When you ask/require your guests to remove their shoes...

[Kimberly54]

Hi all,

Lizzie asked us about carpet vs hard-flooring, and a number of you commented that you either expected or required a guest to remove their shoes when entering your home.

I understand the feeling, AND... have a perspective?

When I lived in Japan, it was (of COURSE) required that you remove your street shoes.  HOWEVER, there were slippers available for you to wear in the house. Not exactly fashionable, but I do understand the purpose.

* many women wear extremely thin 'hosiery'

* some shoes do not require socks, and walking bare-foot seems a bit strange (?)

* this custom sort of precudes taking a walk out into someone's 'back yard' right?  What do you do?  Rush to the front, get your shoes, then take them out back?

In my home, I have mats outside and inside of every entry.  This is where you 'wipe' your shoes (on both sides of the entry) before/as you enter the house. 

I also do not have carpet, so clean-up is easy.

Of course, if there is mud (?) or rain, well... this is San Diego, so I suppose we'd just deal with it in whatever way.  (Almost never happens here!)

What are your thoughts?

Best

[Kimberly54]

@Marzena4, for me, it completely depends on the circumstances.

If I see a sea of shoes near the front door, TAKE THEM OFF!  I understand that 100%

But if not, and no slippers available... it's a coin-toss.  Ask? (Some will, some won't even think.)

Asking is great, but I wouldn't assume everyone would know this sliding-scale of rules.

Best always!

[Kimberly54]

😉 @Marzena4, I do NOT take my shoes off!  I NERVOUSLY look around at the entry:  are there slippers?  Are there other people's shoes laying around?  If that is the scene, off with my shoes, no matter what expensive hosiery I may be wearing/destroying if there are no slippers!

This really can get complicated, eh?

Best!

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

Umm...... socks are undergarments?!?!? Never thought of them that way.........

I'm in Korea where shoes off at the door, no shoes in the home rule is quite similar as Japan. Most homes (that I've been to) provide some sort of indoor slipper for all guests.

I was taught by my mom from an early age that being barefoot when you are a guest in someone's home is "rude" (a sign that your parents didn't teach you proper manners) so especially in the summer when people wear flip flops or sandals, we either carry a pair of thin socks with us (what I like to do) or you ask the host (in an apologetic tone) to borrow a pair of socks. (then when you leave, you take them off and place them nicely to one side near the door as you put your own shoes on and thank your host for the socks!)

[Kimberly54]

OMIGOSH, @Jessica-and-Henry0!  You actually carry socks with you?  And borrowed socks?  I am so awed and impressed.  Really. 

OK, for the rest of you who criticized my use of 'naked feet,' can you see it here?  You don't drag your ratty old feet (shoes or no shoes) and now you put on a pair of clean socks--so you're GOOD-- and leave them near the door when you go!

This is Brilliant!

I am probably not going to do this, but I think it is very cool. 😉

Best,

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Kimberly54

I don't have socks with me all the time but....when there's a possibility I may enter someone's home and I know I will be wearing flip flops or sandals barefooted (especially in the summer time), then I like to make sure I have a a pair that looks like the image below in my bag 🙂 

FYI, the one's I own also have a few small silicon dots on the bottom soles so my feet don't slip!!! 

[Marzena4]

The biggest problem might be in summer: smelly feet... 😉

[Cate20]

After my trip to Thailand I got used to taking my shoes off to enter shops and restaurants, let alone someones home. Not doing so was serious disrespect. On my return I decided that no-one would be wearing shoes in my house again. So when I started hosting AirBnB guests naturally I listed in the house rules online and in my room manual that shoes where to be removed at the front door.  So if folks ignore my request I too see that as disrespect and further more  undermines the trust that must exist for us to open our homes to stangers.

On a practical level I personally dont enjoy cleaning and the no outdoor shoes rule cuts the cleaning by half.

Today I received a shock. A guest of last week who I had to remind twice about wearing shoes inside (Muddy shoes at that) and who had clearly not read the house manual nor the rules spitefully gave me a terrible review, with a large helping of passive agresssion thrown in for good measure something about my "Many rules" etc  I'm glad that its the only bad review that I have recieved but it does create such a bad impression and why should we have to accept this kind of guest bullying when we all work so hard at hosting. I had a one-day turn around today and spend ALL day changing bedding and cleaning for the princely sum of £32. All I ask is that people remove their shoes in my home - is it so much of a big deal?

[Genoveva2]

I agree with you completely and you were NOT in the wrong. This is YOUR HOME not a dang hotel and it shouldn’t be hard to remove shoes especially if you’re giving such a great rate.

Guests (sadly) do not read ANYTHING unless it is IN THEIR FACE! <—- like that (lol)

I have notes on the wall about removing shoes, and on the door upon entering. Ironically after I got cameras installed around my property (for security) I noticed how guests then magically started removing their shoes. 

I also hide my lockbox code in the Houss Manual so they are forced to read the entire thing. 

If guests ask questions that are in the manual I simply say: “Please read the manual for all the details of your stay.”

In the beginning of the house manual I like to start my intro with the mentioning of how long the read is (2minute read) so they realize it’s only two minutes and hopefully inspires most to read. 

I say something like:

Hello and Welcome:

This is a 2 minute read.... I know, I know, you can’t get that time back, but please take these 2 minutes to read this house manual so you know everything you need to know about your stay. 

(I also try to keep it flowing so they’re not bored after 30 seconds) lol 

so so sad but in this day and age everything is so fast paced that guests skim through everything. Even the bookings. So it’s important to know what to say, how to say it, and where to say it, in hopes that they’ll listen. 

I hope I helped some? 

Happy Hosting!

[Sarah977]

@Genoveva2  I think your manual ideas are really good. I don't need a manual because I host a private room in my home, but if I did have a manual, I'd do much the same- I'd also use a lot of graphics and photos, easy to read font, with font changes between separate instructions, and few words- people's attention is drawn to pictures, they tend to gloss over the words. And if I had a problem with guests not removing their shoes, rather than posting a note that says "Please remove your shoes", I'd just post a picture or photo of shoes with a big black line through it.

[Genoveva2]

Yes I totally agree! I have a sign just like that on my door, but it also says

Please remove your shoes. 

Then there is a pic of shoes with a line across it. 

Have you ever had guests wearing shoes In your home? 

If so how do you handle it? 

Im curious because I’m actually getting ready to rent out a private unit in my home. 

[Sarah977]

@Genoveva2  Most of my guests have been hip to taking off their shoes. I actually am not that fussed about them wearing shoes here, because the only shared space is the terrace and kitchen, which opens directly off the terrace and all are tiled floors, no carpets to muddy up. And the floor in their bedroom/bathroom also has a tile floor and a private entrance, so if they want to walk around in there in the same footwear they wore on the dirty streets, that's up to them- I, of course, wash the floor between guests anyway. So I don't have any rule about no shoes.

I'm Canadian, and I can tell you that it's quite customary for Canadians, at least the ones I know, to always take their shoes off at the door. It was actually one of the chores I assigned to my kids when they were about 2 or 3- they can't do many chores at that age, but I believe in getting kids used to helping out. So pointing them to the pile of shoes kicked off at the entrance was a perfect job for that age-"Can you find all the matching pairs of shoes and put them neatly next to each other?" is right up a 3-year old's alley. They actually enjoy it, it's like a game.

[Genoveva2]

Ahhhh that’s nice. Unfortunately for me I have carpet in the rooms and on stairs. Brand new too. Thinking of maybe putting a camera at front door for guests to remove shoes? Maybe too invasive idk? I’d freak if guests were wearing shoes on brand new carpet. My property is huge and I usually mop once a week. Shoes would put way more strain on me then I would want to endure. 

Awesome ideas for the kids! I’ll keep that in mind when I have some of my own. 😉

[Sarah977]

@Genoveva2   How about a plain floor mat or a piece of vinyl flooring right inside the front door that you paint "Shoes off, please" on in big red letters? And some kind of shoe rack right there. Something they'd have to be blind not to see. I wouldn't go with the camera- if I were a guest, I would find that way over the top- like big brother's watching you.

[Genoveva2]

This is a great idea! I am going to do this instead. What about guests getting frisky on common areas like couches.... has this ever happened in your personal home? 

[Sarah977]

@Genoveva2  No, because I only host solo travelers in a single bed room. But I'm sure couples will get frisky any and everywhere- there's that spice of doing it in different, strange places. So I'm sure when guests have a place to themselves, many are using the couch, the kitchen table, anywhere and everywhere (rug burn, anyone?). That's why most hosts advise making an entire house Airbnb as bulletproof as possible. I'd buy some slipcovers for the couch or have some custom made- something you can whip off and throw in the wash.