As Cynthia and Chris have done, I've begun to point out to guests that my bathroom tiles are 90 years old, etc. I recently allowed a guest late arrival and then let him store his luggage after checkout (with limited space and a new guest arrival, that is more involved than it may sound). I used the delayed arrival time to clean parts of my bathroom I only get to occasionally. (the tops of the ceramic molding, etc.) Naturally, I did the usual toilet, toilet area, floor, tub-scrub inside and out, and spent more time on the old tub-wall tiles than usual and polished the chrome for good measure. I honestly don't know what got into me on that particular night. I gave the guest my usual bathrom tour which includes opening the toilet to show the guest where to spray diluted Mrs. Meyers soap to eliminate odor quickly (I highly recommend the method)! The guest took a quick shower, went to bed; and I decided to clean the bathroom all over again. I'm always fussy about my bathroom, but that night I was on fire!
The guest's stay was just one night and we had a couple good conversations. I received what amounted to an alert from Airbnb that my bathroom cleanlieness was below par according to this guest. I had to message him to say politely that I was completely in the dark about the issue and asked if he could share what was wrong. I explained that any discoloration or old paint spill spots were not scum, and that I recently invested in replacement of all the plumbing because I do understand those issues can make a bathrom feel unpleasant. I thought I might even have been TOO quirky in my tour; and told him I hadn't meant for him to feel uncomfortable if he overheard me resume cleaning late at night. I even asked if he disliked the almond Dr. Bronners soap I use so liberally when I scrub. A friend who visits regularly said, "surely he was being ironic. I know your bathroom!"
The guest's response: He had found my whole place exceptionally clean, but he had noticed hairs on the toilet (section of toilet and how many hairs, not specified). We'd already toured the toilet together so I'm... surprised that I missed them after multiple passes.
But I feel the answer lies in using the right "stagecraft." i.e., as performers and acrobats say, "let 'em see you struggle just a little so they can enjoy and appreciate your performance a little more," but do it all with grace, pinache and skill. While I don't feel I can come out and say "this is an important part of my liveliehood. Please be judicious in your ratings which either give me or cost me my standing (and I did in fact drop from 80% to 78% excellent ratings)," I haven't settled on a routine yet, but my first "draft" has been to point out to guests the age of the tiles and just to say outright, "please let me know now if you notice a dropped hair or piece of dust I may have missed...." And you know what... my next inexperienced guest wrote in his review, "impeccably clean bathroom and apartment."
