Longterm Guest Requests

[Julieta9]

Hello -

I am a newer host (less than a full year) and I have had two seperate long-term (over a month) guests in my home.  I have a few questions and hope to get feedback.  See below and thanks in advance.

1. The first long-term guest did not shower daily (or let water hit his body) and he had bad body odor.  He remained in the room with the door closed mostly and when he departed the room wreaked of body odor.  I had to febreeze, throw away linen, have the carpet cleaned and finally painted the room to get the odor out.  I have now included in the rules that daily showers are required.  Question: would you tell a guest about bathing if you notice they are not taking showers?

2. The second long-term guest is still here.  She has requested I purchase white bath towels because she does not like to use color towels.  I told her, "no" and explained the bathroom towels were purchased to match the decor' of each guest room.  Question: Would you purchase towels for guests that they want?

3.  I have food staples I provide guests as a courtesy: eggs, yogurt, water, juice, fruit.  The longterm guest ate all of the courtsey items in addition to eating their own foods that they purchased and then requested I purchase more of the courtsey items and requested specific "yogurt flavors."  Question: Do you continue to purchase the courtsey food items for long-term guests?

4. The guest will grab a glass, drink water from it and place it in the dishwasher.  An hour later, she returns and does the same thing.  In the course of a day, the dishwasher accumulates anywhere between 6-8 glasses from her "habit."  I found myself running my dishwasher 4 times in one week which is ridiculous. Question: Do you mention to the guest the glass may be used for more than one time of drinking water?

5. The second long-term guest is not fond of dogs (which she was clearly aware a dog is in the home -- a yorkshire terrier).  My dog does not go near her if she does not engage him.  She has taken a liking to him and will call him, go pet him, but the moment he goes to sit beside her, she looks at me and says, "get him. he is beside me. I don't like that."  Question:  Would you tell the guest to leave the dog alone?

6. Both long-term guests always questioned where I am going when I leave the home or where I was when I return.  I do not mind interacting with guests but I think the long-term begin to feel we are more "roommates" than them being a renter.  I do not question their coming and going.  Question:  How would you respond to these types of inquiries?

Your feedback is appreciated.

[Huma0]

@Julieta9, some interesting questions here. I think a lot of these things are down to host preferences. You need to decide what kind of host you want to be (e.g. very social with your guests, or just on hand should they need anything) and what extras you want to offer, bearing in mind the prices you are charging. Then, make all of it clear in your house rules. When a guest requests a booking, ask them (in writing on the Airbnb system) to confirm they have read the rules and agree to them. I know in theory they are agreeing to the rules when they book, but I fear a lot of them don't read them unless you really make a point of it. That way, they know what to expect and what kind of behaviour is not okay.

1. This is a tricky one as it's so personal. My mother had a guest stay who she says did not shower for a month and never washed her clothes. I can only begin to imagine what her room smelled like! It's hard to tell someone how often they should wash. Do you offer any kind of cleaning/linen/towel change during long term stays? I tell anyone who is staying two weeks or more that I will go in to clean their rooms after a week and offer fresh linens. That way you can keep an eye on things. Telling the guest that the room doesn't smell very fresh and the linens seem a bit dirty is easier than telling them they themselves are smelly and dirty! You could perhaps point out that if they can't keep it in better condition, they may have to pay for a professional deep clean and replacement linens.

2. Your second guest sounds very demanding and a total pain. No, I would not provide new towels to suit each guest's colour preference. If she is so picky about it, she should have brought white towels with her.

3. If the price you charge allows for purchasing more courtesy food for the guest, fine, but if it is only meant as a one off, I would mention in future that the food is a 'welcome gift to tide you over until you've have had a chance to settle in/go to the shops'.

4. I put a carafe of fresh water and a glass in the guest room just before a guest arrives and point it out to them. I find then that they usually don't grab a new glass each time. Most buy their own bottled water or refill the carafe from my filter tap. Again, I think your guest is a bit high maintenance. I tell all guests that they can put things in the dishwasher, but they never do. They almost always wash what they use by hand and I don't need to worry about it. Leaving lights on is another matter though...

5. Next time she complains that the dog is beside her and asks you to take him away, politely explain that he is only doing it because she was engaging with him earlier. Tell her if she doesn't want him to sit beside her, it's better if she leaves him alone entirely.

6. This just sounds like your guests are making conversation. If they are asking in a friendly way, I think it's quite normal. I often ask guests if they've been out and about sightseeing etc. what they've been up to. They usually seem to like it if I show an interest, and it helps me to find out what things they like seeing/doing so I can make tailored suggestions for them. If, however, you feel like you are being interrogated by your guests, or there is some kind of assumption that you shouldn't be going out but rather staying in to be at their beck and call, that is quite different. If that is the case, just say in a bright and breezy fashion, "Oh nothing exciting. I've just got some errands I need to run." If you keep responding along these lines, hopefully they will get bored of asking! At the same time, you've been perfectly polite about it.

I had hardly anything in my house rules to start with, just assuming that people would behave in my home in a way I thought was 'normal'. There is no normal, so you need to spell it out. I have added to my rules as I've gone along and experienced different guests and their quirks.

I hope that helps!

[Julieta9]

@Huma0 thank you so much for your feedback! I really appreciate it. I do not want to come off as a difficult host while at the same time, not be taken advantage of.

1. I will definitely update my rules to include the language about changing linen for longterm guests. I tell them verbally and with that particular guest, I requested to wash the linen and towels and he did not want that done but I insisted because to open the door, the stinch slapped me. Yet he bathed and put on cologne when he went out.

2. The guest that is here now, she is showing her demanding side. It is slowly emerging. I will definitely take your advice on speaking to her about my dog. Politely inform her to not engage with him is she doesnt want him beside her because dogs do not understand "sometimes."

3. And I like the water with glass in room. I will do that. She actually purchased a case of water but goes through glasses like papertowels. 

4. I will definitely update my information regarding courtesy food to include language about it being short-term until the guest (longterm guest) has a chance to shop. 

So appreciate you! Thank you!