Emptying Drawers

[Megan262]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to this Airbnb gig! We are renting our own house that we live in out when we are on vacation and I'm wondering how much I need to clean things out. For example - do I need to clean out all nightstand and dresser drawers for our guests? What about the stuff in the refrigerator? What is expected? 

Thanks so much for your help,

Megan 

[Robin4]

Megan-  Hi and welcome to Airbnb hosting.

When you are inviting strangers into your personal home you have to realise it is not like having friends 'house-sit' and you do have to set your house up to accommodate your guests.

Here are a few points that it might be wise for you to consider.

1/. It is not a good idea to put 'post-it' notes all over the place telling guests what they can use and what they can't. Guests get annoyed about that, they have paid you money and you are continually telling them what they can and can't do....not a good look!

You can make up a couple of nice fancy scripted laminated notes for stategic areas like the bathroom so they do not look as though they are a specific guest demand  which could say..... 'Please help leave the bathroom the way you found it'!

Unfortunately I can't at this time show you a sreenshot of what I am talking about but there are nice pleasant ways of doing this.

2/. Guests will need a vacant cupboard to hang long things, and a drawer or two for folded clothes with a 'Guests resource' label on it! Try to re-organise your own things to make sure the guest has this as a minimum. 

3/. If you offer your kitchen in the listing expect that guests will use it. Once again allocate a cupboard for the guest and a shelf in the fridge. If there are things in the fridge you do not wish guests to help themselves to, put baking paper over the contents of that shelf with personal written on it. Most guest will respect that!

I also invested in a cheap roll of plastic bench protector which is sufficiently durable to stop knives from marking the kitchen bench. Although clear, it has a satin finish and does not detract from the appearance of the benchtop....it simply protects it! It cost less than $40 which as I am sure you will appreciate is nothing compared to the cost of replacing a chipped kitchen bench!

4/. If you do not wish guests to use your laundry, lock the door, or if that is not possible buy a power cord lock, pull the washer cord from the power socket and attach the lock. That will then stop guests from using the machine. Once again I would like to include a screenshot of the lock but at the moment that is not possible here!

5/. Someone once said to me when I started hosting..."Don't put anything out in there that you are not prepared to loose"! Put away your personal things and anything that may be of significant value to you and keep other things and ornaments away from accidental damage. Push vases to the back of the shelf, to the centre of the table. Remember that you are used to your space, strangers are not and will be 'clumbsy' in the way they move about. They are not trying to be, it is just foreign to them and accidents will happen.

Look, I could go on and on but experience will be your main guide!

Don't assume anything Megan, if you allow for the worst you will be pleasantly surprised at how hassle free your hosting is. If you you think it will always be a bed of roses you will be disappointed!

I hope this is of help to you.

Cheers......Rob

[Megan262]

Very helpful! Thank you so much! 

[Paul154]

Kind of depends how long they will stay.

For my short-term guests, I clear out the top two dresser drawers and I clear out one closet (and put all my stuff in the other)

 Usually my short-term guests don't use the drawers or closet. Just open suitcases on table.

However at $600/night, as a guest I would want 100% of the refrigerator. You can leave condiments if they are complimentary.

I would also want ample counter and cupboard space. If you leave your food out, I may eat it!

[Sarah977]

I'd definitely leave the nightstands empty. Put away as much personal stuff as posible. Get some big plastic totes to stash your stuff in and pack away in the garage, basement, a locked closet, whatever you have for storage space. People are nosy. Whatever personal things you leave out, you can be fairly sure the guests will be looking through.

[Linda108]

A good way to know how to proceed is to see your place from the guest perspective.  Too much personal stuff is off-putting to most guests.  As recommended, clear out as much as you can and allow the guests to settle in with their stuff.  

When you are out of town on holiday, do you have a local person to address any problems that might arise?  In my city it is required to have a local host which is good for dealing with problems.

[Cathie19]

Hi @Megan0.

@Linda0  @Sarah0  @Paul0  @Robin0 all make valid points.

The bottom line is:

If you don’t want it touched, used or taken, then it means it can’t be seen, or accessed.

therefore:

- remove it

- store it

- secure it 

> lock a room, put things in boxes and lock a cupboard or store in a garage... lock it. Store it with a  friend. Important papers, get a security box and store at the bank. Same for Newell, or get yourself a safe and place in an unexpected place.

If an area is private and out of bounds... lock it, without making it seem intriguing. Make that space off limits and known in your house rules.

Also ensure someone is “hosting” the guests and seeing to any issues arising. Makes them still feel a guest, and might stop too much familiarity from strangers.

Guests need to feel the space is theirs as they are paying for it, but also accountable to your house rules... which need to be specific. Ensure operating  instruction guides for appliances are available for use.

It’s pretty easy to remove clothes from wardrobes and cupboards, but be mindful of personal papers, wifi passwords etc. Maybe create a firewall and create separate passwords for guests. Keep your personal life and electronic footprint safe.

🙂

Cathie

[Cathie19]

Hi @Megan0.

@Linda0  @Sarah0  @Paul0  @Robin0 all make valid points.

The bottom line is:

If you don’t want it touched, used or taken, then it means it can’t be seen, or accessed.

therefore:

- remove it

- store it

- secure it 

> lock a room, put things in boxes and lock a cupboard or store in a garage... lock it. Store it with a  friend. Important papers, get a security box and store at the bank. Same for jewellery and I.T. devices, or get yourself a safe and secure it and place in an unexpected place.

If an area is private and out of bounds... lock it, without making it seem intriguing. Make that space off limits and known in your house rules.

Also ensure someone is “hosting” the guests and seeing to any issues arising. Makes them still feel a guest, and might stop too much familiarity from strangers.

Guests need to feel the space is theirs as they are paying for it, but also accountable to your house rules... which need to be specific. Ensure operating  instruction guides for appliances are available for use.

It’s pretty easy to remove clothes from wardrobes and cupboards, but be mindful of personal papers, wifi passwords etc. Maybe create a firewall and create separate passwords for guests. Keep your personal life and electronic footprint safe.

🙂

Cathie

[Robin4]

Cathie-

Cathie we do have an issue here on the CC at the moment. The computer program that controls what happens here was early last week corrupted and as yet has not been fixed!

If you tag a profile in a return post the person you are tagging is not the person you think you are getting. If you go back uop this page to a post where you tagged three or four of us you will see @ Robin comes up as a Robin in Ashburn Virginia....not me! And the others you tagged are not those contributors you thought they were either. There are a lot of contributors to the CC who are scatching their heads at the moment and wondering why they are getting these message prompts for threads and posts they have had nothing to do with. 

If you wish to tag a contributor you must go back to a post that contributor made before this computer glitch occured and copy their tag from that post and paste it into your current post.

We are all hoping that there is someone at the helm in the programming department that can restore the functionality we had until early last week, but the longer it goes on the more I am convinced they have just thrown their hands in the air and given up!

Maybe @Lizzie can give us an update as to where we stand with this problem at the moment....

Incidentally, I copied Lizzie's tag from a post done 2 months ago and pasted it here so I know it is correct and it will go through to the maestro!

Cheers......Rob

[Kathie21]

In a house that may be accommodating 10 people I would absolutely want the whole refrigerator, including the freezer section Or at least half the freezer section).  And some empty cuboard space for dry goods.   I'm not going to want to have to do food shopping every day because there's not enough room to keep food.