Managing Guest Expectations

[Papaya0]

Hi Hosts.  I am brand new to the community and am currently hosting my 2nd guests (5 nights).  My 3rd guests arrive in 3 days (6 nights).  I have a question about managing varying guest expectations.  I realize every guest has different expectations and previous experiences, but how do you handle this?  Our first guests gave us a 5-star rating, but in the private comments said more toilet paper and kitchen sundries (dishwasher tabs, more papertowel, etc) would have been nice, even though they didn't use all of the toilet paper we left them (8 rolls for 4 people for 6 nights) and we started them out with 2 rolls of papertowel and 2 dishwasher tabs.  

So for our second guests we left PLENTY of toilet paper and paper towels, as well as 10 dishwaer tabs, new cleaning sponges, etc and a $10 gift card to the nearest store for items we mave forgotten (on top of leaving all of our guests a large gift basket with gourmet food items).  But then the 2nd guests messaged me their second night and said they had a towel shortage and needed more, even though we left 6 bath towels (for 4 people) and 6 spa towels for hot tub use.  And the house has a brand new clothes washer & dryer, which we have provided ample detergent and fabric softener for the entire stay.  

Should I be providing them with everything they will need for their entire stay, except food? Or just get them started?  And how many towels should I be providing?  Shampoo/conditioner/soap, etc?   

I imagine part of the answer is in the level of the accomodations.  For a high-end/expensive rental there are higher expectations....but I'm not quite sure I have figured out how that translates into what I do and don't provide and how much.  

Any feedback would be much appreciated.  

P.S. I have only ever personally done airbnb in Europe, and only twice. I found the provided towels/sundries/amentities to be bare minimum and low to mid grade quality, so I have limited personal experience to pull from.  

THANKS.

[Jeet0]

Hello @Papaya0,

Welcome to the world of hosting 😄

That's a really tricky question and important at the same time. We all have faced various types of guests with an array of expectations. What you are providing right now is good. I think 6 towels for 4 guests is more than sufficient and as you said, you aren't managing a high-end, super-luxurious resort, so that's fine. Also, it's awesome that you provided the $10 gift card, not many hosts do that.

My property falls between low cost to mid range in my area and I provide basic toiletries (Shampoo sachet, tiny tooth paste, conditioner sachet, hand sanitizer, liquid hand wash and a tiny bathing soap). This I started doing after a guest suggested me to, earlier I would only provide a hand wash. Toilet papers, tissue papers are present in excess and for 6 guests I provide 8 towels, 8 blankets, a welcome drink (or a bottle of soft drink in the fridge in case I don't get time to make the juice) and sometimes fresh fruits. I also added a basic first aid kit on a guest's suggestion. Most guests are happy these supplies. However some tend to have unrealistic expectation in comparison to the amount that I charge. One of the guests wanted me to arrange a BBQ and a bon fire in my garden for his kids, I mean, that's sounds like a great plan, but immpossible at the same time for me, so you need to ignore some suggestions. 

Another instance is of a guest requesting me to open the terrace and have a candle light dinner arranged for them with a portable dining table and big umbrell for their anniversary. It's sometimes funny how some people come with such high expectations. (It rains very heavily during monson in our area and often there are storms so we restric access to the open terrace.)

To conclude, it totally depends on you upto what extent you'd like to go to offer the best experience for your guests. As time passes and as you recive more feedback from more guests, you'll have a clearer idea. I always highlight the fact that guest feedback is the key, so make sure you always follow up and listen to what your guests have to say. Few will come with such suggestions that you'd be stunned, you can mostly ignore those but most guests are considerate and aware what they are paying for.

Happy hosting Papaya 🙂

Jeet

[Papaya0]

Thanks for your response, Jeet.  It helps me to accept that you can't please everyone 100% of the time, but to also understand that I am on the right track.  I appreciate your feedback.

[Stephanie6]

Hi Papaya, I think you are supplying a good amount - and you did get a 5-star review!

We stock the apartment with one set of towels per guest (bath sheet, hand towel, and wash cloth) and most guests stay less than 4 nights.  In California we have been in a drought, so we have a note on the mirror asking our guests to conserve water.  Also, towels do dry quickly here.  No one has requested extra towels (there is a washer/dryer available too).  We also use two different colors of towels so that it is easier for each guest to know which one is theirs.  You may want to provide one towel per person, so there is no issue with some guests in a group getting to use 2 towels and others having to use only 1.  

We provide shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner.  Most everything is from costco.  We stock 2-3 rolls of toilet paper in each vanity, 1 roll of paper towels in the kitchen, zip lock bags, foil sheets, and 10+ dishwasher tabs (at least one per day).  We also provide a welcome gift of locally sourced flowers, fresh ground coffee, tea, organic half-and-half, fresh fruit (2 per guest), chocolate candies, and a crunchy snack (nuts, chips, or cookies).  The welcome gift is $30-40 for 2 guests.  I would not bother leaving the $10 gift card.

[Papaya0]

Hi Stephanie.  Thanks for your suggestions.  I think the idea about "color-coding" guests towels is fantastic.  And i'm happy to hear that we are not totally off the mark.  Though we do provide starter/travel-size shampoo & conditionaer, I do like the idea of Costco size.  But otherwise it sounds like we are doing all the right things.  Thanks for the feedback.  It's funny because we find ourselves doing a little more  for each guest...chasing the 5-star review, I suppose!  We have an executive and his family staying this week and they have a 15-month old daughter, so we left sanitized toys for her, assembled the crib, left kid utensils, plates, baby monitor, etc.  And we even bought a present for her from our daughter to theirs.  Perhaps I make it too personal sometimes and get caught up 😉

Thanks again for your feedback.

[Erin33]

Do you feel comfortable letting guests use your hot tub?  I was thinking of letting guests use it but maybe an additional cost for the amount of time cleaning and chemicals I will need to increase.  With just two of us we don't have to change the water as often, but will after guests.  Just wondering.  I am very new to this.

[Papaya0]

Hi Erin, welcome to hosting!
We do feel comfortable letting guests use our hot tub, despite the very high cost of maintainance (and the need to provide additional pool towels). This is partly due to the fact that we rarely use it ourselves, so we don't see it as a huge inconvenience to us personally.
We have also advertised it in our listing & feel that we need to have it available given the high nightly rate (in the winter, at least).
I don't think you have to offer use of your hot tub, especially if it's a huge inconvenience & high cost. But I would warn you that if it is in your listing (I wasn't able to see your listing), make sure it's available & functioning. We had a situation where one time our sauna wasn't working (waiting for a part on back order) & the guests wanted a 10% discount.
Hope this helps! Good luck!

[Laralyn0]

So, 5 guests, 2 evenings and 1 day stay... I left 3 rolls of toilet paper and they ran out.   My husband and his kids are hogs with the tp and they wouldn't even go through that many rolls in less than two days...?  I personally try to conserve and thought it would be enough; I was wrong.  So is there an equation that works best for determining this?   guests X days= rolls?  I'm trying to provide enough within reason.  I find that much extra just gets taken at checkout like I'm a supply house. 

[Kristin53]

Wow! There's no way 2 people used all that TP in a 2 night stay! 

Typically, if something like that arises you can say that the procedure for your cleaning staff is to stock

1 roll per person for every 6 days = 2 rolls per couple for every 3 nights. And even this formula is generous!

Hope this helps! 

[Kristin53]

Hi,

I've been managing my Airbnb for about 6 months now and I haven't had any problems with running out of items.

I leave mini shampoo, conditioner, lotion, body wash but the Costco-sized bottles will probably be more practical.

As for paper towels, I usually leave 1 roll for a 5 day stay for 2 people.

Toilet paper, I leave 2 rolls for a 5 day stay for 2 people. 

Towels, I leave 1 per person for every 3 days.

As for extra ammenities, I tell my guests that they are welcome to any of my condiments, teas, coffee, etc. and also provide them with lists of my favorite rooftop bars, breweries, coffee shops, etc. 

I also leave a bottle of dishwashing soap, a bottle of dishwashing detergent and clorox wipes under the kitchen sink and a bottle of laundry detergent under the bathroom sink.

As for replenishing linens, unless that's part of your cleaning policy, I say they need to wash them themselves (if it's a short stay, i.e. less than a week.) Most reasonable people would. I also don't like bring extra supplies that they don't "need." An Airbnb is different than a hotel and some guests don't understand that. 

It does sound like you go above and beyond though! Great job!

[Kylie20]

My apartment only sleeps 2 people. I don't see the need to be frugal or budget out the toilet paper.  The cupboard in the bathroom where I leave the TP takes 8 rolls plus one on the holder making 9 rolls in total. So - even if there is only 1 guest for a 2 night minimum stay - I just make sure that the loo paper is fully stocked or near enough.  No one wants to be caught short or having to think about loo paper on their sight seeing tour. 

I don't provide paper towells. I guess I never think of them because we don't use them at home. People do leave rolls of paper towells in the apartment which eventually get used up but it can take a while.