What's with the washing up?

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

What's with the washing up?

I started hosting private rooms in my home just over a year and a half ago and have been very busy ever since. I do not charge a cleaning fee and do not expect my guests to do very much either. They don't need to strip the beds when they leave, put anything in the washing machine, put the rubbish or recycling out, squeegy the shower etc. etc. They have full access to the kitchen, which I am constantly cleaning to keep in a spotless state, so they don't even have to wipe up their crumbs and messes. The only thing I expect them to deal with is their dishes.

 

Now, this isn't difficult. I have a dishwasher, which I show them when they arrive, so they only need to pop their things in there. Or, if they prefer to wash them by hand, as some do, I show them where the dishsoap is. For a year and a half, this has never been an issue. They might leave the odd glass or cup in their room when they check out, but that doesn't bother me.

 

In the last few weeks, however, I've had a stream of guests who just leave their dirty dishes by the sink, sometimes piles of them and sometimes on a daily basis. Often they apologise (unprompted), making one excuse or another, so they know they're not supposed to do this, but then just do it again. I usually have more than one set of guests staying at one time, so I can't just leave the dishes there. The kitchen needs to be kept clean and tidy at all times. Plus I have three cats and don't want them tempted onto the counters.

 

I am not sure what has gone wrong as it was never a problem before but now it seems to becoming the norm. I never complain about it but am starting to feel a bit put upon. Is it unreasonable to expect the guests to take care of their own dishes? 

 

The other thing that is happening a lot recently is guests eating meals, including greasy takeaways, curries, fish and chips etc. in the bedrooms, which is against my house rules. They are leaving my bedlinens and towels stained with food and even sometimes slopping it on my antique furniture.  Recently I found food sprayed all over the silk curtains. The other day I found a silk lampshade completely splattered with tomato sauce, and I mean covered in it. Who DOES that?!

 

These guests were all perfectly polite and decent in every other way, but the ironic thing is that several of them gave ME 4 stars for cleanliness (I usually get 5).

 

Are guests getting worse when it comes to cleanliness or am I just expecting too much?

43 Replies 43
Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Oh, and I was sent into a frenzy getting the curtains laundered in time for the next guests who were arriving imminently!

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Huma0

Put an 'Alco tester'  on the door and state in your listing description that you make it condition of entry into your wonderful listing that they be below .05 in order for the key to operate in the lock!

Problem solvered Huma! Sober people don't 'paint the town' ....or the lampshade, red'!

 

Cheers.....Rob

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Rob. 

Long time no speak! Sorry I've been AWOL these past few months.

 

As I've mostly been hosting long-termers in the past year, I've not really had the issue with unwashed dishes. It's usually holiday makers who seem to think you're their housemaid (and even then, that's the minority of them). Long-term guests do their dishes, but they are more likely to leave the stove dirty as some of them cook a lot and some do love to eat takeaways in their rooms.. 

 

Anyway, your response I think is quite apt. I've had two long-term guests break stuff by crashing into furniture while drunk. Last weekend, I think one of those two guests fell asleep in the downstairs toilet. She was drinking at home and by 7pm looking pretty drunk. She went into the toilet at this time. By 10pm, I was starting to get seriously worried that something terrible had happened to her so I knocked on the door. She said 'hello?' and then emerged a few minutes later looking very sleepy and said she was going to bed. I'm pretty sure she fell asleep on the toilet. For THREE hours.

@Huma0   Ah! the 4 star routine when they are the slobs, etc. I have had that a few times especially when I remind them to clean up after themselves.

 

I don't think you are expecting too much, they sound like pigs, staining lampshades and curtains with food! I added to my spiel, when I show them around on arrival, the necessity of washing up their dishes, cleaning up after themselves, noting other guests may be here. And when showing them the fridge and/or room stating no food is to be stored or eaten in the room. I have also taken to reminding them if they forget – especially the long hair in the shower!  At first it was rather awkward, who wants to be telling adults how to behave in a respectful manner it seemed almost rude, but with time it has developed into a matter of fact, light-hearted intro. I have had one or two who are affronted by being reminded of basic courtesies, so I add to my patter,  I may be rather detailed in my explanations,  please don't take it personally, or feel free to tell me to shut up if I am stating the obvious – to which most people laugh.  

 

Ultimately, you have to find a way to do it or you'll go crazy and run yourself ragged mopping up after them. Not to mention the costs of extra cleaning, dry-cleaning and replacing stained linens etc.  And other guests who are there at the same time will more than likely rate you down if someone is leaving dirty dishes everywhere and not cleaning up after themselves.

 

p.s. In my things to note I say I do not provide daily maid service, guests are expected to clean up after themselves and I also slip it into my spiel sometimes. I used to have if you require daily maid service please let me know - rates start at min. $60, which is almost as much as my nightly rate. To date no one has taken me up on it.

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ange2

 

Yes, there are those retalitory ratings too. My lowest score for cleanliness came after I had to speak to a guest about the state she was leaving the bathroom in. I said it as politely as I could, but she took great offence. Normally though, I say nothing, so the ratings I mentioned above weren't retalitory. It just seems like the messier guests often leave lower cleanliness ratings.

 

I like your method. I do actually do something similar in my house tour, e.g. say something like, "Sorry if I say some things that seem really obvious. I only mention them because a lot of guests do this." Those things are leaving the front door open, the fridge door open, helping themselves to other people's stuff. The only one related to cleanliness is that sometimes I remind them if they are going to wash things by hand to please use dish soap. It amazes me how many people just rinse their dishes with water and then leave them to dry. Yuck.

 

I think I will take your lead. I've already started reminding them about no meals in the room. Everytime I mention it, the guests seem astonished that anyone would do that, but I think more than 50% of my guests break this rule, even though they have an eight seater dining table and two outdoor dining areas at their disposal, as well as fridge space.

 

I already show them the dishwasher, dish soap etc. but now am going to make a point of saying they need to use them. They do know this, but seem to think I'm too "nice" to mind if they don't.

 

Do you think it would help to start the speil with something like, "Unlike other hosts, I don't charge a cleaning fee, so it would be great if you could please make sure you wash your dishes or use the dishwasher."? Would mentioning the cleaning fee remind them they're getting good value but also NOT paying for maidservice help or just annoy them?

 

@Huma0   I always avoid mentioning money, fees, it's a sure fire way to get their gander / dander up. I usually say something along the lines :  as you know there is no daily maid service and there are other guests, please ...   The daily maid service reminds them of the low price (well some of them) without having to mention hard cash. I do make a habit of following up now because I am sick of cleaning up after people – it did take some practise to make it a light-hearted throw-away line but it's worth it. No one has immediately taken offense but a few have slammed me in the stars. But the way I see it is my sanity and time is worth more than the stars and if I am delisted or lose my Superhost status for making that a priority, so be it.

 

Fortunately I have a vast majority pleasant, respectful, wonderful guests. I am trying not to have the few entitled guests ruin my experience.

@Huma0   I think you need to be more direct- "It would be great if you......." conveniently registers mentally to the kind of people who just leave their dirty dishes for someone else to wash like "I don't really have to".

"As the house is shared, of course everyone is expected to wash their own dishes right after preparing food or eating", might be a better approach.

I guess 4 stars for cleanliness to those kind of guests means "Huma didn't run around cleaning up my messes, so the place wasn't always immaculate" 🙂

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ange2

 

Oh, and I will also mention "as I have other guests staying"...

Chris232
Level 10
Petersfield, United Kingdom

@Huma0@Ange2

I can certainly sympathise with your predicament, unfortunately they will always take offense when reminded of cleaning issues.

I now have 2 full time italian Lodgers and has taken me about 4 months to get them trained (sort off) but they become the best, cleanest, tidiest and most considerate lodgers when ever I have a female AirBnB here.

The Loo seat is always left down, Shower room wiped down and cleaned after use and the kitchen is left spotless ... even the Hob is done.

Hah, I sigh of relief of not having to chase round like a headless chicken, but its short lived until she leaves and then they return to thier passionate Latin ways and I wait patiently for my next female guest.

 

But the sunny side of it all is that the home is alive with laughter and and the wonderful Italian meals which are served in the evenings, and now we have good weather they have just discovered the BBQ

 

So no matter what type of guest I have here, it is always an interesting time.

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Chris232

Oh dear, it's a pity you can no longer list to only young attractive females Chris!....you would not have to do any servicing at all. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Or maybe they are so desperate that the females don't even have to be attractive!!

 

I like that story Chris.

 

Cheers.....Rob

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Robin4

 

The problem is, in my experience, that young attractive females are often the worst when it comes to cleaning up after themselves. Maybe they have been able to get away with it all their lives. So, sorry, renting to that category only would not solve the cleaning issues!

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Chris232

 

That's very funny. I also used to have an Italian lodger, but that was before I started doing Airbnb. He was not the stereotype, but there's no doubt he preferred living with females. I wonder if he would have acted the same in such a situation. Anyway, I love him to bits, we have remained firm friends and I am going to his wedding this Summer. Before that, I heard that Italians were difficult to live with, but he proved that not all of them are and my Italian guests, while not always perfect (terrible time keepers, often break a few house rules) are always such lovely, warm hearted people, so I'm happy to host them.

@Chris0 Fascinating. My cleanest guests have been men. Like obesessive compulsive clean. I have had a few of those. My house was never going to be clean enough for them! The dirtiest have typically been young American women and one very dirty young male.

Have a great time with your Italian guests this summer. Bet they cook up some good grub on the grill!

@Huma0 

Once I left a post-it on the wall when one of my prior guests kept leaving dirty dishes & mugs in the sink expecting me or Henry to always clean up. I just wrote "please clean up after yourself 🙂 " and left the guest's dishes in the sink for a couple days until he actually did them. 

 

I don't mind the occasional cup or mug or plate...... and sometimes right before bed I left a cup in the sink as well. All my other guests would actually just do the additional cup or fork Henry or I left when they happened to clean up after themselves in the morning so of course Henry and I did not mind doing the same for our guests when they happened to leave an item or two in the sink. But that particular guest....... of course he did the bare minimum of cleaning up after himself and very often would leave items in the sink. I think it was about 1 month into the stay...... we invited him to join us for a snack (that Henry prepared) and as we were cleaning up, he started washing the cup and fork he used and just left the stuff Henry and I used in the sink for us to wash up!!! So after that, whenever we did dishes we made a point of not doing the items he left in the sink.