High maintenance guests wanting the Ritz Carlton at a Motel 6 Price

[Ashley611]

Hello everyone!

I'n Ashley, and I am recently new to Airbnb. I have my apartment until the first week of July, and have been primarily staying with my boyfriend before we move out and get a place together. I figured putting my apartment on Airbnb would not only help me pay for rent in an empty apartment, but also help me make some extra cash which it has!

I put my listing up towards the end of March, and got completely overwhelmed with the amount of guests I had booking with me. Tons of one nighters, especially because I live 5 minutes away from LAX. My entire month of April is completly booked, May and June are just about there. I am so grateful... but I have just been at my wits ends when it comes to guests.

1. I had two guests who checked in for 3 nights. I always send out a message to my guests explaining parking, general rules and that I provide orange juice, coffee, tea, milk and bagels. After that, I got a grocery list asking if I could pick stuff up for them, without even being told they would pay me back. I told them no, and that there was a grocery store down the street they could walk to after check in.

I do allow Marijuana in my apartment (since it is California) but I do have a no tobacco policy (i.e blunts and backwoods...). Tobacco just leaves the apartment smelling awful, and it sticks to the walls, furniture, etc. When I explained my rules on smoking (leave the window open at the end of the night so the air filters out. I have been doing that for years. After 3 nights, I went over to go clean and get ready for my next guests, and my apartment just reaked. I was so angry and disappointed that my guests had not listened to my rules, but I also went through almost 3 cans of Febreeze to get rid of the smell. I apologized so much to my next guests but they could have not been more understanding.

2. My second round of guests I thought were my worst ones, but unfortunately that will be #3. These guests got a very 5 star treatment. I have to personally bring my guests inside because I live in a gated complex, but I was away celebrating Easter with my family. My good friend was happy to help and brought them in and everything. They were there for 4 nights.

For my long timers, I do text every morning to make sure everyting is running smooth. She kept telling me everything was great. No complaints, etc. 

On the last day of her stay, I had asked if I could store some luggages from my next guests checking in after her, and if I could come over and do some cleaning while they were gone. She told me that she did not want me in her personal space, as well as the bags. I told her I understood... which brings me to this. This is my apartment... I have the right to go in if I ask, right? Even if the guest is not there?

Anyways, after giving me a hard time about wanting to check out RIGHT at 4pm, I get a text at 12pm that she has checked out. I had asked her why and if she would be coming back and she said no and they wanted to go explore.

Later, she sent me a private message about how my coffee table was sticky (it always has been because I've had it for 4 years) and that my hot tub and pool (that are in my building) were too cold for her. She also told me that she felt pressured to check out early (which I NEVER did) etc. I was just shocked. She booked my place for 70$ a night (got the first 5 bookings deal) and wanted a Ritz Carlton experience? I tried so hard!

3. FINALLY, my worst guests that have been keeping me up all night. I had two girls check in from Utah, spending one night here in LA to go to Hawaii. I was able to store their bags for them, which I personally brought up and carried all by myself and gave them recommendations on where to go spend their time while I wanted for my guests to check out and I could go in and clean.

Naturally, I am a very very OCD clean freak person. I clean all the towels, sheets, etc. I clean my counters twice over, as well as my vanity and my side table in my room. My coffee table is always clean, but it is a bit sticky. I hand clean the floors to the best of my abilities but I have never had a complaint. 

After checking them in and constantly being bombarded with questions and requests ALL night long... I get a huge complaint 4 hours after their stay stating my counters were dirty (and I know they weren't), that my bathroom floor had hair on it (who knows that it could be theirs?), that my coffee table was too sticky and they were so unhappy that they wanted to leave, get a refund and go to a hotel.

I was absolutely dumbfounded. I do not know what these people expect, considering that is all my furniture, and I hand clean everything for 2 hours between stays. I messaged them back apologizing, explaining I clean everything twice over all by myself and they could even check how many cleaning supplies I own in my pantry. I did refund them, and they did leave.

She also told me "my dad owns a management company, I understand the stress but this was unacceptable." Which I did not understand? I am not a hotel... I am a human being giving you a cheap place to stay in one of the most expensive parts of town. I am so sad that I will probably be getting a horrible review for this.

*****

I guess what I want to ask is this.

How do you deal with guests like this? I have avoided giving bad reviews but I am up to my wits end. These guests are expecting way too much.

What can I do to make this process smoother?

If you have any OTHER suggestions, please let me know.

[Emiel1]

@Ashley611 

You have fine reviews. If more then once people complain about a "sticky" coffee-table, solve the problem or remove/replace it. Guests wanting you getting their groceries are taking advantage of you, so you turned this  request down correctly. Do not ask (or enter without asking) a guest private space before check-out time for cleaning purpose. Some guests are better suited to a hotel, let them cancel the reservation themself(!), do not refund more money then the cancelation policy applies, and mention it in the review. Maybe try to get more guests for a longer period (a few nights), it saves you a lot of work and time. According to your reviews you are doing well, so Happy Hosting !

[Sarah977]

@Ashley611   Just sound like typical bad guests, most of it.

But, as @Emiel1 says, do something about the coffee table. I don't understand why it's sticky- I've never had a table get sticky, even if it's old, but either go to a secondhand store and find one that you can replace it with, or get a glass top for it. It's an easy thing to change and not worth getting dinged by guests for.

And if you rent out the place as an entire apartment, no you can't just go in by telling the guest that you are going to, unless there's some emergency situation, like you see smoke coming out, or a water pipe burst. You can ask  the guest if you can go in for some reason, but it's up to them to say yes or no. And  it's not acceptable to get started on cleaning until the guest has left, unless they've overstayed the stated check-out time.

[Ashley611]

Hi @Sarah977  and @Emiel1 !

Well, I’ve had a lot of spills over the last 4 years and my table just won’t “unstick” haha. But, I did some research and found some glass to cover my table with. 

As far as asking to come in and out, this has been a very rare case. I always asks my guests if this would be the case and it’s always been understood. I did understand her point, which is why I never pressure and always say “you are welcome to say no, since this is your space.”

However, I’m just so frustrated by how much effort and time I put in to making their stay great but got beaten down like a horse. 

[Lisa723]

@Ashley611 I agree with everything @Sarah977 and @Emiel1 said. Also, in your shoes I would have a candid friend (or your mom 🙂 ) evaluate the cleanliness of your apartment after you clean it. It's easy to overlook issues that we ourselves are used to or don't see as issues.

You don't have to do things like supply breakfast or otherwise bend over backwards. You just have to provide a clean and well-furnished space and communicate clearly.

I would not allow *any* smoking because it opens the door to *all* smoking, plus for those who don't smoke a lingering marijuana smell may not be much better than cigarette odors. There are plenty of guests who don't need to smoke at all.

[Martin1077]

Guest can do the oddest things. One group found a shorter route to carry bags to the apartment across from the beach in Santa Cruz. They ran a 2x6 across from 2nd floor parking to a rickety stair rail about 10' across and 3' down. There was a 15' drop to concrete flood drain between the parking garage and our building. It could have worked for sliding bags across to a person but that is not how the 'summer people' chose. One of the older guys got up on ledge with a foot on 2x6. Other people loaded him up with bags and stuff. He got 2nd foot on board and started to move the back foot forward. The board slid off from behind heading down followed by the guest and luggage. The man is lucky he didn't break his back, neck, head or other necessary parts..Except on weekends in summer you can double  park with blinkers on Beach St to quickly unload the car. While someone takes the car around back to parking the rest of group can cart the baggage up stairs. The back stairs were an emergency exit from 3rd floor. I understand it is a pain to cart a week of luggage, groceries and stuff you want at the beach but that maneuver was a bit over the edge. Literally and figuratively it was going to end badly. I'm glad he wasn't  severely injured or worse.