Dirty habits

[Ian611]

Hi Hosts,
Hopefully things are getting better out there for us all.

 I would like your views on my story, I recently had a guy with his workmates staying Monday to Friday for 4 weeks recently,they were reasonably good at cleaning  but every time I went to clean up for them coming back I was finding tobacco scattered over work surfaces and the floor,this didn’t really bother me as there was no signs of them smoking inside.The worst thing that put me off was the last week they stayed I found 3 half full cans of beer with a liquid of some description, make up your own mind what it was,under the bunk beds.Disgusting.

The other thing was the guest that rented marked me down every week for value for money,why bother coming back if he doesn’t like the price.
He seems to be staying at other places round the area while he has the work at the building site.He hasn’t had any bad reviews but nothing great. I reviewed him and only put things like he was happy with my place as it was close for him. I would like to say in the final review about what I find about their habits but I am worried about him coming round and possibly causing property damage when I am not there as he rents in areas not far away from our place. Am I worrying for nothing.Should I just give him low marks in his profile instead?

[Anonymous]

@Ian611   Guests' star ratings can only by seen by hosts who use Instant Book. So if you don't mention any problems in the written review, hosts who are actively screening their guests will not benefit from it. 

That said, I'm not sure this particular thing is worth mentioning if you're not certain that the person you're reviewing was the one with the "dirty habit" rather than one of his workmates. 

[Ian611]

Andrew0,Thanks for your advice , I see it as whoever rents a place with their profile is responsible for every one he/she has with them.I just want to warn other hosts.

I had decided not to allow workers in the flat again due a bad experience a while back when an employer rented my place for workmen and caused damage and she refused to pay for it,eventually abb paid out with a lot of bother for me. I gave him the benefit of the doubt as I assume he was with them.Anyway he will not be allowed back.

[Colleen253]

@Ian611 You can always start off with any positives you found, and then end with something like “slightly more attention could be paid to cleanliness”. Or substitute “observance of asks/house rules” as it fits, re the smoking/tobacco evidence.

I tend to agree that the person who books is responsible for ensuring all other guests are aware of house policies and monitoring what they get up to. If I was the booking guest in a nonsmoking AIrbnb and a member of my party started smoking in it, I would intervene.

[Ian611]

Colleen253.Thanks for your reply,they used the outside sand bin for the cigarette ends as requested,it’s just   
the half full cans of some bodily fluid that was rather disgusting.Night time toilet springs to mind. I will certainly take your advice about his review.

 I will give him low marks on his cleanliness also.Thanks.

[Anonymous]

@Ian611 @Colleen253   I mostly agree that the person who placed the booking is responsible for the state the home is left in. But I've also rented Airbnbs with groups of friends many times, and while we've always made a point of cleaning up before check-out, it's never crossed my mind  to look under their beds to see if they did anything gross. So it seems likely to me that this guest was totally unaware of the things you discovered. 

And for what it's worth, if you handed me one of those cans and a half a can of regular English beer, I probably wouldn't know the difference 😉

[Ian611]

Andrew0.I see your point I do think his work mate was in the bunk and he wouldn’t have had any need to double check everything ,it’s just a case of a dirty non respectful workman.I have had decent workers in before with no problems.

 I will leave a basic review and mark him down in the ratings. I had the sense to block off my calendar for the week days he might have rented,he has since popped up on other accommodation around my area.He doesn’t rate the accommodation,just says he will be back soon.

 I won’t be taking any building site workers again,they don’t have any respect for other peoples property.

Cheers Andrew.

[Anonymous]

@Ian611   You probably don't want to get caught making any statements online suggesting that you'd discriminate against guests based on their job - if someone complains, it can get you de-listed. But maybe what you really mean to say there is that you prefer guests who are visiting Melrose for leisure rather than work  -  or groups who are a cohesive social unit rather than colleagues forced together by a job.

Your listing is currently inactive, so I can't see the details of what you advertise, but your flat sounds a bit like the holiday homes found on the coast in Germany, which typically have a double bedroom and a second bunk-bed room, assuming that the guests will all be nuclear families with mom, dad, and two kids. It's actually really hard to find a suitable place there for a group of adults  -  nobody wants to sleep in a bunk bed if they can possibly afford something different. Which is all to say, I wonder if changing the sleeping arrangements would actually be an upgrade to the value of your listing (even though it's extremely well-reviewed just as it is).

[Ian611]

Andrew0.   My listing is definitely active,it’s just down the order a bit ,I wouldn’t dream of saying anything about who I prefer renting my place but it’s a leisure area and will be paying close attention to requests.I have one booking at the end of the month and a few the months after ,so got enough to keep me busy. I can’t change the  sleeping arrangements in the smaller room even if I wanted.The bunks are ideal for children.

[Colleen253]

@Anonymous I was thinking more in terms of obvious or big missteps, such as smoking. I can’t imagine any host has ‘no pissing in an empty beer can and stuffing it under the bed’ rule 🤣

@Ian611 even if the booking guest was unaware of the issue,  it’s something he should know his roommate did/does. I hope you left him private feedback. It’s heinous you had to discover and deal with it. No human being should be subjected to that. I shudder to think if you hadn’t found the mess, but the next guest did. Good thing you’re diligent about sweeping under the bed!

[Ian611]

Colleen253 . I always Hoover under Both beds and all furniture in the lounge too.

The first time I noticed the emergency toilet was when I almost knocked it over ,fortunately I didn’t.Yuk. I will consider your advice on the review anyway thanks.

[Laura2592]

@Ian611 I have a formula for reviews. Say something nice, then go through the 3 categories we are allowed to rate guests on. So in this case:

"So and so was friendly/polite/fun to talk to/quiet (whatever.)  It took more than the usual time to clean up after his group and some of our house rules were not followed. Communication was good/fair/average/decent/poor/not great/limited (whatever it was, however you feel comfortable saying it.) I would recommend this guest for more commercial accommodations such as a hotel with daily maid service."

[Ian611]

Laura2592.Fair point.That’s where they need to go ,not the great family holiday accommodation in the Scottish Borders.

[Helen3]

Personally if the guest was marking me down for value after the first booking, I wouldn't have accepted any more from him @Ian611 

[Ian611]

Hi Helen3 . I couldn’t as he had booked the flat for another three Monday to Thursday nights. I did close of my calendar the week days after that to avoid any attempts by him.Left the weekends open only.He has been using other accommodation in the area though.I have yet to review him and his mates for the final week.