Updated amenities list - what do you think?

[Huma0]

Hello, @Robin4 brought this to my attention in another thread.

Were you aware that the amenities list has been greatly expanded to include a lot more detail? I wasn't and I updated the amenities on my listings not very long ago.

So much stuff has been added that I can't begin to list it but, for example,  you can now specify:

- Your WiFi speed

- What kind of TV you have, including size, and what services you offer on it (Netflix, Amazon Prime etc.)

- What kind of heating you have

And here's where it gets a bit over-the-top in my opinion, but also:

- Which brands of shampoo and conditioner you supply

- What type of bedlinen, is it 100% cotton? Eygptian cotton? Silk?

- Not only what brands your fridge, stove etc. are, but whether the stove is stainless steel or not

And on and on.

What does everyone else think about it? Is it a good thing, e.g. more cover for a host if a guest complains about amenities when they were very clearly listed? Or, is this just too much detail to give? I can't put brand of shampoo as it varies and I have different sets of linens consisting of different types of cotton as well as silk and non-silk bedspreads, so I don't want to be that specific. Of course, it is optional which details you fill in.

Personally, I don't mind providing detail. What I do mind is that Airbnb keeps changing the amenities list without notification and, when it does, a lot of your previous settings disappear. Yes, I provide shampoo, and I have ticked this numerous times, but every time Airbnb makes one of these updates, the box (along with many others) becomes unchecked. You find out by accident and then have to check all that stuff again, on every listing. Yawn.

[Mark116]

@Huma0  LOL, I did that with a beautiful set of used pans I got on craigslist for $30 after deciding the Airbnb should have a 'set' of pans and not just odds and ends.  After about the 3rd time I found the pans badly washed and encrusted with burned food, they came upstairs. If I knew how I would post a photo of them, LOL.

Then I bought a 'doorbuster' set at Macy's for the Airbnb, for about the same price, which are the worst pans I have ever encountered, even worse than the cheap pans with plastic handles.  They look good, stainless, riveted, but are so cheaply made that they easily burn and then seriously the only thing that can clean them is oven cleaner.  

[Huma0]

@Mark116 

I have a beautiful set of copper pans my mother gave me. I keep them in a separate cupboard from the rest as I don't want any guests getting their paws on those. They get to use the regular pans, which are either stainless steel or the non-stick variety.

I have found that Barkeepers Friend (or is it Bartenders Friend?) is the best thing for cleaning stainless steel pans, stains on ceramic sinks and also for getting really stubborn tea and coffee stains out of cups. No idea what to use on those destroyed non-stick pans though. I had a guest really damage a brand new ceramic one and I'm not sure how. Those are seriously non stick, so I don't know why anyone would need to repeatedly scrape one with a sharp pointed object.

[Huma0]

Then again, the same guest was constantly setting off the smoke alarms and then just ignoring them.

She left the front door open several times.

She also passed out in a toilet for two hours one night.

She broke a picture frame and some ornaments and didn't remember, but offered to pay.

She was a really nice girl but I was a bit relieved when she left as she was such a liability.

[Mark116]

@Huma0  I always say if I ever win the lottery I will get a set of Mauviel pans.

[Huma0]

@Michelle53 

Yep, unless you are really trying to market some sort of high end, luxury, designer kitted-out listing, who is going to notice? Actually, the new amenities list includes specifics for the type of fabric of the bedlinen, rather than the brands. The brand specifics are there for toiletries and also kitchen appliances (weird).

I have several sets of linens for each room. Some of them are designer (bought at discount) and others are quite budget. There's a combination of cotton, cotton mix, Egyptian cotton, silk, velvet, whatever.  No one has ever commented on any of these specifics.  I put a lot of effort into making the beds and dressing them nicely so everyone is impressed regardless of whether they get the cheap or expensive ones.

When it comes to bedlinens, I think what @Debra300 mentions above is far more important to guests, and then only a few of them, i.e. top sheet or not? Duvet or comforter? Is the bedding warm/cool enough for the climate? Type of pillows etc. I wouldn't want to have to specify any of that on the listing either though.

[Michelle53]

@Huma0  I used to do the discount-store shopping, too.  What I found was it was easier to match things buying sets. The discount stores will have the duvet without pillow cases, or pillow cases without sheets. It took longer to get everything coordinated than to just buy the sets to begin with. 

I get a mix of pillows though. I have some of the ones that have gel fill, and some regular ones. Each double bed gets two of each kind.  The singles just get one. But there are extra if folks need them. 

Genrally, I prefer duvets to comforters. But I do a top sheet (which, of course, can be removed, and sometimes people just sleep on top of it) and a microfibre blanket as well. 

[Huma0]

@Michelle53 

Most of the linens I've bought at those stores are in sets, i.e. single duvet cover comes with one pillow case and anything double and larger comes with two as standard. Sheets and extra pillow cases are sold separately, but I quite like to mix and match them, add scatter cushions etc, so two different pairs of coordinating pillow cases on each bed. Then again, I've been working as a stylist for 15 years, so that's easy for me to say!

Yep, duvets with covers are definitely the way to go. I add machine washable quilts/bedspreads and also have mattress and pillow protectors, which makes everything easy to keep clean. I also put a variety of different pillows on the beds. My beds are all doubles or kings so they each get four pillows + cushions.

Top sheets are not a common thing in homes here, but since I started hosting, I learnt that they are in North America, so I make a habit of providing them when I have guests from there or during hot weather when people don't want to sleep with the duvet. There are always extra duvets/quilts if the guests want them.

People very, very rarely comment on these things, but you do get the occasional guest who is particular about type of pillow or having a top sheet or whatever and, in the British Winter, many guests do want the extra duvet.

[Huma0]

@Michelle53 

That's a very good point. I have lots of nice stuff, including designer bedlinens etc. at my house, but I'm a live in host and never had guests stealing. If I was hosting a separate property, that would be a different matter and, yes, I can easily imagine someone clearing the place out. It would be well worth the room rate for a night if the place was full of expensive goods.

I knew a guy who had just renovated his place to a very high spec but then got a job abroad. He rented it out via a letting agency, so there were reference checks and a sizeable deposit involved. He paid for the full management service, which meant the agency was supposed to check on the place, but they didn't. When he got home, the tenant had moved out as expected, but had literally gutted the place. Everything was taken, right down to the kitchen cabinets and appliances.

I can imagine how easily someone who hasn't paid a deposit and can simply cancel their payment card/delete their Airbnb account would find it to simply cart off someone's designer homewares.

[Helen427]

Yes @Huma0 @Debra300 @Michelle53 @Yadira22 @Ann72 @Mark116 and @everyone-else I was aware of this.

All very over the top for private accommodation in one's home.

Whilst I can understand Luxe homes / hotels perhaps providing those details  in times of financial security & booking economic times it's totally inappropriate for in the times we now live in.

The only other excuse I can come up with is IF there's been a survey of those who have had insurance claims, & if so  who & where has a survey been done & how.

Frankly it gets tedious seeing questions mentioning if I have a stove, oven, fridge, shampoo, conditioner etc when those things shouldn't need to be promoted every other time one logs.

 There's more important things ABB need to work on, including ensuring pple can book places without hitches.

[Emilia42]

@Huma0 But where is this information displayed? For instance, I update the air conditioning amenity to indicate a window A/C unit as opposed to central air. Nowhere on my listing (when searching as a guest) can I find that the A/C is provided by a window unit. The same goes for the Stove. It still just says "Stove" and not "Gas Stove."

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  I was just going to run that test - thank you for doing that.  You can't click through for further info on any amenities listed.

Knowing this, I won't be adding any detail to my amenities list.

[Emilia42]

@Ann72 At least not yet . . . 

[Debra300]

@Emilia42,

My updates aren't showing up on my listing, either, but the changes also aren't showing on Rob's listing either.  It just says TV, and he said that he made the change a couple of months ago.

[Ann72]

@Emilia42  You mean we'll all be forced to, with the listing verification program?  Probably.  They've been asking me inane questions for months and months - Does your listing have a stove?  Does your listing have a backyard or garden?  Things that have been listed as amenities for 6 years - and I've just ignored them - so far...

[Emilia42]

@Ann72 Well I meant that someday the new amenities info will just appear on our listings with no notice from Airbnb.

I always thought that the "Does your listing have ..." prompt came from the questions that guests have the option to answer after they complete the review. So it makes me wonder if guests are clicking "no" or "don't know" to the question: "does the listing have a stove?"