How to handle shared bathroom between two rooms?

[Leanne69]

I have two rooms that are occassionally listed for airbnb guests.  There is one bathroom between the two rooms - a door goes to each room.  The house was build in 1908 so there are skelton key locks on the doors and it's an older house with original door frames and doors that I don't want to damage.

Initially there was a lock on the inside of one of the doors so that someone from room B wouldn't walk into the bathroom if it was in use.  However I found that the guests in room A were locking and not UNlocking it - so then the B room guests could not access the bathroom at all.  The lock could only be unlocked from the inside, so someone would have had to go through guest room A into the bathroom to unlock it.

Because this happen both times we had both rooms booked, I disabled the lock.

I left a skeleton key in the door so that Room B could lock the bathroom door so that guests could not go INTO their room...  

But now I'm left with the fact that when someone is in the bathroom they can not lock the doors to prevent someone from walking in on them.  I feel like it isn't a major issue as you can clearly see light coming from under the door when you're in either of the bedrooms, however I have had guests comment on it privately.

I can't think of a way to hang a sign or something when it's in use, as that would require guests to open the door to the other room.... 

Ideas?  (for a second as I was typing this I was thinking maybe a laminated card that they can slide under the door into the bedroom saying it's in use, and then they pull it back into the bathroom before they leave?)

[Gillian19]

@Leanne69 I cannot think of a resolution, but I do know that there is no way I would want to stay somewhere with this sort of set up where I am sharing a bathroom but cannot lock the door - especially if it is total strangers in the other room.  I guess as long as you don't take instant book and confirm this setup prior to accepting the booking at least the guest is aware. The laminate card idea seems OK, but that would hardly work in the middle of the night. I think I'd only rent one room at a time unless they were booking as a group otherwise you would be setting yourself up for low ratings.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Leanne69

With the kind of set up you are explaining, I think it would be quite risky to have 2 groups of complete strangers in each room. I am with @Gillian19 that you should rent to only one group at a time. You could set up for max occupancy of 4 with the description saying for 2 people only 1 room will be prepared unless there is a request for both rooms, in which case the guests need to pay for use of the additional room.

Although I much prefer a private bathroom, sharing a bathroom...... I can live with if I absolutely have to. Sharing a bathroom where a complete stranger can walk into the bathroom or into my room thru the bathroom door at any time would be totally unacceptable. You saying that you don't think this is a major issue is....... extremely surprising, to say the least.

[Lisa723]

I can imagine a pair of electronically paired locks, so that when guest A unlocks their door to enter the bathroom, guest B cannot unlock their own door until guest A's door is re-locked, and vice versa. But if it were my place, I simply would not rent to separate parties at the same time. We have two bedrooms with a shared bathroom and we get plenty of business renting it as a single shared suite, with extra-person charges for more than 2 people.  I think you can charge a significantly higher price with a private bathroom, especially if one of the bedrooms is set up to be usable as living space if there are only one or two people. A lot of people do not want to share a bathroom at all.

[Michael956]

@Leanne69   People are funny about bathroom privacy.  I think it's essential to offer complete privacy without the fear of someone walking in.  My home is a Victorian bulit in 1885.  I understand about not wanting to damange original fixtures, but when I was renovating my house in anticipation of staring an Airbnb (I rent two bedrooms, and there are two shared bathrooms and guests may use either one), I put locks on all the bedrooms (with keys) as well as the bathrooms (the "turn the knob" type).   I found locks that blend in very well with the historic nature of my home, and they were not expensive. As a matter of fact, I consider them an upgrade that adds value to my home.   It makes a huge difference to guests as far as peace of mind when they know they can lock their bedroom doors AND lock the bathroom doors.  No one can relax when they're anticipating that someone can open the door.  Guests have commented positively in their reviews on what one guest called "hotel type locks" on my doors.  

[Sarah977]

I have a similar configuration, the difference being that one of the rooms is mine, and one is the guest room, so when I have a guest, I lock the bathroom door to my room from the bathroom side, so the guest knows I couldn't accidentally walk in on them- I use the downstairs bathroom exclusively when I have a paying guest. However, if I have a good friend or family staying, I might use that bathroom to pee first thing in the morning. In that case , both I and my friend knock before opening the bathroom door.

Can your guests not be instructed to knock before opening the bathroom door to ensure no one is using it? Seems pretty simple to me. If you think they might forget, put a sign on the bedroom sides of the doors "Don't forget to knock before entering bathroom."

But, at minimum, guest A and guest B should be able to lock the bathroom door from the bedroom side so that the other guest cannot enter their room through the bathroom.

[City-Limits-Ranch0]

Do you have another bathroom guests could use?  If the rooms are rented by separate parties then rent one of the rooms with an ensuite bathroom and guests in the other one would have to go down the hall to the other bathroom.

[Gillian19]

@Jessica-and-Henry0@Sarah977 I don't think I would want to rely on a stranger knocking on the door before walking in on me. A sign isn't going to remind them in the middle of the night.

[Leanne69]

HA - well I guess I'm glad none of you have stayed with us.  We've had several guests overlap with both rooms being booked at the same time and we've never had any issues and no complaints (besides the one room being locked out twice with the inability to unlock it).  One guest privately mentioned wishing there was a way to know if someone was in the bathroom which is why I posted.  

I guess my guests are easier to please and more laid back.  I did find my own partial solution as I realize I had ordered extra skeleton keys a week ago and I can hang one from inside and outside that door so it could be locked from either side, but that still leaves the other door issue as it was once a closet door so there's no lock option.

[Brady3]

I have the same dilemma at my place. I've been renting out both private bedrooms separately for close to five years and have actually been very surprised that it has never really been much of an issue. I mention in the instructions to keep the bathroom doors closed and then knock before opening to make sure no one is in there.

There have definitely been guests who have expressed concern over this and I've had to explain the whole reason that locks on the doors aren't an option (which @Leanne69  explained so perfectly to start this conversation), but all of them ended up being totally fine with it once they got used to it. Only a handful have mentioned it at all in their reviews, but it has always been along the lines of "it isn't a problem for me, but you might want to be aware of it before booking....".

It has never resulted in a negative review for me and I have had almost all positive reviews. It has happened a handful of times (that I'm aware of) that someone has forgotten to knock and walked in on someone, but they have just quickly corrected the error and closed to door. I know it still isn't ideal, but there just isn't a good solution and I'm very glad I've just trusted guests to read and follow my instructions on the matter and relied on them to get comfortable enough with the situation to enjoy their stays. I would have missed out on TONS of bookings if I only rented out one room at a time or only rented both rooms out if it was one group, and my many satisfied guests would have also missed out on enjoying their stay at my place.