What do you think this guest means?

[Inna22]

A guest called me saying they like to read at night and needing reading lamps. I told them each bedroom has one. She said it was not bright enough for reading. The connection was bad so I followed up with a message through Airbnb saying each bedroom has a night lamp, there are flash lights in the laundry and “Walgreens has a little mini clip on reading lights that are a couple of dollars if you feel you need even more.” The response was “We will go with the clips”. Does that mean they will go buy their own clips and they are just letting me know or they are expecting me to buy the clips? There are 7 of them at the house, I do not think I should be spending $50 on clips for them. Should I just write back “I usually use flash light on my phone – free and convenient! and leave it at that? Clarify? Ugh, what to do?

[Anonymous]

@Inna22   My follow-up to the guest's last message would be to give them the address and opening hours of Walgreens. That should get the point across while also seeming helpful.

Your bedrooms seem to contain overhead lighting; if so, guests who don't find the desk lamps bright enough still have other options.

[Kelly149]

@Inna22 Leave it alone! 

Did she think the listing should have included a servant to fan her and and serenade her and tuck her in and hold a perfect beam of light above her head until she blissfully drifted off to sleep...

”this guest might be better suited to commercial hotels. Or staying home.”

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Inna22  she maybe likes to read a book in bed and if she has a poor vision then yes, she needs something like a work lamp, a reflector or how you call it.

I know, I have the same problem and that's why I don't read books at home anymore, just on the beach under the sun. The laptop has a bright screen and I can enlarge the text so no problem.

I would find some lamp at home and give it to her.

[Anonymous]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 Why stop at a lamp? A good host would supply the guest with a beach, and a warm sunny day, at night!

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Anonymous  I'm certain I saw that in the Host Agreement I signed up for when we joined Airbnb, just after the Host guarantee scheme ! I'll go and find the clause... (I might have been dreaming).

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

C'mon , give her that 1 lamp or a stronger light bulb, it's not that all of them have a poor vision.... or do they? 🙂

[Inna22]

@Branka-and-Silvia0

Several lamps in the house are specifically reading lamps. I told them to switch between the bedrooms  but I was told they all needed them and they were all not good enough. I have given people my own kids snow disks, chairs from my house, specific dishes etc. At the end, those were always the rare less than five star reviews I ever got. One said (the one who got the snow equipment) that she would gladly stay with me if I had something smaller in this part of town, more quiet and in a modern building. My area has an outside train running through most of it (source of noise) and it is historic, so new cannot be built. So yes, sunny weather at night. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Inna22  I looked at your listing and you have 1 lamp for 2 beds/4 guests. Yes, it is not enough if all of them want to read a book.

You are right, the best would be if they buy themselves a small clip light, they really can't expect you to buy 4 additional lamps just for them.

[Suzanne302]

@Inna22  Some of the things I read about guests, I just don't understand! I would never request more lighting from a host!

Yeah, I would have followed up with the address of the Walgreens. Really though, who are these people?!

[Mark116]

@Suzanne302 @Inna22  Me neither.  There are hundreds of listings in Chicago, if the guest doesnt' like the look of the lamps, needs more lamps, needs different lamps, needs a sunnier house for better reading....all she had to do is choose a different listing.  Hounding the host for more lamps is BS, and, so, seriously, these people are renting a house so they can stay home and read?  

[Sandra126]

I had a couple of older guests want to return, they said ''this time, could you have stronger bedside lamps as they were not bright enough for us?'' So I put in a couple of lamps during their stay. Brought them from home, made for a return stay. Wished they had told me during their FIRST stay, so I could have lent them some immediately. Maybe your guests were hoping you would have a few lamps kicking around that they could use.