"Rooms and Spaces" Questions

[Michelle53]

Hi All

I'm busy revisiting the Rooms and Spaces list, after getting a gripe that I don't have a "Living Room" in my open plan area.

My original space was laid out with a bedroom area (no door) with a double bed, a living area which has a double futon, coffee table, TV etc, and a dining area, with a small table for eating, a refrigerator and a microwave.  All open plan. 

That whole space has a door which closes. 

One can walk through that door to another smaller open space, with a daybed and trundle, and a desk, with a privacy screen,  next to the full bathroom (yup, that has a door). 

I call the space a Studio since it is basically open-plan.    The futon is generally kept made up as a double bed, since I put a mattress topper on it, so folding it back can be difficult. 

My space can sleep 6 people, two doubles, two singles (daybed+trundle), but fire code limits me to maximum occupancy of 4, which I prefer anyway. 

I currently have the following checked :-

Bedroom   1

Full Bathroom 1

Half Bathroom 0

Kitchen 0

Kitchenette 0    

Living Room 1

Dining Area 1

Office 0

Backyard 0

Patio 0

All additional 0

Questions :

Does anyone think a microwave, kettle, french press and refrigerator, crockery and flatware,  make up a "kitchenette" ?

Should I remove Living Room, since basically, it's another sleeping area ?

Should I check "1" for office?   I don't believe just a desk qualifies, and it's really just another sleeping area

I don't even know where folks see this information. I see  4 guests, · 1 bedroom, · 4 beds, · 1 bath   under "listing preview".    

Thanks for any suggestions. 

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  I can see the conundrum. A true studio shouldn't even have any of those designations, as it is basically one room divided into various use areas. 

If you only have one guest or a couple, then what you call the living room would actually be a living room for them, as long as the futon couch is in the couch position. If it's left open as a bed, then I can see where it wouldn't feel like a living room to guests.

And if there are more guests, so the futon is also being used as a bed, then it really won't feel like a living room. 

I don't really know what to suggest, except to make it all clear in your description wording. 

Microwave, coffee maker and fridge seems like a kitchenette to me. A friend of mine had a similar set up in her studio- a corner of the living room area, set up with a small dish cupboard, microwave, coffee maker, mini fridge, but she's not hosting anymore, so I can't check her listing, but I'll ask her how she listed it.

I wouldn't check "office" as a space, just "dedicated workspace" in the amenities. A desk in one area of the living room isn't an office, just a workspace.

I wouldn't really get too concerned about any of this, though, based on one guest complaint.

[Michelle53]

@Sarah977  Thanks !   It was more the "3" for accuracy that bothered me, in that complaint,  rather than the "4" overall.  I thought my photos were pretty self explanatory, but one never knows when some background change in settings that we are never notified about, but the guests can see, will pop up something unexpected. 

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  Quite true. I hadn't checked the amenities list for awhile, as I'm still closed until I can get my second vax, but looked at it yesterday, and saw a bunch of new stuff.

[Brian2036]

@Michelle53 

I would say it’s a kitchenette.

If I were staying there I would appreciate a 2 burner hot plate for cooking breakfast and maybe a toaster oven.

One of your reviews mentioned a “well equipped kitchen” so apparently that person thought it was more than a kitchenette.

[Michelle53]

@Brian2036  Thanks for the suggestions.  I've resisted adding a toaster oven or hotplate because it would require additional cookware, and yet more cleaning, and it's already a load for me to manage.

I  don't have a dishwasher in the space. Cookware would require hand washing/scrubbing.

Since there are several decent breakfast places within walking distance,  I direct folks there.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  My friend who had a set up similar to yours had no sink there, either, and the bathroom sink is one of those really small, shallow ones, no way to wash dishes. She had a plastic tote for dirty cups and bowls and flatware the guests just put out in the hallway outside their suite that she would grab and wash.

@Brian2036 "If I were staying there I would appreciate a 2 burner hot plate for cooking breakfast and maybe a toaster oven."

Then you should do what I'm sure you'd tell a guest of yours who wanted things you don't provide- shoulda booked a place that offers that, then. 🙂

Picture a grease spattered area in  the living area- that's what it would be. 

[Brian2036]

@Sarah977 @Michelle53 

It didn’t occur to me that there’s no kitchen sink. From the picture it appears that there might be.

And yes, I would be looking for a place with a full kitchen and wouldn’t ask someone to install one.

[Michelle53]

@Brian2036  I do have double sinks, actually.  Not very deep. Enough for hand washing dishware and flatware.  

[Sarah977]

@Brian2036 @Michelle53  Yes, I see you have a sink there. When I wrote my friend didn't have a sink, either, I meant there was a lot of stuff that wouldn't qualify it as a place you could really prepare a meal. She didn't even have a counter- just a piece of furniture with a cupboard in the top for dishes, and a small work surface. 

She Airbnbed that space for many years, did really well with it, had a lot of repeat guests, but when a close friend of her son's and his girlfriend needed a place to live, she rented it to them full time. It actually worked out  great, because then Covid hit right around the same time, and the business would have plummeted anyway. And with the lockdowns they had, they had a full house of their own bubble and no one felt that isolated.

[Michelle53]

@Sarah977  Really,  I wouldn't say my space is ideal for preparing meals.  Just the basic take out, or prepared frozen meal. 

People really are out, most of the time, rather than spending extensive time in the space,  which is as I prefer.

[Sarah977]

@Michelle53  When Covid hit and I had to close, I sort of lamented the fact that there was no space to put even a mini fridge in my guest room, let alone a kitchenette, so it could be a no-contact rental, but then I thought I really don't want them having food up there anyway. 

What you've got there looks totally adequate for a studio, when there are places to eat out or grab some take-out nearby.