Laundry

Laundry

Last week we hosts rented an Airbnb on Kauai, Hawaii. The place was nice. We were charged a $175 cleaning fee which we paid of course, though it seems high. However, we received a notice from their cleaning company that they expected us to wash, dry, and fold the sheets, bath towels, and beach towels before we left. We found the request absurd: 1) we'd already paid a high cleaning fee, and 2) we had to leave the property at 4:00 AM to catch our plane.  We did not wash anything. Were we wrong? 

 

As hosts of our own cottage, we ask that guests wash only their own items, not what we have provided.

6 Replies 6
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@David-And-Kevin0  Different listings have different pre-check-out instructions. This is regardless of the cleaning fee.

 

But hosts need to make those requirements clear in their listing ad- it really isn't okay to spring it on a guest just before they leave. It's pretty normal to find in the house manual a request to make sure all your dirty dishes are washed and all garbage put in the bin, that's just basic don't leave a mess expectations, even to please throw the dirty towels and sheets in the machine and turn it in before leaving.

 

But wash, dry and fold between the time you wake up and check out is way over the top. 

 

At what point did the cleaning company send you this message?

 

In any case, don't worry about it, and you could even send the host a private message saying how not okay this was- paying guests are not a free laundry service. The host may not even be aware that their cleaners are doing this.

 

We were asked to leave the taxes on the counter for the cleaning company. When they picked up the cash, they left the request.

@David-And-Kevin0  Seems highly inappropriate. 

 

I would never book a place run by these big management companies, Vacasa, Evolve, Turnkey, etc. There are so many complaints about them. 

 

Hosts who are hands-on involved, even if they are remote and have a local co-host, are so much more likely to be reasonable and caring of their guests and concerned about their reviews. Not to mention how many reviews I read about those big property managed listings being dirty and poorly maintained.

 

To be fair, I guess it somewhat depends on the host they are managing for, because sometimes I'll see accounts with hundreds of listings, some of which have high ratings, and some quite low. So I assume that worn out furniture, threadbare towels, damaged countertops and such isn't entirely the management's fault- there's likely some of the property owners who just aren't willing to fork out the money to keep their places up. 

 

 

Kath9
Level 10
Albany, Australia

@David-And-Kevin0yes, I agree - way over the top, especially with a $175 cleaning fee! Expecting guests to wash, dry and fold their bed linen before the leave is frankly ridiculous, especially because checkout times are usually in the morning. I mean, this is what you pay for when booking accommodation, with or without a cleaning fee. I would review them appropriately.

@David-And-Kevin0  Did the listing mention that guests were required to launder their linens at checkout? 

 

Not only would I be annoyed by such a demand as a guest; I'd also suspect that the sheets I was sleeping in hadn't been washed before the stay. What's to stop the previous guest from just folding up their dirty sheets and leaving?

 

Gross.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

Guest to property managers: "The sheets smell like B.O."

 

Property manager: "Oh no, that's just the naturally-scented laundry methods our cleaning company uses".