House rules, house manual, signs and post it notes - when is it too much?

[Huma0]

I

just stumbled on this article from a few months ago. It's about a video that went viral after a guest posted about an Airbnb where there were apparently too many 'rules".

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10329255/Airbnb-host-goes-viral-guest-shares-INSANE-list-...

I am a bit surprised by the reaction to this and also the tone of the article (they go as far as describing the guest's experience as an 'ordeal'), but then I am a host, so I am probably seeing it from an entirely different perspective. I don't put signs or post it notes around my listing (only welcome blackboards with WiFi details and some tourist leaflets and maps) and I don't even print out a house manual/instructions, although I keep meaning to get around to the latter. Like this host, I live onsite, but I give my guests a pretty thorough welcome tour and am usually around to answer any questions.

So, while I think this host may have gone too far with her signs and notes and also about which glass to use for what, and maybe she could have worded things differently, but I think she probably had good intentions. Most of the stuff presented here are not rules, but information/instructions. I assume she left instructions for things like the remote because some guests struggled with it. I have no idea what the deal is with the shower curtain, but I assume there is a reason behind why it needs to be opened a certain way? Plus, the rules mentioned don't seem insane to me, e.g. no open flames, no smoking, if you break something, tell me, quiet hours etc. I just personally would not post rules around the place. Instead, I ask guests to confirm they read the rules before they book and I remind them of a few important ones when they arrive. 

What do you think? Do you put signs or post it reminders in your listing? Do you provide a printed house manual? I believe a lot of hosts do the latter, and it's supposed to be useful to guests, so I was surprised that people took such an exception to this, as if it was a bizarre and controlling thing to do.

[Frances3408]

Here in OZ we like to joke a lot about dunnies (toilets). Maybe something to add to a guest welcome video?? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ6W4oWeq84

[Sharon683]

That sign is so cute!  I must use it!

[Debra300]

@Huma0,

We don't have a house manual, but have been planning to create one to put on a thumb drive, and connect it to the TV.  We've had previous discussions on this forum about hardcopy vs. softcopy house manuals.  I really prefer offering digital copies for a variety of reasons, e.g., quicker to share revisions and less costly than printed documents. 

We provide walkthroughs to our guests at check-in, either in person or virtually over the phone where we quickly show/tell guests how to use some of the appliances they may not be used to, such as the apartment sized laundry appliances that work a little differently than the full sized ones.  There are a few signs posted in the kitchen and bathroom as quick reference guides, and we tried to place them close to the appliances so they are useful, but do not appear obtrusive.

The guide for coffee makers is on wall behind appliances, and thermostat guide is behind hanging pots.  In the laundry area signs are on the walls near each machine.

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

Yes, I think that an in person walk through can really make a difference. There you can offer information and instructions without them seeming like demands. It's all about the tone. 

Also, yes, the signs posted should be unobtrusive. The host in the article went too far because her signs really had the potential to ruin a guest's stay. The info provided in most of them was not actually offensive or ridiculous. There were just too many of them and they were just too in your face.

As for the pen drive/TV set up, do you find that guests actually use this? Personally, I don't find that many guests take that kind of initiative, but perhaps that's just my experience. I've put together a pretty comprehensive local guide for them on Airbnb and direct them to this, but most prefer not to look at it at all and just ask me questions instead.

[Debra300]

@Huma0,

The guests ask you questions, because they see you in common spaces and can hold conversations with you.  We don't share living space with our guests, and may see them only in passing while outside.  Our guests can send us a message or call with an inquiry, but they know the best way for a quick response is to read what's provided or even look on YouTubeversity.  

I think since we have smart TVs that people are curious and click the apps and folders out of curiosity to see the regional differences compared to what they have at home, and they may also look at the folder with full user manuals.  We have thumb drives with slightly outdated movies on them connected to the TVs so our guests will have something to watch during internet or power outages (we turn on generators), but have heard from guests that they browsed the folders even though there wasn't an outage.    

So far, there have been only a few mishaps with appliances.  It was obvious that one set of young guests weren't used to a dishwasher and put the thick detergent in the rinse aid compartment (I know it's common in the UK/Europe to use salt, but you won't find that in the US).  Another guest lost the spin dryer disc/tub cover, and it was finally found along with a sock in the space between the spin tub and the dryer's shell.  She obviously didn't put clothes in the tub properly.  We have septic tanks, and it's in the house rules that only bodily waste is allowed to be flushed down the loo, but we still also have found a few guests that used toilet wipes.  Ironically, the most damage has occurred with a guest using the clothes drying rack.  He somehow broke the wings on both side of the rack, but was forthright with telling me, and paid for the replacement without hesitation.  

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

If I wasn't a live in host, I am sure I would have a house manual. Before reading the above article, it never would have occurred to me that anyone would take offence to one. It's a pretty standard thing in an Airbnb as far as I'm aware. I would still try to do a thorough welcome tour though, as I know a lot of people just won't bother to read the information provided. No one really seems to look at my local guide anymore, even though so many of the questions they ask are answered within it.

I show guests most things during the house tour, so would be pretty confident that they were well set up even if I wasn't there. I do travel for work (although nowhere near as frequently as pre-COVID) so I am often not around. When I am away, I set up a WhatsApp group for all the guests so that they can reach me quickly, but also sort things out amongst themselves, e.g. if someone gets locked out. I find that they don't tend to ask many, if any, questions, when I am not there (I only had one guest where this was not the case and she was eventually asked to leave because she was mad as a March hare). Suddenly, when I am not around, the guests become so much more self sufficient!

One thing I don't cover in the house tour is how to use the TV, set top box etc. I just tell guests to ask if they want me to show them. The reason is that hardly any guests use it. Most of my guests just watch things on their laptops/devices these days.

As for breakages, I feel that perhaps you are lucky, or you are just doing something right that I am not, because I get (mostly small) breakages ALL the time and it's rare that anyone admits to causing the damage. This week alone, someone did something to a new and quite pricey shower, meaning the temperature control doesn't work at all. A piece is missing from a rather beautiful and also pricey mirror, although I suspect that was the cleaner, but she says she didn't do it, and that can't be repaired. I found small pieces of broken crockery under the doormat, but no sign of the rest of the broken item. This is just THIS week, and I haven't yet properly inspected the two bedrooms where guests have just checked out. 

[Debra300]

@Huma0,

This thread could easily segue to talk about the inane "obvious" things that hosts need to tell guests, and that guests have to ask hosts.

These are some of the top things that I now routinely tell/re-tell guests: 

1. "We don't have a front desk or staff.  To ensure that someone is available to check you in, and you don't have to wait after a long journey, tell us your flight/ferry details, including any delays you have delays while en-route, and when you plan to arrive to the guesthouse."  There have been a few guests who didn't provide the requested information had to wait for us, because we were out when they arrived.
2. The wifi info and the door code to their suite again since they didn't take my suggestion to save that information somewhere on their phone or write it down just in case they couldn't access their messages or itinerary.
3. Close windows and turn on the ceiling fan when the AC is running. When departing the suite close the curtains and blinds to help keep the room cool.
4. Place beverages, plates and take away containers on the coasters and place mats.
5. Turn the shower faucet handle more towards "hot" until the water isn't warm enough.  I've had guests tell me at the end of their stay that they didn't have hot water to shower.  Then they show me that they never turned the handle any further than a quarter of the way.
6. Pour out liquids, rinse out take away containers and beverage cups, compress or tear into pieces their trash/rubbish before throwing it into bin so that the liner bag can truly get full and doesn't attract critters before it's taken out.
7. Put full garbage/rubbish bags in the outdoor bins with the sign above them that says, "Deposit Trash Here".  These are located in the open carport in the front and almost impossible not to see when approaching the guesthouse, but this question often came from guests who had already been with us for a couple-few days.
8. Pull the chain on the ceiling fan to change the fan speed.  Again, a guest waited until the end of their stay to say that the fan didn't work.
9. In addition to the wall dish drying rack, use the countertop dish drainer that's in the sink cabinet for any extra dishes that need drying .  Guests will pile dishes and pots a mile high on the wall rack, and it's not meant to take such weight.  
10. Place wet utensils in the grey elephant.  I've found the kitchen sponge, the sink stopper, and plastic shopping bags inside of Dumbo, and the wet utensils laying on the counter.  This picture isn't one of our elephant drainers, because ours have labels that say "utensils".
    

We are pretty seasoned travelers and self-sufficient, and don't normally have a lot of questions for our hosts, but these are things that we've had to inquire about.  As a result, we now make sure that this information is proactively provided to our guests:

1. Which of the four stairways should we take when departing the train station?  We send a Google Maps Pin/link to our place, and include a map with written directions.
2. Where can we purchase a local sim chip?  We encourage guests to bring along a secondary unlocked phone and get a local prepaid sim and data plan, because they cannot solely rely upon using wifi calling during their stay.  Especially, if they have an issue while away from the guesthouse.  We tell guests about the two service providers, and which mall to go to.
3. How do we use the washing machine, dryer, thermostat, coffee maker, lock/unlock the door, or close the window?  We make sure to cover things in the walkthrough and provide quick guides/manuals for most appliances.
4. What is the code for wifi or the door because it's not on the itinerary?  In addition to sending this to our guests via the platform message service, we text it to them via Whatsapp or send to their personal email address.
5. Your cleaner didn't finish the turnover, where are the trash bags?  I learned a trick from the office cleaners at my job, and always place a least one spare bag at the bottom of the bin under the one that's in use.
6. Where do we put out the trash?  We tried our best to make it easy for guests to see the trash bins by placing them in clear view of the driveway and placed a sign.

[Huma0]

@Debra300 

I think if I was not sharing the same space as my guests, I would need to give them a list of instructions much longer than yours. As it is, a lot of that sort of stuff is covered in the welcome tour, but some guests need to be reminded of a few things.

I learnt early on in hosting not to assume that just because something seems obvious to me that it will be obvious to my guests. Some of them probably think I'm being way over the top with some of my instructions, but I try to do it in a light hearted way, which is easier when you're showing someone around. I often tell them, "Sorry if some of this seems really obvious. It's not because I think you're stupid! I only mention it because it's something several guests have done."

Still, every now and again, there is a. new thing that baffles me. Recently, I discovered that a guest had thought the dishwasher (which I had showed her during check in) was "extra storage" for plates etc. So, for an entire month, she had been hand washing her dishes and then putting the clean dishes in the dishwasher!

Okay, so that is unlikely to happen with other guests, but something a lot of them do, so I now have to include in my house tour, is leave the fridge door open. People do this all the time. I just don't get it.

[Sharon683]

Gee, that was a lot of information, useful.

[Helen744]

@Debra300 I love the little elephants but thank goodness for the dishwasher. If I had to deal with guests dishes that would be the last straw .H

[Suzanne302]

I am going to have to put a note on the door that says, "Please lock the door when you leave." My last two guest would simply leave and I'd come home to an unlocked house.

Am I crazy or is that something you should automatically know to do??

[Huma0]

@Suzanne302 

Well, you would think it was something you should automatically know how to do and, when I first started hosting, I thought some guests were just idiots. I mean, who leaves the front door open in London or any other big city?

However, I've since realised that, in their own homes, people operate on auto pilot a lot of the time. They don't come and go and think each time, "I am closing the front door." They just do it without thinking. The same could be said of turning off the lights when you go out or turning off the oven after you have finished using it, closing the fridge door, turning off a tap. I could go on and on.

When people are in an unfamiliar environment (especially when they have their holiday brains on), that 'autopilot' often seems to malfunction.

I don't want to leave notes up everywhere, nor to have to put obvious things like turning off taps in my already long house rules. However, leaving the front door open is clearly a major issue. So, I really do make a point of showing guests how to use the front door lock etc. even though it is REALLY simple. If someone leaves the door open, keeps leaving lights on, taps running or anything else like that, they will be reminded in a friendly manner not to do it and, usually, but not always, they do stop.

I get though why a host would put a sign on the door to remind guests to close it. I would consider doing that. The last time it happened was a few months ago. It was winter and very windy. I was wondering why there was such a draft coming from the hallway and, when I went to inspect, found the door wide open. I assumed someone had left it open that morning, only to discover that no one had been out of the house. In fact, a guest came home late the previous evening and was the last person in or out of the house so the front door had been open ALL NIGHT. I live in an urban area on a busy road. It was very lucky that nothing bad happened. 

[Sharon683]

No, I had the same experience several times. I invested in the schlage wifi door lock system.  It works but sometimes I forget to check it or the guest may arrive in the middle of the night while I'm asleep from a concert or whatever.  I have 3 to 4 signs posted requesting that they please lock the doors when entering and existing. 

[J-Renato0]

@Huma0 

I leave basic information available in the apartment. It is short and to the point. Printed, easy to read.

In general, I think we must be sensitive and listen to feed back.
Let´s suppose most of the guests texts the host on how to put the oven to work. Then... some note about it is justified.

Anyway the notes must be somewhat discreet. The guests will see it or will have to read it only if they need instructions and see it at hand.
We have to avoid boring the guest.

If one puts a huge document with lots of rules, information and whatsoever it can be, nobody will read it.

[Huma0]

@J-Renato0 

Yes I agree. (With a few exceptions), most people don't want to read pages and pages, especially if they are on holiday. On the other hand, if you are an off-site host, it's worth thinking from the guest perspective in terms of what information might be useful.

If I was not here, I would definitely leave instructions on how to use the washing machine, for example, as there are so many settings so I wouldn't expect most people to just figure it out themselves. They may not want to refer to a lengthy manufacturer's manual.

However, I would not stick this on the wall by the washing machine. Firstly, I don't think it is very relaxing for the guest to have signs/instructions stuck around the place and, secondly, it just doesn't look very nice and I'm rather fussy about the aesthetics of my listing. If I were to do any signs, they would need to be nicely written and framed, not the marker pen capitalised, colour coded example in my original post!