Changing sheets for long stays?

[Pete69]

When someone books for a certain number of days is it customary for guests to say after a week or so "Hey, would you change out our sheets while we're gone for a few hours"? Just wondering what to expect when I book a longer staying guest.

[Sarah977]

@Pete69   Well, you'll get hosts who think guests should get clean sheets every 3 days (which seems over the top to me), some who say a week, and I've even read some that say every two weeks (which I also think is a bit much, altho I often go that long on my own sheets, but I'm not a paying guest). 

I never wait for guests to ask, I think it's the host's job to offer. I offer clean sheets and towel sets at the week mark. I ask them if they would like me to make up the bed, but most of my guests say they will do it themselves.

I alter the schedule to fit the length of booking, so if a guest is here for 10 days, I'll offer clean sheets at the halfway mark, 5 days, because it seems silly to offer after a week, if they only have 2 or 3 more nights left.

And I tailor it to fit individual needs as well. I had 2 guests this year who were each sick in bed for a day. I know when I've ever been sick, rolling around groggy and sweaty in bed all day, I would want fresh sheets in the morning, so I definitely offered them, regardless of which day of their stay it was, and they were gratefully accepted.

That said, lots of my guests who stay for 10 days or so have said they didn't need clean sheets at all. Now, I only host solo travelers, so it's not like they're sharing a bed with anyone or having sex romps, so their sheets stay pretty clean. But you may find all your guests wanting clean linens after a week.

Some hosts simply tell the guests that they come in once a week to vacuum and change the sheets at a time that suits the guest- this gives the host an opportunity to make sure the guests are not being total pigs in there, with food laying around attracting cockroaches or rodents, staining or damaging things and so on.

[Elizabeth429]

@Pete69,

If they are staying more than a week, you could leave spare bed linen and towels. But if they are staying longer than that they should do their own laundry unless the guests are paying for weekly cleaning services

[Catherine827]

Hi @Pete69, like @Sarah977 I custom linen needs, depending on the travelling group and length of stay. If under five days, one set of sheets - but let them know if there’s an emergency, where they can have a change. I always leave a full change available for a cot if an infant is in the group.(including mattress protector)

Also like @Elizabeth429, I leave spares, mainly hand towels and floor mats.For example if staying 8 days, at the half way mark I leave a change of sheets and towels for them to access in the laundry, if they want them. I state this face to face, and use the Airbnb messages to document it. “Just a follow up from our conversation this morning....”  that way, they cannot give a bad review for not having access to sheets earlier then agreed.

Only on a rare occasion have I offered to change the bedding for them, for if they’ve booked the space, it is not “mine” to access during that time.

They usually are very happy to do it them selves. If away overnight touring, I may on agreement, go in and changeover towels or the like. But I’m not a hotel chambermaid, nor do I price that way...... 

However, my space has two bedrooms and is a completely separate guests suite.

By the way, even when I’ve left extra linen, it is not always accessed, but it should be available. 

Communucate well, and everything will be fine.

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Pete69

I think it really depends - I usually host a single exchange student (1 semester = 4 months) and so I compete with dorms that usually do not provide bedding/towels/amenities or students can "rent" (low threadcount) bedding at additional cost but students are responsible for all laundry. So we state in our listing that we change bedding/sheets every 2~3 weeks (but almost always between 12~14 days, and during summer usually between 8~10 days) and we've had no complaints yet. When we get a new guest we usually check the first couple times after about 7~8 days if they want sheets changed or they are okay with the 2 week change cycle. All have said 2 weeks is perfectly fine. 

I think there are some climate and personal hygiene factors in play, but this is how often Henry and I change our sheets. Henry and I like to "air" the bedding every couple days and use a lint roller to pick up stray hair and dust so unless someone goes to bed sweaty and dirty we are usually fine and we do the same for guests. We state in our description that when the guest is absent we will occasionally enter the guest room & bath to empty trash, open/close windows and "air" the bedding, check amenities, and do a quick vaccum. 

One of the reasons we do this is because Henry and I prefer to handle the laundry of sheets, beddings, and towels directly to make sure they are washed to our standards. So we handle all sheet changes and usually let our guest know that "we'll be changing the sheets sometime within the next couple days" which is code for don't leave personal items on the bed or on the floor if possible 🙂 since we make it clear we try hard not to disturb any of their personal items when we have to do any housekeeping activities. We factor in the cost of what we provide into our nightly/monthly rate. 

I agree with @Sarah977 that this is also a good way to make sure the guest doesn't have any food lying around in the room and nothing is festering under the bed.