Paying a weekly fee to use the kitchen

[Kira32]

Its hard to keep up with those who are staying in my home and use all the kitchen appliances in the middle of the night.

I tried a time curfew so I can get a good night sleep. I noticed that it didn't work. I actually wanted to stop with airbnb.

Now guests can pay weekly if they want to use the kitchen.

I love it!!! Nobody burning pots and pans and all of the sudden guest hang out less in the house searching for something to grab. My guests are so good they actually appreciate it if I let them use the fridge.  

[Inna22]

@Kira32 Interesting approach. I would have never thought this would work but clearly it did!

[Ann72]

@Kira32   From the sound of midnight blending to the sight of a guest obsequiously asking for permission to use the fridge - brilliant outcome!  This is what happens when a host shows who's in charge.  Other hosts take notice!

[Anonymous]

@Kira32   A weekly rate for an amenity seems rather strange on a listing that can be booked for as little as 1 night.  

Why offer use of the kitchen at all? 

[Kira32]

If I say no, I come off as a bad host but if I ask for a price, guest give value to everything that I offer.   I know, it's strange but it works for me. 

It is since recently that I receive certain kind of guests because I lowered the price per room. For what I offer to not include the kitchen is still good value for money. 

At the end I want to be happy too. Now my guest and I am happy!

btw:  my house my rules ; )

[Zuly9]

@Kira32 when We used to rent just bedrooms we didnt allow our guest to used the kitchen, It would had been a huge mess to have them using all the stuff in there and sorting  who used what and i wouldnt imagine if somebody just didnt care to clean up.... enough torture just thinking about it, now I rent the whole house and if they use and leave anything dirty I just have a clean lady who will take care of it, but we dont rent for less than 3 days, how do you do it; for me is just not worthy 

[Kira32]

The less appliances you have the lesser the mess. If you rent out to let's say.. maximum of 3 persons then everything 3. 3 Plates, 3 forks, 3 glasses  ect.

Keep it very basic and simple.

No blenders, grinders, juicemakers ect.  A lot of guests who cook have less to spend Give them information where they can eat the best budget friendly local food.

Do not offer spices, cooking oils and salt, it is just another invitation for them to cook the whole day. 

[Sarah977]

Really fascinating to me the vast variation in the kind of guest behavior hosts experience.

I have a home -share and guests have full, unlimited use of my kitchen. In 3 years of hosting, I have never had one guest abuse that- no one who used the kitchen late at night, no one who didn't clean up after themselves, some guests who washed the few dirty dishes of mine that were sitting next to the sink when they washed theirs, several guests who prepared lovely meals and invited me to join them. 

[Helen3]

My experience is the same as Sarah’s.

My house rules restrict kitchen use to between 7 am to 10 pm and that works fine.

Been hosting for five years and haven’t had any issues with messy guests and had some lovely meals cooked for me. 

[Kira32]

@Helen3  trust me it's a different story if you would rent out more then 1 room. That's why at the moment this is a perfect solution for me : )

[Helen3]

Actually previously I listed two rooms like you do @Kira32 and didn't have any problems then either.

And absolutely host in a way that works for you. We are just pointing out we are in a similar situation to you and haven't experienced the issues you have re use of bathroom and kitchens.

[Kira32]

@Helen3 

Your room is listed with a higher price rate then mine so actually you are not in a similar situation. I lowered my price because now we have low season on the Island. Your Home is in UK mine in Gran Canaria.  Just pointing out that we are not in the same situation. But thank you for pointing out. 

[Helen3]

@Kira32 wow - I was just trying to help by sharing my experiences with you, which I thought was what you wanted.  You came on here asking for advice but when we offer a different experience  with our guests,  you just negate it by saying our properties are different.

My listing  compared to others in the city is very much at the cheaper end of the range as I live in the inner city. Price differences are likely to be because of price differentials between our countries.

[Kira32]

@Sarah997  Im happy for you that you are doing so well for yourself. Keep up whatever you are doing!

[Sarah977]

@Kira32  I think this disrespectful guest kitchen use has everything to do with the location of your listing and the type of guests it attracts, not necessarily with anything the host does or doesn't do. Obviously, respectful, mature people clean up after themselves in a shared kitchen, and don't bang around in there in the middle of the night. That's not something anyone should have to be told, it's just good manners.

I only host one guest at a time, so that helps, and I tend to get a lot of guests in their late 30s to as old as 65 or more. More than half are women. But if a host tends to get a lot of young guests who are used to mommy cleaning up after them, or live like pigs at home, sharing a kitchen could be way more problematic. 

And there are some cultures where people just assume that the hotel staff, and by extension their Airbnb host, is there to clean up after them. 

I don't know what it's like where you are, but here in Mexico, domestic help is inexpensive, so a lot of middle-class kids here grow up with maids. And it's a culture where housework is still considered a woman's (mom's or the maid's) job. These kids have never had to wash a dish, let alone clean the greasy stovetop or wipe up what they spilled down the front of the counters.