My request to guests, please don't try to help!

[Robin4]

Many guests both here and on other sites complain that the host expects them to clean the property when they have already paid a cleaning fee!

My answer to that is......No.

None (or very few) hosts would expect you to clean a listing you had paid to be a guest in. We just don’t expect you to walk out leaving the place like a pig sty!

All we expect is that you will put your rubbish in the bin, pick up those used nappies and condoms that were left under the bed and dispose of.

Put furniture back the way you found it.

Leave the property in a relatively tidy state.

That’s all we as hosts expect!

It’s a well known fact in the hosting community, guests do not clean things properly! They just give dishes and glassware a quick rinse and put away, all set for the next guest to mark the host down for cleanliness because there were smears on the glasses and food particles left on the plates and fry-pans.

All we ask is that you don’t complicate the hosts job in preparing for the next guest! Don’t make the bed, don’t do the dishes, don’t sweep floors or try to spot marks on fabrics! Nine times out of ten you will make a hash of it and subject the host to a lot more work, or even worse, have something slip through that the next guest can complain about.

Remember all of us hosts, host to a standard…..our standard, not yours!

Cheers…….Rob

[Robin4]

@Max144 

Max, do you remember those pneumatic apartment stairwell light switches where you pushed the round button to get the lights to come on?

I have one of those wired to the bathroom radiant heating strip. It gives about 5 minutes of heat before it switches off.....push it again and you get another 5 minutes. Guests can use it for as long as they are in the bathroom but, 5 minutes after they leave it will turn off, I save a bit of power there.

I also have the in-roof air conditioning system wall controller configured so it will not heat above 24c on the heating cycle but it will go down to 18c and it will not cool below 20c on the cooling cycle but it will sense up to 25c. So that gives them a 7c temperature band which satisfies most people.That prevents the power vandals from abusing the use of our power.

@Elaine701 I used to use a remote thermostat but, as you know every guest likes a different temperature and if you take away the ability for them to fiddle they think, as a host you are being a scrooge, restricting their enjoyment.

I have got it worked out so the whole property including our house very rarely get a power bill these days between the months of September to May.....

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And the credits we build up takes the sting out of the winter months which can go as high as $180 per month. Our average year round monthly usage cost is about $39.

Cheers.........Rob 

**[Image hidden due to safety reasons - Community Center Guidelines

[Max144]

Thanks Rob, you are lucky with timers and discounted power.

When travelling Asia they have good system of key with tag which one has to put in slot after entering room to turn on power and when one goes out for day has to take tag and key.

I do not think they sell in Australia and if they do would be expensive to install.

[Elaine701]

We learned long ago that tourists do tend to leave their brains at home. But in my opinion, that's kind of what a holiday is for. As long as it's not harmful. 

So, we try to keep it all very simple. We don't give guests access to anything that can cause damage or waste. And that works pretty well. 

For example, if we gave them access to a thermostat, in winter, they'd set it for 30°c, thinking that it will somehow heat up faster if they set the temperature higher. Then they'll leave for shopping or something, and complain that it's too hot when they return. All the while costing me a small fortune. 

So, the house is temperature controlled by remote (over internet) . Its maintained at a steady temperature, winter or summer. We have individual room control. The heating and cooling shuts off when the doors and windows are open. Guests have no access to a thermostat. If they're too warm or too cold, they can send me a WhatsApp and ask for a bit warmer or cooler. Or simply close the windows or doors 🙂 

They have no access to the pool filtering system, or the irrigation, or the solar power system. They can't play with any of it. It's not even visible to them. And so, they can't mess around with it. 

And it works. Out of sight, out of mind. And that's really what they want on holiday; Not to think. 

[Angelica-Y-Jorge0]

I totally agree with @Robin4  on cleaning, we ask guests to pick up the garbage and to wash dishes but leave them in the drying rack so we can see what they used and inspect them. That's it! Some guests do more and some don't even pick up the garbage and leave dirty dishes. We set expectations with the cleaners that nothing has to be cleaned and if it is cleaned that is a bonus.

As for all the comments about guests "forgetting their brains," I see guests have issues all the time with forgetfulness or distractions. When we are at home in our normal environments we form habits to turn things off or do things in a certain way. When we travel we do not know the property, where things are and get easily distracted by all the new spaces and features and those habits take time to build. I think as hosts the best we can do is prepare for this when designing our spaces. I think large hotels have the most experience when it comes to this issue. We always look at it from the perspective of what would a hotel do, then we adapt it to the home.

[Wende2]

Hi all....I put a rules on the refrigerator, people don't read them at the listing so I help them when they get here.  It all came about when someone told me upon leaving that they notices some ants around the trashcan.  Well they sure as hell did, it looked like hundreds of them and no wonder with all the crumbs and sticky around the can.  Talk about stressed out, I had guests coming that afternoon.  That's the first thing on the list...Please be mindful of crumbs.  I recently had a couple that spilled a purple colored drink on the daybed coverlet, thinking they were helping out by washing it they set the stain.  Fortunately it is reversible, unfortunately I do not like the fabric on that side, but oh well.  I also ask they remove all make-up and sunscreen due to staining that is very difficult to get out, if at all.  And I have ruined some sheets do to not seeing the stains because they were taken off and in a pile on the bed, or they turn the pillow over and of course I don't think to check both sides.  Oh and the other thing I don't like, when they use the dishwasher for 5 - 6 items, all that energy for a 5 minute wash and dry in the dish drainer.  I need to add that to the rules on the fridge.

Have nice weekend everyone.!

[Christine615]

One woman loved my place so much she wrote a glowing recommendation and said her son asked her to bookmark it. But I had write an objective review that said I wouldn't be able to host her again. She left the place a mess, didn't bother to read house rules. She complained that I had not left anything (rags, towels) to clean with. So she left food and food stains all over the counter, crumbs on the floor.

So, the fact that there are 5 clean cloth towels in the drawer by the sink, a roll of paper towels on a holder at the sink (and a spare visible above the fridge), and a closet full of towels across from the bathroom (along with cleaning supplies, etc.). I don't expect people to deep clean. I expect them to run the dishwasher, sweep up quickly, and tidy up so my four hours of cleaning doesn't turn into 6 or more.

I'm lucky that most of my guests have read my rule "Please return my home the way you received it,"