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Third guest in a row who didn’t clean the grill! They are specifically told of the bear issues and they need to try to keep all food sources to a minimum. While I don’t expect them to take apart the entire grill…they should wipe up the grease and burn food off grates - and scrape with the brush.
It’s completely selfish to not be bothered with it. I think I am going to start telling them if they don’t want to clean then they can text me to come over after dinner and clean it. Maybe that will get them to do it. I don’t know. Even saying bear was spotted in neighborhood does not phase them. I guess I am more scared of bears than my guests are.
What does “thoroughly clean the grill after each use” mean to you? - they even reply back saying they understand the importance of not leaving any food source. And I even tell them to not leave any kind of wrappers, empty soda cans in their car!
Maybe they aren’t afraid of bears but they would be afraid of extra charges. Hell, they probably hope to see a bear.
"$100 if grill is found dirty." Or charge it upfront and refund the $100 if grill is cleaned. Sorry I should know by now which will work with ABB policies but I don’t.
Yep…I am considering just removing although I think in my market a grill is very important for some guests. But maybe I should start a new thread to take a survery. I am not on the lake, and not part of the resort with pool - so I have to compete with other things. I should prob. do a search in my area with grill as amenity.
K9- Yep, am considering a separate deposit just to get their attention. The thing I don’t want is that they wait till the last day to make me happy. All the while they didn’t care if bear was attracted the other days. Funny thing is they keep the rest of the place fairly clean. I know sometimes these things come in threes. Last group was a couple with one young kid. In town for family reunion and asked permission to have 4 adults over for dinner one night. Group before was 4 adults. Group before that a large group with an adult daughter and boyfriend joining later.
I was trying, trying to give the benefit of the doubt that the person who cooked on the grill just confirmed with the booking person that they cleaned it. I can totally see that scenario happening!! Oh…“did you clean the grill?” - “Yep I sure did.” - then everyone goes on having a good time…
This is like my makeup and staining towels all over again. It took me over a year to adjust wording, etc. - make my lamenated notes and then…bam! - problem solved overnight. It’s just such a strange thing how the communication needs to be accurate.
But I do know that no one will want the “owner” to come over and invade their space…so maybe I will try mentioning that my partner will need to come over if they don’t want to clean it.
New guests checking in today and shall see what happens. It’s just one couple. My partner said the same thing - they might be wanting to see a bear. And here I am talking loudly everytime I have to go to my car - or I walk out on the deck I announce myself.
I am going to make exact instructions to hang over grill area (in a wooden case) explaining how to burn off the food, etc. Scrape it, etc. I think maybe hanging a sign with a picture of a bear saying something to the effect of inviting him over…it might get the guest attention better.
That’s disappointing ): Are they told face to face or in the rules? My ‘short’ experience (newbie) is that people scan the rules at best and I don’t know from what you said if you’re there when they check in? If you are, maybe you could emphasise it verbally, that is if you haven’t done so.
It’s pretty rude given the situation and I think if you can’t sort it out then maybe k9KarmaCasa’s idea - as you said “a separate deposit just to get their attention” or your space invasion ‘threat’. Then if other ideas don’t fix it you’ve still got removal to fall back on.
PS I’m Australian and we have our dangers here but (perhaps because we don’t have bears) I’m deathly scared of the idea
Yes, they are told in person; however, not always the entire group may be present during the tour. The last group the mother and small child took the tour while the husband unloaded the car.
With the other group before that, the first two adults arrived first, and were the only ones to take the tour.
For the most part I over communicate things. I even send a separate email with links to two articles going over the bears. One article even shows a bear walking downtown amongst people. The bears are just getting used to humans and it really freaks me out. So yes, the information is not lost amongst a bunch of rules.
I don’t know how people go camping in the national parks if this is how most people behave. And I always always tell people to be sure every single member of the group reads all of the information. And if it a group of single adults, I will reiterate to the person booking that they really need to make sure everyone reads house notes, as it their damage deposit at stake - I try to make it like I am really looking out for them.
It’s awful to have issues like this and clearly you’ve been trying to make it clear I would try the security deposit thing. It’s not going to stop them from attracting bears should they still leave it dirty. But it’s definitely going to ‘highlight’ their responsibilities.
This may be a dumb question, but do you tell them that bears will destroy the grill for the grease so it’s really important that they do x,y,z? In wondering if they’re not connecting the dots.
My first few guests would wonder why their room for so hot when they closed all the windows and left the shades open so the sun could shine through and bake the room! We’re in Hawaii. But people are just not used to dealing with tropical sun. So now I explicitly say to please keep the curtains closed when you are out during the day to help with the sun (obviously!). Never thought I had to but it seems to work
This is what I sent to the last guest (a couple with a 5 yr. old) - had 4 guests come over for dinner one night.
Hi XXXX,
I hope you all are excited about your trip! I just wanted to follow up to see if you know your ETA so I can let XXXX know when to greet you for a quick tour. The cabin will be ready by 4 p.m. Anytime after is fine.
This is my phone number in case you have any questions during your stay: XXXXXXX
I will also be helping to prepare the cabin on Wednesday, so the best way to reach me on that day will be by text.
Also…the black bears in Western NC and SC came out of hibernation a bit more ravenous this year. Please ensure your vehicles have no kind of food source whatsoever in them (empty candy wrapper, soda cans, etc). XXXX is going to go over with your group where you can take garbage to the neighbor’s dumpster.
We don’t want to take any chances of bears finding a food source at the cabin. I don’t want to scare anyone, but our neighbor was looking out the window and saw a bear sniff his car…and then move back on into the woods (since there was no food in it). So I just want all guests to be aware and alert at all times. The grill must be fully cleaned after each use, as bears can smell the grease from far away. They are also attracted to citronella candles. Please be sure your group and any guests understands if they spill anything outside to be sure to wipe it up :).
Yes, I am going to have to be very explicit and spell it all out as to what constitutes “cleaning a grill.”
If someone advised me to not leave a soda can or candy wrapper in my vehicle…and I was told there was a car sniffing bear roaming the neighborhood…there is no way I would just leave a grill with hamburger grease all over it!! I noticed they all take the time to put the plastic cover back on though. As if that miraculously cleans it.
Silly guests wondering why it is so hot with the curtains open. Sigh…
Some people might be city dwellers and the BBQ thing is beyond them. I had some clueless guests ruin my gas BBQ once by putting charcoal briquettes and lighting it. Briquette dust clogged up my jets and I had to throw the whole thing out.
I would try the security deposit thing. It’s not going to stop them from attracting bears should they still leave it dirty. But it’s definitely going to ‘highlight’ their responsibilities.
