Changing the Linens & Towels - How Often Should I Do It?

[Suzzanne0]

I have an eight-bed, four bedroom home in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. We offer courtesy weekly housekeeping in the common areas. For stays longer than seven nights, how often should fresh bed linens and bath towels be offered? Thank you.

[Patricia2526]

Hi @Suzzanne0 

For stays longer than 3 nights, we always provide extra beddings and towels so guests can easily change them whenever they prefer. Many of our guests value their privacy during their stay, so we generally do not enter the apartment unless requested.

If guests would like the apartment to be cleaned during their stay, we are happy to arrange it; however, they need to be present at the property while the cleaning is taking place. This policy helps ensure the safety of guests’ belongings and avoids any misunderstandings. As stated in our house rules, this arrangement also respects the privacy and comfort of our guests while still giving them the option to request additional housekeeping if needed.

[Paula]

This is a great question, @Suzzanne0, and I’m very happy to see that Patricia has shared some excellent ideas you could implement (Thanks so much @Patricia2526 🙏)

Do you usually arrange a cleaning session for your guests if they request one?

I am also reaching out to more experienced hosts to see if they would like to share their approach to cleaning standards for long stays: @David13337 @Ryan4241 @Alex14140 and @Elise43 

Regards,

[Suzzanne0]

@Paula We provide a weekly housekeeping service that covers cleaning the public spaces of the house like the bathrooms, living room, kitchen, and porches. This includes vacuuming, dusting, trash removal, sweeping the common areas etc. It's part of the package we offer. It is not negotiable, and we have not had any issues with tenants balking at this.

[Elise43]

@Paula We offer weekly housekeeping for longer stays for an additional fee. But it isn’t required. 

[Sylvie1995]

Hi, for stays longer 7 nights, I always provide extrabeddings and towels,so guests can change them whenever they prefer. 

[Paula]

Thank you for sharing this, @Sylvie1995. I’m tagging @Suzzanne0 in case she has any additional questions for you.

Regards,

[Paula]

Thank you for sharing this strategy @Patricia2526 , and it is great you have add this info to the house rules. @Suzzanne0 do you also include these details in your house rules?

Regards,

[David13337]

Hi @Suzzanne0,

Nice house! With those many bedrooms and beds I would prioritize what works for you and your workflow around the airbnb. It is not mandatory to provide extra linen for long stays so that you can set it up the way you prefer. Some options include asking for an extra fee, send out automatic messages to the guest to see if they need any change or simply do not offer that option. Because you could have many guests at once potentially, if I was you I would offer only one linen and bathrooms towels at the guest request. Another strategy is to leave extra towels and linen in a dedicated closet and let the guests deal with it.   

[Tom-and-Peggy0]

Hello All,

Our condo is fully equipped with a washer and dryer on premises so our guests are welcome to wash sheets, towels and clothing, etc. at their leisure and we also leave a second set so they can rotate each as they feel appropriate. We also have extra covers. should they feel the need to use them during colder periods of the year. If we do have extended, stay guests, we are glad to complete these functions at their discretion. We would have this conversation with our guests should the need arise, however, as several of you have mentioned, privacy is  an utmost concern.. There may be an additional cleaning fee charged With this service, however, this would all be outlined in our conversation with the guest before agreeing upon renting to them. 

We feel that communication is a huge deterrent to having issues during our guests stay. We usually have very few issues, but we make sure that they have my personal cell phone number should an issue arise, so we can take care of it as quickly as possible.

[Paula]

Hello @Tom-and-Peggy0, Thank you for sharing this. Do you include any of this information in your house rules?

I’m tagging @Suzzanne0 here so she can learn from your experience.

Regards,

[Priyanka102 · Accepted solution]

A good standard for longer stays is fresh towels every 3 to 4 days and bed linens once a week. That usually feels clean and reasonable for guests without creating too much extra turnover-style work. The main thing is to set the expectation clearly in your listing and house guide so guests know what is included and then offer extra changes on request if you want to provide a more flexible experience.

[Vishal135]

Hi @Suzzanne0 

For short stays, we change bed linens and towels after every check-in to ensure everything is fresh for each guest.

For long stays, we provide extra bed linens and towels, and they are changed every 2–3 days to maintain comfort and hygiene.

[Paula]

Thanks for sharing this, @Vishal135. How many beds do you offer in your property?

Regards,

[Cam4488]

This a great question, and you definitely have received a lot of different responses.

Most of my Guests only stay 1 to 3 nights so it's not normally an issue.

However there is always an extra set of sheets and towels in the Guest Suite if required.

Because I do all the cleaning and washing myself I don't usually offer to change out the bedding or do any cleaning unless they are staying more than 6 nights.

An exception would be if they let me know that they are here for work, then it's understandable that they might need them changed more frequently.

Also our Guest Suite does not contain laundry facilities, however when Guests needs to do laundry I am usually able to accommodate their requests.

Cam 🇨🇦