STOVE OVEN WASHER AND DRYER ARE NOT AVAILABLE

[Zacharias0]

So I have that line in my listing at least 4 times in capital letters- STOVE, OVEN, WASHER AND DRYER ARE NOT AVAILABLE. I thought it was over the top but it serves its purpose. It keeps away the homebodies that want to stay with me and sit in the room all day to watch TV, eat meals in the room, dirty the kitchen, run the dishwasher and never leave the house. I had one set of guests like that and never again. I always wondered what they were doing in the room and since that reservation Ive shortened the amount of days you can book with me and limited access in the kitchen to just the microwave. Hotels don't even have coffee makers so I suppose the guest should consider themselves lucky. To the point of my post a guest books a 10 reservation a month ago and today she realized that my listing states they can't use the stove and oven and she cant afford to eat breakfast and dinner outside of the house. Well, this is not my problem. I told her she can cancel and receive 50% of her money back. She ends up keeping the reservation. If youve ever been to Vegas you know its not cheap and 10 days is going to be expensive. If you cant afford a $5 breakfast how are you going to afford 10 days worth of entertainment and playing tourist? Why travel if you can't afford to travel?

[Maria-Lurdes0]

Hi @Zacharias0  I've had those layabout guests as well, and they are a pain.   I remember one set of guests, two lovely (so I thought) young Aussie girls.  They took my clothes out of the washer, left them on the floor, and put their load in. It was after this incident that I decided that's it - no more laundry. I'd already had a few sets of guests run a heavy load, double rinse, extra hot water to wash one t-shirt and two underpants but the clothes on the floor was the final straw.

If I had to save money during a trip and was choosing my economies, I'd rather buy some breakfast bars, a bag of oranges and some bagged croissants than worry about making Eggs Benedict in a rental.

People are weirdos.

[Huma0]

I also put on my listing now that the washer/dryer is only available for guests staying two weeks or more, but lots of short-term guests still ask to use it. They look shocked if I say no, even though it's clearly stated in my house rules which I ask them to confirm they've read before booking.

As airbnb hosts, we have enough laundry to do with all the linen and towels and I need the machine to be available for this. I also don't want them wasting energy putting on a long, hot wash and then even longer drying cycle for a couple of t-shirts. Lastly, I don't want them to keep breaking my machine by leaving items in their pockets, overloading it, forcing the door open before a cycle is finished etc. I've already had the engineer out three times in the past few weeks. No more!

So, I've tried offering to do their laundry for them for a small fee (much less than using a local self service laundrette and buying their own detergent, let alone paying for a service wash), but no, they don't want to pay for it either. They wouldn't get this for nothing at a hotel.

What annoys me most is that the short term guests always want to do their laundry the day before they leave. Why? Can't they do it when they get home? Since when did my house become a free laundrette?

I'm going to get a cupboard door put on the outside of the machine so they can't see it anymore!!

[Helga0]

Hi @Zacharias0, I had those annoying guests that arrive with a 23kg suitcase (a tiny girl maybe weighing 42kg), full of dirty laundry, intending to wash it in Paris on a 2 days trip, or better for me to wash it. I had already a limit of one machine for a five day stay, but that did not deter them. Putting a price on the machine load did. Still got a few who need to wash one pair of socks and one not very sexy underpant and one t-shirt in my glass sink, which is not made for that purpose, and hang all that decoratively from the rafters, to be admired in the kitchen underneath. There is a clothes line in the bathroom, but who would see it over the tub? 

I reduced those somehow with the rule "drying obligatory in the laundromat" and by putting a small wardrobe on the wall beside/over the guest bed. The last two stubborn ones per year may admire their hanging socks and sagging underwear out of my view.

I don't like the lingering guests either, but got rid of them with the rule to be out of the house between 10 am and 5 pm. (Which means sometimes 11 am). I still get guests, less so in winter now, but this January was a few Euros better than last January, without the homebodies who need to heat the room to a temperature that makes me swoon - for the heat and thinking of my electricity bill. The public changed a bit due to the rule: more business travelers and less tourists. Shorter stays. 

But I don't begrudge them the kitchen use. It never was intense in my place, got even less since I raised the price a bit. 

I added breakfast and give them a huge choice, served for tourists, self service for early birds, grab a banana and a package of juice for those catching an early flight or train. If they get a breakfast in a bistro, it's at least a few Euros on the bar, 7 to 10 a bit more copious and sitting on a table. I can provide the items for an average of 2 or 3 Euros, which I added to the price and the visitors feel they made a good deal. From time to time, a hungry kid on a budget will have breakfast and take a snack, but it does not happen often. Maybe 1 in 50 so far. Others make themselves a cup of tea in the evening and one in the morning, feel pleased to have a good tea for free and I'm pleased because it costs me a few cents. For a reason I never understood, tea in the bistro costs 3 times the price of coffee. 

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

just love this statement in your listing: Please keep in mind I do not operate a 5 star hotel, but am opening up my personal home to you. As such you will find that my home like most, is not perfect. Thank you in advance for adjusting your expectations to as if you were staying at a friends house for a few days and not a 5 star resort.

Priceless!  

Personally I think you should just charge more and free yourself of the cheapskates who want everything you offer and then some.