What is reasonably expected of you as a host?

[Neil408]

Hi guys, just wanted to get some feedback or opinions on what is reasonably expected of you as a host.

I had a guest who said he was 'uncomfortable' because I did not fill the kettle in his room with water and he said 'the bedsheet hasn't been ironed, neither has the duvet or the pillowcases and he found some 'bobbles' on one of the pillowcases. He said this also made him uncomfortable and felt like there was no obvious signs that the sheets had been changed. He had booked for 3 nights and stayed for one. I asked him if the sheets smelt clean when he went to bed - he said that was immaterial and dirty sheets could smell clean?? 

In addition he also said that he has 'lots of friends who host' and they 'all' iron the bedding and he said I should have run a lint roller over the pillows. 

For me I don't iron the bedsheets I just put clean ones on and smooth out any creases by hand - Is it reasonably expected of you to iron the bedding? I only charge £21 a night (23 Euros for my European friends) / $27 US and  I feel he needs to align cost with expectation. I guess he has some points but this is not the Ritz Carlton or Claridges.

I've hosted 700 people over 5 years now and this is the first complaint about not having ironed sheets and finding a small bobble on the pillow. Bobbles happen when things come out of the tumble dryer.

I make it clear in my check in instructions that if a guest has issues to communicate the issues to me on the day - he simply checked out without letting me know and then sent me a ranty message later on about my place not being 'as expected'. He's also demanding a full refund of the two nights he didnt stay in exchange for 'not leaving me a review' and I feel a little unsure about what to do.

[Benjamin836]

Been there. It won’t be the first time or last time you will have the issue. Don’t let one bad rating stress you out. Move on to your next guest and YOU are doing a good job !!! 

[Amanda660]

It’s easy to stay forget about it but I’d be the same.  Did this chap have any reviews?  

On a side note - we leave our kettle empty too.....so they can fill it with fresh water 😉

[Neil408]

He had 3 or 4 reviews, all positive. His room is next to a large bathroom and the sink is big enough to accomodate a kettle, figured he was big enough to do it himself. Exactly - I leave it empty so guests can have fresh water too, just feel it's easier that way than leaving water standing.

[Mark116]

@Neil408  I would never fill a kettle for a guest, that's kind of crazy, how would the guest know how long the water had been sitting?  

We have a combination of all cotton and some synthetic sheet sets.  Once in a while we have to iron the cotton pillow cases, but I simply don't have time or charge enough to iron an entire set of sheets to hotel standards.  That guy was a jerk.

[Neil408]

All my bedding is cotton so I guess some natural fluffing up of the cotton is normal but I would pretty much agree that I don’t charge enough to spend my time ironing the bedding. If you want an experience like that, generally in my experience a hotel is where you’ll get it. I certainly wouldn’t expect it in an Airbnb. I always feel like on Airbnb you pay for the host’s time as much as the experience! 

[Sarah977]

@Neil408  Sounds to me like the guy was trying to manufacture reasons to scam a refund. 

I do not iron sheets. We have similar listings as far as being budget-priced home shares. If guests want ironed sheets, they can go stay somewhere that's twice, or 4 times the price.

I once mentioned to a guest after she'd arrived,  "Hope you don't expect ironed sheets, because I don't do  that". She looked at me like I was nuts, said she'd never ironed a sheet in her life and wouldn't expect anyone else to, either.

[Gordon0]

I think most of us have had these sort of guests. Want lots but expect to pay little. It was your 'turn', that's all. 

I have ironed sheets, but for the money you're charging, not a chance. 

>>He's also demanding a full refund of the two nights he didnt stay in exchange for 'not leaving me a review' and I feel a little unsure about what to do.<<

Get in touch with Airbnb ASAP. Hopefully you've got proof of this statement (via app etc). They won't let the review stand. 

[Neil408]

Thanks Gordon, I contacted Airbnb earlier and they said they'd get in touch with him.

[Dimitar27]

The magic you need is called "steamer".

That's about the sheets.

About the guests...there is nothing 100% effective 🙂

[Kelly149]

This guy deserves a review. “expected ironed bedding here at our home share which is not on the program so he left early. Hopefully in future he will choose locations that match his expectations.”

1* 1* 1* do not recommend 

[Laura2592]

@Kelly149 this is definitely 9ne where "guests expectations were in line with a luxury hotel and would be best suited to such an accommodation " definitely  says it all. 

[Robin4]

@Neil408 

He was not happy with clean smelling linens because they were not ironed!

But he would have been happy with a full kettle that may have had water sitting in it for anything up to a fortnight! 

What a strange set of priorities!

Neil if those were the reasons he chose to shorten his stay, he will be attempting to scam you in one way or another. Perhaps he found somewhere else cheaper, or has been offered other accommodation and will want his money back . Guest who find silly complaints like that are up to no good, they are not genuine! And the problem is Airbnb will invariably side with them......guests never lie you know!

That last sentence of yours is enough to have his account closed if you have that in writing or as a text you can screenshot. Airbnb will not tolerate reviews based around extortion, and that is exactly what that is....he wants a refund to not leave a revenge review. Make sure you have evidence of that.

I am a bit over a barrel Neil, in so much as, I make a big deal about the guest bed in my listing description, and because of that I am committed to making sure the linens have ironed creases in them. So I do iron the sheets and the pillowcases. It doesn't take me long, I have got into a routine with ironing them and I can iron a top sheet and the 6 pillowcases in less than 10 minutes. It's no big deal for me and it guarantees I will never get a complaint like that. Nobody has ever given me a complaint about the bedding. 

I also go to great lengths to make sure the guest will never find a rogue hair anywhere. Linens can be washed clean, but still have the odd dark hair, and ironing them makes the chance of that happening virtually impossible.

Neil, I figure the effort that goes into it is worthwhile!

Cheers.......Rob

[Sarah977]

@Robin4  I know you like to iron your sheets, but you don't charge $27US/night 🙂

[Robin4]

@Sarah977 

You are right, I would not iron sheets for $27 ($36.50 AU) per night.

But no genuine guest would expect ironed sheets in an STR for that amount.

@Neil408  is being scammed and blackmailed by this guest. Guests like this need to be driven from the Airbnb platform, and that is why I hope Neil has hard evidence of that guest's refund demand.

But Sarah, that wasn't the question. Neil asked, 'what was reasonably expected of me as a host', and that is why I answered the way I did. From my listing description guests expect that their bed here is going to be better than average, a perception that I have given and have to follow through on! I am not saying every host should do it, it's just a part of the package that the host in me provides, and I charge accordingly. I allow that extra 10 minutes to run the iron over them!

Cheers........Rob