I have a large house with a separate wing for my two guest suites, which is locked off from my part of the house. One suite is on the 2nd floor (sitting room with fireplace and leather furniture, bathroom w shower and whirlpool tub, and bedroom with antique bedroom set and double bed). The other suite is the former servant's quarters on the 3rd floor so smaller and cheaper, although it has an additional room (sitting room, bathroom w claw foot tub, bedroom with single bed, room with table and chairs). Both suites have minifridge, microwave, coffee maker, and dishes.
Three issues have come up:
Locks on doors - I live in a small, rural New England college town of 6,000 people. I've lived here for 30 years. People here don't lock doors. I don't give a key to my guests because I've never locked the door. I've been doing airbnb for three years. I occasionally get guests from NYC who freak out that I don't lock the back door to the house (where they come in). On a couple of occasions I've had paranoid guests lock the back door from the inside locking me out or locking out my other guests. This weekend I got a guest who left me a bad review because she couldn't lock her bedroom door or the back door. Another airbnb host in town did give her guests a key, but they kept taking them and she felt like she had to keep changing the locks because these people now had a key to her home.
Entry through the 2nd floor suite - My guests come in the back door, go up the back stairs and enter the 2nd floor. If they are in the 3rd floor suite they walk by the 2nd floor sitting room and bath to get to the 3rd floor stairs. They don't walk past the bedroom. This is stated clearly in the description for both suites, and when guests arrive I ask them to respect the privacy of the 2nd floor guest. When there are to be guests on the 3rd floor I tell the 2nd floor guests. There's no other way for the 3rd floor guests to reach the stairs. Sometimes 2nd floor guests then get annoyed with me that someone will be walking part way down the hall of their space, even though it is pointed out in the description.
Sharing shower - It clearly states in the description, and is seen in the photo, that there is no shower on the 3rd floor, just the antique clawfoot tub. When I show my 3rd floor guests to their suite I clearly state that the 2nd floor rooms are exclusive to the 2nd floor guests. Sometimes people on the 3rd floor harass my 2nd floor guests saying they want to use the very upscale bathroom on the second floor. My 2nd floor guests pay more for the nicer suite, and it's irritating when they complain to me that the 3rd floor guests are bothering them or even just letting themselves into the 2nd floor bath. If I remind the 3rd floor guests to use their own bathroom they leave bad reviews. Argh!
Sometimes it's so annoying to have guests in the house.
Cynthia