What would you do?

[Celine50]

Hey Peeps! I have been lurking for a while without paticipating much. Today, I needed to vent to you with hopes you will understand better than anyone else and you hopefully can chime in. 

After a few years of hosting 1 room in my house, I just built a "tiny guest house" in my backyard to expand my hosting options. I spent a considerable amount of $ on the bedding, towels...I am for the moment priced lower than the market as I need reviews before I can ask for what it is worth. I had a professional woman staying with me for 3 days, who just checked out. I have found lipstick on the pillow cases and duvet cover (resto hardware grey linen sheets that cannot be bleached), robe (linen) and she wiped her face full her makeup on different occasions with my luxury white towels (kissing marks!!!) which are bamboo and do not fair well with bleach either. I have been stain cleaning for hours trying to detach everything and find more stains everytime it comes out of the dryer....

Needless to say I am upset. She is lucky most of it is coming out and for that reason, I will not ask to be reimbursed for the items. (The duvet only is $300). However, I usually charge $30 cleaning fees and considering it is taking me more than double my time, I am thinking of charging her $100 (uploading pics and going through Airbnb, of course). I wish I could post pictures so you can see the extend of the damages. Unreal. Towels and duvet cover had more than 10 different stains each, the robe 4...What would you do in my situation? Am i being fair? 

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

While I sympathize with how much that sucks, I also would NEVER put such expensive items in my Airbnb knowing full well people just don't respect items that aren't actually theirs. I would replace the lot of it with less expensive items - we love our IKEA sheets and duvet cover.  Another option is to put some darker wash clothes or makeup wipes in the bathroom and let your female guests know you prefer they use these instead of your towels.

You can obviously ask the guest for the $100 (I probably wouldn't, honestly), though I would bet she would decline your request and I can't see Airbnb supporting your claim for it.

[Lynne2]

I am from a different part of the world and so don't know what is available to you, but my apartments are stocked with hotel quality white linen and towels.    They are made to withstand hard wear and tear, which domestic linen is not.  There are suppliers who specialise in the hospitality industry.  We wash towels ourselves, but take all the bedlinen to a professional laundry so that it can be ironed.  We have found that the time saved is worth the money.  There are washing additives which can be added to whites that will certainly remove stains such as lipstick. 

I hope this helps,

Lynne

[Celine50]

I like your suggestion, Lynne and I will look into it.

On and all, it really was not about the price or how easy my linens are to care for. Seeing bright pink lipstick plastered on every fabric I provided, including the walls did not sit well with me, especially when I provide makeup remover wipes to begin with. I have been hosting for 5 years and I am used to a few nakeup stains, including hair color products on my linens. This was way beyond what is acceptable. 

I ended up leaving a 4 start review for cleanliness to the guest (first time ever), not charging her extra and did explain to her in the private comments that it took hours of extra care on my part and that she would keep her next hosts happy by caring for their stuff a little better. 

I also added a comment in the house manual for future guests, I hope it helps...

Thank you for your feedback 😉 

[Rachael26]

@Celine50 @Lynne2

It certainly is worth dry cleaning sheets and bedding (even occasionally) and the extra benefit is that it is also tax deductible.

industrial strength white sheets are the way to go.

Best Wishes.

[Robin4]

@Celine50

Yeah Celine, that's what happens.....sort of makes you wonder what their own linens look like at home, doesn't it.

I do a few things to help get around this. All my linens are high thread count (1,000 and 1,900)  which gives them a really soft silky feel so before being used I have them stain guarded which although giving them a slightly 'starchy' feel is offest by the softness of them.
I have developed a 'relationship' with the local Dry Cleaner and they have been wonderful at giving me tips on how to handle stains as well as stain guarding of linens and towels. This really helps with make-up, red wine, vomit, and blood.....yeah, you will get it all. Most times just a squirt on the affected area with Sards wonder spray, or similar, soak for an hour or so, into the wash and they come out well. I also use all light pastel colours instead of white Celine, because they do look better for longer than white.

I put boxes of tissues next to the bed, in the bathroom and in the kitchen area and I supply packets of face wipes and this does seem to minimise the problem, although these days poor quality 'fake tan' does require a bit more soaking!

Celine, I only ever had one like you have struck.....geez, she looked like 'Bo-bo the clown' when she had all her face paint on, and that's when I decided to be a bit pro-active in protecting my investment.....and Celine, you are right it is a big investment! And although in 100 hostings I have struck the issue since, it has been really easy to deal with and I have not made mention of it to the guest, and still given them a good review.

Like I have done, get to know your local Dry Cleaner....they can be of great help to you!

There is one inailienable fact in life......you never criticies a womans appearance or how she manages to acheive it!

Good luck Celine.

Cheers.....Rob

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

I wouldn't charge for that.

Lipstick, mascara, foundation, it's all part of the drill.

I use only white towels and washcloths so that I can bleach the living daylights out of them and hang them out to dry in the sun without the sun fading them.

Skip the linen and stick with the cotton duvet covers.  Cotton washes much more easily than linen does.

As @Cynthia-and-Chris1 already stated, IKEA makes very good duvet covers (thank you @Branke@Silvia if you see this) that launder beautifully.

I wash all my bedding in detergent, a good squirt of dishwashing liquid (that cuts the grease from people's sweat and whatever), 1/2 cup Borax, and vinegar in the rinse cycle.  If you have a top-loading washer (I don't) you can add a little more dishwashing soap in cold water.  Before I throw it all in the dryer, I make sure it's clean.  Once you throw stained clothes into a dryer, you're done as the heat bakes in the mess.

Towels go in hot water with bleach for the first wash and then they go through a second wash with no bleach, cold water, and vinegar in the fabric softener section.

Everything comes out.... make-up, sweat, crazy stains I can't identify but refuse to get too close to.

Cold water is your friend, borax is your savior, vinegar is your muse.

[Lynne2]

Perhaps I should clarify that I used "linen" as a collective noun for textiles put on beds.  I don't want to be misunderstood.  My linen is cotton 😄

[Marit-Anne0]

@Celine50

There is a reason why hotel linen is always of the white coloured kind....    If your linen is of the same kind, the stains should come out with some effort and chemicals.

[Wendy-and-Frank0]

Ahhh, @Lynne2.

Okay.  I hear linen, I think fabric.

I hear linens, I think bedding.

Funny what an "s" can do.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Celine50

Do you charge luxury boutique hotel prices ? If not, there is no need to supply ditto bedlinen.  Clean and laundered will suffice (iron if you have the time) and best there is from IKEA is in fact very good quality.  Your linen needs to withstand high temperatures for hygienic reasons and some rough treatment.  Some Ikea linen are pure cotton and has a real high thread count and require a minimum of ironing. Pure linen cannot withstand this kind of treatment and would only be suitable in private households. Stick to white cotton if you want your linen to last.

http://www.ikea.com/no/no/catalog/products/00229837/