Guest check-out chore hyperbole

[Terry642]

I recently posted a comment in another thread survey, and it was suggested it be a separate conversation.

I would love to see a poll asking hosts what "chores" they ask guests to perform before checking out - there seems to be a lot of chatter - Reddit etc - about the absurd things hosts ask guest to do before they leave - the worst anecdote/hyperbole is "mowing the lawn" !! Has AirBnB considered a category - "Walk Away" - as in I'm a host who asks guests to do nothing before they leave? Basically, I'd like to see some push back from AirBnB and the "trend" of bashing hosts and check-out requirements.

Thanks,

Terry

[Renee291]

This is something I've been curious about. 

I ask my guests to put wet items in the tub, put dry dirty items in hamper. Lock all doors and windows. Wash dirty dishes (no dishwasher). Turn thermostat to an "away" temp (varies by season). They do not have to strip the bed or take out trash. 

I think this is basic and reasonable. 

[Lorna170]

@Terry642  Happy to see that you put your post here — I’ll bet that you get quite a few responses.

I want my guests to be happy with their vacation, and my departure tasks are few…. Throw your towels in the tub.  Leave the sheets on the beds.  Cover the hot tub, lock the doors.  Simple.  Walk away.

I do ask for some common sense chores.  Wash your used dishes, pots and pans.  Clean up the pet poo in the yard. Most guests will put their trash in the outside bin.  (My housekeeper is not a hazmat worker.)

I do think that if a host is going to charge a cleaning fee, they need to be very careful about guest chores.  Guests of a certain age will leave the place spotless as they would be embarrassed to be called out on their lifestyle.  Other guests still need mommy to train them on common courtesy/tasks. 

I would never rent a place that asked me to do multiple loads of laundry, wash the floors, sanitize the kitchen and bath or… mow the lawn!  

[Helen3]

If you want to create a survey you can certainly set one up and promote it to hosts. However, it's unlikely that host who say 'ask a guest to mow the lawn' is going to respond. So the results won't be terribly meaningful. What would you do with the survey once you have the results @Terry642 ?

Millions of people host through Airbnb and the Reddit forum  (with a few thousand active participants) does seem to attract those who have, shall we say, the 'most incredible stories'. So take what's said on there with a large pinch of salt.

There are only a tiny percentage of hosts who make unreasonable demands from guests in terms of checkout. Most of us just ask guests to do their own washing up and put used towels etc in a laundry bag.

Guests should be able to see in their house rules key check out rules if there are particularly additional check out rules.

[Terry642]

@Helen3 thanks for your reply.  I guess I'm looking for AirBnB to try to counter these pretty negative claims/stories about hosts' checkout requirements - which seem to be perched right next to Hilton and Marriott adds on Facebook, Reddit etc. - by showing that the overwhelming majority of hosts request simple "walk away" check out procedures.  

[Renee291]

My response to this inquiry is above, which I feel is pretty bare bones as far as requirements but I had a guest tell me they were burdensome and I'd probably get more bookings if I didn't have any check out requirements at all like a hotel stay. I have no problems with getting bookings. Maybe some people don't get that Airbnb is like being a guest in a friend's home.  How would you leave a friends home after a stay? 

[Terry642]

The impression that AirBnB is equivalent to a hotel stay is a dificult one to get out of the public's mind.  How can a person rent a one bedroom suite with a full kitchen, two working fireplaces (my rental) screened-in outdoor patio at a hotel for the prices we offer on AirBnB?  A suite like this doesn't exist within 200 miles of where I live.  But we are still expected to have hotel-like amenities and accommodations.  It's challenging to balance leaning into the unique aspects of short-term rental without falling victim to a hotel mind-set.

[Helen3]

As I said you need to put it in context @Terry642 .

As I mentioned in my earlier  post. Reddit airbnb isn't a terribly credible as a forum and attracts a certain type of individual- mainly from the US. It isn't representative of the many millions who use Airbnb every year.

yes a tiny percentage of hosts have unreasonable check out rules . If they weren't advertised on the listing when a guest books they should ignore them and flag with airbnb.

[Lenore22]

@Terry642 yes, there certainly has been a lot of chatter about this, hasn't there? Speaking of hyperbole, I think I was part of the actual initial "mowing the lawn" post, and if that's the case, it's really blown out of proportion!

The post I saw was from a guest who had booked a stay for 3 months. After a month or so, they noticed the lawn was looking overgrown. They asked the host about it, who explained that they typically mow between guests, but that the lawn mower is in the garage if it bothers them.

Feeling uncertain about what to do (this was a new user to Airbnb), they decided to mow because they didn't want to get dinged for "damaging the property." It wasn't in the checkout list; wasn't requested nor expected by the host.

Perhaps the now-infamous "mow the lawn" check-out chore is unrelated, but if it's this case, it's just another example of how things "go viral" these days.

[Jenny]

This is a great topic, @Terry642!

I've passed along your suggestion for a "Walk Away" category, along with your poll idea, though I see that you've started a great conversation here!

Jenny

[Mark116]

We ask guests to:

-leave the keys on the coffee table

-wash their dishes

-hang up used towels on bathroom hooks [because prior to this, they threw them on the floors, left them soaking wet hanging over furnature or on the beds]

-collect recycle and trash [depending on the day of the week they either put it to the curb the night before check out or leave it in the kitchen]

-we even tell them to leave any perishable food in the unit, because otherwise they were throwing full cartons of juice and soda in the trash making it dangerously heavy as well as wet and gross.

-since we are on site we don't ask them to turn off the lights, though most do, if we were off site we would include turning off lights, closing windows and locking the place.

Anyone who isn't willing to wash their own dishes or take out their own trash belongs in a hotel not an Airbnb.

[Terry642]

@Mark116 appreciate your response. I agree that people should understand staying in a Airbnb means different norms, expectations than at a hotel, but the "bad press" exaggerated story is that hosts charge a cleaning fee so why do guests have to do anything at checkout. In my research I've seen loads if great writing explaining how much more work/complicated it is to turn over a short-term rental/whole property than a hotel room, but guests are not famous for their desire to read - so it seems Airbnb/hosts need to do a better job explaining. That's where I came up with the "Wakk Away" category.

[Ana2038]

We only ask guest to turn off fan/air conditioner/lights and leave towels on the bathroom floor. Should they need to empty their trash, we provide instructions on how and where but its not required. We actually prefer they do not as our city waste collection has rules as to what goes where (different colored bins).

I prefer that they do not strip the bed sheets. It's much easier to see if sheets and/or pillowcases need a shot of Spray n Wash or any pre-wash/stain remover. I always spray a pre-wash/stain remover on all towels/bath mat. 

We are on-site so we can easily get to our listing and start the cleaning process as soon as guests have checked out. 

[Trude0]

«Please don’t spend any time cleaning or tidying up before check-out. Cleaning is included in the rent, and I much prefer my guests to enjoy their last hours here. Just lock up and leave the key in the key box.»

This works like a dream - 99 % of the guests leave my guest house in a very nice condition. 

But the guest house is in my garden and I’m usually working from home, so that of course makes it possible for me to ask very little of my guests. 

[Inna22]

@Terry642 I love the term walk away.

I asked for the following: take out trash, start dishwasher, clean exuberant messes.

The only reason I ask for anything at all is because I also sell a what I can "worry free package" which is an equivalent of your walk away. That is because some of my guests decorate, never take out any trash for the duration of their stay or go downtown, get drunk and throw up in the bathrooms (I have a bigger house that attracts groups, I do not allow parties though). The worst is actually unwashed dishes. Some leave so much and so many pots and pans that need to be scrubbed, we literally do not have time to deal with them. While I can have two sets of laundry and if we are short on time, store a dirty set in the garage till next time, I can not have two sets of dishes and pans.

If I had no requirements at all, I would be stuck with these messes. Now I tell my guests you can do these two simple things or you can pay the extra fee. Those who are not going to leave a giant mess, would not mind taking one bag of trash and press a button on the dishwasher. The other type knows that I am talking to them :).