This is why you don't drink wine while booking guests...

[Laura2592]

We have a few wineries near our cottage where we leave cards for our cottage. We *used* to do small weddings at our space so our cards contain contact info for that which is not through Airbnb. We do get a  fair number of bookings from these cards. Or we did until the pandemic. 

Dial back to May of last year. I was dropping off cards at one of these places and the manager invited my husband and I to a tasting of a new blend they were about to offer. It was delicious and we were there for a few hours. One of the staff got to chatting with us about a wedding they were booking this September and guests who were looking for accommodation in the area. I looked at my app and we were available. The staff member got excited and had the guest contact us. We chatted back and forth-- 2 guests booked for 4 nights over a wedding weekend on Airbnb. All well and good.

So fast forward to yesterday. Guest is getting ready to check-in. I do my usual rigamarole and send instructions yadda yadda. Guest informs me that there will be 4 people staying, vice 2. Okay. I send an alteration request and call them to make sure they understand why. Guest is fine with it but starts asking me about the kitchen. It seems she has decided to make a WEDDING CAKE in our space. Uhhh. We have basic cookware but not the materials needed for that. We have an extensive conversation about what she needs and I do my kitchen inventory for her-- the Great British Bakeoff it is not. She is now scattered that she may have to supply some other items. What?? How was this not mentioned??

So my pleasant wine tasting afternoon has now put me in a situation where I failed to get as many details from this guest as I might have. Which is totally on me. And I have since learned not to open my calendar that far into the future as I do forget who and why they are coming. Wish me luck! I am dreading this clean up....

[Sarah977]

@Lawrene0 Good, more for us. (They don't know what they're missing). It's one of the things I miss about living in Canada (no nettles here in Mexico, at least not that I'm aware of). Funny the things you can miss when they aren't available.

[Colleen253]

@Sarah977  You’d “think” guests  would demonstrate some sense of responsibility for self right? Well let me tell you about the guest who gave me my first and only 4 star in cleanliness. She booked my place for the WOOD BURNING fireplace, came to enjoy it without, apparently, a clue as to what she was doing, failed to read the instructions I have in the manual for guests who need them, smoked  the place out and promptly suffered  an asthma attack. 4 star cleanliness and gave me “helpful” feedback that the fireplace created an AIR QUALITY ISSUE. She also suggested I purchase an air purifier.

I have an added a note about potential for sensitivity/allergy  trigger due to the fireplace to my “things to know” section thanks to this guest. I did actually also purchase the air purifier, because I have enough clueless guests smoking the place out that it’s needed to keep the smell of ‘campsite’ down. 

[Sarah977]

@Colleen253  Oy vey. I guess some guests think that fireplaces just light themselves and burn happily away with romantic dancing flames while they settle in cozily with their book. You're lucky she didn't burn your house down.

It's like the guests who give low cleanliness ratings because they made a mess of the place, and oddly enough, no little elves came around during the night to make it pristine again for the morning.

[Laura2592]

@Colleen253 I've posted more than once on the tribulations of having a working fireplace at my cottage.  If I EVER host in a different again it would be a one bedroom two guest max space with a "kitchenette"  (no range. Cooktop and microwave only) and the only true amenities would be my cute decor and hospitality.  I have learned that the more goodies you have in a space the more time you spend dealing with people who have zero clue about using any of them. 

[Colleen253]

@Laura2592 Amen sister! You just described my dream listing too. 

[Amanda660]

@Laura2592 Please make sure you get a photo of this masterpiece 

[Laura2592]

@Amanda660 I am SO THERE. My friend keeps sending me pictures of cake fails from some baking shame blog she reads and I am dying laughing. Ah well. You can laugh or you can cry... 

The worst part is probably that she paid our old nightly rate which is far too low. Another reason not to allow booking so far in the future.

[Kelly149]

I am, at this moment, quite glad that the Barn clearly has no oven. 

good luck @Laura2592 !!!

[Laura2592]

Well knock me over with a feather! She pulled THIS off in our space...

[Laura2592]

Maybe I have a nicer kitchen than I thought! We have not been over to clean yet but man, I need to hire this woman next time I have a party. Unbelievable. 

[Laura2592]

Well she gave glowing feedback to me on the kitchen privately. Honest to gosh I am really surprised that my kitchen rates this high. Its basic stuff. I have had other people complain that I don't have things like a mixer or Dutch oven.  Just happy this ended without major issues. She did leave things very clean. You just never know! I feel like this was a freebie from the universe 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  So glad it all worked out. Boy, did that photo ever make my mouth water.

This just goes to show that hosts tend to worry too much- it's kind of pointless to get stressed out about something that may or may not happen in terms of a guest being dissatisfied. And I've read host posts who were absolutely sure a guest was going to leave a bad review, only to have the guest leave a quite positive review. 

[Anna9170]

@Laura2592  .@Colleen253  Amen, I'm in your circle) in Spain, sooo expensive utilities, so my apartment only has an induction hob and microwave, not an oven, it's like standing and throwing money from the balcony, I'm not the great Gatsby ))