odd behaviour

Ed343
Level 1
Mollington, United Kingdom

odd behaviour

Hello, 

We are new to hosting, we have a small annexe, 2 bed, 1 bath with its own kitchen and open plan living area.

We have been doing this for 6 months and had incredible guests. 

We have now got a family of 4 staying for a month. They are from Hong Kong and dont speak any english, apart from the daughter who speaks basic english. 

They never leave the flat... it must be boiling hot in there during this heatwave and they dont appear to leave the house. All the blinds are shut 24/7 and they had said they wanted to explore the cotswold countryside... They have 3 weeks left but after this first week its starting to feel a bit odd. Their reviews each month for the past 3 consecutive months a very vanilla and in one the host calls Li as 'he' when Li is actually the girl who speaks english. 

Its not a problem for us, I just have a young family and it feels like slightly strange behaviour to have so close to our main house 😕

Any thoughts?

Thankyou

25 Replies 25
Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Helen3  Read my comment again. 
Aren’t we discussing Hong Kong tourists in London? 

Gwen386
Level 10
Lusby, MD

@Anonymous @Huma0 
thanks for informing me what the weather is in the UK, the rareness of AC, and cost. However, please reread my response. I was specifically responding to @Ed343  remark about it must be BOILING HOT. His extreme term, not mine. So I stand by my response because I was more concerned about his guest. 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gwen386 

 

I understand. 'Boiling hot' does sound extreme but the British tend to exaggerate when talking about the weather and what's too hot for us is just normal for people from Hong Kong, where today it will be 36 degrees Celsius/98.8 Fahrenheit, so much hotter than here!

 

I think that @Ed343's concern was more that the guests must be uncomfortable staying inside with the blinds closed all day but, providing they have windows open, that's probably cooler than outside. I don't know. It depends on the construction of the flat.

Gillian166
Level 10
Hay Valley, Australia

@Huma0  ah, i knew there'd be a Brit along to explain this. In our Aussie family we all say "boiling" the way michael mcintrye says it in one of his Bits, which is (to explain it to those who haven't seen the genius of Aickel Ackencacker) utterly exaggerating the real situation. 

btw, on the Gold Coast today it was 20ºc. it's the middle of winter. I did actually have 3 layers on at one point, hilarious (god i've gotten so soft!!), but now at 10pm i'm inside in a t-shirt, no heating on (maybe with a red wine glow, haha).  

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Gillian166 

 

Here's some more British humour for you:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV9q_KdtQfc

 

 

Helen744
Level 10
Victoria, Australia

@Ed343 I will assume that before your guests arrived you organized to go in once a week for cleaning . you can charge a fee for this , not the first clean if you have another cleaning fee but subsequent fees . it is easy enough to check all is okay in this way too. Offer your guests some movie tickets or take them some ice cream . Make some suggestions about where they may feel comfortable going . Nearby attractions or even directions to the shops . If their English is poor then they simply may not have a clue . Help out somehow before jumping to conclusions H

@Ed343 People from Sri lanka are obsessed with Cornwall . I know that . I dont think you need to be afraid of a ten year old girl or this family cooking alive , as Gillian said most people in Australia have Aircon because we do all have some days that are 'unbearable' . You really better get moving and set your mind at rest .People from Hong Kong are generally sophisticated so your concern about 'having them so close to the house' seems absurd in the extreme. Its a long time since I heard such poppycock. You are their host for better or worse. H

Helen744
Level 10
Victoria, Australia

@Ed343 These folks are probably sitting out a visa application and needing a bolthole out of the country they travelled from . Lots of people dislike Hong Kong at the moment and see their futures elsewhere Hong Kongians often do not identify as Chinese especially lately. A bit like Greek and Macedonia .All this info is readily available , so they may not respond to being taken to China town . H

Julia0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Ed343  Can you update us on the current situation please?

Ed343
Level 1
Mollington, United Kingdom

They still dont leave the house much. They probably are applying for a visa. Just thought they would take the opportunity to get out and about. 

With regards to hosting - I am not a tour guide nor have the time to be taking people on excursions - they book a place to stay because they want their own freedom. If they choose to stay in that's their prerogative - just a bit odd in this beautiful weather.

"boiling hot"... English sarcasm, if it were literally boiling we would all be in a dire situation - it was 40 degrees C here and for the Brits, this is very hot. 

I do not go and clean when someone rents the place for 6 weeks - they have cleaning products, spare sheets and towels etc -  this hasnt been a problem for anyone I've had and every single client so far has stayed for 4 weeks plus.

 

 

Sudsrung0
Level 10
Rawai, Thailand

We live on the island of Phuket I think we have had every nationality stay with us, in my experience almost all Asian's do not sit in the sun, I am Thai and I dont they will go down the beach late afternoon to watch the sunset, You never see Asian's sunbathing.

We try to cater for everybody and with Asian's you must have a rice cooker we need rice in the mornings the other thing I have found popular is a blender/juicer that gets used as local fruit here is cheap.

 

You say you are not a tour guide neither am I but I offer lots tours here living on an island the boat trips are very popular to see many other islands and bye the way I get paid good commission for recommending guest same with car rental and scooters, I also recommend certain restaurants then I get discount when I go there, The Guest love it they comment how we helped them and recommended places to go.