How to make listing turnaround easier and stress free!

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

How to make listing turnaround easier and stress free!

As hosts the most frequent issue we have with guests is that they were messy and left stains which have ruined perfectly good property, and we risk alienating ourselves if we say anything.

I have tried to adopt an alternate strategy which I know many others will dislike because it tends to breed careless guests…..but my philosophy is ‘careless guests are always going to be careless’ whether we call them out or not!

I have surrounded myself with some products that have made accepting guests carelessness much easier and I would like to pass these tips on to the community.

The main problem that keeps coming up here is….. Bed linens

1/…..To launder bed linens that are not stained but you want to be really clean and hygienic the best product I have found is a laundry detergent call…..’No Sweat’

It is available on Amazon via this link!

https://www.amazon.com/Liquid-Sports-Laundry-Detergent-Eliminator/dp/B0081S4FSG/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pdt_...

and here is the product......

No Sweat 1.png

When I make that bed I know there is not a trace of unwanted bacteria.

 

2/……Some bed linens have blood stains either from men shaving or women’s  cyclic issues. These are really easily taken care of with a product I have mentioned here before called….’Sard Wonder soap’

It is available via this website in the US and the UK.

https://www.simplyoz.com/products/napisan__dettol__gumption__sard/napisan_plus__napisan_oxyaction__w...

 

IMG20180918161836 2.jpg

 

3/……Red wine features prominently in complaint files and I have come across this product that completely removes not only red wine, but mascara from wash clothes and hand towels….I tell you, this is amazing. I think it came from New Zealand and I always thought the Kiwi’s would come up with something useful one day!!!

IMG20190717184014.jpg

 

Here is a bit of detail and a testament to how good it is.....

 

Stain remove reviews 1.png

And just as a bit more proof of how good this product is here is the link to a short video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjgIV1qC_zM

 

4/......Another common host complaint is….’the guest ruined my countertop’!

There is on the market 3.6m x 600mm (9ft x 2ft) rolls of plastic benchtop protector. You can cut vegetables on it, you can put a boiling saucepan on it…..it will prevent damage going through to the counter top. Here are a couple of shots in my kitchen with and without protector! It does not detract from the countertop appearance but it sure can save you a lot of money when some guest leaves their brain behind!

Here is a 'blurry'shot of our countertop without the protector.....

CAM02462.jpg

 

And here is a shot with the protector in place. 

CAM02463.jpg

 

When a guest arrives I wipe over the protector with a rag with a small amount of Olive oil and the scratches from previous careless guests just disappear!

As I said this comes in rolls and you can cut the required length from the roll whenever the protector needs replacing but I have found that it has lasted for the last two years and is still in perfectly usable order. 

 

These things are a sort of insurance policy! I have never had to contact the Airbnb resolution centre to make a complaint because I have taken control of these situations without them individually becoming a problem! 

In addition I have another 30 stress free tips like how to clean a microwave just with a cup of water and how to make a used sponge just like new again....if anyone is interested!

 

I hope this can help!

 

Cheers.....Rob

 

13 Replies 13
Skylar10
Level 1
Dallas, TX

I am new to hosting, I just received my first booking this is very good information !  Thank you for sharing. 

 

Skylar

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

I hate when I find a perfect product....use it for a while... and then it's discontinued aaaaaa :((((((

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Or, it has won you over, you feel good in yourself that you have tracked down that 'perfect product'. You tell everyone how good it is....how it can magically turn water into wine, and, all of a sudden, it gets replaced with a 'new improved' version  which turns out to be half as effective as the original obsolete model! :-((

Not only have you lost a wonderful discovery, you feel like a Jackass because you promoted it!

embarassed-clipart-16.jpg

 

Good on you Branka.

 

Cheers......Rob

 

 

Jay486
Level 2
Lawrenceville, GA

Great insight on bed linen Bob, simple PRO-TIP for anyone new or experienced host is to start using WHITE linen on beds. In a psychological sense white instills confidence of cleanlinesses & sanitation. Same way as a doctor uses a white coat or a chef using a white apron. 

 

With the philosophy of guests being carelessness, using bleach could also work to sanitize & leaving sheets pure white and it's cheap. Only downside is that many would bleach isn't a healthy solution to use. 

 

Jay Tamayo - Organicleaning Co. LLC
We Help Host Automate Airbnb Turnover Cleaning
Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Jay486 

In fact Jay, since I have been hosting I have found the opposite. I have found maintaining white linens to be considerably harder than pastel colours for no gain as far as guests are concerned. 

White is seen as ok, only as long as it truly is white........ and the reality is they don't stay that way for long....they become a 'shade of white'!

 

My bed is the hero of my listing, it's a specially made Queen at 8 ft long, has electric functions and all guests comment on how good it is so, I am very driven by their comments Jay. They do appreciate the colours ....I use warm inviting colours for the winter time and cool colours for the summer.

 

 

IMG20170308183328 03.jpg

 

IMG20190607164310 2.jpg

IMG20190627120732.jpg

 

The reality with hosting is Jay, guests want to get away from the 'hotel' model...that is why they have come to Airbnb and a starched white linen set reminds them of what they were escaping!

I get double the useful life from coloured linens than I could every achieve with white.

 

Other will disagree Jay, but that's my experience!

 

Cheers.....Rob

@Jay486  Nope, no white linens or towels for me, and I get really sick of reading comments like that- that guests equate that with "clean"- we've seen those posts here before.

I'm not a hotel, or some slick, modern, generic place. My place is eclectic and the bedding and towels are colorful and go with the rest of the decor. And, BTW, my guests comment favorably on them. No one has ever suggested that they don't look or seem clean.

One of the things many hosts enjoy is creating a unique space without adhering to someone else's ideas of what is in fashion or some corporate hospitality standard.

Ann489
Level 10
Boise, ID

 @Robin4   Thank you so much for sharing, Robin...your suggestions for cleaners are very helpful!   I wonder if that "Sard" Wonder will take sun lotion/grease stains out of sheets......

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Ann489 

Yes Ann, it does remove suntan lotion....but Ann, I should qualify that by re-enforcing what I have just said above, I use only coloured linens and have not had to try to remove from Whites! 

 

I do get a variety of stains here Ann and I have found the combination of the use of 'Xtreme' and the Sards spray has managed to remove all traces....curry food stains, shoe polish, mascara and make-up, red wine, even turps based paint! A female guest touched up her shoes for a wedding using a make-up brush and a small can of gloss black paint and, would you believe,  for some incredibly obscure reason managed to get a spot of black paint on the quilt cover! .....we do see them all don't we Ann! ;-((

 

The only article I have had ruined to the point where it could not be salvaged was a quilt cover that a female guest spilt nail polish remover onto! It completely took the dye colour out of the cover!

IMG20180910112951.jpg

 

But I have been lucky, that is the only bedding I have lost from over 350 stays. I have 7 sheet sets and 4 quilts that I rotate between each guest and so....'touch wood' I have been able to cope with almost whatever guests throw at me!

 

Cheers.....Rob

 

Ann489
Level 10
Boise, ID

@Robin4   The sheets in question are a dark lilac....I love them and hate to have to throw them out!   I found the Sard on Amazon(after I was redirected to "sardine cans" by a search engine with a weird sense of humour).  It's pretty inexpensive, so I'll give it a try...after all, I have nothing to lose!   😉    Thank you again, Rob for your, always helpful, posts!   🙂

 

PS: You could always redye that quilt cover!

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Ann489 

When I originally started doing this (hosting) I approached our local dry cleaner and I asked them how they coped with some of the stubborn stains they would see on a daily basis. She said...."Look, we all have our trade secrets but we find there is not much that Sards soap won't get rid of, and it's cheap!"

And I agree, it's great stuff, even gets rid of ballpoint pen scribbles. Try to get the 'Wonder Spray' that I illustrated further back on this thread.....that's the one I swear by!

 

Sardines hey Ann.....I am surprised it didn't recommend you forget all about your stains and have a holiday in Sardinia!

All the best to you and Chuck!

 

Cheers.....Rob

Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

@Robin4 Thank you for the advice♡

rob....... talk about the communication system in airbnb system.

Can I  operate without cell phones??   Mel Dayton

 

 

@Robin4 these products look  like a big help for all of us and your generosity in sharing them and taking the time to explain their features in depth is a great gift. Rob, please do write down more tips, but in the form of a copyrighted pamphlet that can be purchased over the Internet and downloaded in an email. For all the money hosts from any platform can save with this knowledge, you should be compensated. Airbnb has already posted cleaning  tips that 77 hosts from the community contributed to on the Internet under "Airbnb  cleaning hacks". Apartment Therapy has posted more Airbnb host tips. If  "time is money" then you should certainly be compensated for yours.