Guest rearranged kitchen cupboards

[Angie601]

Hi everyone

I would love your opinion on this scenario.  

My latest guest followed my house rules and abided by the departure day requests so nothing to complain about there.

However, when I went to empty the dishwasher and put the crockery away, I found all the pots and pans in the crockery draw.

The crockery was found in 2 different cupboards, the mugs and glassware were also rearranged along with all the cutlery and even the tea towels!

My cupboards and drawers are well organised and not cramped in any way.

I purposely don't store anything on the very top shelves where she put items as I need a stool to reach them.

I was not happy as I had a quick turnaround and having to rearrange all the kitchen cupboards took some time.

Would you mention anything to the guest in private feedback as to the inconvenience her actions caused in the hope she doesn't do it again?

Although she was a good guest, she wasn't a stellar one so not too worried if I offend her and she doesn't return.

I appreciate your thoughts.

Thank you

Angie

[Elaine701]

Yes, guests do this. It's part of hosting. Sometimes you can learn from guests. Consider it a bonus. And if it's your biggest issue, consider yourself lucky. 

[Pat271]

I’ve not only had items relocated, but furniture totally moved around, even to different rooms. I think guests sometimes feel they paid for this place, darn it, and they are going to put things where they want them!

Gives my housekeeper fits - she moans to me that she isn’t a furniture mover. I don’t blame her.

Guests also consider my power bill a free-for-all, or at least a free-for-them. They want the A/C blasting, but insist on opening up every window, so that they can “feel the ocean breezes”.🙄 My $250 power bill turns into $500.

I asked a vacation rental property manager friend of mine how they typically handle this kind of waste and additional turnover work. Her company has the policy that paying guests can do as they wish with furniture placement and utility usage. Of course, her company is not the one paying the extra cleaning and utility bills!

However aggravating, I myself look at these kinds of things as the cost of doing business, within reason. It has to be pretty egregious and a blatant disregard of the rules for me to go after guests for extra charges.

That’s just me, though. I realize I might be making less money this way than I could, but I’m hopefully preserving a few of the non-gray hairs I have left.

[Donald225]

If you're technically inclined, that's not a difficult problem to solve, or at least reduce.  Our rental is my former home, which we decided to keep when we moved into something a little larger in the same neighborhood.

I had an alarm system and a lot of automation and left it all in place.  Guests so far have not used the alarm (I provide complete instructions if they want to) but if an outside door is left open for more than 5 minutes the a/c goes up by 8 degrees and stays there until the door is shut.  And this is mentioned in the guestbook.

Also, the thermostat is locked between 72 and 78 for cooling.  Any lower and it will just run constantly, and any higher runs the risk of excessive humidity.  Similar limits for heat temps, although heat is rarely needed down here.

You don't need an alarm system to do any of this either.  A home automation hub like Hubitat or SmartThings, a smart thermostat and some door/window sensors is enough to set up such a system and would likely pay for itself in short order.

[Susan1188]

House rules:

Your price includes 20 kwh of electricity (4 euros) per day.  Excessive use will be billed at cost.  This is enough for air conditioning, heating and normal family use of household appliances.  It is not enough for 24/7 climate control with windows open, or for washing 5 suitcases full of dirty laundry after a road trip thru Morocco.

[Sandra126]

Not a big issue. They probably used everything and after washing, could not remember where to put them.  Consider yourself lucky that they did the dishes. If you worry about this, label every shelf and drawer.

[Laura2592]

@Angie601 I've had guests like this. One repotted my plants. Several have moved furniture, taken art off walls, totally rearranged the kitchen to their liking. Most of these folks stayed for a weekend.  

Its super irritating.  I have not figured out a polite way to address it. Some guests really do take over your space like it's theirs....I personally think they fantasize that it is and  play house during their stays. Unless large or heavy items were moved (a no no per house rules) I'd grumble but let this go. 

[Susan1188]

Repotted your plants!!!!  On a weekend stay!  tell us more!

[Anonymous]

@Angie601  A family that competes together as a sporting team must also have a system for dividing up kitchen tasks, so whoever put the dishes away was probably not the same person who took them out to cook and set the table. Honestly, when friends and family visit me, they're worse about this than Airbnb guests have ever been - it can be a headache, but I appreciate the dishes being clean even if they land in odd spots.

I like the idea of labeling the cupboards and drawers. It helps guests find things easily when they arrive, and as a side perk it can also up the odds that they'll leave the kitchen organized to your liking. 

[Kelly149]

We have a timeshare we stay at every year. The first thing we do is rearrange a couple things. They arrange it so it looks nice when we walk in, but there’s nowhere to put anything without moving decor. So the tchotchkes on the shelves get consolidated so we have a place for sunglasses, keys & billfolds and so that they’re safe from clumsy people. The kitchen items get consolidated so we have a place for food. So, maybe they care about Feng shui and you broke a rule. Maybe they are absentminded. Maybe they were extra tall or extra short. Maybe they needed potions & lots of veggies. Who knows. Maybe there’s a lesson to be learned, maybe it’s a one off. All in all definitely not the worst ABB scenario possible. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Kelly149 

I do the same thing...!

[Sarah977]

@Kelly149  Honestly, I don't understand the tendency to overdecorate with useless knicknacks. I see listings with bedside tables that have plants and other decorative things aside from the reading lamp, leaving no space at all for the guest to put their own stuff. 

The problem with being a good guest and putting everything back before you leave, is that the host never realizes that their tchotchkes get moved by all the guests, and shouldn't be there in the first place. 🙂