@Lulu81
Yes, I was pretty shocked at how stained guests left my towels especially (and also sometimes the linens). I do wonder if they do that at home. I doubt it, because they would then be having to replace them, although a lot of those guests are quite young, so maybe they are used to someone else doing their laundry. I mean, who does this at home??
However, the only stains I couldn't get out were some weird black ones. I think it was actually black shoe polish (too large to be mascara) but the guests were so nice, I cant believe they would have used my brand new set of towels to polish their shoes!
The peroxide + cold water works on blood, but I've also found Shout spray on stain remover to be effective on most stains and dishwashing liquid is good for getting rid of greasy ones, especially on coloured or delicate fabrics you don't want to use strong chemicals on.
I started putting packets of inexpensive (but for sensitive skin) make up wipes in the room and I stick a little label on them asking guests to please use them instead of towels. It seems to have done the trick. I very rarely get make up stains on towels now, not even the washcloths.
RE early check ins, I used to be really accommodating about this in the beginning and it was no trouble with some guests, but I had far, far too many guests taking advantage of this, e.g. asking to check in early and then leaving me waiting for hours or saying they just wanted to drop off bags and then refusing to leave when I was still in the middle of cleaning. Since then, I have become really strict about it and I remind every guest when they book that they need to specify an arrival time within the check in window. I will make exceptions, but only when it is convenient for me and the guest asks very nicely. Checking in eight, nine hours early is an absolute no.