Essential amenities for rustic locations

[Chris1048]

I recently became aware of the new towels & linens requirements : https://www.airbnb.com/hospitality

We have an off-grid cabin in the woods that we rent... we have no running water, an outhouse and the beds are summer camp style... i.e. guests bring sleeping bags... We've had nothing but 5 star reviews... We cleaned the cabin between guests, provide water in 5 gallon jugs, and toilet paper for the outhouse.

We fully disclose this in the description and also msg all renters just after booking informing them about the cabin... We have had some change their minds and thats fine... but we've not had anyone come unpaired for what they find.

We were even planning on adding another rental this year that is a lean-to... more rustic... a three walled building that keeps the rain off but is open to the outdoors on one side...

In a rental like ours providing towels and sheets does not make sense and will cause us to have to reconsider using AirBnB to list our rental. 

Is anyone else in the same boat? what are you planning to do?

[Jeff158]

I'm in the same boat @Chris1048

Camping barn!!!  Argh its a flippin camping barn bring a sleeping bag and towels.

I'm going to look at the camping catagory and call it a pitch, I don't think bedding is required for a pitch lol

I also advertise elsewhere if it gets deleted.

[Chris1048]

We were contacted a year ago from another site that did more camping style rentals... can't remember their name... I tell prospective guests this is glamping... the photos and description tell the story... I'd rather not call it a pitch as I figure that people looking for a campsite are not looking for a cabin and vice versa...

[Gillian19]

@Chris1048 I'm not as rustic as you but I still don't want to be providing towels (I already do linen). I have nowhere to store them, and the additional laundry costs are something guests would prefer not to pay. I have had no issue in over 3 years with people bringing their own towels - it's the norm. I am going to tick whatever amenity boxes Airbnb are enforcing (although having a box that everyone ticks seems to make it pointless having the box). I am then going to tell people in the description and their check in email that they need to bring their own towels. Seeing as most people don't look at the amenities in detail I don't think it's going to be an issue.

[Chris1048]

There should be an option to opt out or just check the boxes for which specific amenities you offer... blanket forcing un-needed amenities is heavy handed and fixing a problem that doesn't exist...

[Fred13]

@Chris1048 Interesting listing.  This passage made me laugh >

   "There is a firepit with benches next to the cabin. We provide the firewood but ask that you keep the fire's manageable... We don't need wood piled 4 feet tall with 10 foot flames." No kidding, cool it with the pyrotechnics. Btw, here we burn mahogany for an outdoor fire, the cheapest wood to use, talking about odd.

[Chris1048]

Our second rental person was a group of four women doing a bachelorette thing...

We have lots of wood stacked up... we hand split 10 cord a year from our 50 acre woodlot... it's mostly ash right now... we harvested 180 trees last year and are going through the treetops... We do not charge for firewood...

they went through a full face cord, had flames easily 10 feet in the air, got incredibly wasted and threw up down the main trail…

We saw them dancing around the fire while stumbling from being so drunk… so we added the two clauses… the one about the fire size and the one about having no problem with drinking but don’t get stupid drunk… it’s seemed to work…. So far

[Fred13]

Good approach. No kidding, crazy bonfires also can start a real fire.

[Catherine881]

I can not provide bedding and towels as well. So far it has been ok but when is this becoming a requirement? I saw a day of July 1 before but it seems that went away and I can’t find the date anymore.  When guests book, I still let them know those are not available. As our place is a cottage and most people come in from the city, it has not been a problem. 

[Lawrene0]

Hey, @Chris1048, I think I have a workaround. Same sort of place here - and I hear you about the campfires! I have adapted a National Forest Service list of guidelines to hang on the treehouse wall. It encourages frugal use of the firewood. Even so, we get the odd guest who, I swear, builds a funeral pyre. 

Anyway, regarding linens: Our guests bring their own sleeping bags, but I do provide pillows. So that's a little linen right there, and I have made two backup sleeping bag liners. Haven't needed them yet, but if a guest points to my forced amenities and asks for sheets, he will be handed a liner. That was a suggestion by another host here in the forum when word first came down that linens and towels would be mandatory.

As to towels, many guests bring their own, since they are hikers, and hikers do that, but I have towels for those who ask. 

So I think you and I can keep doing what we are doing and what works for our places as long as we have backups in place for the sort of demanding guests we don't really want anyway...

[Lawrene0]

Yeah, so I was all zen about this a month ago, but have now installed a mattress and sheets. What changed my mind was staying as a guest someplace else. There is a new screen of questions in the review process. Guests must say yes or no to Did you get bed linens and blankets? Was there a pillow per person? Was there a towel per person? Were you given soap? Was there sufficient toilet paper? Each must be answered before moving on with the review. Guests are the company inspectors for the mandatory essentials. 

So backup sleeping bag liners are not going to do the trick. I was dead wrong. Sorry. 

[Michael460]

This issue also applies to me.  I emailed support and asked if I would be delisted for not fulfilling this requirement  the response I received is utterly nonsensical and, while it does say I won’t be delisted, it also makes vague references to what’s going to happen after July 1.

 (Hmm, I am getting an error message saying I am not allowed to attach my screen shots. Support message also seems preordered so I can’t copy paste. Can anyone help me with this? I will edit my post with the support reply as soon as I  get input from some kind soul on how to post this info with my iPhone. Thanks!)

 I responded to this with questions for clarification on what, exactly, was being sent in the push notification.  I also asked if the guest would be asked to rate me on the “essentials”. I expressed concern about those steps (sending a notification that says I am supposed to provide essentials but that I’m not, or asking guests to rate me on this and potentially making them feel they were entitled to something they didn’t get) and asked how those concerns were going to be resolved without confusing the guest nor affecting my superhost status. 

We will see what they say. 

Has as anyone else gotten any satisfactory responses from support on this issue?