Guests asking for enmities that would only be offered at a hotel.

[Joy253]

I am a I Super Host and have been for a very long time. 

I have guests at the present time that it seems think they are at a hotel.  I left 4 wash clothes and 11 towels for 4 people staying 3 nights.  The said they needed more wash clothes.  I brought them 3 more (all I had).  Now they say they expect to have 2 per guests x's 3 nights which equals 24 wash cloths. 

I let them know this is not a hotel with unlimited linen service and if they wanted to wash them themselves that there is a laundry mat 2 doors down and they could wash them them themselves.  This is their 1st Airbnb experience and  I expect a poor review from them.  I'm very upset and would appreciate some feed back from fellow hosts.

Thank You

[Barry-and-Lera0]

@Mark116What does that even mean? If that is the case we have had the exact opposite experience from guests in regard to offering many amenities.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

😄 LOL @Mark116 

[Joy253]

Sorry for the typo

[Susan1404]

My cabin sleeps 6 people and I hang one bath towel, 1 hand towel and 1 wash cloth per guest.  I do, however, leave a folded stack of 2 extra hand towels and 2 extra wash cloths.  Rarely are the extra ones used.  I do think that many newbies probably have no idea what constitutes renting an Airbnb and assume that they are entitled to replacement of towels and wash clothes as they need them.  I am fortunate in that I have an apartment sized washer and dryer in the cabin, so if they really need more than I provide, they can wash everything they need.  @Joy253 - your guests were much too demanding and if they decide to leave you poor feedback, you need to follow up with a brief, but professional reply.  Tell them you are sorry that you could not provide the service they are accustomed to receiving in a hotel setting and perhaps they should consider hotels for their future reservations. 

[Linda108]

@Joy253   I agree with @Susan1404 .  When a guest has what a host considers unrealistic expectations, whatever they may be, I think a professional, considerate response that seeks to educate, not berate, is called for.  Sometime the expectations are related to differences in customs and sometimes the expectations are related to point of reference, such as a hotel.  Don't doubt yourself and your hosting.

[Laylee0]

@Dimitar27 great idea to check the standards in our country. But still means every Airbnb host would be different from country to country so there’d still be the problem of guests expecting the same thing from place to place.

Maybe it’s best just to have lots of spare towels where guests can access them (I had a load in their bathroom cupboard) and ask them to be considerate when using them and think of the environment. And maybe write on the listings somewhere like in the description, so it’s obvious, exactly what is provided? Still, I’m sure most guests don’t read the listing. I think a lot just go for the cheapest place with the best star ratings and reviews and don’t bother reading the details. Maybe say it in your welcome message and again on greeting them what is provided? 

[Dimitar27]

Most of the travelers (I mean experienced travelers) are very familiar with the hotel standards. They are not so different around the world. For good or bad, ABB's will always be compared with the hotels. We can't escape from the truth.

[Kat84]

For now:

try to do everything to avoid the negative review. Give them few candies "for the road", when they leave.

Update your listing AND house rules. This is not 100% solution, because I still get VIP guests, but I really hope that it helps a little.

For future:

PREVENT problematic guests from staying. In the end of the day they bring only damage. 

And sad, but true: it's almost impossible to keep the Superhost status, because Airbnb system is not working for long term hosts. After 1000 guests there will be a definitely 1 black sheep that left you a bad review and did not stay. 

[Paul154]

@Joy253 

Because you are sure you wont be getting a good review, take this opportunity to hone your hosting skills.

I would turn up my hands and say "So Sorry , we have no more (What can I do?)"

OR

"So sorry, I can run out and get those. I've filled out a  $20 charge request for you, please accept. Thank you"

Wash clothes are an Achilles Heel. So few people want or use them. They stain easily and lose their form in the wash. Plus they are expensive (don't get me started on the cost of  hand towels please!)

[Emilia42]

@Joy253 

I don't really think that this is anything to do with being new to Airbnb or expecting hotel services/amenities. I think it has to do with how people live at home. This group is obviously used to using a washcloth for one use and them grabbing a clean one (using multiple per day.)  It doesn't matter where they are, they aren't going to change their lifestyle. I used to work with a women who would use a new sponge after EVERY round of washing the dishes. So when helping me clean up after a dinner, sure enough, she would grab a brand new sponge under the sink. She didn't care if it was my house and she was wasting my sponges! That was her routine. Most times with these guests we just have to grin it and bare it and say thank god when they leave.

[Sarah977]

@Emilia42  Yes, I recently stayed with a friend who kept disappearing the dish towels. Every time I turned around looking to dry my hands or a freshly washed cup, there was no dish towel in sight. She gathers them up once or twice a day and washes them. I sort of get it, she's trying to be sanitary, and it's her home, so totally up to her, I just found it overkill.

[Lisa723]

Contrarian here. We make available more towels and washcloths than anyone is likely to use. We do get a few guests who use two washcloths each per day, and many who don't use any at all. If they are not used frequently they don't need to be washed/replaced as often, so I don't really see it as a burdensome expense. It's not unusual to get a favorable comment about the quantity/quality of towels, and if it makes guests feel more at home or welcomed, why not?

[Sarah977]

@Lisa723  That may be doable for hosts who charge a suitable cleaning fee as well as a non-budget nightly fee. If a guest in my private room/bath wanted clean washcloths and towels on a daily basis, or even every 3 days, for the $26/night I get after Airbnb takes their fee (and no cleaning fee), there is no way I could accommodate that. Luckily I've never had such demanding guests- they've almost all been quite eco-aware and understand what can and cannot be expected for that price. Not to mention that not all hosts live in places where water is plentiful and gushes out the pipes 24/7.

[Sally221 · Accepted solution]

I 'm guilty of that too- changing out the dish towels every day & sometimes twice- I wouldn't do it so frequently if  my family would stop drying their hands on the towel meant for dishes (I'm a beast about food safety)

I also dislike washcloths, especially as those same family members- I'm talking about YOU Tom & Lucy- will leave washcloths festering on their shower floor, icky!  I buy inexpensive washcloths for guests & then downgrade them to family member use, then they become mopping rags before their final incarnation as shop rags. I love the Japanese thin scrubby sheets for my personal use- a quick rinse before hanging up to dry and they never ever smell & are practically indestructible..

I'm procrastinating at this moment -about to write a rare negative review- does "Better suited for a hotel" still raise a red flag?

A couple with teen daughter & dogsbody husband's sister- they ate won ton soup on the beds- had to wash the comforters inside the duvets and both layers of mattress protectors, they did laundry in the bathroom and  festooned the room with the fireplace with hanging clothing, left the house with the gas fire on and broke a piece of art by using it as a laundry hanger- yikes! I don't think they meant to be jerks but I don't want them back or inflicting themselves on fellow hosts.

I'm so grateful they were an outlier! Right before them we hosted heroes of Tianmen Square & right after, a sports legend who walked across the country to raise money for first responders (he was outed by his friend, he's a modest hero) Sally

[Sean433]

I never understood why people ask for wash cloths??? Why would you want to clean your body with the same wash cloth the last guests used to wash their butts? I get that it's washed each time but still, I cannot get over that image, very gross so I never supply them and hardly every get any comments on that. It seems to only be a request for peculiar families. Most bring lufas or just figure it out.

And I don't compete with hotels on price, in fact, i don't charge much less then a hotel. I offer a better and higher standard then a hotel. I don't offer daily cleaning but I do offer a private laundry unit. I don't offer concierge but I offer a beautiful private backyard with use of a bbq, etc etc.

Don't compare yourself to a hotel, look at what you offer that a hotel cannot. That's where I place my focus and that's where guests see the value in booking with me.