How early is too early?

Susan10
Level 9
Elkton, MD

How early is too early?

Are you the type of person who gets up early every morning?  Do you try to stay quiet when a guest is there?  Especially those of you who share your space; how do you handle mornings?  Even those who have a separate entrance and space in your house - not all houses are totally sound proof.  What do you do?

 

At what time do you think it is ok to relax and not be so conscious of the level of noise you might be making?  Especially Saturday and Sunday mornings!

25 Replies 25
Tony295
Level 2
Morrow, GA

I waske at 4:00am  most mornings. I live here and do prepare breakfast sometimes guests are just returning from a night of fun or sometimes they are asleep at that time. I move in slow motion if I have to but certainly make sure I make no noise. Microwave is opened before the countdown is finished  so as to prevent hte three or four beeps alert that time is up. I  don't rattle cuttlery  and pipes are turned on low so no noise in the kitchen  while washing up. I leave early to give them privacy. 

Yolanda8
Level 6
Hamilton, CA

I'm also an early riser; driving for Uber @6am  most mornings..... I have set my "Strict Check-Out time" to 9am .... with a $40 penalty for overstaying.... -so that I can prep the rooms for next "Instant Booking" Guest   -some Guests obviously do NOT like this but I've outlined this rule clearly .......  

 

I've also limited the rooms to "One Adult per Room; NO in-room Visitors"; also a stickler with many Guests .... -but this crazy rule has drastically reduced the Human Trafficking opportunities on the AirBnb platform & provides me with the peace-of-mind; NOT listening to Guests having sex in my home......

 

I've limited the availability to "One Night" forcing Guests to book concecutive nights individually so that I'm able to collect the "Cleaning Fee" each day because the competition in my city has forced the the price down to 50% of previous years......

 

As a SuperHost & hosting for over 3 years now; I've learned my lessons..... I've encountered many wonderful, respectful Guests, but unfortunately; I've also encountered theives,  domestic assaulters,  pimps & pedophiles ....  -I'm NOT running a Hotel; I'm sharing part of my home & thereby putting my personal effects at RISK & loosing my Privacy !!

 

You might assume that with all these crazy rules I wouldn't get many bookings; but I, in fact have a full calendar; & awesome reviews because I provide a "Sparkling Clean" "All-Inclusive" accommodation that honest Guests love!

Hi @Yolanda8  I'm just curious..... If a guest books consecutive days, and you collect the cleaning fee for each day, does that mean you clean and change linen every day too?

absolutely; this is not difficult as I live in the home .... I'm near an airport so most Guests are coming for one night before an early flight...... 

-this also helps filter out the "tourists" as I prefer hosting business travellers [far more respectful group] 

@Yolanda8 So, you do the cleaning yourself and you collect a cleaning fee?  

I got tired of cleaning so often so I switched to a minimum two night booking, but have assumed that adding a cleaning fee meant I had to actually contract with a cleaner.  Guess that was naive...  How does that work when you do your taxes?


@Susan10 wrote:

@Yolanda8 Guess that was naive...  How does that work when you do your taxes?


It is income so you declare it as income on a Schedule C since cleaning is not pasive.

Oh, another thought: so does ABB separate that on your summary?  You know how much to put on the Schedule C?

I have "Instant Booking" & "Self Check-In" for this accommodation to attract as many Guests as possilbe; I do the cleaning myself & it's no problem with taxes as I'm listed as a small business already..... so I get all the sm bus deductions....

Rosemary115
Level 3
Chelmsford, United Kingdom

I am an early riser and early retiree. I have a t.v. in my room which I keep as low as possible. Last night, my guest knocked at my door around 9.3pm and asked for me to put the t.v.off!

@Rosemary115  That seems a little excessive on your guests behalf.... It is your house after all. 

Have you thought of getting some headphones that you can wear while watching the TV? That way, your guests won't hear a thing, and you can have it turned up as loud as you like. 

Nancy115
Level 5
Mills River, NC

@Susan10 we share our space with our guests. I put quiet hours in the house rules, 10pm-8am. My husband leaves the house before 6am and I leave by 8am. I inform our guests of our work schedule and how we will do our best to keep quiet. We close the door to the kitchen to keep noise down. We recently got a small fountain we put near the guest room to help with white noise. We also use a headset to listen to the TV during quiet hours. Some guests will complain regardless of your attempts to keep quiet or how much you've informed them of the rules or schedule.