Experience with guests

[Sergei--and--Larina0]

We charge $ 34 per night for the room with fully equipped kitchennete  and shared bathroom.It takes about 4-5 hours for me and my husband to clean and prepare place for the next guest. Most of the times all beddding is covered by oil or cream which is impossible to wash ,so the bedding is ruined and good for garbage. Almost after every guest we find new dents in a drywall and it seems like we will have to repaint the whole place and it was painted less than a year ago.I was reading other hosts cleaning and hosting tips and was astonished by high standards and wondering if all standards ,expectations and freebies are present,why travellers are still fall for cheapest price and than complain that it was not an Executive Lounge.Sometimes it feels like throwing  AIR in the air,it takes so much time  and effort for so little  remuniration and at the end after some sour reviews it feels not financially nor emotionally rewarding .I do not know what to do.

**[Title Update]

[Ginger26]

Hi Sergei and Lorina,

Four to five hours to clean one bedroom & bath? Is it due to your neat-nik-ness or the caliber of your guests?

Re-evaluate your price and your guests! $34 per night is much, much too low unless you know them.  You are catering to a population that puts holes in the wall, and you are not hearing the damage being done? Doesn't respect your linens, etc? Have a care for your own safety in a shared situation. 

Educated travelers don't usually fall for the lowest prices. Normal guests don't put holes in drywall. People with no emotional control or on drugs do. Sounds like you are catering to riff-raff. Perhaps you have a "No-tell Motel" you have not recognized?

Have a security deposit of at least $500. Put notice of the consequences in your house rules and take action upon their departure and your discovery of a rules violation. Include specifically that you will report and collect damages for ruined linens. (Supply them with extra colored towels you don't care about, to put down to at least try to comply with your rules). When something happens, charge them immediately thru Airbnb's "restitution/resolution" system. Give them a bad review and tell Airbnb why in details in the private section. Tell your guests in your house rules that you will give them a bad review if they don't leave the place in good condition and clean up after themselves in your kitchen. 

I like to serve the poorer population. They are lovely and appreciative. I've had enough experience to detect cons through initial correspondence and lack of believable background and verifications.  Don't take a last minute guest ever unless they have great reviews you feel you can trust. Airbnb doesn't have time to vet their credit card. 

Catering to the rich is not my style. There's hotels for that. Yes, some expect the moon and leave a detailed review of complaints of no import, revealing they never read the house description nor the house rules. It's also clear to anyone reading their review, that the writer is crazy. I discourage them by describing the space and neighborhood accurately.

Describe your homestyle and property. "Rustic", "barebones but squeaky clean", "old but loved", "not matchy matchy, we recyle", "middle class", etc. It's ok. Be honest, for example, call your block a "blue collar neighborhood where folks go to bed early - no parties and no loud noise allowed". Describe it's diversity. That's enough to keep some rich and poor folks, of a certain ilk, away.  And flat out state that if someone is expecting the Hilton, your place is not that.

Good luck,

Ginger

[Sergei--and--Larina0]

Thank you for support and smart tips.We are definitely going to use them

[Edwin57]

First we do a walk through we start from the floor look under the bed left mattress and look at the doors for finger prints pluse the walls calling and light switches and so on now we proce to the barthroom, then the kitchen ,we look behind pitcher fram, every thing else is easy going onec you have a good routing 

1) my Dad and I do a walk through first

2) s&b cleaning services inc comes 

3) we do a walk through again 

So far everything runs smooth is just a matter of haveing responsibilty

[Lizzie]

Hello @Sergei--and--Larina0

Thanks for sharing you thoughts here in the Community Center. I am sorry you are having a hard hosting time, I do hope it gets better for you and remember you are not alone you have a whole community of other hosts here.

I see you have received some replies and I wanted to make sure you have seen them.

Lastly, I hope you don't mind, to make it easier to find your post I have made it into a new topic here in the Hosting board, I hope this fine with you.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Matthew285]

@Sergei0 & Larina, I am now wondering if I am being too quick in my cleaning.

We have a 1 bedroom apartment with a bathroom, full kitchen, and living room with sofabed (which often needs changing) and it takes me only 1 hour to maybe 2 hours tops to clean everything (including changing linens, wiping down kitchen, vacuuming, mopping, and scrubbing every surface in the bathroom.) 

I'm not sure what I would do with 4-5 hours of cleaning from 2 people.

Could you perhaps list the tasks you do in that time to prepare for the next guest?

[Sergei--and--Larina0]

our cleaning routine:

1.clean  the microvawe and cover

2.clean the fridge

3.check and wipe all drawers in a kitchen and cupboards as there might be all sort of crumbs.

4.check and clean cups and all other kitchen utensils if necessary because sometimes guests do not really wash them

5.wipe all dust from the tops of kitchen cabinets,windows ,shelves,wardrobe,computer desk,chairs,electric fireplace and behind.

6.clean under kitchen sink and clean all recepticals

7.move table,chairs,couch,bed(sometimes fully,sometimes partially ) to vacuum and wash the floor

8.change tablecloth and towels,linens of cource washed

9.we have stickies to catch spiders and other crawlers-check them too

10.wash and polish kitchen sink and faucet

11.polish kitchen doors

12.scrab the shower and polish chrome details and faucet,same with bathroom sink

13.toilet washed inside and outside

14.floor of the bathroom washed,carpet vacuumed

15 .shelves in a bathroom dusted,mirrors polished

16. same in the entrance area-floors washed,carpets vacuumed,mirrors polished

17. not always-clean pictures and picture frames

18 .always -wash all floor trims-thy always dusty

19 .a lot of times guests leaving stains and marks on the wall-wash them too

I think it is more or less we do to prepare for guests

20 .odd timed I wash windows and kitchen hood

may be I am slow

9.

[Sarah977]

I have to think you're a slow cleaner @Sergei0 & Larina. I vacuum and wash down every square centimeter of the bedroom and bathroom (moving furniture, vacuuming the underside of the bed), change the bedding, put out clean towels and stock toilet paper, and put out a little bouquet of flowers in an hour and a half.

I also have a 3 night minimum stay as it's not worth my time to clean for less than that.

If I had to do a kitchenette as well, it would take me another half hour, max, unless everything was covered in grease and they hadn't washed their dishes.

[Sergei--and--Larina0]

I agree,3 nights minimal stay would be ideal.We are located in suburbs with a very quiet winter time and a lot of snow,so we take  almost any type of guests and of course we do not do such an elaborate cleaning every time.Thank you for sharing!