Long-term Stays, bathroom supplies

[Dev4]

Hello Fellow Hosts,

We have a guest staying for longer duration. Before the guest check-in, my team replenished the bathroom and kitchen supplies. However, I am not sure if all the supplies will last for the entire duration of guests' stay. What is the protocol? Am I required to replenish the supplies everytime it gets over. 

This is the first time I am hosting a guest for a long time. I am happy to replenish the supplies, however, I wanted to learn the best practise on this.

Thanks for your response in advance,

Casadell

[Andrea9]

@Dev4

For a longer stay of more than say, a couple of weeks, you could  tell them while checking them in and giving them the tour that you have supplied them with x. y and z to start them off in the beginning and that there is a supermarkt around the corner (or whatever) where they can re-stock for the remaining duration of their stay.

Another option that you could arrange beforehand is to ask them if they would be interested in you coming once a week with a weekly supply of fresh linens and TP etc. for an extra service charge that you can include in their booking even after they have arrived by making an ammendment to their booking, which they will have to accept.

You could also think about whether you would want to include cleaning to that. It is a good way of keeping an eye on the property to make sure it is not soiling away into a total mess by the end of the stay. 

[Dev4]

@Andrea9

Really great ideas...do you include any of these in the house rules or house manual? I like the idea of telling the guest at the time of check-in. 

[Andrea9]

@Dev4 - glad you find them useful.

I don't have these in my own room rental with a max. of 6 days, but have repeatedly come across such solutions by other hosts on the Community Center.

I suggest you definitely include them 1-2 times in your description and in your House Rules you could take up  a pointer to the extent of: Long-term bookings beyond xx days are subject to cleaning and a choice of supply arrangement. Service charge packages:

Basic service package: Weekly cleaning / fresh bed linens+towels xxx

Extended service package: Weekly cleaning / fresh bed linens+towels / amenity re-stocking xxx

I would then mention this pre-booking. Since you have Instant Book I'd mention it right in the summary at the top, then right after booking ("As specified in listing and House Rules....") and ask them for their choice.

There will be guests who will insist on self-cleaning, but once a host has had one or more experiences with messy and/or trashy guests, they usually stipulate regular cleaning as part of the deal.

What you could also do for ex. is forego the weekly and monthly reductions to cover weekly cleaning expenses.

Gotta be creative 😉

[Julia66]

@Dev4  You have some beautiful listings!  I see you have Essentials ticked, under Amenities.  This means you supply sheets, towels, soap and toilet paper.  If you don't provide enough for a long stay, I suppose you can leave this ticked, and explain in your description that it's not enough for a long stay. 

Re the kitchen basics: you say in one listing that you provide salt, oil etc.  You should probably say here also that you don't provide enough for a long stay.  I think guests would find this acceptable.

Personally, when I'm a guest at Airbnb, I find most hosts provide at least enough TP for a day or two, and then I buy my own.  But I stay in fairly down-market apartments.   Some do supply plenty of TP.

[Dev4]

@Julia66

Thanks Julia for comment. We normally provide suppplies (for kitchen and bathroom) that will last a week  or more, assuming that it is used in a reasonable manner. Normally, our guests stay for a week or two and a lot of them cook only ocassionally, so replenishing the suppplies hasn't been a concern. 

Updating the listing as you mentioned is a good idea.

[Nelson41]

What do you think about the gallon size on https://www.amazon.com/Ginger-Lily-Farms-Botanicals-Shampoo/dp/B00DQSKQXE/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qi...

[Jill421]

It makes the guest feel like a valued guest if you can put out 2 rolls of toilet paper every week for their longer stay.  It is a lazy and miserly host who won't pay a dollar or two to save their guest a drip dry!!!  They are staying long-term and saving you a lot of time, $ and energy you would have to put into check-ins and check-outs.  If you don't want to include something so basic and kind then you should not be hosting.

[Kammie0]

Your tone is very rude in this response. Though your thoughts are valid there are more productive ways to respond. I hope you do not tray your guests this way 

[Debra300]

Go a little easy on Jill421, and anyone else who posts blunt comments.  Please understand that the level of rudeness is often determined by one's cultural background and community.  Also, people have different language or grammar skills to communicate their point.  I grew up the US, and now live in the Caribbean.  Folks down here speak more directly, and many statements are posed more in a manner of what would be considered a command in other English speaking countries.  For example, in the States, we might say, "Let her take the cake to her grandmother."  Where I am now, it would commonly stated as, "Make her bring the cake for her grandmother."   Although this is a colloquial form of speaking, many people write the same way as they talk.