Guests never go out

[Helen497]

Hello,

This is a difficult one. So would appreciate some good advice. I have been a host for 5 years. We have a self contained studio with its own pool. We are quite rural and a car is essential. We have two guests who are very polite. My problem is they never go out. We accepted a 9 day booking which we only in the past did a maximum of 5 days. I didn’t realise that they would not be renting a car I would not have accepted the booking. Our place is used as a base to explore the Algarve but these two have no intention of doing so, it has made it quite hard as I cannot maintain the pool and area. Any advice as they are treating it like a hotel but people do go out when in a hotel getting pretty cheesed off with them

[Pete69]

For better guests, don't accept stays of more than 5 or 6 days, and don't accept bookings less than 2 days out. 

If a stay doesn't have a kitchen and laundry, then my attitude is that I want to help guests help themselves in finding a more suitable stay for more than 6 days. 

[Justine275]

We simply note in our listing that guests might see us from time to time outside doing maintenance tasks like tending to the landscaping, mowing the lawn or shoveling the driveway. Not only does that set appropriate expectations (especially for longer stays), but it also hopefully encourages folks to respect our home as they might meet us taking care of the property. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Helen497 

Agree with other hosts. You seem to promote your place as a private secluded place to relax, and with a pool and nice views.... perfect for people who want to just stay in and be lazy, rather than a place to use as home base while they explore surrounding areas. 

[Robin4]

This question goes a bit deeper than pool cleaning and car rental.

This sort of comment has come up from time to time over the years.....hosts who rent a room or two in their home and expect their guests to vacate the premises between the hours of 9 and 5. They work from home and want some peace and privacy.

If you are going to invite guests into your space you have to be prepared to accept them. 

You cannot charge guests money for an allotted amount of time, and then turn around and expect them to be absent from the property for a substantial part of it.

@Helen497 I think the issue here is, you are getting, as you say, 'cheesed off' with them because they are there.....they are impacting on your privacy and enjoyment of your property! If it was simply pool cleaning you would have established a routine for that with the guests....pool maintenance is an ongoing thing requiring some attention almost daily whether guests are there or not.

These guests may have stressful lives and just wanted to get away to a peaceful quite environment with substantially promoted guest personal pool and back yard facilities including sun lounges to relax and unwind. All but 5 of your 24 photos promote the outdoor facilities of your property. You promote it as a resort, guests don't book your property to live out of a suitcase......and you expect them to get out and do something else every day!

@Helen497 I know you are a superhost but your expectation is unreasonable for any host, let alone a Superhost. You promote facilities you prefer your guests not to make use of!

If it is the case that you don't expect to see your guests  during daylight hours you should state prominently in your listing description that your beautiful property is not a 'Resort', it is a base for guests to explore a lovely part of Portugal, and a spot to relax at the end of the day!

At least the guest will know what is expected of them prior to booking and can make a decision to book accordingly!

Cheers.........Rob.

@Justine275  @Mike-And-Jane0  @Lawrene0  @Anonymous 

[Kath9]

@Helen497  I agree with the others here. While you may have set up an expectation for yourself that guests will leave the premises each day, the guests themselves may have a completely different idea for their holiday. Some may just need a place where they can relax and not feel that they have to go sightseeing every day. It's not as if they are hanging around inside your home - that WOULD be annoying. But they have their own self-contained studio and pool area and, as paying guests, they should have every right to sit around there all day if they want to. I would simply let these particular guests know that you would like to clean the pool area and ask them when would be a convenient time to do this. Then update your listing to state that the pool will be cleaned every x days at x time.

With respect to your public responses to negative reviews, I agree with @Colleen253 . As a prospective guest, I would be somewhat turned off from booking. Remember that public responses are for prospective guests, not the guest who left the review (who will probably never see it).