Stripping beds at the end of a booking

[Caroline973]

Hello all...wondering if I could have your views on bed linens.

I have a large busy house that frequently has folk checking out at 1000 and new folk moving in at 1500. It has 3 large king-size beds and towels etc for 6 people.  We sometimes ask for people to strip beds and leave all dirty linens in the utility room (we wash and there are other fresh linens for the new guests) in order to ensure we can get people in on time. We frequently get early check in requests for early flight arrivals wanting to get in asap.  Its a big house that does need that time for cleaning.  

Do you think I am being picky/petty in asking guests to do this?  Most people have found it ok - I have had a couple of situations where it has cost me a star on value.

Appreciate your opinions. 

[Mike-And-Helen0]

@Caroline973 it seems to me that it is fine.

What do YOU think about value for money, what is your cleaning fee?

Its a bit spoilt to object to it, I think.

[Yadira22]

Hi @Caroline973 

hope you are well.

personally would not agree to this- have been burnt before. Someone stripped the bed (pretending it’s a act of good Will) and after washing etc we found a huge ironing burn on the bed linen, another was destroyed beyond measure and thrown out etc. I would rather just ask that guests make sure they leave the space relatively clean, throw the rubbish and recycling (if possible) and that’s it. 
If you want to offer an earlier luggage drop/check in this is your prerogative  but honestly there are so many companies around which will hold their luggage and it’s not expensive.
The service we provide is not the same as a hotel and don’t have the same amenities or resources. However, it’s completely up to you! 
Good luck,

Yadira 🙂

[Jim472]

I'd never ask my guests to strip a bed but I do have linen baskets in each of my three rooms that I ask guests to put wet towels in. I also host up to 6 and find that I can do a turnover in 2 hours. I keep three sets of bedding, towels, and tablecloths at the house. I can take home all the washing and do it at my leisure over the course of a couple of days. Even with a few one night stays in a row I'm not taxed. Plus with the extra linen if I'm extra lazy I can just go down to the coin-op and do up to 18 bath towels/washcloths/pillow cases/bolster cases, 15 hand towels, 3 tablecloths, and floormats in an hour and change. It all works out in the end as one might replace their stuff every year, mine will last for 3.

[Linda108]

Whenever you ask a guest to partiipate in the cleaning of the listing, not just being tidy, you run the risk of the guest lowering their perception of the value of the experience.  Your listing seems to be on the higher side of the nightly rate according to the search parameters.  Does stripping the bed save that much time?  Additionally, as mentioned by others,  guest stripping beds can mask problems with the bedding.

You have a lovely listing with great reviews, but given that more and more competition is the trend, it is best to stay ahead.  

[Cathie19]

I think @Caroline973 , @Jim472  has an interesting point about ensuring you have the turnover of linen.

Occasionally I have guests strip a bed, but I am insistent that all linen is left to me to wash so I can separate any colours and actively and correctly deal with stains etc. if bundled together, it can make washing and removing stains worse....

I know we aren’t  hotels, but I personally think that unless we are guests, providing our own linen, then the linen stays on the bed and in the bathroom.  I would ask the perishable rubbish to be taken to a main bin, but people are paying to use the roomed space, it’s not an one an onsite cabin in a caravan park. This is merely my opinion, which will vary from many others hosts.

Calculate the longest cleaning time and don’t allow same day early check ins, if you can’t get the beds and bathroom linens organised before the requested time. 

However, your space, your rules..

[Michelle53]

@Caroline973  I don't require that guests strip beds.  Some do it anyway, and it actually makes me feel a bit uncomfortable when they do that. I have up to four beds, and if they are all used, it's really the laundry and making the beds, afterwards,  that takes the time, for me, not really the stripping. 

I do have a basket for wet towels, and ask they use it. If anything, the most annoying thing, to me, for some reason,  is a towel draped over the shower door, or wet towels on the furniture. 

[Juan63]

I think it's fine but as a host, I think you are better off having multiple bedding sets, towels, etc and charge a fee for early checkin. Washing everyday is tough.

[Ann783]

As a guest, I've been asked to strip the bed on occasion and it doesn't bother me.

As a host, I don't want them to do it. I ask that all garbage be placed in the outdoor bin, refrigerator emptied of food and no dirty dishes in the sink. 

[Sarah977]

I've always had a hard time understanding this one. How long does it take to whip the dirty linen off a bed? 45 seconds? I really don't undestand asking guests to do it to save what can't amount to a few minutes, and may lead to disgruntled guests, especially if they've paid a cleaning fee. It does seem petty to me.

[Rowena29 · Accepted solution]

@Caroline973 , As a guest I don't think I would particularly object if being asked to do it, but as a host i PLEAD with my guests to please NOT strip the beds. It is SO much easier to me to quickly scan for stains, apply a remedy where andwhen I can see the stain easily and then take it down to the laundry room. Also for me personally I have all white sheets, but a variety of be sizes - king, queen, and king single.  When guests take the linens off and I find it much harder to keep sets together - I spend some time figuring out what's a queen, what's a king ( even with markings on the tags) For me personally guests doing the linen doesn't save me any time at all, rather it costs me time - sometimes a lot of time if there's a stain. 

But every listing and every host has different ideas and values.  If you really think it helps you, I'd be inclined to make special mention of it in your messages with the guests. I do this for things that I think are likely to get me pinged. For example, I'll say "Also, as per the listing description, I"m sure you've already read and realised this, but just reminding you there is no A/c ( honestly not needed the breezes are amazing) and kitchen and both bathrooms are far from state of the art. There is some cosmetic wear and tear. However they are routinely scrubbed and are clean and functional.  If any of this bothers you though, do please feel free to cancel - you can cancel without penalty in the next 48 hours. "  When they reply - "oh gosh, not a problem at all", I think, these are going to be the sort of guests I WANT staying in my house and  I feel a lot calmer.   If they cancel, I think, wow, dodged a bullet there.  If they read what you say and go ahead with the booking anyway you are just slightly in a stronger position pyschologically somehow I think.

Obviously its not foolproof but I do think it helps to weed out the guests that might be disgruntled and/or not suited to your style of hosting.

Cheers

[Lizzie]

As a guest, I personally don't mind removing the bed sheets/covers at the end of my stay–as long as the mattress/pillows are in good order. I'm not so keen on taking the covers off to see an old/tatty mattress underneath (it's fine if has a mattress cover on though), however comfy it is. 🙂

I have had several hosts ask me to not remove the bed sheets before though, as they have a set way of dealing with them. For example, when I stayed in a treehouse the host had an ingenious way of tying the sheets together to make it easier to get them down from the tree! So it would have actually slowed her cleaning process down. 

[Heather133]

We used to ask guests to strip the beds. We explained that we wanted to be sure our cleaners were clear about which guests had been used. As long as we explained it that way, people seemed fine about that. We stopped doing it because guests were often stripping the mattress pads and pillow protectors as well. That just made for more work. 

[Gil1485]

Hi Heather, great question! In our check out list, we also ask our guests to put all used linens in the bathtub. Most of our guests do it and don’t complain, other guests just don’t do it. In your case I don’t think you have a choice. You have a very quick turn around and you need all the extra help in doing that. Maybe, when you have a guest complain about stripping their beds, you might tell them this is a way you are able to keep your cleaning cost down. Just a thought!

[Rich-and-Susan1]

I understand where you are coming from. Our issue lies in that our rental is 3 hours away and I can't just run up there to clean and prep the place myself. I have a cleaner but she is one of the few in the area who does offer cleaning services. She runs her service alone and is not part of a larger company. She has a tight schedule and does not do laundry. We have been hosting for 2 years and have talked to so many people about how to best handle it. We have offered linens but asked guests to launder them and we have asked guests to bring their own. As of last week, we are now supplying linens and asking guests to strip the beds before departure. My cleaner will bag up the used bedding and I go up once a month to wash it all. It is NOT ideal but there aren't any other options right now. The cleaner will, of course, handle any major issues she encounters (soiled mattress covers, etc) but I am charged extra for her time. 100% of my cleaning fee goes to my cleaner. We are in the mountains. There are no cleaning or laundry services in the area. Our guests are fully aware of what is expected of them from the get-go. We have only had 1 guest in the past 2 years not follow whatever rule we had at the time. The cleaner had to strip 5 beds and do all the linens and towels. I was charged an additional 2 hours which I had to go through the Resolution Center to claim. The guest ended up paying the additional cost out of the security deposit.

At the end of the day, you will never make everyone happy. My view is we offer so much at a very reasonable rate. We are a vacation rental. Renters have a choice; stay or choose somewhere else. I am satisfied with the number of bookings we have so I feel content with my choices in my hosting.

Best of luck with whatever you decide!

Susan