Guest staying in home all day

[Phil---Liz0]

I have a query, as we are a Bed and Breakfast should guests stay home all day? We have 2 rooms for guests and one guest bathroom that is cleaned everyday I find it difficult when guests stay at home and I have to leave the cleaning in hope that they will go out, as sometimes I clean and then they decide to have a shower or use the bathroom, I feel bad that the new guests are not getting the clean bathroom when they arrive.

[Gina32]

Yes that's a tricky one. I have one property where I too have three rooms to let and two rooms share a bathroom. Mostly the guests go out and explore and I can freshen up the bathroom and kitchen. Just occassionally guests are a bit different to the usual. 

My suggestion is clean the bathroom whenever suits you. The incoming guests know they are coming to somewhere that will require them to share the bathroom and if it is wet, it should not be a concern. Don't put your self under too much preassure, you'll go mad.

The alternative is put a roster on the bathroom (yes I have stayed at one in Italy like this) you have a designated time in the morning for the bathroom! It does not get cleaned for each guest to use...that is the nature of sharing space.

best of luck

[Sarah977]

@Phil---Liz0  There have been discussions about this before on this forum. The general concensus (and one I agree with) is that the guest has paid for the room- expecting them to be out all day isn't reasonable. People book a room for many reasons- some want to be out and about, taking advantage of all there is to do and see in the area, some may just need a tranquil break from work and busy lives or to recover from some personal difficulty, and want to stay in their room and read or watch movies all day. I know if I were a guest and the host expected me to be out all day, I'd cancel my booking and go elsewhere. One of the attractive things for me about being on holiday is that I don't have to set my alarm to get up for work and can sleep late. I might not get out of bed until 10AM, then have a slow relaxing start to the day, and even if I was going out, might not leave until noon.

As far as the bathroom cleaning goes, I'd suggest you designate a certain time each day when bathroom cleaning is done, make sure you mention that in your listing info, re-iterate it when guests arrive, and post it also outside the door of the bathroom. "Dear guests- to ensure that the bathroom is kept clean for all guests, the bathroom will be unavailable from xx-xx o'clock each day for cleaning time. Thank you for your understanding."

That way, guests can plan when they use the bathroom, will know that they can't decide to take a shower during that time, and you'll be able to get in there and clean on a regular basis without having to try to work around your guests' comings and goings.

[Huma0]

@Phil---Liz0

I know this can be difficult as I have 3.5 shared bathrooms between the four bedrooms in my house (my room and three guest rooms). 

I would simply ask the guest politely, "By the way, do you need to shower or use the bathroom now/later as I'm going to clean it?" If they were planning to, this usually prompts them to get in there and shower before you start cleaning. 

Otherwise, I tend to do the bedroom for the incoming guests first, then clean other areas and leave the bathrooms to last so there's less chance another guest will use them right before the new ones arrive. It doesn't always work, but usually it does. 

If a guest does go in and use it after I've cleaned, I have learnt a 'quick clean' method for the bathrooms to give them another spruce up. If the shower glass is wet, use a squeegee. After that, or if it is already dry, spritz with distilled white wine vinegar and give it a quick rub down with a microfibre glass cloth. Quickly rinse/wipe down any surfaces that aren't looking spotless anymore. I also find disposible anti-bac wipes useful for quickly cleaning the toilet seat etc. Although I obviously clean the toilet bowl properly, toilet tabs in the cistern help to prevent it getting too dirty in the first place. If you don't have time to rub down the shower, then a good quality 'shower shine' spray spritzed onto the wet shower helps a lot.

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  Did you ever find a decent soution for your water-spotted gold fittings?

[Huma0]

@Sarah977

Yes I did! Thanks for asking. I thought I had posted an update on that thread, but maybe I forgot.

The distilled white vinegar works well. I didn't try it at first because the label said not to use it on gold, but I called the manufacturer of the shower and they recommended it. It didn't shift the water marks the first couple of times because they had built up too much, so I had to leave it on for longer, but now it's a quick process:

- Spritz with vinegar and leave while cleaning the tiles, basin etc.

- Wipe with a soft microfibre cloth

- Rinse off vinegar well

- Buff with another clean, dry, soft cloth

Now it's pretty low maintenance and all the gold is sparkly except for the showerhead, because one time I forgot to rinse the vinegar off and left it on overnight. If you leave it too long, it will tarnish the gold. Ooops.

[Huma0]

Well, actually I didn't forget exactly. I still had a weekly cleaner then and spritzed it with the vinegar assuming she would clean the shower rose but she did not! I only realised this when I saw the tarnished gold.

One of the numerous reasons I now do all the cleaning myself.

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  Great that the vinegar works- nice inexpensive solution.

I had a stellar housecleaner for 5 years- she worked for several of us in my area, but she quit on all of us 2 years ago as she was offered a full-time job in a big fancy place (I don't blame her at all- she has 3 kids to support). I've tried out 2-3 other cleaners since then, and none were up to snuff, so have been cleaning my place myself (which I don't have a lot of time for).

But even when I had the great cleaner, I've always done the small guest room and bathroom myself- I was afraid she'd miss something and some guest would leave a review saying there was a dead bug under the bed 🙂

[Huma0]

@Sarah977

It's exactly the same for me! I had a brilliant cleaner for years. To this day, I still have no idea how she cleaned so much so fast. No matter what extra tasks I would throw at her, she still got it done in the same time. I also liked her very much as a person and trusted her implicitly.

However, she sadly had a spinal injury and could not clean for me anymore. I tried other cleaners who were either inefficient or unreliable, or both. I then tried an agency, even though it was more expensive and I'd rather pay the extra money direct to the cleaner. Their cleaners turned out to be generally effective but so unreliable, cancelling very last minute on numerous occasions, which is a nightmare if you have guests arriving. 

So yes, I am back to doing it all myself, even though I don't really have enough time and it is preventing me from doing other very important things. I don't feel like I have much choice though. Whenever a friend recommends their cleaner, that cleaner is already too fully booked to take on my place 😞

[Huma0]

Oh and @Sarah977, like you, even when I had a decent cleaner, I always did the guest bedrooms myself. I need them to be perfect! Occasionally if I was in a terrible rush, I'd ask the cleaner to do the floor in the bedroom, but they wouldn't clean under the bed and other furniture, so that was no good.

Forget about dead bugs. Guests leave all sorts of weird stuff under beds! Used condom anyone? Tampon? I never quite got over Robin's story about the guest who found a used nappy under the bed left by the previous guest!

[Helen427]

@Sarah977@Huma0ahh those lovely compliments about those who have done cleaning for you never go astray. It's a role I did in my distant past and I to this day have no idea how I zapped around so fast and did a sterling job - so I was frequently informed.

I still see some of those who I worked for, others long since passed away who I wish were around to share their fabulous knowledge, alas much about them and their relations in thankfully tucked in my trusty PPNZ website and it brings back fond memories of the stories they shared when alive about there long gone ancestors.

Meanwhile my lips are sealed as to the secrets that I was trusted with as one's home is one's inner sanctury where we are all entitled to a private life, us Hosts included!

[Huma0]

@Helen427

That's lovely to hear!

Yes, I miss my old cleaner Laura very much and before her, I had another cleaner for several years who was also great, but she retrained as an accountant and gave up cleaning. Actually the two of them were friends and that's how I found Laura.

Since then, I have really struggled to find anyone who is reliable. I thought I did once, but that lady completely flaked out on me and also caused problems for a friend I had recommended her to.

I think people greatly underestimate the skill and hard work of a good cleaner. Not everyone can do that job well and also they are in your homes and private space and need to be very trustworthy, so yes, one must appreciate the good ones!

[Sarah977]

@Huma0@Helen427  What I loved about my great cleaner was not only that she was extremely thorough and fast- she remembered from one week to the next (actually it was 2 weeks- I had her come every 2 weeks for 4 hours) what she had done the last time, and what she needed to address next. I never expected her to get the whole place spotless every time- my room, for instance, is normally tidy and I never wear shoes in there, so the floor didn't need to be washed every time, nor the room really cleaned- just dust the windowsills and sweep or vacuum. Once every few months we'd tackle my bedroom or another room for a deep cleaning together- clean out all the drawers, scrub from top to bottom, etc. Every time she finished with mopping all the downstairs floors, which are all tiled. She knew how much time to leave for that, and paced herself accordingly. And she also left about half an hour for something special each week, that I told her I wanted- wash all the downstairs windows, for instance. 

And I knew I could leave a hundred dollar bill laying out and she'd never touch it.

[Helen427]

@Phil---Liz0have you considered asking your Guests to do there bit in cleaning up after themselves in the bathroom?

Maybe put some cleaning materials in the bathroom cupboard and show them where they are when you give an intorductory Guided Tour when they arrive!

It's also helpful to include something in your House Manual, maybe something along the lines of Please be mindful and considerate that we also Host other Guests who may be arriving during your stay and keep the bathroom etc clean as you have found it for others..

A number of my Guest have been forthcoming and ask where the cleaning materials are, clothe, squeegy, to wipe down the shower walls and clean up the floors should there be any water on them, surprizingly the Guys tend to be the ones who ask!

all the best fellow NZ

[Huma0]

@Helen427

Do you find that a lot of guests clean up after themselves in the bathrooms?

I have it in my house rules that they need to clean up after themselves, especially in the kitchen and bathrooms, but whilst most do in the kitchen, most do not in the bathrooms. I have squeegees and shower spray in the showers, but it's a rare guest that uses them. When I say rare, I mean maybe 1% at most.

The better ones leave the bathrooms reasonably clean, not because they have cleaned but because they didn't make too much mess in the first place. It's still not of a standard that I would present to a new guest, but it does cut down on my cleaning time. Others leave them in a state I would not be happy for any other guests to see and I've had a lot of those recently.

Personally I would be embarrassed to leave a hotel bathroom like that, let alone shared bathrooms in a host's home, but a lot of people don't seem to share my scruples! Would I leave my head hair all over the shower, basin and bath and clogging the drain? No, I wouldn't, let alone leave toilets covered in poo, period blood on the seats and the shower tray full of pubic hair, but unfortunately a lot of guests do.

What I find is that the people who leave it reasonably clean are going to do so whether you ask them to or not. The people who leave it filthy do so regardless of if you asked them to clean up after themselves. Some people do not see their own mess.