High usage guest code

[Laura2592]

Any thoughts on how you would word a review for guests  to indicate much higher than average amenity usage? Otherwise good guests, just really cleaned out everything we offered and two loads of laundry,  two FULL dishwasher cycles from a 2 night/2 person stay? 

I only care because I have to plan to replace a lot more things for the next person and the cleaning crew can only stick around for the first cycles of laundry/dishes. As a host I would like to build in extra time for this sort of guest. What's some coded language that might help to convey this without blasting the guests? 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  I'm in the "if you don't want them to use it all up, don't leave it for them" camp.

I don't see that these guests did anything wrong by using up what was there and  presumably there for them to use. If you resent guests using up an entire box of sandwich bags, don't leave an entire box. If you resent them eating the dozen eggs you left, leave half a dozen, or none. 

As a fellow host, I would not feel the need to be warned that guests used everything they found that they assumed  was there for them to avail themselves of.

The only thing I find blatantly clueless  was telling you they ran out of sandwich bags, when they used an entire box. But I really don't see why you feel the need to provide sandwich bags anyway. Your guests aren't having to pack lunches for school or work. Half a dozen should be plenty for 2 people. I haven't bought a box of sandwich bags since I made the last school lunch for my kids 25 years ago. 

That they dug through to the back of a closet to retreive and use a few old candles is a bit weird, I'll agree.

But the bottom line is don't provide more than you will feel okay about the guests using up. And as you said, these guests were low maintenance emotionally. They didn't have a bunch of entitled demands, they didn't leave the place a dirty mess, they didn't complain, they didn't try to scam a refund or call you 15 times because they couldn't figure out how to work something or because a noise outside scared them. They didn't repot your plants, set up a movie theatre in your yard to screen Deliverance, they didn't walk off with your towels or bath mat.

Don't take this the wrong way, but from all the weird guest requests and stories you've had ( highly entertaining, I must say), I wonder if you are just at the point where you almost expect guests to be somehow problematic and are starting to see them that way, even if they didn't do anything especially objectionable? Maybe you're just burnt out and could use a break?

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 I think the opposite was true-- we expected these guests to be easy breezy on the turnover because they were so nice. We even said to one another "boy, we have had several nice stays in a row." So when we got the cleaner panic/out of time call, we were really puzzled.

I think the thing to remember is that our space is essentially a home share in that we use it regularly. We just aren't on site when guests are. So unlike a corporate rental, our space is not devoid of items like sandwich bags, cling wrap, etc. Over time we have had to move toward counting up coffee pods and dryer sheets and leaving a set amount, and our first guests ever took an entire load of firewood when they left, so its not like we don't know its possible. But really, isn't anything possible? Do hosts have to have rules that state "don't have a porno shoot in my space" or "please don't vomit in my bed?" You could try to cover every permutation of behavior with written expectations but you would just end up sounding nutty.

In my mind, there is a difference between availing oneself of what is on offer and using ALL of what is on offer to depletion. The former is normal-- you use the shampoo and body wash during your stay; and the latter is extreme-- you use the entire new bottle of shampoo and body wash during a 2 night stay (or take it with you). Whatever happened to "campsite rule"? I know people have different backgrounds and values so maybe I need to find a different way to approach the idea of a "heavy footprint." I personally would not mind that others mentioned this in the review, but maybe other hosts don't feel the same way. 

And yes, I am very tired. We have an average of 2 stays per week with generally pretty high maintenance people. We have been discussing doing a 3-4 month rental off of Airbnb as regular landlords just to regroup, and get away from the entire platform. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sarah977  they used sandwich bags for their dog’s poo probably 🙂

@Anonymous  its not ok to abuse what is offered,  the nightly price is calculated on normal consumption

[Laura2592]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 I will have to ask the cleaners about the sandwich bags in the dog poo trash. We leave a basket by the door with bags and a "please pick up after your pup" sign. So it would be over the top to use a ziploc. But maybe they have a very expensive dog....

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Laura2592 Oh i didn't  realize it was ziplock 🙂 Then its probably used for to pack other things.... like salt 😄 

Jesus... !

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  P.S. I had a boyfriend who was a sweet guy, but he had a habit of eating up all of something we had bought. We'd buy a box of pastries at the bakery or a tub of ice cream, and if I didn't scarf up my share right away, when I  decided I'd like a bowl of ice cream, it would be gone. When I called him on it, he did feel bad and apologized, but he said, "I was an only child of Italian immigrants who doted on me. Everything was always all for me. Saving some for someone else just wasn't ever part of my consciousnness. If there's something in the fridge that I feel like eating, it doesn't occur to me to wonder if you've had any yet, or to notice how much was left when I last had some. I'll try not to be that way, but it doesn't come naturally."

[Laura2592]

@Sarah977 wow, I would not have lasted long in that relationship!

[Michelle53]

@Laura2592    I don't use my Airbnb space at all - it's just for guests.  Everything stocked in there is just for guest use.   I also, on occasion, will have someone that goes through an entire fresh box of tissues in one weekend, or 4 toilet rolls for 2 people for 2 days, or empties the snack basket completely.  Someone inexplicably used up an entire fresh bar of soap in 3 days, leaving just a sliver. 

I leave a couple of disposable face masks, just in case. I'm pretty sure most people travelling have face masks by now (I know, there are a few......) but people take them anyway. Because they feel it's already costed in and they paid for it.  Just getting their money's worth. 

They aren't the majority, though, and I don't cost per stay. I track income and costs over the whole year, including a pro-rated share of my utilities, to see if I'm making enough,  or whether it's time for a price increase.  

If you are using the space yourself, and there are items you might want to reserve for personal use, maybe you have a discreet lockable cupboard you could use ? 

ETA: I don't remark on resource usage in my reviews - if someone leaves the space clean and tidy, follows the house rules, and in every other way is a great guest, they get a good review. 

[Laura2592]

@Michelle53 we do have a locked shed with a lot of personal stuff and supplies.  I think its the gray area of things that we use and our guests might also use that causes problems  As I said we now count coffee pods, dryer sheets, etc. Harder to ration aluminum foil and I don't relish the tiny individual serving shampoo and body wash bottles because they are so wasteful. But yes, there's got to be a better solution.  

I think some people just really don't understand how much they consume and are in no way mindful of that.  Maybe thats the approach I need to start with....

Its like The Simpsons when Homer goes to an "all you can eat" seafood buffet. No one is prepared that he takes that literally 😉 

[Michelle53]

@Laura2592   Honestly, I don't see the point in worrying about someone using an entire roll of aluminum foil, or box of sandwich bags. 

If those are things that require advance planning to buy, I would keep extras in your lockable space, so it's easy to top up, in a hurry.    

I bulk buy at Costco, and have a "Costco Shelf" in my storage area, so I don't get caught by surprise.   I supply bulk-sized shampoo, conditioner and body wash, and hand sanitizer.   Never "lost" any of those things.   I'd never provide a bulk-sized foil roll or box of sandwich bags though - that should be the smallest size.  Those things aren't in my market to provide, though. 

For paper products, I generally only replace a box of tissues if it feels light, or if the paper towel roll looks thin, or enough toilet rolls for the stay, plus one.   I'll put out a fresh wrapped soap only if the existing bar is thin. 

People don't get full everything every time. 

[Laura2592]

@Michelle53 this is the final list from the 2 day stay:

-one bottle of shampoo (new) totally gone/missing

-one bottle of body wash empty (used by the last guests but 98% full- big bottle with a pump top)

-all Nespresso pods gone (we ration those) 

-one box of sandwich bags totally used

-half a pound of coffee used

-a dozen eggs used

-a box of Earl Grey tea missing completely

-two brand new missing scented candles-- likely burned and thrown away

-8 dinner plates, 8 bowls, all the pots and pans and mixing bowls, 4 wine glasses, 2 shot glasses, 8 pint glasses, 6 coffee mugs, 7 salad plates and various utensils used-- missing pizza cutter 

-salt shaker, filled for the last guests, empty

- all the toilet paper gone

- two sets of sheets, all blankets and throws, all towels used

-dishwasher and laundry pods and dryer sheets taken though nothing appeared to have been run (we ration those)

- three large bags of trash left behind

Again, this is 2 people over 2 nights. Honestly I am not trying to be nitpicky here. Its just A LOT. It took a lot of time to turn the space over. These guests are in the top tier of usage for all the guests we have had over 3 years now. The dishwasher was so stuffed with plates it wouldn't close and the top rack was wonky. It was two full cycles plus scouring pots. Two full loads of laundry. It was a costly stay.

[Michelle53]

@Laura2592  You seem to be suggesting there was theft involved, rather than usage. 

I've only had two instances in 6 years where I considered missing items to have been blatantly stolen - complete full rolls of paper towels, full bars of soap, the good blanket off the bed (hidden by replacing it with a cheaper blanket, and the bed neatly made), and an entire sheet set in the original packaging. 

One male guest brought an undeclared female companion who clearly thought it was fine to stock up her apartment at my expense.

In those cases, I mentioned it in the reviews, and after charging the sheet set/blanket thief in the resolution center, had them magically returned with "oh, so sorry, mistake". 

I just don't leave a huge volume of anything in the space any more. Maybe you are leaving out too much stuff. 

[Laura2592]

@Michelle53 I hesitate to call it theft as the items are mostly things that eventually run out. They just disappeared much faster than normal. Except for the pizza cutter that no one could locate, everything was a "freebie." 

And therein lies the problem that I am trying to get to. Hosts offer amenities. Guests have a typical rate of usage of said amenities. What happens when you have a guest who is far beyond the pale? When entire containers of things that might last 6 months disappear in 2 days? 

Most hosts here seem to be saying that they would not care. And that is great. I would myself not go so far as to open a claim. But it would have been really good to know if this guest was going to require a longer time for restock and turnover. That is all. 

[Michelle53]

@Laura2592  I think it's for you to decide if you want to pursue this in the resolution center. 

In my cases of high usage, the "leftovers" are clearly visible.  Empty rolls, empty boxes, used items in the trash.  I don't review on that. 

If these guests intended to empty you out, they weren't going to give you the heads up about it.  In my cases of theft, things were just gone without evidence of usage. It was pretty clear. 

In both my theft resolution claims, one never responded at all and never left me a review,  one returned a few larger items and also never left me a review. I was pretty clear in my reviews that both were blatant theft. 

[Sarah977]

@Laura2592  Okay, now that you listed all the stuff that's gone, it actually sounds like they loaded up their car with whatever was left and took it. There's no way 2 people could consume that much in 2 days. So this becomes a different story than the way you first presented it.

And all the bedding used for 2 people for 2 nights? 3 full garbage bags? This really is sounding like they had friends camping out in the woods or staying in a van or something. That could explain the missing pizza cutter and all those dishes and also all the used up candles. Or they snuck friends in who had no vehicle, through a window or something, so you wouldn't see it on the camera.

As far as the dishes go, they didn't wash any dishes the entire time they were there, just stuffed them all in the dishwasher. If you take a clean plate every time, 2 people actually could easily go through that many dishes in 2 days.

It's quite obvious to me that at the very least they went shopping at your place. It's one thing to take little bottles of shampoo and little bars of soap from a hotel, it's quite another to make off with a full size bottle of shampoo from an Airbnb. Excessive use during a stay is one thing, taking travel size amenities I would assume is pretty normal guest behavior, but this list indicates something other than excessive usage.

So I will amend my original attitude on this stay and say that it's worth saying something in the review. Mentioning all the positives, but something like "We were quite puzzled as to how a 2 night stay for 1 couple could result in as much of the amenities being consumed or disappeared as a family of 4 normally goes through in a week."

And in the future, only leave out a reasonable amount of stuff. I'd certainly not suggest  environmentally unsound single use size amenities, but a refillable shampoo and shower gel dispenser rather entire litre bottles of the stuff seems a better idea.