Is it bad practice to ask your guest if they are satisfied with the level of cleanliness on arrival?

[Caroline1034]

Reason is that my cleaner normally does a very good job of cleaning my rentals, and this is reflected in many reviews, but then sometimes she does omit to do something (as I can verify when I check after her occasionally, I always find something that has not been cleaned properly when you look closely), or perhaps a guest is overly critical sometimes, and will comment that cleanliness could be better, but only after they check out or, worse, in their review.

I don't mind criticism if I get the chance to rectify it as soon as possible, hence why I sometimes think if I should ask them on arrival,  or if it will just make them think that I am not confident in my cleaner and they will purposely look for dirt in some hidden corner. Unfortunately I do not have the time to check after every cleaning, especially since my small guesthouse gets mostly one-night stays, plus we offer self check-in, so my guests normally do not meet anyone during their short stay. I always ask them via text to let me know that all is well when they arrive, to which they normally reply that they had an easy check-in and they love the room, but that's about it.. Just looking for some ideas and strategies from other hosts. 

Also how does everyone handle stained sheets and towels with their guests, especially blood stains which do not always go away ? This is a recurring problem for me.

[Anonymous]

@Caroline1034  As a guest, I would feel like it reflected very poorly on the host if they asked me about the condition of the home at check-in. It makes it sound like you're asleep at the wheel - why are you asking me things that it's your basic job to already know? And even if there were some problem spots, I wouldn't want to have a short stay disrupted so you could "fix" them. 

Perhaps instead of a housekeeper who solely does cleaning, what you actually need is an engaged Co-host who can complete the cleaning up to your standards while also communicating directly with guests and keeping an eye on the big picture. 

[Caroline1034]

@Anonymous  Thank you for your reply. I agree that that would reflect poorly on me as a host - was already thinking that while writing it lol.. Great tip about a co-host! Problem is finding someone I can trust to do the job properly and that would justify the significant extra expense of paying them. 

[Huma0]

@Caroline1034 

It's a tricky one. If a guest is overly critical, asking them this may well prompt them to look for faults. Do you really want to encourage people to do the white glove test? I know that even the best cleaners do miss certain things, which is why I prefer to prepare the guest bedrooms myself and always do a quick whizz around the rest of the property to make sure everything else is spick and span. I think @Anonymous is right that if you are unable to check on things before guests' arrival, you need someone who can.

RE stained sheets and towels, it depends on whether they are white or coloured. Personally, I find that pre-treating them with a good stain removal spray (one that is suitable for coloured fabrics too if you have those) and washing on a warm (not hot) wash, i.e. 30 degrees Celsius usually does the trick, but some hosts say to only wash blood stains in cold water as hot can set them and a lot swear by hydrogen peroxide for treating these. I have used that as well, but it is quite harsh so I wouldn't use it on coloured fabrics. For greasy food stains, try washing up liquid/dish soap.

If you do a search on the CC, you will find a lot of threads on this subject with tips and tricks.

[Gwen386]

Hi @Caroline1034  I agree, I would not give a guest an opportunity to think my place is not 100% clean. And what happens if guest says on arrival, it could be cleaner? What will you do? Nope, scratch that idea. 

If you like your housekeeper, I suggest giving her a checklist of each and everything that should be done AND she has to checkoff that she did it. Below is only an example of what I “personally” do and I don’t even charge guest a cleaning fee:

Kitchen

*use Clorox wipes and sanitize counter tops

*Use Microban to wipe light switches, faucets, knobs, handles, anything being touched

*use  Weiman to clean stainless steel refrigerator, microwave, stove, or clean glass top. 
*wipe top of fridge, cabinets, etc. 

Bathroom

*spray tub, shower, sink, and shower liner with bathroom cleaner and let set while you clean rest of house/room/apt

*spray toilet bowl with cleaning liquid

*wipe down cabinets/shelves if any

use swiffer duster to clean all Baseboards, blinds, fan blades, wood furniture, including legs, lamps and shades. 

vacuum all furniture

use microban on remotes, again, anything being touched like light switches, etc. 

Sweep, run vacuum or Roomba, then mop floors. 

Last, go back to bathroom and scrub down everything. 

Again, this is just an EXAMPLE of my regimen. If housekeeper can’t or won’t take the extra steps to make your rentals spotless, you have the choice to either hiring another housekeeper or increasing her pay to ensure that she follows your checklist. 

And, even after I clean my entire unit, I backtrack a day or even hours later to make sure I have not missed anything. 

Also, I use white sheets; and if I can’t get the stain out, I buy new sheets. It’s the cost of doing business. 

Good luck to you. 

[Caroline1034]

@Gwen386 

Thanks! I used to give checklists to previous cleaners but they rarely used them.. 

[Caroline1034]

@Huma0  Agreed. Wish I had the time to finish up the cleaning myself but I really don't. 

Thanks for the tips about the stained sheets, all are white so normally we do pre-treat, soak in cold water, than wash in warm wash but sometimes the stains are set. My question is more how do you deal with guests who stain sheets and towels.. Not only does it ruin the linen, it is also very disrespectful for the guest to expect us to clean up those kind of messes - I'm not talking about accidents, I'm talking about large stains all over the sheets (sorry for painting a gross picture). 

[Anonymous]

@Caroline1034   Do you find that you have more issues with linens after the 1-night stays?

Some people are at their most careless with the bedding when they know they won't have to sleep in it again.

[Caroline1034]

@Anonymous  yes exactly its the worst after one-night stays. Also I don't charge any cleaning or linen fee at the guesthouse, where I allow one-night stays (I do charge a cleaning fee for my rental apartments where stays are from 3 days upwards, but not for the guesthouse). I have just invested in a whole new lot of high-quality sheets and towels for the guesthouse, so you can imagine how disheartening it is..

[Huma0]

@Caroline1034 

I don't really have to deal with this issue too often to be honest. I host long term guests now, so perhaps @Anonymous is right in that it's in the guest's best interest to keep the bed linen in good shape as they will be using it for a while. My guests have the option of paying me to clean their rooms, wash their bedding and towels and make up the bed etc. during their stay or to do it themselves. Most go with the latter. I just have to keep an eye out to make sure they are doing it and gently remind them if I sense they aren't. I'm a live in host, so that's easy for me.

When I hosted short term guests, stained sheets and towels were more of an issue but it still wasn't that often. I've never brought it up with a guest and never charged them for it. There was only one time when a guest was charged after having an accident which caused a pretty big mess. However, she told me about it and volunteered money towards cleaning costs.

More often it would be food and drink stains, so I stopped letting guests eat in the bedrooms, which seemed to put an end to that. Also, make up stains on towels. Since I started giving the guests make up wipes with stickers on them asking them to use them instead of towels, that has also worked. The guests rarely use the make up wipes but it gets the message across and this has stopped happening!

I am not sure why you are having frequent issues with your guests. Do you have anything in your house rules about guests paying for damages? Maybe you could include that gusts will be responsible for replacement costs for stained sheets/towels.

[Caroline1034]

@Huma0  Make-up and suntan lotion stains is another issue, but I have followed some tips here on the community and I am now providing my guests small dark brown face cloths and face wipes in the bathroom, which seems to help, but not with the blood stains!

I did have a security deposit on the apartments but not on the guesthouse, but it seems these have been removed now?  

[Huma0]

@Caroline1034 

Yes, I think the security deposits have gone. As I mentioned, I have never tried to charge guests for stained sheets or towels (I've come to expect a bit of this as wear and tear) but I think stating in your house rules that guests will be charged for damages helps to make (most of them at least) a bit more careful. 

When it comes to damages, I think guests fall into two distinct camps. There are those that will tell you straight away and offer to pay for/replace whatever has been damaged and those that will say nothing and hope you don't notice or can't tell which guest did it. The latter will almost never admit to it if you do bring it up and some will get very hostile. So, trying to get a guest to pay for something if they don't offer themselves is near impossible. The wording in the house rules is more there as a deterrent, just to remind people to be careful.

[Sandra856]

Hi @Caroline1034 🌿

It is important to always remove blood stains before putting it in the washer. If it is relatively fresh blood you can easily rinse it out with ice cold water (under the tap) and some hand soap or whatever soap you got. If it isn’t fresh you need to let it soak in cold water overnight. It is really important to only use very cold water. Using warm or lukewarm water will make the protein bind to the fibre in the fabric and it will be almost impossible to remove the stain. 
I always look for stains on both bed linen and towels after a check out and I remove all stains if any before I put it in the washer.

Best, Sandra 

[Caroline1034]

Thanks for all your tips. I am considering sending some of my laundry to a local laundry service, which will increase my costs but will ease the laundry load my housekeeper has to deal with. Is it reasonable to include a small towel / linen fee per night for stays at the guesthouse? I do not charge any cleaning fee neither any deposit at the guesthouse.. 

[Anonymous]

@Caroline1034  Since 2018, Airbnb has required all listings to provide linens and towels. So no, you should not charge an extra fee for a non-optional amenity. Add a cleaning fee or raise your rates if you need to.

Deposits, as I'm sure you know, are not an option on Airbnb.