writing Reviews

[Jide-And-Michele0]

Question I need to write a review for a recent guest. Although a very polite young man, his room was unkempt for the duration of his stay. In my house rules I request all guests clean up after themselves and maintain a tidy room. Can I say this in mind review.

[Raymond-and-Elaine0]

@Jide-And-Michele0 FAQ leaving a review.  Leaving a review for your guests is a chance to show your gratitude and provide helpful feedback. Because they're public, your reviews help other hosts know what to expect when they receive a reservation request from a guest who has stayed at your listing. Similarly, when you receive a review, it's your opportunity to use your guests' feedback to make improvements to your listing or the hospitality you provide.     

It's important for other hosts to know how guests behave in your home so we all need to be honest when house rules are broken. That said, what were you doing, going into his room? A guest has a right to complete privacy . I can see you are a young mother so take care not to treat your guests as children. I understand you asking that guests tidy up after themselves in the shared areas like the lounge and kitchen but you rent out a private room with a capital P. As long as no damage was done and the room in good condition when he left, i can see no harm that he left it messy whilst he was there. If this bothers you alot, you could ask the names and ages  of guests and only accept certain categories,ie woman or over 30's.

[Jide-And-Michele0]

Thank you.

It was left very messy at the end of is stay, also half way during his stay I explain someone was coming to view the room as a long term tenant so I would need to go into the room and show them

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Jide-And-Michele0.

You need to improve your rules.  You state, "To treat my home like their own and tidy up after themselves".  Well this guest probably treated your room like his own.  Also, you charge a $39 cleaning fee for a room ($9 cheaper than it is to rent the room)?  That seems pretty steep and he probably thought he was going to get his monies worth or did not need to clean up when he left.  Also, I am curious if you can provide more details as to how he left the room.  

You should also not be infringing on your guest's space while they are with you.  You should not show a future guest a room while someone is renting it from you.  I would refer them to my Airbnb site to see pictures of the room.

You could mention the messy state he left the room in the private notes but since you do charge a large cleaning fee for one room, I would not mention it in the public review.  Others may have a different view on this though.

Cheers

David 

[Margaret0]

David

I agree with you that a person's room is their own. This year I have been selling my house. I explained to guests that I was having viewings where the estate agent would be coming for an hour with one or two people. I arranged the viewings for times where the guests were likely to be up and out and then told them of the appointment and asked them to have their room tidy and asked if they would be out. I offered to lock away valuables. On the one occasion (out of 20 plus) where the guest had not planned to be out I bought her coffee and cake in a nice place.  She didnt ask me to do this, she just said she would go to a coffee shop and do some work. I walked her to it, went in myself (and sat seperately) and just paid for hers too. 

Noone had a problem with the viewings and noone remarked on it in a review. The odd time the room was not left that tidy by the guest. I had to live with that. 

I did that no more than once in a guests stay. I had viewings for 10 months.... I didnt have anyone to stay the weekend of an open viewing only while there were private viewings. 

Were I letting the place to them long term  and selling I would be entitled to show the house and the room , with them there or not. 

I cant see a problem with showing the room to a future long term guest with prior notice to the existing guest and at a considerate time. 

I dont see the problem with politely asking could you show the room 

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Margaret0.

You state, "Were I letting the place to them long term  and selling I would be entitled to show the house and the room , with them there or not.".

Although I took a quick look at the Landlord and Tenancy laws in Dublin, I could not find the requirements of giving notice to show the premesise.  I know where I am, I am required to give a long term tenant 48 hours notice that I am going to show their space.  I do note that if it is short term rental, the Landlord and Tenancy act is not in effect and that is why we choose for the most part to do short term rentals.

If I were serious about selling my house, I would not be renting it out.  Houses usually sell better without renters in them.  Of course this is just my opinion.  If I were a guest in your home, I would not feel comfortable having people in and out of my room and I would consider it disrespectful of the host.  

[Margaret0]

Your hypothetical experience dave is different to my actual one. My house is sale agreed at higher than the asking price. None of my guests found it disrespectful of me to show. My reviews have inproved during the process probably because of the effort to declutter and clean for viewings. The people viewing were clearly not put off as i had several bidders.
This conversation started with can you show a room while letting. Yhe answer is yes.

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Ok @Margaret0, I will shut up then.  Have a nice day!

[Shanta0]

Hello

Great reading the material.

Found it helpful.

thankyou very muuch

Best regards

shanta

[Florian-and-Theresa0]

@Margaret0 I agree with you about showing the room whilst a reservation. If you ask a guest in advance it should not be a problem - and it never was a problem for our guests. But of course, @Dave-and-Deb0, it is a private room/entire accomodation and you'll have to get the permession otherwise it would be a severe harm of guests privacy.

To return to the initial question, @Jide-And-Michele0. I absolutely understand your problem and we often dealing with the same problem. I'm about to rework my houserules and the whole listing cause you'll never stop learning from your guests. The probably most important thing I've learned (from guests and other hosts) so far and will change this in the future: If you have a cleaning fee any guest will think that they have paid for cleaning and don't have to clean even if required (esp. if it is as high as yours). In a way the guests are right cause asking for cleanliness and let them pay for getting the room cleaned is a double bind/contradiction. So I'm going to get rid off my cleaning fee (it's just 10 €) and be very strict with the cleanliness of guests in the future. If they leave the apartment in a bad condition I will request the security deposit. I think this is the only way.

About the review: I mention the state of the room at check out day in a scale from "acceptable" to "excellent".

[Maxine0]

@Jide-And-Michele0, @Florian-and-Theresa0 @Margaret0 - I agree with @Dave-and-Deb0 - when a guest books a 'P' private room, it is that, Private.

Personally, I would not enter the room of a guest unless it was a matter of urgency such as a fire alarm going off or if they were playing music at a horrendous level late at night and i couldn't get a response when knocking.

If you are viewing the room to potential guests or long term renters or purchasers - you need to do it when the room has no guest staying. I guess if you informed them 'before' they booked and they were agreeable, then that's OK. If sprung on them on arrival, IMHO, it's not OK -

Asking a guest to keep their room tidy when only they are in it, I personally feel is not necessary since it doesn't disturb anyone else. Shared kitchen and bathroom is a different matter.

My place for guests is a full-equipped, pretty much self-contained apartment on one floor of my house with their own street entrance etc etc - on occasion when a guest has asked for assistance with something that requires my entering their apartment, I turn a blind eye to clothes strewn evrywhere, unmade beds, pile of washing-up etc (particularly when four girls are staying) as it doesn't concern me at all. Just so long as they leave the place clean and tidy and undamaged when they leave.

[Dave-and-Deb0]

I think you make a very good point @Maxine0 when you state, "if you informed them 'before' they booked and they were agreeable, then that's OK". 

I feel if is brought up to a guest while they check-in or during their stay, they may say yes but the host is really putting them on the spot and most people will say yes to avoid confrontation.  I guess we all have our principles and justifications to suit our own needs.  

[Florian-and-Theresa0]

Well, maybe, @Dave-and-Deb0 and @Maxine0, you got me wrong - it's a bit of a lost in translation problem. Perhaps "ask" isn't the right word - it's more request or bid or entreat. Just chose a word which allows the guest to answer no. 😉

Of course I neverever enter the guest's apartment. And if I have to show the apartment and the guest says no, then it is - of course - no. And I respect this.

Btw, the legal situation in Germany allows landlords to enter their rental in such a case after announcement.

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Florian-and-Theresa0, I actually completely understood and agree with you.

[Eileen4]

Agree with Deb and Dave too. I personally would not rent it while showing it for sale. I've sold two houses and both times had the short term rental spaces in them empty. It's not a guest's responsibility to keep a place clean so that I can sell it. I personally wouldn't agree to that myself if I were a guest, but then I've sold houses so I know how picky some buyers and their real estate agents can be.