COVID19 - Cleaning

[ShirleyandWarren0]

Hi everyone in the community.

We have some guests we are hosting in our home who are providing some challenges. We live in a different city and have a house keeper who lives on the property and does the cleaning once guests leave. Prior to COVID19 we did more short term stays. With COVID19 we have had longer stays. We clearly advertise ourselves as self catering. With COVID19 it would be risky for our housekeeper to clean when guests are in the house. As such we have advised the guests that we cannot provide a cleaning service. We do provide fresh linens every week. We have provided the guests with all the utensils and liquids necessary to self clean. The guests are now being abusive to our housekeeper. Last week the guests messaged me to advise me of a short list of items that needed attention. Being the great hosts we are I traveled up and fixed a dripping tap and tightened two screws that were a bit loose in a door. I fully expect a poor review from these guests despite having excellent (5 stars) reviews from prior guests. I think these guests would be better suited to staying in a lodge or hotel. Any sound advise on this?

[ShirleyandWarren0]

Hi sent our guest this message.

Hi guest, we cannot reach you by WhatsApp or by cell phone.

I think we need to clear up a few things that I thought were clear.

The Airbnb you are staying in is "Self-Catering". This means we provide basics. We are not a hotel or a lodge and do not offer those services.

This means once the provided stores have depleted or finished you need to provide your own.

We provide clean linen every week only.

It is not appropriate that our resident housekeeper clean inside the house during this time of COVID19.
our resident housekeeper has described some unpleasantness yesterday towards her.

This is not acceptable.

Should you want a cleaner you are welcome to ask me. I can provide this (pay for it) through SweepSouth a web based cleaning company.
However you will need to sign a waiver stating should you catch COVID19 from this service we will not be held responsible.

our resident housekeeper has provided you with a new set of clean linens. Please can the used set of linens be returned to our resident housekeeper immediately.

We cannot provide fresh linens until these are returned.

As discussed with you both previously, we just want to re-iterate that we are a self-catering Airbnb. We are not a lodge or hotel. Our daily rate is therefore substantially lower than what you would be paying at a lodge or hotel. We are concerned that your expectations are that you would like the same service as you would receive at a lodge or hotel. At no time do we offer this or have ever represented ourselves as offering services that would be provided at a lodge or hotel.

We are welcoming, extremely approachable warm hosts, and have received many compliments in this regard. However, we are concerned that there are expectations that we are not meeting.

Please could you discuss any issues or problems that you may have directly with us and not with our resident housekeeper. She is our employee and a friend. We treat her with respect as our housekeeper.

We look forward to the rest of your stay being an enjoyable one with any issues that you may have being resolved expediently.

We are just a call or WhatsApp away.

Regards

[Anonymous · Accepted solution]

@ShirleyandWarren0 By definition, "self-catering" means that guests have facilities to prepare their own meals.  It doesn't specifically refer to the cleaning arrangements or the stock of non-food items like toilet paper. 

I'm a bit confused by how your arrangement with the housekeeper works, because there is no. How is she a resident in the property if it is listed as an Entire Home? Do you mean that she lives in an adjacent unit? I only ask because I wonder if the guests were unclear on what her job was, and what services she was expected to provide during their stay. That's absolutely no excuse for them to be abusive to her, but it might illustrate a need for more clarity in your listing now that you're transitioning to longer stays. Both on what is provided, and on what isn't.

If guests are sharing any portion of their rented living space with your employee(s), the "Entire Home" designation is not quite correct - it means that the guests have the entire property to themselves. There's no perfect choice for this particular arrangement, but "Private Room" would be more appropriate.

After reading your message to the guest, I think you're right that a negative review is inevitable. But with that in mind, what is the end result you're after? I can't tell whether you want them to stay for the remainder of the booking or leave - and you should have a clear objective in mind when you reprimand your guest.

[ShirleyandWarren0]

Hi David.

Thank you for your contribution.

On Airbnb our property is listed as "entire home". In the notes on the property we clearly state that there is a housekeeper who resides on the property. (Separate building) The guests clearly knew and understood this when I spoke to them when they first arrived. They also made it very clear then, that they would not be using our house keeper.

I agree on the transitioning from short stays to longer stays. We will be adding to our manual a page with list of what is provided for short term and long term stays. For instance toilet paper and dish washing liquid etc. Airbnb only provides a once off cleaning fee. It would be useful to have this repeatable for longer term stays or I must put my rates up to cover the additional costs of regular cleaning with guests on the property. (COVID19 self isolating families usually do not want this)

It is mindful to consider the desired outcome. - thank you for this thought. I did amend my message to my guest.

We appreciate your feedback.

Regards

Warren

[Anonymous]

@ShirleyandWarren0 Now that longer stays are de rigeur, a few hosts here have expressed interest in having repeatable cleaning fees. I don't know if Airbnb is considering a feature like that, but one thing you can do after confirming a booking is use the Resolutions tool ( airbnb.com/resolutions ) to request pre-payments for additional, optional services.  Interim cleanings, pet fees, airport transfers, and meals are all examples of things you can bill this way - just be sure to have the rates clearly displayed in the listing, and require that the guest accept the charge before supplying the service.

[ShirleyandWarren0]

Hi Andrew0.

Thanks for this.

I would never have thought to look to do additional billings under a feature called Resolutions.

I am a bit confused. I followed the link https://www.airbnb.co.za/resolutions it brought me back to my inbox  - specifically to communicate/message with Airbnb Support.

I would like to use this tool as there are a number of additional services we would like to bill for a better experience for the guests in this and our other Airbnbs'

I understand that these additional priced services would be listed in the house manual - right? Would I list these on the house Airbnb profile?

regards Warren

[Anonymous]

@ShirleyandWarren0  That is strange - the correct link might be different on the South African site. You may have to check the SA Help article on how to request money for additional services.

As for where to put it - I'd suggest the main body of your listing text, so that it's visible before booking. That way, it won't look like a hidden charge, and it's also clear which amenities are included and which ones incur an extra fee. 

[Sarah977]

@ShirleyandWarren0  "Hi guest, we cannot reach you by WhatsApp or by cell phone."

That's a good thing. Because you should never communicate with guests by phone or text, especially if it's about something that could prove to be contentious. Always use the Airbnb messaging so there is a documented record of the exchange should things go south. You never want to end up in an unprovable he said/she said situation. And if a conversation does take place outside the messaging system, send a follow-up message reiterating the conversation.

[ShirleyandWarren0]

Hi Sarah977,

Thank you. I sent my client the message via Airbnb. I am aware she is not reading the Airbnb messages so sent it via WhatsApp too.

Have a great day.

regards

Warren