Guests who seem unable to read

[Emily1491]

I had two guests stay this past weekend (with cats, which I gave my permission for). I have an extra, oil based electric heater in the apartment for cold nights. I’ve had it running whenever a guest stayed for the past six weeks (usually multiple stays a week and every weekend booked). Because it draws so much power it’s plugged into a dedicated line. I instruct every guest not to move it, have a sign above the outlet, and have the plug taped to the outlet with electrical tape. No one else has had any issue. These two repeatedly blew a breaker every time they tried to use an appliance. I told them to make sure the heater had not been moved, as that was the only thing I could think of that would trip the breaker, and specified the proper outlet for the heater. They kept blowing the breaker. I went in after they left, and they had moved the heater. They also left a pretty bad cat-related mess (I’ve learned my lesson, no more cats.) They left me a review, and I’m struggling on what to write for them, or if I should write anything. They were nice about it, and told me they were sorry I was having electrical problems (!) They have good reviews, but a few that mention they presented some challenges.  I guess I’m feeling a little burned out on guests who can’t seem to read, and who I worry will take their illiteracy out on me.

[Sarah977]

@Emily1491  What you describe isn't "not reading". You had a sign in their space, and you told them verbally. They simply did as they pleased.

Yes, leave an honest review. I don't know what you mean by "They were nice about it". They weren't nice at all as far as I can see. Talking nice to your face and then ignoring your instructions isn't nice.

I din't kniw how they were as guests otherwise, if they othereise followed you house rules and communicated well  and left the space clean, all of which should go into your review, but as far as the heater is concerned, I woukd write sommething like "Guests ignored both written and verbal instructions not to move the space heater, as it is on a dedicated breaker. The cord was even taped to the outlet. Therefore they kept blowing breakers throughout the stay."

[Emily1491]

@Sarah977 honestly, I think they truly just didn’t pay any attention. The heater was in the way and so they moved it without a second thought, and never connected that and the tripped breaker. That’s what we get around here—wealthy people from the city (literally referred to as cidiots) who expect my 200+ yr old house to be 78 degrees when it’s -10 outside and who have demanded refills to the 5 gallon jug of filtered water I provide while they have shrieking sex in the adjoining apartment. I need the money to finish fixing up the house but lately I’ve wanted to give everyone a bad review and these folks just fried my last nerve. 

[Kendra114]

I’m feeling very fried too — and the season is just getting started. What is going on with guests? 

[Huma0]

@Emily1491 

I think there have always been a proportion of clueless guests out there - the ones who have no common sense and/or simply cannot seem to take in information instructions. Are they on the increase? I don't know. 

I currently have a guest who does all manner of clueless things on an almost daily basis. For example, she decided to use a cleaning product in the kettle that is not designed for that purpose without asking me (I descale the kettle regularly so not sure why she even felt this was necessary). Luckily I was able to clean it before it destroyed the kettle or anyone else used it and got sick. I just found out that she thought the dish washer was 'extra storage' for plates etc. so has been putting clean stuff in there the whole month she's been here. 

Of course, I had showed her the dishwasher already but I could tell she wasn't listening to anything I was explaining during the house tour. She was looking at something else in the room and asking random questions the entire time (e.g. Why is the stove so clean? Doesn't anyone cook in this house?). I quickly realised that she had not taken in one word because she seemed to do the exact opposite of everything I had explained, but also that she has no common sense/logic.

What does one do with this type of guest? Any suggestions? I am potentially going to be away on a work trip next month and I'm actually worried what might go wrong if I'm not here to keep an eye on her.

[Emily1491]

@Huma0 

Oh my gosh, she sounds AWFUL. Much worse than mine!! Where do you come from that you don’t know what a dishwasher does??

I thought a lot about my lacking common sense guests—I ended up not leaving them a review because I was just too angry at them for making my week/weekend stressful (after spending thousands of dollars last summer to get their space rewired, I thought I might have a major electrical problem). And they were very nice, and not clean but not dirtier than most folks. But they are the types who cause sooo much more work for everyone around them, and even if they aren’t bad people I’m not sure they deserve that extra work.

@Kendra114 On my neighbor’s recommendation (she also Airbnbs and has been doing it for much longer than me) I shut down the space for two weeks to take a break from guests. She said that’s the only way she can do it—to know when you need a rest.

[Huma0]

@Emily1491 

To be fair, where this guest comes from, I gather that dishwashers are not that common. However, I have hosted a multitude of guests from that part of the world and never had anyone who thought it was 'extra storage'. Besides, I always show guests the dishwasher when they arrive.

With guests from countries where they are not the norm, we usually end up having a short chat about it, i.e. they say something like, "I'm not used to dishwashers. I prefer to wash things by hand," which is fine by me. The difference with this guest is that she just ignored whatever I showed her or explained to her. On top of that, there is nothing about the interior of a dishwasher (and mine is brand new so has the fancy digital display panel) that would indicate it is some sort of store cupboard (already showed her where all the dishes are stored).

Washing machines, on the other hand, are not uncommon where this young lady comes from. Yet, when I was showing her how to use it, she kept running over to the boiler on the other side of the kitchen and saying, "And then I put my things in there?" I had to repeatedly tell her no, that's the boiler, but she wouldn't listen. Eventually, I just said, "That is the boiler. Do not touch it. Do not mess with it. If you do something to the boiler and I have to pay for a heating engineer to come out and fix it, I will not be happy." I think she got the message.

Really though, we shouldn't have to go to these lengths. She speaks very good English so that is not the problem. Some people just refuse to listen.

Yes, it's guests like this that make me want to take a break from hosting. Luckily, the other two girls staying at the moment (similar age) are totally fine!

[Emily1491]

@Huma0  Ah, got it—bad choice of phrase on my part. My guests are so universally of a type I forget that’s not everyone’s experience.

It’s definitely the down season here, and I’m hoping once things get busier that the quality of guests will improve as there will be more of them and less spaces for them to stay in.

I am seriously considering removing myself from pet-friendly listings for the summer. I really want to host well-behaved dogs (or rather have well-behaved dog owners) as I have stayed in airbnbs with my dog and always gone to extra lengths to leave the space clean because I’m so appreciative of being able to bring him. But I’ve been having a really hard time with dog-owning guests—they leave a much bigger mess, cause more wear and tear, almost never pay the pet fee, and let their dogs pee on everything, including my garden. I have rules about all of the above, but they get ignored or never read.

[Huma0]

@Emily1491 

I am afraid I have no experience of hosting guests with dogs, or any other animals. My listings are within a homeshare and I have three cats whom I am pretty sure would totally freak out if people were bringing other animals in and out so it's not an option for me.

If you feel that this particular category of guest is causing problems for you then I think you are right to take a break from it and see how it goes. I do sometimes feel guilty turning people with pets away (I do love animals and really sympathise that it's often much harder for people travelling with pets to find accommodation) but it simply doesn't work in my set up so I have learnt to say no. It certainly hasn't affected my occupancy rates.