Guests asking for enmities that would only be offered at a hotel.

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Joy253
Level 2
McGregor, IA

Guests asking for enmities that would only be offered at a hotel.

I am a I Super Host and have been for a very long time. 

 

I have guests at the present time that it seems think they are at a hotel.  I left 4 wash clothes and 11 towels for 4 people staying 3 nights.  The said they needed more wash clothes.  I brought them 3 more (all I had).  Now they say they expect to have 2 per guests x's 3 nights which equals 24 wash cloths. 

 

I let them know this is not a hotel with unlimited linen service and if they wanted to wash them themselves that there is a laundry mat 2 doors down and they could wash them them themselves.  This is their 1st Airbnb experience and  I expect a poor review from them.  I'm very upset and would appreciate some feed back from fellow hosts.

 

Thank You

 

1 Best Answer
Sally221
Level 10
Berkeley, CA

I 'm guilty of that too- changing out the dish towels every day & sometimes twice- I wouldn't do it so frequently if  my family would stop drying their hands on the towel meant for dishes (I'm a beast about food safety)

I also dislike washcloths, especially as those same family members- I'm talking about YOU Tom & Lucy- will leave washcloths festering on their shower floor, icky!  I buy inexpensive washcloths for guests & then downgrade them to family member use, then they become mopping rags before their final incarnation as shop rags. I love the Japanese thin scrubby sheets for my personal use- a quick rinse before hanging up to dry and they never ever smell & are practically indestructible..

I'm procrastinating at this moment -about to write a rare negative review- does "Better suited for a hotel" still raise a red flag?

A couple with teen daughter & dogsbody husband's sister- they ate won ton soup on the beds- had to wash the comforters inside the duvets and both layers of mattress protectors, they did laundry in the bathroom and  festooned the room with the fireplace with hanging clothing, left the house with the gas fire on and broke a piece of art by using it as a laundry hanger- yikes! I don't think they meant to be jerks but I don't want them back or inflicting themselves on fellow hosts.

I'm so grateful they were an outlier! Right before them we hosted heroes of Tianmen Square & right after, a sports legend who walked across the country to raise money for first responders (he was outed by his friend, he's a modest hero) Sally

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36 Replies 36
Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Joy253, completely ridiculous. Who do they think they are, the royal family? Good on you for sticking to your guns. Perhaps you should tell them if they want hotel amenities, they need to pay hotel prices. Also, ask them whether they've heard of climate change. I just had a guest book with me who is on tour with a show and would normally have a hotel paid for him but cannot bear the wastefulness of hotels any longer. 

 

Unfortunately you may not be able to avoid a negative review but you can't please everyone. Make sure you review them honestly re their unrealistic expectations and then you can leave a public response which will put it in perspective for other guests.   

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Joy253  It appears that a lot of "newbie" guests have quite unrealistic expectations. They really don't seem to understand what booking an Airbnb actually means and what is reasonable to request. For guests like those, I think, if at all possible, to have a chat with them and educate them as to the difference between booking a hotel and booking an Airbnb. You wouldn't think you'd have to explain this, but some may need it pointed out that one of the reasons that a hotel booking costs more is because there is daily maid service, 24 hour reception, daily towel changes, etc. That if you provided all that, you would also have to charge hotel prices.

I'm assuming "enmities" was a typo (or that darn predictive text, maybe?),but guests like this might certainly provoke enmity if demanding unreasonable amenities 🙂

Laylee0
Level 6
Gateshead, United Kingdom

@Joy253 Absolutely ridiculous. I agree with @Kath9  and @Sarah977  so nothing extra to add other than to say that even hotels I’ve stayed at in the past ask guests to help save energy by using the same towel during their stay instead of a fresh one each day. 

 

It does concern me the amount of posts I read about new guests expecting hotel standards and not understanding what Airbnb is. Im guessing that’s partly to do with Airbnb advertising and also that because anyone can be a host there is wildly varying standards of service. There was a post on here recently that listed the top 10 things you can do for your guests. I think most of them were services only offered at hotels (give them clean towels every day, clean their room every day, etc). I think what it reveals is that some hosts will offer these things and some won’t, but it doesn’t create consistency for the guests. So while at one place their expectations might be exceeded, at another they might be let down because they expected fresh towels every day like the last place.  I know that’s not the case in this particular situation but just thought I’d mention it as something I’ve noticed and wondered what all your thoughts are. Can anything be done to prepare guests, especially new ones? Should we write something in our listings to explain what Airbnb is and what to expect at our houses, or mention it in a message? “I see you’ve not used Airbnb before, could you just confirm you’ve read and agreed to the house rules and understand that Airbnb is more of a guest house experience rather than a shared house or a hotel?” 

 

 

Dimitar27
Level 10
Sofia, Bulgaria

If you have national or state  accommodation standards, refer to them. They are different.

Our standard says, that there must be one big "body" towel (bath sheet or bath robe) and one middle size towel (bath towel)  for every bed and they must be changed every 3 days. If there is no regular room service (guest houses, guest apartments and shared rooms) provided,  the exact number of towels must be stored in a place, where guests can access them. Hand towels are optional and wash cloths are not listed in the standard. This standard is applied to all accommodation places with 1-3 star category. For the 4-5 star is different. Places without 24/7 reception and room service  can be rated 3 stars maximum.

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@Laylee0 I think you're spot on - Airbnb is the new norm for accommodation and newbies might not understand it is NOT like hotels. I message my guests on booking asking them to ensure they have read the listing and house rules, but I think it's a good idea to mention the type of listing as well. The vast majority of my guests understand it but I've had a handful who have arrived thinking they are booking a whole house to themselves (for $50/night) and have either left early or left a negative review because it wasn't. Super frustrating. Just read the listing people! 

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Joy253 

 

washcloths are not standard or common in Croatia. We are obligated to provide hand and bath towels only. At the beginning, we didn't have washcloths at all but then, reading this forum, we realized they are common in some countries so we bought them for our guests. I still don't know what they are used for.... to dry your face, to clean your makeup or to replace the sponge while you shower? 🙂

 

Our guests get 1 hand towel, 1 washcloth and 1 bath towel per week. Many guests don't even use all the towels provided. Nobody ever complained and we were asked for more towels maybe a few times in our 3 y. of hosting (our average stay is 2-3 nights)

 

We are off-site hosts, use laundry service 1x/week and we don't even have so many towels to be able to change them every day. Even if we would buy more towels we don't have enough storage for them. And besides - it wouldn't be ecological. 

Mark-and-Carin0
Level 3
Edinboro, PA

May be turn it into a win?... Tell them about the extra charge of $5 per washcloth.  Collect your fee and buy 20 more.  You have now satisfied your guests and will have more washclothes.  (Get them monogrammed)

Gordon0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Thankfully we don't use (or, by default, offer) washcloths in the UK. American guests seem to be OK with that but are more confused by our duvets!

Helen350
Level 10
Whitehaven, United Kingdom

Lots of people DO use flannels/washcloths in the UK @Gordon0 . I was brought up using one, which is why I don't use one these days, dirty smelly thing! - Breeding ground for bacteria! They still sell them, in matching sets with towels & separately in places where toiletries are sold.

Gordon0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

OK, I'll re-phrase, *most people under 70* don't use them. Nasty, horrid things.

Helen350
Level 10
Whitehaven, United Kingdom

lol.........

Marg11
Level 10
Warwick, Australia

Wow, so much discussion on linen.

 

We treat our guests as though they are in an upmarket youth hostel with one set of sheets, pillow slips, towel, bath mat, hand towel and flannel (washcloth) each per week. They can hang them to dry in the sun or under cover in wet weather. Yes, flannels are used in the shower, to remove makeup or as a hot towel for sinus congestion or injuries. You can also put ice in them for a cold pack. Some guest use one item, some two, some three, some all four, some seem to share and the odd guest seems to bring their own! We use top sheets American style to save washing the duvet/quilt cover every second day with short term stays. 

 

The most interesting thing is they are asked to place their towels and linen in a large bucket. Yes, they strip their beds on departure as I have arthritis and we do not charge cleaning/washing fees yet.

 

On the fridge next to the sink I have a sign 'Washing up Aussie style' for those used to maids or dishwashers. On the back of the bathroom door are instructions on food safety, recycling, local fauna and safety hints. On the fridge is our official city brochure for rubbish disposal and recycling! When asked where the bin is we just ask which one? The tiny red bin for landfill, yellow bin for recyclables & green bin for compostables. We invite them to join us in reducing refuse by giving us scraps for our composting worms and other food waste like citrus peel, onion and garlic for our compost. Our inside bins are so small they have to empty them every day reducing the risk of ants or other pests. It's interesting the nationalities who automatically recycle.

Barry-and-Lera0
Level 10
Sarasota, FL

@Joy253: We are in Sarasota, only about 2 miles from the largest Amish / Mennonite vacation spot in the country. We learned from some of our Mennonite guests that having a lot of wash clothes is needed as they are one use and done. Now we have a basket of around 15 washclothes in the bathroom with another 15 on hand as backups. We bought them at Kohls for $6 a 6 pack.  

Mark116
Level 10
Jersey City, NJ

Amenities create enmities.