Yeah I’m the DIY Queen! But still I do it with my whole heart on my house and not think about future buyers. Ever. I am jubokaltd at houzz if you’re curious. Is this info ok to put in here<><>??
Maybe I have faith in the future I dunno, Water Wars? Yes, but Me staying here? Yes also.
And we enjoy entertaining; you’d be surprised how the guests jump up to "do " the dishes around here.
Yes it’s fine. You’re always welcome to put your own information.
I don’t know if you saw the post from another forum member who works in the field and someone predicting a US invasion of Canada in the future. At the age of 60, given my lifestyle, I think I’ll be okay. But who knows.
given enough pressure to do so, maybe a technological solution will be found to be viable.
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I host a basic room in my home so I don’t need a list of check-out rules. But when managing entire rentals, I don’t expect guests to do anything other than put stuff in dishwasher and take out the trash. Like others have said, there is NO WAY I want guests to wash linens. They need checked for stains and treated accordingly.
Personally, I think your guests were asked to do too much. It leaves a sour impression at the end of your vacation.
The whole “cleaning fee” debate has been done to death on here. Hosts continue to huff and puff about it being a “preparation fee” (as in you pay to get a clean place) or it’s a pay-off for booking a one-night stay.
Honestly I find both rationales suspect, particularly the first one, I need to pay a cleaning fee so that the place is clean before I arrive - WTF?? That’s just ridiculous for me. The place should be clean when guests arrive, end of story. To make one-night stays more profitable…mmh, ok. But it shouldn’t be called a “cleaning fee”.
I think the cleaning fee will be phased out. It seems so archaic to me. Hosts need to have more flexibility over their pricing strategies so that they can factor in extra costs to suit them. Or we go down the budget airline route… oh, you actually want a seat? Well, that’s extra. Oh, you want to be able to use the toilet? Well, for £10 you will be guaranteed a place in the queue! You have luggage? Ah, well that will cost you an additional… etc etc etc
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It is no cheaper to buy / Install, but you can save space and water by getting an 18” dishwasher compared to the standard 24” version. We have one in an Airbnb and works great.
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I don’t have a cleaning fee because I want my guests to do as much as possible. Nothing excites me more than the sound of the vacuum cleaner going downstairs as it means I don’t have to do it. Most just give the floor a sweep though. I ask guests to strip the beds and leave used sheets etc in the bathtub and to clean, dry and put back plates etc. and take out the rubbish and put it into the correct recycling bins. But again I don’t charge a cleaning fee. If I was being charged $150 I wouldn’t be doing hardly anything and would treat it like a hotel ie make sure any rubbish was in the bin and not on the floor, but that’s all.
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It kind of makes sense for hosts who actually pay a cleaner to come in and do the cleaning but I agree too many people just use it as an excuse to include hidden charges from the upfront listing price. Up next - “resort fees” because I have some sunloungers on the deck and possibly a hot tub.
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Years ago, the first Airbnb we stayed in was a large villa (Spain) with family 6 of us inc 2 small grans. I was neurotic about cleaning on departure. I washed the ground floor tiles at midnight and banned the family from subsequent use of those rooms. Cleaned the entire kitchen and three shower rooms, vacuumed anything in sight. The two sets of glass patio doors needed extra work from small hands (filthy fingers!) Beds stripped along with towels left in the laundry room. There was no dishwasher or washing soap etc, so at the departure in the morning only coffee and juice allowed, breakfast was scheduled had at the airport. My host commented that I had left the place spotless. I, though, was left highly stressed, exhausted and crabby. Never again. I now carefully check what is expected and whether they have a dishwasher. Plus no matter where I go in the world I take a generic plug stopper just in case
As a host, our 1 bed apartment has everything provided with no requests to strip beds and set washer or even to vacuum etc.
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I struggle with asking guests to clean before checkout as well. I never did until one guest left my kitchen a complete disaster that took me more than an hour to clean. I now ask guests to clean the stove/oven/microwave if they use them. It seems reasonable to me (no other cleaning is required. I do ask that they put dirty dishes in the dishwasher, but I ask them not to run it), but it’s the one thing guests rarely do. And I WILL call them out on it in the review if the mess is excessive (my last guest left red sauce splatter everywhere-even on the walls).
I never asked giests to do anything but lately I started asking.
The reason is that some groups leave a lot of things behind. Used clothes, even shoes, and piles of boxes, leftovers of food. To clean all of this and pack and throw in trash takes a long time. I charge guests 150$ and pay same money for cleaners but they can only spend maximum of 6 hours there including changing beds. When guests leave things behind I have to work along with cleaners, otherwise it won’t be finished in time. When I am not in town it’s impossible and when I have same day bookings which happen often I am in trouble.
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My departure instructions are within the guest manual but the evening before they leave I’ll usually message the guest with a status and this reminder.
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I’m in the minimalist camp that believes that if a cleaning fee is charged, very little should be expected of guests at checkout. I ask my guests to leave beds unmade so I know which ones were used. I ask them to turn down the thermostat if they turned it up and close or leave open windows, depending on the season. Washing dishes is “appreciated, not required.” In 158 bookings, I think 4 have left dirty dishes. I don’t have a dishwasher but do supply disposables.
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I don’t have any check out instructions, except hang the key in the kitchen and lock the door on your way out. Everyone except one group has washed the dishes (no dishwasher). Half the people take the trash out. Sheets and towels are usually left where they were used.
Curious – lots of folks mention supplying a bottle of “three buck chuck” which I assume is cheap wine – is it really $3.00? And, if so, do people actually drink it? I am not above cheap wine but have found $6.99 quality about as low as I will go ($9.99 is for special occasions). 
I want to come over 
Yes you can get a “reasonable” bottle of wine for $3 or less. Our local Aldi grocery store has house-labeled Winking Owl wines for $2.87, and Whole Foods has for maybe 20 years had a selection of “Two Buck Chuck” wines which went up to $3 Buck Chuck several years ago. They rival the $7 and $8 wines (except the New Zealand wines which are excellent, and some of the best value on the market).
We had some guests last fall who live in Sonoma Valley, CA, home of some great wines. These folks told us they “loved great wines, especially our Sonoma wines”.
A day or so later they were asking about the bottle of Winking Owl Pinot Noir which they had drunk – they didn’t recognize the label…it had such great undertones of plum and citrus… such a wonderful finish, where could they get more, etc. etc.
I didn’t have the heart to tell the whole truth! I did tell them that it was a “local private label bottling which we had access to.”
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The name came from Charles Shaw wine, a Trader Joe’s brand, and it was very popular about 10 year ago until everyone realized it was that $1.99 TJs wine and it became a cliche…Two Buck Chuck.
Two Buck Chuck (now $3 or $4) is a Trader Joe’s thing, not Whole Paycheck by Amazon.
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I’m with you on this. My sister was a fan of 3 and 4 dollar wines so I had lots of opportunity to drink them but never developed a taste for them. I have found quite a few palatable ones around $6.
Also occasionally I’ll get lucky at Costco and get one they’ve marked down. Most recently it was an Italian Pinot Grigio ($10 elsewhere) for $4 a bottle. I got the last 4 bottles. Then when the door lever into my rental room broke and the guest was locked out I offered a couple of cold craft beers or a chilled bottle of Pinot Grigio. Of course they took the Pinot and probably re-gifted it because they didn’t drink it at my place. I also would have taken the wine. LOL.