Disrespectful guests in regards to housekeeping measures?

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William-and-Carlos0
Level 2
West Palm Beach, FL

Disrespectful guests in regards to housekeeping measures?

We are at wits-end with an increasing number of guests seemingly assuming, since they paid a cleaning fee, they have no responsibility in taking care of the condo. We are diligent in providing our guests with an attractive, meticulously clean, and fully stocked residence, at a cost much greater than our cleaning fee.

Yet, all my measures to encourage guests to follow through and respectfully return the condo have not worked.

 

This seems to have become much more troublesome this year (2021), and there seems to be a difference between guests from AirBNB versus VRBO... We are seriously considering withdrawing from hosting short-term rentals, more because of the disrespect... Does AirBNB make an effort to demand guests to be more attentive to the care of the residence?... What measures have other hosts found to be effective?

1 Best Answer
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@William-and-Carlos0  Another host here, @Emilia42, recently posted a link to Airbnb's published "Guest Reliability Standards," which includes:

  • Cleanliness: Guests should not leave the listing in a state that requires excessive or deep cleaning (ex: with soiled carpet, moldy dishes, excessive trash, etc.). Cleaning fees are only meant to cover the cost of standard cleaning between reservations (ex: laundry, vacuuming, etc.).

 

I'm considering printing out the whole thing, which can be found here:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2894/guest-reliability-standards

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21 Replies 21
Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

@William-and-Carlos0 "Does AirBNB make an effort to demand guests to be more attentive to the care of the residence?" Airbnb makes zero demands of guests, which is part of the reason why guest behavior is deteriorating. Careful vetting of guests helps, and being willing to decline a guest if you think they will be trouble. Some hosts forgo the separate cleaning fee and build it into the nightly rate. Mileage will vary with that tactic.

Thank you for your reply... I was afraid that adding a cleaning fee to the rate would push our rate out of the competitive range, but it may be worth the chance... thank you

Debra48
Level 10
Los Angeles, CA

Refuse to accept guests who have not been reviewed previously and favorably by other hosts.

Airbnb doesn't show information on the guest until after they have made the reservation, and if then you reject them, the dates are blocked out for further availability.

Lenore22
Level 10
California, United States

In our pre-check-out message, we explicitly mention that the cleaning fee pays to launder the linens and disinfect all areas for the next guest and that we keep it low by making sure the property is left as they found it. We then list the items we expect them to do:

-start dishwasher

-empty trash

-leave the beds as they are

-towels in bathtub

-let us know if anything is broken/missing. 

 

 

Our similar efforts have not worked at all.

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

@William-and-Carlos0I will add that I have encountered mostly tidy, respectful guests throughout this pandemic. I charge a modest cleaning fee for my 3 bed listing, and don't expect anything of guests at check out, other than to put their used towels in the laundry room tub and check that they have everything. Maybe keeping it simple for guests has helped, but I do also put a lot of effort into vetting guests, and attracting good ones/discouraging sketchy ones.

@William-and-Carlos0   I like the approach shared by @Lenore22  -  a short checklist of easy tasks for the checkout date that make it clear to guests what's expected of them without making the departure stressful. You never really know what someone else's idea of "clean" is, so the more specific the better.

 

I've never found a stable correlation between cleaning fees and the way guests treat the home. Some people believe that the fee means they don't have to do any cleaning at all; others wouldn't dream of leaving a mess behind no matter how much you charge. In practice, it makes your rate less competitive for bookings of just a night or two but has little impact on longer term stays. 

Airbnb doesn't care what kind of guests we get. I recently had one that checked out, and left the front door wide open. Closing the door behind you is the most basic of etiquette if you ask me and they couldn't even do that.  

I am having this issue with a guest now. I live in my home and my current guest leaves my front door unlocked every time he comes or goes. Literally anyone can walk into my home while I am sleeping and it is driving me insane. If I report him and ask him to leave they are going to ask me to fully refund him right?

@Elizabeth2252  Terrible.  They would probably refund at least the unused nights.  I guess the question is - is it worth your peace of mind?

Karol22
Level 10
SF, CA

Definitely set your cleaning fee higher if you need to pay additional turnover for your audience. Or, you can set an automated message before the day of their checkout for them to place their trash in your provided bins. Airbnb doesn't make these demands on guests by default because there are hosts who handle everything. Some hosts price this into their cleaning fees to cover cleaning staff to deal with this. If you don't want to offer this, that's fine, just put it in your house rules and place it in your automated messages for occupants to throw their trash away before leaving - I do exactly this.

Lorna170
Level 10
Swannanoa, NC

@William-and-Carlos0   More and more guests are treating Airbnb accommodations like hotel rooms where the maid will take care of any mess left behind.  Your condos are lovely, but very likely perceived as “you can afford to clean up after us”. I increased my nightly rate and my cleaning fee and asked nothing of my guests beyond leaving wet towels in the shower.  I have a priceless housekeeper who benefits greatly from the increased fee as it is double her regular rate.  The increased night rate brings better guests and more money in my pocket. 

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

@William-and-Carlos0 guests have definitely far more demanding, disrespectful and petty. I charge a cleaning fee and they expect absolutely everything their home kitchen would have on hand as well as not to move a finger when they leave. It has been most frustrating.