Different expectations.

[Christina583]

So I had a guest just leave and say my unit was  unsuitable to them.  

Npw I have a cute homey unit that I rent out for about 70-75 a night. It’s not ritzy bit it’s cozy.  They thought the sheets were not clean, they were, just may have had a stain.

the stove had a small section of dirt that I may have missed cleaning. 

But they freaked out out when I had extra toiletries in the medicine cabinet( toothbrush). It was not used. I leave toiletries for people if they need them.

They didn’t like that there was bread and leftover things in the refrigerator. Not leftover boxes or anything just drinks and condiments.

people leave things and the next guest gets to use items etc.

i think they were expecting a hotel experience.

im a super host and this has never happened to me before.

crazy.

Anyone else?

[Christina583]

I definitely made sure to get new sheets and o did notice that I may have missed a wipe down on one section of the stove.  I moved the open toiletries under the sink for now. I consolidated the refrigerator a bit more but honestly this is about paying for luxury at economy budget prices and that is straight bull**bleep**.

i read the other post about the lady who washes everything after every visit. Her post sounded exhausting.  

BTW, I’ve seen hairs on the sheets after a wash too and I use a sticky lint thing to pick them up.

for anything under 100 dollars a night who can affford professional cleaners all the time. I use them once a month and I clean the rest of the time.

the cry out for affordable stays and screaming against fees but wanting  extremely high expectations.

i use to greet every guest but now with a theee year old and being pregnant again it gets tough.

also schedules don’t always work out for that.

im a great communicator via messages and I even give out my number for need of fast contact.

anyway, most of my experiences have been great. I’ll take it as a learning experience but these guests had only one other experience in France so they may have to learn that it’s not all the same.

[Krystal16]

@Christina583

Were your guests from France?  What i have seen so far is anyone who comes from France is never going to give me a 5 star and will most certainly have something to complain about.

[Huma0]

@Krystal16 I have had similar experiences. It’s generally not easy getting five stars from French guests. They might have seemed very happy with their stay but will find tiny tings to complain about or just give four stars without explanation. However, thankfully none of them has actually walked out because they found the place ‘unsuitable’. That’s a bit extreme.

[Krystal16]

@Huma  @Christina583

Huma, I have fouind the same thing but I have never had anyone leave and refuse to stay in the unit.  When reading Christina's message I interpreted the "had a guest just leave" as in they checked out..Christina, can you please clarify, did the guest cancel their stay and leave without staying?

[Christina583]

They just left and messaged me that it was unsuitable . I called airbnb to have it cancelled because I was so upset. 

They didn't even wait to talk to me. 

Anyway, it’s over and I have someone else checking in today.

[Tracey222]

I’m glad I read this because I’ve experienced the lower grade from a French guest and as I’m new to hosting I was gobsmacked, still can’t please everyone , I’ll just make sure I’m on the ball with the next one.... Oh and I’m not dissing the french by the way ...

[Christine720]

Christiana I agree with you 100% about unreasonable expectations of some guests. I came to the forum seeing if anyone else was having similar experiences. I feel like the instragram age is setting up unrealistic expectations. I offer a fully private guest suite for $30/night. Its in the home I live in and I thinks it’s just the cutest. I take pride in cleaning it well, always clean linens, towels, hand towels and washclothes. Always wipe down all surfaces. Definitely disenfect all areas of the bathroom. But some guests (not all) seem to come expecting a hotel which baffles me because they knowingly booked a private suite that was only $30 a night (about 5-7 times less than the cheapest hotel rooms in my city). I am very clear about what I include and what can be expected in my description and am struggling with how else to set proper expectations. After 2.5 years of being a super host and hosting several hundred guests I’m taking a break from Airbnb. I am always open to constructive criticism but also concisous of what I can do within the price I offer. I have an average of 5 stars on all my listings but the nature of the guests recently has put me off being an Airbnb host. I started this for a positive, gracious experience and love having satisfied folks I can share my home with. That’s no longer the case with the types of guests coming through. 

[Mary1135]

Christine, I don't know if you're still reading.  Your posts are grayed out?  You must have delisted, and I don't blame you.

I just posted a topic that I am VERY discouraged with airbnb guests.  I think that what's happened is that people with entire buildings or hotels or actual inns have jumped in on airbnb, so guests are expecting a 'hotel experience', as you said, with hostel prices.  Those of us with one place, or room in our home, (which is how airbnb started out, right?) are feeling very discouraged and turned off by the Princess and the Pea types, and the lack of support for us from airbnb.

Also, I will never win the cleaning 'arms race' with people who iron sheets, and scrutinize their faucets for fingerprints.  I have a life and other work.  I do all of the work in the airbnb myself (with my long-suffering husband).  If I hired a maid, it wouldn't make any financial sense at all to rent the space on airbnb.  If I clean obsessively, it would take more than an afternoon to turn the apartment over, and then it's just not worth it.

[Christine720]

Hi Mary. I’m here 🙂 I’m taking a break to reasses things and see how I feel after time away but I still have bookings so am still active on the site. I think you’re right on! I actually know someone who works for one of those startups. And from what I’m told they have many repairs needed of furniture, housewares and linens. I wonder if it’s only a matter of time before they realize the losses incurred However it still have bookings for the next 2 months and will continue to do whatever I can to provide people with the best Airbnb experience I can. 

[Christina583]

Oh, and for three nights they were paying under 200 dollars.  

[Sarah977]

@Christina583  I do make an effort to make sure common spaces are much cleaner when I have a guest than when I don't. It is a bit exhausting, but I feel it's necessary. I don't think everything has to be absolutely spotless in the spaces you also use, but I make sure I do clean the guest room and their private bathroom impeccably. I'd never use a stained sheet or towel for guests, but as I'm a seamstress, I might patch a little hole with some cool fabric and my guests have even commented on how cool it looked. And an unwrapped toothbrush in the cabinet, even if it's new and pristine- you know it is, but the guests don't. 

I'm not one of those hosts who irons the sheets, nor do I wash the mattress pad and blankets every time between guests, but I only host 1 person at a time, and all my guests so far have been clean people who shower before bed, so it's not like anyone's been having sex games on the sheets or on top of the bed cover. 

It's hard when you've got kids and a busy life to stay on top of everything, but at least making sure the guest room and bathroom is super clean, nothing stained, no toiletries that look like they may have been used, no shampoo dripped down the outside of the bottle, no dust bunnies under the bed,  no grubby fingerprints on the light switches, etc. is important, IMO.

[Lilly28]

@Christina583

I really cannot understand hosts who cannot understand the unpleasant situation, and instead are giving advice how to clean even more professionally than Ritz at a price even motels do not have. 

And the problem is that there are some people who are so fussy that they are always finding something which does not suit them. I can put myself in her shoes as I also have a cozy flat at a very low price, and I do all my best to clean it the best way - I mean as not even a professional cleaner would do it - but now and then I have complaints from some guests, and it is true the French guests are very difficult, so are some of the Germans.

And it is very difficult to have all new things for each new guest if the price is too low! To buy new linen just because there is one stain which cannot be removed? No, this is rediculous, I buy expensive linen - because it can be washed much more times, and cannot afford it to have a new one because of just one stain! And do I have to buy new jars of gem and butter and honey for each new guest?

But I always try to improve things if I find that the guest has a reason to complain - i.e. I had a 4-stars for cleaning because I had too many carpets! Strange, but the guest was right - I thought, not that the carteps were too many, but they were not laid the proper way - and this was making them difficult to maintain them clean at their stay.   

[Rebecca0]

@Lilly28 I agree completely!   Sometimes it is tiresome to read all the cleaning "tips" that are not applicable to the situation.  It reminds me of that well-known Monty Python sketch (famous in the UK, anyway) about the three Yorkshiremen outbidding each other over how poor they were as children.  In Airbnb-speak it would be:

"Oh I launder everything after each guest, even the mattresses"

"Pfft Disgusting!  I replace all the beds after each guest!"

"What??  You only replace the beds?  We remodel everything, including the kitchen, for every new guest"

"Well, count yourself lucky.  We demolish the house and build an entirely new one for each of our guests.  It's the least we can do."

etc etc etc   !

I host in my family home.  Old school.  It's never going to be pristine and I never promise it will be.  It's clean enough.  The majority of my guests still enjoy and appreciate it.  But lately I'm feeling a change.  Unfriendly guests who don't understand and/or don't care.  They want hotel service at hostel prices.  I might be done with it soon.    

I

[Christine720]

Rebecca I just posted a long reply but have felt the same thing recently about the type of guests coming through! I thought it was the instagram age giving people unrealistic expectations. But I always assumed people took the price they were paying into consideration. If they wanted a hotel experience no one is keeping them from booking that. But if they want a budget stay, they have to understand it will be a clean, cozy, hospitable stay but not a hotel. I haven’t found a way to remind guests of this without sounding insulting so after 2.5 years I’m taking a break from hosting. I only charge $30/ night for a fully private suite with separate entrance and bathroom. 

[Yadira22]

Hello.

yes- finally a place I can moan about cleanliness.

what I don’t understand is how certain people expect the cleanliness of the room be the same upon checking in and checking out, two weeks apart and when they hang  out, eat, sleep and what ever else. 

After one week we offer to clean everything and change bed linen, towels and all- yet they say no and then complain about it when reviewing. 

We had one guest who complained about the dust coming into the room from the streets as she insisted in keeping her window open all day and said she did this as it was hot, despite having a personal heater switched on to 25 C all day. 

Honestly I am so baffled by some guest’s logic... what would you suggest I do except breathe and take it as constructive criticism.

Thanks,

Yadira

ps. Rant over and thanks in advance for an advice 🙂