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?