Don't sleep on the sofa

[Carol249]

I have guests who arrive at my two bedroom house who expect to be able to sleep on the sofa. I have now said on my rules: "No extra guests or anyone sleeping on the sofa". But how do I tackle this issue if my current guests go ahead and insist that one of their teenage children on the sofa?

[Christian65]

Hi @Carol249 

Is there a reason for why they can't?

I would simply say that the sofa isn't suitable for sleeping and see how they react? 

For future bookings you have it in your house rules which is good.

BTW Your house looks so nice and how gorgeous the surroundings are!

[Carol249]

Thanks, Christian, for your comment and helpful feedback. This is a newly renovated house and everything is super clean. I can strip the sheets and covers off the beds to provide clean and fresh-smelling bedding for each new set of guests but I can't do that with the sofa. And don't want to do it as there are only a few hours between one set of visitors leaving the house and the next ones arriving. Also, the covers are dry clean only, and as the nearest dry cleaner is a 200-mile round-trip, I don't want to do that mid-season either. I don't provide and sheets or bedding for the sofa. If I wanted more people living in the place I would have provided a sofa bed but decided against that, from a comfort point-of-view, when I was setting it up. It's now in my 'rules' but feel unhappy that the list is getting a bit long. 

[Christian65]

Well it is a nice sofa indeed and I see where you're coming from.

I once had two friends stay and they asked about sleeping on the sofa which I told them was a bad idea and they thankfully chose to sleep together in the bedroom. You'll probably won't have any issues this if you simply explain this to your guests. Just the fact that there aren't covers for the sofa should make them understand.

You shouldn't be put off by a long list in your house rules. I've seen some that exceeds yours by far but you should only think about what's important to you and what your guests needs to know when staying in your beautiful home.

I must say I've seen list and rules that are so extensive its off putting but you could easily add 3 or 4 more rules without hesitation if you would needing so in the future. 

The house rules aren't necessarily read by all but it does help you in case of a dispute between you and a guest and Airbnb needs to be involved.

Where are your guests coming from?

Best of luck

[Carol249]

Thanks again, Christian, and I agree with you about the off putting nature of a long list of rules and also how useful it is to have them in the case of a dispute. These particular guests are from the UK.

[David126]

This seem a seperate listing so how would you manage no sleeping on the sofa?

[Annette76]

Sorry, no help on the sofa issue as I'm not a renter quite yet. I do love both of your listings and have saved both to my wishlist! 

I am renovating the kitchen in my unit and am torn on what to do about the countertop. Butcher block like you have is my most economical option(other than laminate) but I'm concerned about guests staining with wine or burning with a hot pot. Do you find your guests are conscious of the fact that it is wood and need to treat accordingly? 

[Carol249]

Hi Annette, thanks for your interest in my wee house and question about the wooden kitchen surfaces. I painted the counter tops in 3 layers of Osmo oil, a natural, hard-wearing wax finish. 2 layers are suggested and a top-up can be done during maintenance once per per year without much prep. needed. I've left lots of chopping boards and have not had any problems yet. However, I'm in there often between guests and can sort out any problems quickly. Good luck with your renovation.

[Jann3]

@Annette76, butcher block is quite easy to handle: Burns with a light sanding, wine & stains by scrubbing with a brush, salt and hot water. (you would not believe how easy it is to get many stains out). The other thing? A salt-scrubbing also disenfects. (I learned this from the BBC Series "The Farm" and checked it out. It's true.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Carol249 - You have a couple of options:

1. you could charge for the privilege of sleeping on the couch.  We do - an additional $50 per night for the linen, blankets and extra clean up. Most people, when told of the cost, choose to sleep together - even adult children and their elderly parents.  

2. You can be firm and tell them no during the reservation process - can't tell you how many times someone asked if they could sleep on the floor in the guest room - no, no, no.  Of course, we live here and you will have a much harder time policing where people sleep with the private home as @David126 suggests.  That doesn't mean you have to provide bedding.  Your listing clearly states 2 beds and does not list the couch as an option. Once someone has made a reservation, I would ask who is coming and remind them, if the pairings in bed seem dubious, that there are only 2 beds in the home.  

3. Add the option of an air mattress at an additional cost.  If someone wants the extra sleeping space, you could insist on this as the only way and then you can set the bed up as you like.  Again, you can charge for this (post it right in the listing)  .  I would probably say something like: Not sharing a bed?  We insist on providing you with an Airmattress for an additional $xx/night for the extra sheets, blankets, pillows, clean up and set up."  That way anyone reading your listing will be told right up front what you consider acceptable in your home.  

Good luck! 

[Carol249]

Hi Alice and Jeff, your position reads clearly and reasonably.....even the bit about adult children sharing with older parents.  I'm especially pleased to see that you too have been asked to agree to, and refused, awkward sleeping arrangements. My best option is to ask more at the reservation stage and be prepared to probe further about sleeping arrangements for, say, a family of 4; whereas earlier in the year, when the bookings were coming in thick and fast, I was more tentative. Thanks.

[Linda108]

@Carol249  Back to your issue (good counter top info, though), of the teen wanting to sleep on the sofa.  Even though you do not want there to be sleepers on the sofa, is there an alternative you can provide for this guest?  Even a single blow up bed might be good.  I know that is an unexpected investment, but it will ultimately give you more options.

When I started hosting I only had one bedroom and thus hosted singles and couples.  I added a secondary room with twin beds which has allowed me to host a parent and a teen, two couples, unrelated two guest, etc.  I am enjoying the wider range of guests now.

Just a thought...

[Carol249]

Hi Linda, I did think about putting in twin beds, or even bunk beds, at the beginning but really don't really have the space. Glad you're enjoying the variety of people.

[Annette76]

@Carol249 I love the option of adding an air mattress going forward. My place also only has the one bed but I think having a way to host the occasional family or group of three is a great idea. Add the additional per night fee for any group over 2 guests. 

[Ange2]

@Carol249  You could put a crazy amount like $500.00 or more for extra guests after the four (4) that you allow to deter extra people being added to the party without your knowledge. I am not sure how you would stop people from sleeping on the sofa if they have a mind to, maybe offer an airbed at an extra charge if there are two singles who don't want to share a bed and add that information to the 'No sleeping on the sofa rule.