Paying a weekly fee to use the kitchen

Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

Paying a weekly fee to use the kitchen

Its hard to keep up with those who are staying in my home and use all the kitchen appliances in the middle of the night.

 

I tried a time curfew so I can get a good night sleep. I noticed that it didn't work. I actually wanted to stop with airbnb.

 

Now guests can pay weekly if they want to use the kitchen.

 

I love it!!! Nobody burning pots and pans and all of the sudden guest hang out less in the house searching for something to grab. My guests are so good they actually appreciate it if I let them use the fridge.  

 

 

 

 

26 Replies 26
Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

Im sorry @Sarah977  but I don't like to categorize young and old people as a certain kind of people and I welcome everybody in my home no matter what race or age. 

 

I see each person as an individual. I don't think age or race has anything to do with this.  You are now just assuming and I don't know where you get that from. But whatever works for you it's fine. We are just talking about a solution for a problem that is now happily  fixed.

@Kira32  I welcome everyone, too. I don't discriminate against anyone and have had many lovely guests of all ages, races and nationalities. All I was trying to say is that I don't think whether guests are respectful about kitchen space has anything to do with what you or I might or might not do or say as a host.

Respectful people don't bang about in the kitchen in the middle of the night when they know there are other people in the house trying to sleep, regardless of whether we have a rule about it or not.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

My guests have unlimited use of the kitchen for no extra charge. To date, I only remember one couple who were cooking very late at night. They were exceptional in many ways though in that they barely left the bedroom for 10 days (other than to cook), broke numerous rules and were possibly the filthiest guests I've ever had. You cannot imagine how gross that bedroom was when they finally left.

 

As for guests leaving mess in the kitchen, most do make an effort to clean up after themselves, but unfortunately, I've had quite a few who seem totally incapable of it. The stove seems to be a real problem area. Many people will do their dishes and clean the counters but the idea of cleaning up the oil, sauce and food scraps they have managed to cover the stove in is completely alien to them.

 

As I now pretty much only host long-term guests, I don't think stopping or restricting kitchen access is feasible. However, limiting it to civilised hours, e.g. 7am to 11pm makes sense if guests using the kitchen at weird hours is a common problem.

Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

Hello @Huma0 

 

Especially now during Covid  I just want to have the kitchen for myself. Not having to worry about who eats from my plates. Asking for a price will put off the kind of guests who want to cook. 

 

I also ask a fee for the washing machine because before I sometimes had guests who stayed only for  1 night and want to wash their clothes.

 

For me it's not worth it to accept these bookings without a fee because  my price rate is at this moment at the lower side so I had to draw a line. 

 

I wish it was different but as soon as the price go up and we don't have to deal with 'Mister Corona' anymore , guests can start using the kitchen again. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Kira32 

 

In that case, would it not be better to simply state that there are no kitchen facilities for guests (for the time being) or do you think your guests would ignore that and use the kitchen anyway? The problem is, if you really don't want them to use the kitchen, some might feel that it is worth paying the extra fee (think how much more it would cost them to eat out all the time) and you would be left with the issue of having to share it anyway.

 

I'd be interested to hear how it goes with the kitchen fee and if it does indeed deter guests from using it. I doubt that would work here in London where cafes/restaurants are so expensive, but supermarkets are relatively cheap.

 

I agree with you RE the laundry though. It drives me insane when guests show up wanting to wash a pile of dirty clothes they have brought with them. Personally I find it rude, but I am sure they don't see it that way! 

 

So, a long time ago, I decided only long-term guests would have free use of the washing machine and that I would charge a small fee to the short term ones. That mostly worked out okay, but there were some guests who seemed genuinely shocked by it, even though it is clearly stated on the listing.

 

I still have some long-term guests who over use the machine, i.e. putting on a wash every other day for one t-shirt and a couple of pairs of socks or, recently, the guy who put the machine on a high temperature, 2.5 hour wash (this is before drying) for less than half a load. So, I think I will have to introduce a rule to limit laundry to either one or two loads a week max. after which there will be a charge. Hopefully that will make guests wait until they have a reasonable amount of laundry.

Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

Hi @Huma0 

 

On the Canary Island food in restaurants are so cheap it's cheaper than cooking at home. We are surrounded with bars, cafe's. Even the most expensive places on the island have cheap supermarkets with food on the go. Breakfast in a bakeries with coffee and a croissant the size of a turkey is 1,40euro. A simple but delicious dinner or lunch  in a restaurant starts around  5euro. I don't mind if every once in a while someone is cooking so I can eat outside with the kitchen fee they paid. 

 

When it comes down to the washing machine it is a bit tricky. First I had a rule that only guests who stay longer than 4 days can use the washing machine otherwise they needed to pay 5 euro. Now I changed it because I think washing 1 time a week for long term stayers is reasonable but because I can't completely control that. I just needed to draw the line somewhere. I don't mind anymore how long the wash is as long as they pay for it. There is also another option. A coinmachine for the washing machine that you can order online. You can put it  very simple on your washing machine plug and it has a timer on it and a lock. Electricity goes off if the time is up and then then they need to put more coins if they want to have a longer wash. Check amazon for that. A host from Canada stayed in my home and used the coin machine. For him it worked out great. 

 

 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Kira32 

 

I knew it would be cheaper there but not that cheap! I am now craving a croissant the size of a turkey!

 

Thanks for the suggestion RE the coin machine. To be honest, it's really not much of a problem anymore now that I only host long-termers. However, the unnecessarily hot/long cycles for tiny loads are not just a monetary concern for me but an environmental one. I encourage my guests to at least try to be responsible in this respect. With short-term guests this can be very tricky, but the longer-term ones are usually more reasonable.

 

The guy I mentioned above did get a bit of a (polite) telling off and was actually very apologetic. He said he just though that was the way you were supposed to wash whites. Anyway, he didn't do that again!

 

One solution I found with some other long-term guests was telling them, "I'm putting some whites/coloured laundry on. Is there anything you want to chuck in?" That actually worked well and also reduced the risk of anyone breaking the machine. I can see why this might not be suitable for short-term guests though and definitely not a solution for an off-site host.

Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

@Huma0   Im happy for you it worked out very well with your guests! It's true I know sometimes people really don't know how to wash laundry and don't want to bother you.

 

By the way you should come and Check out Gran Canaria, even renting a car is around 16 euro a day. Now we have more local tourists everywhere but the beaches are not busy at all. Kilometers of beaches and the water temperature is very comfortable. Our high season is during winter time because sunbathing is possible the whole year. Ticket prices to Gran Canaria are also very affordable from the  UK. 

 

Hopefully see you soon! 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Kira32 

 

Thank you! Yes, I may well check it out. Perhaps for a Winter break if things are looking better...

 

Right now I really don't want to get on a plane but will eventually start travelling again.

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Huma0,

I didn't give guests personal access to the washer and dryer at my guesthouse. We offered to include the guests personal garments when we washed their towels every few days.  This meant that they had to stay with us for at least 4-5 days in order to get this benefit.

 

In appreciation of guests who may have similar feelings as @Kira32 in regards to sharing a kitchen, we've decided to close the shared guest kitchen, and will install kitchenettes in the guest suites.  We are also going to install small compact washers in the bathrooms: https://mcappliance.com/brands/magic-chef/mcstcw09w1.html.  It has a small capacity that will allow guests to wash their clothing: swimsuits, under garments, shorts, t-shirts and tank tops (that's my list, because that's all that I wear); and towels and bath rugs (I want to add shower curtains, but I know most people don't wash them regularly. Yuck!).  We will still exchange and wash the king size bed linen during their stay.  These changes will result in a rate hike, but I believe that it will attract more, overall.

Kira32
Level 10
Canary Islands, Spain

@Debra300  I like your idea of installing a kitchenette in the guest suites. Do you think it will work well and don't mess up the sheets with food if they can cook in their own room?  

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Kira32,

No, I don't believe that guests will mess up the sheets.  They already had the ability to cook food, and eat the meals in their rooms.  Each suite has a three piece dining table and chairs set inside and on the balcony.

 

Over the years, there have been some inquirers who've stated that they didn't want to share a kitchen.  I think this level of selfishness is more about privacy rather than concerns regarding shared kitchen space, because most guests don't cook anything during their entire stay. Event those guests that rented the self-contained apartment usually did minimal cooking.  

 

We foresee that the guests who do travel will have heightened concerns about sharing high-touch items, and being in close proximity to people are not their travel companions.  These new guests will be more inclined to cook for themselves, and not go out to restaurants and bars.