invited them around for a drink one evening and 5 minutes before they were due to arrive my husband shouted “The stuff” and we had to rush around replacing candelabras and vases and ostrich eggs, hoping we had got them in the right positions …

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13

You make a good point. We are not renting museums or galleries, but working rooms where people need to have room to put their stuff. I wish I could find inexpensive luggage racks but hotel liquidation sales always want at least $40 or 50 for used ones. New are about $80!

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14

Try these. I have had two of them for 7 years, and one for 3 months, and they are all in great condition. Really does keep floor marring to a minimum, and luggage off the bed:

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15

The folding ones? I got a wood one at Costco for about $23. Of course it was one of those one time deals, I haven’t seen them since. How much more is shipping to HI through Amazon? They have reasonable ones.

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It’s free if I use Prime!

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This is the one I have. BBB usually has a 20% coupon and free shipping.

https://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/gramercy-luggage-rack/1015875143?categoryId=13527

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$26 wood luggage racks on Amazon. I bought two and had free shipping with Amazon Prime!

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19

I had guests who did naked yoga outside my house.

To each their own. I’m glad they felt comfy enough to be themselves.

I’d take weird over cruel any day…

Let the naked downward-dog begin!

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Hmm. I actually never thought of putting decorative items on surfaces in my rental rooms. I have stuff on the walls, but my guests are usually here to work or learn, months at a time, so I assume they will need all the surfaces for their own things. And because they are here for months, I encourage them to move the furniture to suit what they need. It’s all cheap, lightweight or wheeled furniture. I’m in Florida, and guests vary greatly as to how close they want to sit to the air conditioner register, or whether they want the desk looking out the window, etc.