@Emma2077 I don't see anything wrong with saying, "There are steep stairs inside the house, as well as a hearty 5 minute climb from the marina to the house. If you have mobility issues, please contact host before booking for clarification, to determine whether this will present any difficulty for you." I'd put that in the main part of your listing description, as well as "Other things to note", so they don't miss it. You could also, when describing the cottage, say something like "This is a renovated fisherman's cottage, quite cozy but small, with 7' ceilings (or whatever they are), so if you're looking for a place with a lot of space to spread out, this isn't it." It's better to mention the possible negatives than end up with unhappy, complaining guests.
If you don't want to say much about it in the listing itself, make sure to ask guests in a message when they book , or request to book, if they read the part about the stairs, etc. I find it's always a good idea to do this, as many guests don't read thoroughly, and it can give you an idea as to whether the guest actually read through the info, or just looked at the pretty pictures and the price. In my case its "Hi XX, thanks for your request. I just want to check that you saw that I have a dog and a cat, in case you have pet allergies, and also that it's a 20 minute walk to town and the beach?"
I have a friend who hosts a private suite in her home. Some people instant booked, then when she saw their photo, she thought, Oh, no, because her suite has a rather small shower stall, in fact the entire bathroom, while super cute, is quite compact, and these people were, to be polite, extremely large. They would literally get themselves stuck in that shower stall, they certainly wouldn't have room to move. So she messaged them and without mentioning weight or anything like that, just said she wanted them to be aware that the bathroom was quite small and was checking to make sure that wouldn't be disappointing for them. As well, the city was doing a major sewer and water line upgrade and her street was disrupted all summer- sometimes she had to park a block away, so she mentioned that as well, saying she'd be happy to give them a full refund if they wanted to look for a different listing.
No, they insisted on coming. They did have to park a block away, and arrived on her doorstep, huffing and puffing, beet red in the face, hauling their luggage, the both of them looking like they were on the verge of a heart attack. She showed them into the suite, they walked through, took one look at the bathroom and said they wanted to cancel.
So even if you try to head them off or give them a heads-up during the booking process, some guests seem to think they are a better judge of whether a place will suit them than the host is, even when that isn't at all true.
